Amit Shah faces Dalits’ wrath over Hegde’s anti-Dalit remarks
Mysuru: BJP National President Amit Shah on Friday was 'heckled' by angry protesters who raised slogans against anti-Dalit remarks by Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde a few months ago.
Shah, who is on a two-day visit to the old Mysuru region in the poll-bound Karnataka, sought to pacify the Dalit leaders by distancing from Hegde's controversial remarks and for which the latter had apologized too.
"Neither the BJP nor me has anything to do with Hegde's statements. We don't endorse such remarks," Shah told the Dalit leaders at a meeting here where he sought their support for the party's victory in the May 12 assembly poll.
Hegde is also accused of comparing Dalits with "barking dogs" at Sirsi, his constituency in the state's Uttara Kannada district.
Supporting the protest by the Dalits, the Congress state unit urged Shah to answer their legitimate questions on Hegde "insulting" the community.
"Why haven't you taken any action against your party man for such derogatory comments? This clearly shows that BJP endorses his hate-mongering," said the party in a tweet.
Ruling party's spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala also tweeted that the anti-Dalit mindset of the BJP was exposed again.
"Amit Shah acts as a political chameleon and follows worst type of opportunism by publicly disowning Union Minister Anant Hegde. Will he dare to sack him? Stop the doublespeak and act," tweeted Surjewala.
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Neelamangala accident: Tried avoiding hitting car in front, lost control, claims truck driver
Bengaluru (PTI): The driver of the truck involved in the accident in Nelamangala which killed six people, claimed on Monday that there was a car ahead of his vehicle and to prevent collision, he turned the steering wheel towards the road divider which led to the accident.
Police, however, refused to share details about the investigation, claiming it will hamper their probe.
According to police, a Deputy Superintendent of Police rank officer is investigating the case and said a detailed investigation is being carried out to ascertain the cause of the accident. The CCTV cameras installed in and around the area of the accident site are also being verified as part of the probe.
"A DYSP rank officer is investigating the case. We are also doing a case study, keeping in mind the road safety aspects as well. At this stage, we do not want to reveal any details which would further hamper the probe," a senior police officer said.
Speaking to reporters, the Jharkhand-based truck driver, Arif, who was hospitalised with injuries sustained during the accident, claimed that there was a car ahead of his truck, and that he was going at 40 kmph.
"The car driver applied sudden brakes and I lost control of my vehicle. To save the car, I turned the steering wheels towards the road divider on the right. But then I saw another car, and took a left again. Due to this, the container which was loaded with steel fell," he added.
The truck driver was unaware that a SUV car got crushed beneath his vehicle and that it led to the death of six of the family, police said.
The accident occurred at Nelamangala near Talekere on the Bengaluru outskirts last Saturday. The family was on the way to Vijayapura.
