Yediyurappa appoints districts in-charge Ministers, keeps Bengaluru with him
Bengaluru, Sep 16: Nearly a month after expanding his cabinet with the induction of 17 Ministers,Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday named district in-charge ministers.
Interestingly,Yediyurappa has kept with him the charge of Bengaluru city, for which there was reportedly stiff competition between key ministers from the city, as both Deputy Chief Minister C S Ashwath Narayan and Revenue Minister R Ashoka were eyeing the post.
Sources said several city MLAs had recently requested Yediyurappa to keep the Bengaluru city in-charge with himself.
A separate Minister was appointed for Bengaluru city in the previous Congress and coalition governments headed by Siddaramaiah and H D Kumaraswamy respectively.
While Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol has been made in-charge of Bagalkote along with Kalaburagi, the other two Deputy Chief Ministers, Ashwath Narayan and Laxman Savadi have been made in-charge of Ramanagara and Chikkaaballapura and Ballari and Koppala respectively.
Senior Ministers K S Eshwarappa has been given Shivamogga along with Davangere, R Ashoka- Bengaluru Rural along with Mandya, Jagadish Shettar- Belagavi along with Hubballi-Dharawad.
While Sriramulu has been given the charge of Raichur and Chitradurga, Suresh Kumar has been made in-charge of Chamarajanagara.
Other district in-charge Ministers are V Somanna- Mysuru and Kodagu, C T Ravi- Chikkamagaluru, Basavaraj Bommai- Udupi and Haveri, Kota Srinivas Poojary- Mangaluru, J C Madhuswamy- Tumakuru and Hassan, C C Patil- Gadag and Vijayapura, H Nagesh- Kolar, Prabhu Chavan- Bidar and Yadgir, and Shashikala Jolle- Uttara Kannada.
More than three weeks after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister after the fall of coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy in July, Yediyurappa had expanded his cabinet on August 20 by inducting 17 Ministers.
On August 26, he had allocated portfolios to the new Ministers and also appointed three Deputy Chief Ministers for the first time in the state.
Cabinet expansions and allocation of portfolios had given rise to some discontent within the BJP, as several senior leaders and Ministers felt they were sidelined.
The appointment of Laxman Savadi,who is not a legislator, as the Deputy Chief Minister was seen as the main reason for their discontent.
Yediyurappa has kept 16 Minister posts vacant to accommodate some more BJP members and from among those 17 disqualified former legislators who helped him come to power.
The then Assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar had disqualified 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs under the anti-defection law, which they have challenged in the Supreme Court.
If they get relief from the apex court, some of them would be inducted into the cabinet as per the arrangement agreed upon, BJP sources said.
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West Asia conflict: PM Modi takes stock of fuel, power, fertiliser supply
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reviewed with senior ministers the situation related to crude, gas and other petroleum products, and power and fertiliser sectors in view of the evolving West Asia situation.
Government sources said the focus of the meeting was on ensuring uninterrupted supply, stable logistics and efficient distribution across the country.
Union Ministers Rajnath Singh (Defence), Amit Shah (Home), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Agriculture), S Jaishankar (External Affairs), Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance), J P Nadda (Health), Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Industry) and Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways) were among those who attended the high-level meeting, sources said.
Union ministers Sarbananda Sonowal (Ports and Shipping), Manohar Lal Khattar (Power), Pralhad Joshi (Food and Consumer Affairs), Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu (Civil Aviation) and Hardeep Singh Puri (Petroleum), NSA Ajit Doval and the prime minister's two principal secretaries, P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, were also present.
The situation related to crude, gas, petroleum products, and power and fertiliser sectors was reviewed in view of the evolving West Asia situation, the sources said.
The government is taking proactive steps to ensure an uninterrupted supply of all essential goods, including petroleum products, they said.
The meeting took stock of the current global situation in the wake of the West Asia conflict and the measures taken to protect consumer and industry interests, which is the key focus of the government, the sources said.
On March 12, PM Modi had said that the war in West Asia has triggered a worldwide energy crisis, posing a critical test of national character that requires dealing with circumstances through peace, patience and increased public awareness.
The prime minister emphasised that his government is working relentlessly to address disruptions that have emerged in international supply chains.
"Continuous efforts are also underway to determine how we can overcome the disruptions that have occurred in the supply chain," Modi had said.
The prime minister has spoken to many global leaders since the West Asia conflict started on February 28, when the US and Israel attacked Iran. Iran has retaliated by targeting Israel and several of its Gulf neighbours.
Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route through which 20 per cent of the world's energy is transported. Since the conflict, very few ships have been allowed by Iran to cross it.
The blockade has resulted in severe disruptions in energy supply to many countries, including India.
Since the conflict, Modi has had telephonic conversations with leaders from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, France, Malaysia, Israel and Iran.
