Former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda has responded sharply to remarks made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in the Rajya Sabha, rejecting the suggestion that he chose to align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Congress.

War of words in rajya sabha

During his farewell speech in the Upper House, Kharge made a light-hearted remark about Deve Gowda’s political journey, saying he had “dated” the Congress but ultimately “married” Modi. The comment drew laughter across the House, including from the Prime Minister, who was present at the time.

Kharge also noted his long association with Deve Gowda, saying he had known him for over five decades but was unsure why the Janata Dal (Secular) leader shifted alliances.

Deve gowda’s ‘forced marriage’ reply

In a statement issued later, Deve Gowda said he was not present in the House when the comment was made as he had left for Bengaluru for Ugadi celebrations. Responding in similar metaphorical language, he said his association with the Congress was a “forced marriage” that eventually turned into an “abusive relationship.”

He asserted that his party did not leave the Congress alliance, but was instead compelled to move on after being sidelined.

Reference to 2018 karnataka alliance

Deve Gowda also revisited the 2018 Karnataka political developments, stating that the Congress leadership, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, had proposed his son H. D. Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister. He claimed he had instead suggested Kharge’s name, in the presence of leaders like Siddaramaiah.

Despite this, Kumaraswamy eventually took charge as Chief Minister after the Congress-JD(S) alliance formed the government.

Alliance collapse and aftermath

The coalition government collapsed in 2019 after multiple MLAs from both parties defected, leading to the fall of the government. Deve Gowda alleged that the Congress failed to act against those responsible for triggering the defections.

He maintained that the breakdown of the alliance left JD(S) with no option but to seek a “more stable” political partnership later.

Political context

Deve Gowda briefly served as Prime Minister following the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, heading a United Front government supported by the Congress. His party later allied with the Congress in Karnataka in 2018 before parting ways after the coalition government’s collapse.

Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region witnessed another spell of rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds on Wednesday evening, marking the second such weather event in the past four days.

The sudden change brought relief from unusually high temperatures recorded earlier this month. According to officials, the temperature at Safdarjung — the city’s base weather station — was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius at 7 pm.

The India Meteorological Department had earlier issued an alert predicting light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning on March 18. Several areas across the capital experienced gusty winds along with brief but intense showers.

More rain likely over next two days

The weather department has forecast partly cloudy skies for March 19 and 20, with chances of light rain or thundershowers occurring once or twice during the day. On March 21, skies are expected to remain cloudy with the possibility of light showers continuing.

Conditions are likely to stabilise from March 23 onwards, with forecasts indicating a return to partly cloudy to clear skies across the region.

Weather activity across India to intensify

The IMD has also indicated widespread weather activity across multiple regions of the country in the coming days. Rainfall is expected to intensify in several states, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds.

In the northeastern region, heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya during the early part of the week.

Meanwhile, the western Himalayan region is also set to witness a shift in weather patterns. Himachal Pradesh is likely to receive heavy rainfall on March 19 and 20, while Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir may experience heavy showers around March 20.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has urged states and Union Territories to ease local levies and procedural barriers affecting City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects, in a bid to accelerate the adoption of piped natural gas (PNG) as a cleaner fuel alternative.

In a communication sent to Chief Secretaries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Neeraj Mittal highlighted that high right-of-way charges, road cutting fees, lease rentals and other local levies imposed by urban bodies are discouraging investments in CGD infrastructure.

High costs slowing expansion

The ministry pointed out that the CGD sector, particularly PNG supply to households and commercial establishments, does not receive direct subsidies. As a result, it depends heavily on viable returns, which are being impacted by excessive and inconsistent local charges across states.

It noted that these financial and procedural hurdles are slowing down infrastructure expansion and affecting the broader adoption of natural gas.

Gap between connections and usage

According to the government, while around 12.63 crore PNG connections have been recorded, only about 1.6 crore are currently active. The ministry stressed that improving ease of doing business at state and local levels could help bridge this gap and expand the consumer base.

Officials believe that rationalising levies may initially reduce local revenues but could lead to higher long-term gains through increased gas consumption and economic activity.

LPG shortage adds urgency

The push for PNG adoption comes amid supply constraints in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Oil marketing companies are currently supplying only 20 per cent of normal commercial LPG demand to states.

To address this, the ministry has proposed increasing LPG allocation to 30 per cent for states that implement reforms supporting PNG and CGD expansion.

Reform-linked incentives for states

The Centre has suggested a set of measures that states can adopt to qualify for higher LPG allocations. These include:

• Setting up empowered state and district-level committees for faster approvals
• Introducing single-window clearance with deemed approvals within 24 hours
• Implementing a dig-and-restore model using bank guarantees instead of restoration charges
• Eliminating annual rental or lease charges for CGD infrastructure
  

The ministry said compliance with these reforms would be verified before granting additional LPG allocations.

Industry support measures

The communication also noted that GAIL and its subsidiaries have already allocated full gas supply to the commercial PNG segment to support businesses affected by reduced LPG availability.

The government reiterated that expanding natural gas usage aligns with its broader push for cleaner and domestically sourced energy.