The saffron party’s attack on the JD(S) leader came after the latter’s comments in Bengaluru on Sunday that he was at the mercy of the Congress and not the people of Karnataka as his government had not received the full mandate, which his party had sought in the recently held Assembly election in the state.

The BJP attack on JDs Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday, saying he was the “chief manager (CM)” of the Congress’s ATM in the state and that he was lying prostrate at the feet of the Gandhi family.

“Nothing can be sadder than this. This is absolutely demeaning to the democratic fabric of the country and akin to an abuse of India’s democracy,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters here.

He described the current situation as a fallout of the Congress-JD(S) alliance’s mockery of the popular mandate in the southern state for petty political interests.

The BJP had emerged as the single-largest party in the Karnataka Assembly election by bagging 104 of the 222 seats that went to the polls, but fell short of a majority, allowing the Congress and the JD(S) to join hands and form the government in the state.

Patra alleged that for the Congress, Karnataka was its ATM and it had found a chief manager in Kumaraswamy, while the government in the southern state would be run from Janpath — a reference to the residential address of former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

“The Congress has found a new manager for its ATM in Karnataka. We can say this after his (Kumaraswamy’s) statement. People are asking who is their chief minister,” the BJP spokesperson said.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words, he said for the BJP, the country was family, while for the Congress, the “first family” of the party was the country.

“Kumaraswamy is lying prostrate at the feet of a family,” Patra said.

He added that former prime minister Manmohan Singh used to blame the compulsions of coalition politics in the face of allegations of corruption in his government and said there was a feeling of deja vu in Karnataka.

Patra also claimed that various opposition parties were not accepting Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the leader of an anti-BJP coalition.

To a question, the BJP leader claimed that the saffron party would form the next government in Odisha, where Assembly polls will be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha election in 2019.

Nearly 45 per cent polling was reported on Monday in the bye-election to the Shahkot assembly seat in Punjab, a poll official said.

With the prevailing heat wave in Punjab, voters started queuing up early in the day to caste their votes. Voting began at 7 a.m.

Long queues of voters, including women, were seen at some polling stations, especially in rural areas in the constituency located in Jalandhar district.

Chief Electoral Officer S. Karuna Raju said earlier that 1,72,676 voters will decide the fate of 12 candidates in this constituency.

The main contest is between the ruling Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), making it a three-cornered one.

Over 1,000 security personnel, including Punjab Police and Border Security Force (BSF), have been stationed in the constituency for a smooth process.

The seat fell vacant following the death of sitting Akali Dal legislator Ajit Singh Kohar in February. Kohar, a former minister, was elected five times from this seat.

His son Naib Singh Kohar has been fielded by the Akali Dal.

The Congress candidate is Hardev Singh Ladi, who had lost to Kohar by nearly 5,000 votes in the assembly elections in February 2017.

The AAP has fielded Rattan Singh as its candidate.

Counting of votes will take place on May 31 (Thursday).

The BJP on Monday termed as “absolutely demeaning” the remarks of Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy that he was at mercy of Congress and not of the state’s 6.5 crore people, saying he has become “chief manager of the Congress’ ATM machine” in the state.

Talking to media persons here, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Kumaraswamy’s remarks were akin to abusing democracy.

“This is absolutely demeaning to the democratic fabric of the country. This is the fallout when you play with the mandate of the people for your petty political reasons. The kind of statement that Kumaraswamy has made is completely against from the essential tenets of the democracy,” he said.

He said BJP chief Amit Shah had already expressed apprehension that the way “people’s mandate has been ignored” in Karnataka, the state government will be run from 10 Janpath – the address of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Noting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a rally at Baghpat on Sunday, had called for government should be run through “janmat (people’s mandate)” and “not from Janpath”, he said that this message should reach Kumaraswamy and the Congress.

“Today, Congress is celebrating, JD-S is celebrating but the people of Karnataka are not celebrating, they are sad,” he claimed.

Patra said Modi and Shah had raised questions over Congress intentions in Karnataka, alleging
that the Congress looks at Karnataka “as their ATM machine”.

“After the statement of Kumaraswamy, we can say that the Congress has found a new manager for its ATM machine in Karnataka. Kumaraswamy has become the CM i.e. the Chief Manager of the Congress’ ATM machine. The question is who is the Chief Minister of Karnataka?”

He also referred to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remarks about “coalition compulsions”, saying that Kumaraswamy’s remarks had reminded of those words.

Kumaraswamy, who was in Delhi on Monday, sought to clarify his remarks, saying ally Congress had numbers that made its voice stronger in the coalition government.

“What mercy? They supported my party. According to their direction, I have to work. That is my responsibility,” he told reporters here.

Back to index2018-05-28 A | A- | A+
Have to work as per Congress direction: Karnataka CM
(15:48)
New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) A day after sparking a storm over his remarks that he was at the mercy of the Congress, JD-S leader and Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday said his ruling ally had numbers that made its voice stronger in the coalition government.

“What mercy? They supported my party. According to their direction, I have to work. That is my responsibility,” the Chief Minister told reporters here.

He was replying to a question related to his Sunday remarks that said he was at the “mercy” of the Congress and not the 6.5 crore people of Karnataka because his government had not received the full mandate which his party had sought in the May 12 elections.

Kumaraswamy is in Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other union ministers to seek financial assistance for farm loan waiver — a “priority” for his government.

Before leaving Karnataka Bhavan in Delhi to meet Modi, a visibly angry Chief Minister told the media that he was of course “at the mercy of the Congress because of their strength. I have become the Chief Minister because of them.

“I have also the responsibility to protect the interest of the Karnataka state.”

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday said India was ready for talks with Pakistan if it stopped aiding terrorism.

“We are always ready for talks with Pakistan. We have never said we are not ready for talks. But there is a caveat. Terror and talks don’t go together,” she said at a press conference.

“This is our position and there is no change in our position. We are ready for talks even before the (2019) elections. Election has nothing to do with this. We are ready for talks even before elections only if Pakistan leaves terrorism and is willing to come to the table for talks.”

She said a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan was not possible when attacks were being carried out and people killed.

Replying to a question about engagement with Pakistan at other levels, Sushma Swaraj said the Coast Guard and the Border Security Force continue talking to their Pakistan counterparts.

On Pakistan’s controversial Gilgit-Baltistan order that alters the status of the northern region of the parts of Jammu and Kashmir under Islamabad control, the minister said India had lodged its protests over the order and “the answer we got… is laughable”.

“As for Gilgit-Baltistan being named by Pakistan as its fifth state, the same day we expressed our opposition, and the reply came more as a lesson on history and geography. I felt while reading their answer was, ‘look who’s talking’,. They need not give us gyan on it.”

As for Saarc minus Pakistan, she said the South Asian bloc would not remain a grouping if a country went out.

one of the cars of a giant wheel came loose and crashed into the ground during the ride, killing a 10-year-old girl and severely injuring the six others who were in the car on a tragic incident on Sunday night, in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh
A shocking video of the incident has surfaced in which it can be seen how the trolley car of the giant wheel came crashing down due to a loose nut bolt.

A nut bolt came out and to the horror of the on-lookers, the trolley car came tumbling down from a good height with children in it.

The ride set-up was done in a local fair organized named ‘Robo Animals Exhibition’, at a junior college ground in Anantpur. The ground was jam-packed with people owing to the weekend and holiday season.

As per local media reports, the witnesses said that when they alerted the wheel operator about the loose bolt but he could not act instantly because he was in an inebriated state.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy met senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in New Delhi on Monday May 28 said that the differences among the Congress and the JD (S) over sharing of portfolios has been resolved.

Kumaraswamy who is in New Delhi for the first time after becoming the chief minister met Congress leader Azad at an undisclosed venue and discussed the issue of sharing of portfolios.

Speaking to media persons, Kumaraswamy said that the portfolio sharing would be finalized by Tuesday morning. “Discussion over which party would get the finance portfolio was also held. By tonight or tomorrow morning (Tuesday), portfolio sharing issue will be finalized. We have already discussed all issues. The Congress leaders will discuss with their president Rahul Gandhi and communicate their decision. All differences will be resolved. No confusion, No problem in portfolio allocation. Both the Congress and the JD (S) will work together in the allocation of portfolios,” he said.

“Our government will complete five years without any problems. Both the parties will work in tandem in the formation of the coordination committee as well as preparing the common minimum programme. Both the Congress and the JD (S) leaders will work for giving a stable government,” he said.

Clarifying his earlier statement that he is obliged to the Congress, the chief minister said, “Since our party failed to get a full majority I said I am in the obligation of the Congress for implementing welfare programmes. I made this statement in the context of waiving farmers’ loans and other welfare programmes. No need to give political colour to this statement.”

Amid tight security polling in Rajarajeshwarinagar assembly constituency got underway on Monday morning. The elections to the assembly segment were deferred due to the seizure of 9,564 Election Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) from an apartment at Jalahalli.

The polling officers had also found a huge cache of freebies belonging to a political party. Following the directions of the Election Commission, police investigated the matter and registered a case against many people, including the Congress candidate Munirathna.

The office of the chief electoral officer stated in a press release that all the EPICs seized have been returned to the owners.

With the Congress and the JD(S) not tying up for the election despite a coalition government Munirathna will vie for the seat against JD(S) candidate GH Ramachandra. The BJP, which has fielded Muniraju Gowda, would be hoping to win the seat as a consolation price after losing out on power despite emerging as the single-largest party in the Assembly elections.

Besides the three, 11 other candidates are in the fray.

The constituency has 4.71 lakh voters including 2.25 lakh women. There are 421 polling stations in the constituency. Ten companies of CASF and 10 platoons of KSRP have been deployed to ensure free and fair poll, police said.

After the May 12 assembly elections, the equations have changed dramatically with political rivals Congress and JD(S) becoming coalition partners in the government.

However, senior leaders of both the parties held road shows seeking votes for their respective candidates.

BJP too put in all its efforts to ensure the victory of their candidate Muniraju Gowda.