United Opposition could work a miracle in 2024 polls: Shatrughan Sinha

The BJP and the JD(S) have sealed their alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha election 2024 in Karnataka, BJP leader and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa confirmed on Friday. The agreement has been for four seats, Yediyurappa said adding that Amit Shah agreed to give four Lok Sabha seats to JD(S). JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda recently met BJP chief JP Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah and the meeting indicated that BJP and the JD(S) would walk into an alliance -- only the details were pending.

JD(S) came into an alliance with the Congress and formed the government with HD Kumaraswamy as the chief minister. The government was ousted after it lost the trust vote in 2019, a year after it came to power.

According to reports, JDS wanted to contest from Mandya, Hassan, Tumakuru, Chickballapur and Bengaluru Rural. BJP reportedly agreed to let it contest on four seats -- Kolar, Hassan, Mandya and Bengaluru rural.

The move comes days after Deve Gowda claimed that his party was neither with the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) nor with the NDA. JD(S), Deve Gowda said, would fight the Lok Sabha elections independently.

Once an ally of the Congress -- though unnatural -- JDS was not invited to the INDIA meeting held in Bengaluru. "Some (Karnataka) Congress leaders did not want me... Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is my good friend (but) since Congress doesn't want me... I skipped," Deve Gowda said when the second meeting of the opposition alliance was held in the city.

A meeting was held on Wednesday at the residence of Deve Gowda to seek the opinion of the party functionaries on the prospective alliance. Most leaders have given their opinion in favour of an alliance with the BJP.

In 2019 Lok Sabha election, JDS won Hassan where Deve Gowda's grand nephew Prajwal Revanna contested.

New Delhi, Sept 22: The Parliament passed the Women's Reservation Bill which mandates a 33 per cent reservation for women in both the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and state assemblies.

Speaking on the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, BJP leader Tarun Chugh said, “It is the determination and dynamic leadership of PM Modi that the Women's Reservation Bill, stalled for over three decades, was passed in the Parliament."

The Rajya Sabha (Council of States) unanimously passed the Women's Reservation Bill, garnering support from 214 members, and none opposed it. The members expressed their approval through enthusiastic desk-thumping. Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and extended their greetings. A day earlier, the Lok Sabha (House of the People) also passed the Bill, with a significant majority of 454 members voting in favour of the legislation, while two members opposed it.

Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan said, “The bill has been passed in both House. This is a historic moment the women in our country. We demanded the bill to be implemented immediately and include OBC reservations as well."

Meanwhile, BJP MP Sushil Modi hailed Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and called it a historic moment.

“All the members have experienced the history of every moment that how society is changing. The face of the Parliament is changing. We are proud that we are a part of this historic moment and to get the opportunity to pass this bill which will change the image of the country and the Parliament."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the women MPs after the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. "It is gladdening to see the torchbearers of change come together to celebrate the very legislation they have championed. With the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, India stands at the cusp of a brighter, more inclusive future with our Nari Shakti being at the core of this transformation." tweeted PM Modi.

BJP MP Diya Kumari thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, "Women are celebrating today. We are very happy with the passage of this Bill. PM Modi has finally made this dream come true. This piece of legislation was the need of the hour and he (PM Modi) realised it. He spearheaded efforts to have the Bill tabled and passed in all of two days."

Congress MP Joshimani, too, expressed her delight over the Bill's passage, saying, “We are happy that this important piece of legislation is finally close to seeing the light of day."

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rajani Patil said that the bill should be implemented immediately in 2024 Lok Sabha elections and include OBC reservations as well. We should not wait for delimitation or census."

Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda says, “The importance of this bill would have increased if it was implemented in this (2024 Lok Sabha) elections. We have no idea when the bill will be implemented...after census or delimitation? There were demands from the OBC community which the govt did not approve. We demand the bill to be implemented immediately."

The Rajya Sabha had previously passed the Women's Reservation Bill in 2010 while the Congress-led UPA government was in power. However, the bill was not considered by the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and consequently lapsed in the lower House of Parliament.

Speaking on the Bill, Congress MP KC Venugopal said that the bill is passed but we have put the two major amendments. "The first is to include OBC reservation, which the govt denied and the second is to implement the bill immediately. Our demand was to do it for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which was also denied by the govt. This is a little disappointing."

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia hailed the Women, “Today the real foundation of women empowerment has been established by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Today is a historic day for the country..."

Artist Malini Awasthi said that for many decades, there was a demand that women should also get full representation. “They should get their rights. We always say that they are half the population, every political party used to talk about it, but this time Modi govt took the initiative and all the opposition parties also supported it. This is a sign of India's healthy democracy and will send a huge message to the world..."

BJP leader Bansuri Swaraj said, "You know that our population has increased so once the census is done delimitation will happen and boundaries of each constituency will be redrawn and then the 33% reservation will be implemented."

NEOM: Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia is the biggest success story of the 21st century.

In an interview with Bret Baier, chief political anchor of Fox News, at NEOM, the Crown Prince said the Palestinian issue is crucial to normalizing ties with Israel as he wanted to see a good life for the Palestinians. In the interview on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that was aired on Thursday morning, he reiterated that if Iran possessed a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would do the same “for security reasons and the balance of power.”

Saudi Arabia had achieved the fastest growth in gross domestic product (GDP) among the G20 countries for two consecutive years, the Crown Prince said while pointing out about the bid to join G7. “We tried to join the G7, but some countries wanted to dictate their conditions to us,” he said.

In his first interview with a major American news network since 2019, the Crown Prince addressed a wide range of domestic, regional and international issues. Prince Mohammed bin Salman highlighted the robust growth and comprehensive social and economic reforms that Saudi Arabia is witnessing under its Vision 2030. “Saudi Arabia is so big, so I'm quite sure most people in the world, directly or indirectly, have something to do with Saudi Arabia. Our vision is great and we are surprised every day when achieving our goals quickly as our non-oil growth this year will be among the fastest in the G20 countries,” he said.

When asked about efforts to normalize relations with Israel, the Crown Prince emphasized that the Kingdom has no relationship with Israel at present. “Every day we get closer, it seems it's for the first time real one serious. We get to see how it goes," he said. The Crown Prince insisted his country could work with Israel, no matter who is in charge, calling the deal "the biggest historical deal since the end of the Cold War," which he stated would rest upon agreements related to the treatment of the Palestinians. "If we have a breakthrough of reaching a deal that gives the Palestinians their needs and makes the region calm, we're going to work with whoever is there," he said, while reiterating that he wanted to see "a good life for the Palestinians."

When asked about the potential for Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and what it means for Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince clearly stated that should Iran ever obtain such a weapon Saudi Arabia would "have to get one, for security reasons, for balancing power." "We are concerned if any country gets a nuclear weapon: That's a bad, that's a bad move," he said. "They don't need to get nuclear weapons because you cannot use them. Any country using a nuclear weapon that means they are having a war with the rest of the world," he said while reiterating the position of Saudi Arabia that the region must be stable for Saudi Arabia to achieve its goals. "The world cannot see another Hiroshima. If the world sees 100,000 people dead that means you are in a war with the rest of the world. So to use this effort to reach a nuclear weapon because you cannot use it if you use it, you got to have a big fight with the rest of the world."

The Crown Prince also spoke about relations with the United States, saying: “We have important security ties with Washington. We have a special relationship with President Joe Biden, and he is very focused and prepares himself well,” he said while adding that Saudi Arabia wants American and foreign companies to come and invest in a safe environment in the Middle East. "We are one of the five largest buyers of American weapons, and our move to buy weapons from countries other than the United States is not in their interest."

He also highlighted the various attacks Osama bin Laden planned and executed against Saudi Arabia in the 1990s. Bin Laden was able to recruit Saudis to help his cause but that it "doesn’t make any sense" for the country itself to help a man actively hurting it. "After that, killing Saudis and foreign people at that time in Saudi Arabia, he's our enemy and he's the American enemy," the Crown Prince said.

Referring to the Khashoggi issue, the Crown Prince said that Saudi Arabia prosecuted those involved in Khashoggi’s killing and made reforms to prevent such things happening again. “Anyone involved in Khashoggi’s killing is serving time in prison and must face the law. We take all the legal measurements that any country took ... We did that in Saudi Arabia and the case was closed," he said. "Also, we try to reform the security system to be sure that these kinds of mistakes do not happen again, and we can see in the past five years nothing of those things happened. It's not part of what Saudi Arabia does." He noted that the country is working to reform some laws and the government does not interfere in the work of the judiciary.

The Crown Prince also touched on economic files, stressing that the Kingdom monitors supply and demand in the oil market and takes the necessary measures to stabilize the energy market. “Our role in OPEC + is to bridge the gap between supply and demand. We are keen on the stability of energy markets and we are doing what is necessary in this regard.”

Referring to the recent deal signed with regard to establishing India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor during the G20 Summit, the Crown Prince said that the Economic Corridor that will connect the Middle East with Europe will save time and money and will shorten the distance to Europe to 3-6 days.

Regarding the BRICS group of countries, Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that this group “is not against the United States, as evidenced by the presence of Washington’s allies within it.” The Crown Prince stressed that the BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is not a political alliance.

The Crown Prince also explained about the measures being taken to make the Kingdom a major global tourism destination. He said that attracting tourism is linked to developing other major sectors, including sports, entertainment and culture. “We do not mind developing the sports sector as it has become effective in economic returns. We are working to ensure that sports contribute 1.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) soon,” he added.