Bringing BJP once again to power is my responsibility, says Yediyurappa
Bengaluru, Nov 2: Asserting that he would complete his full term,Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday said he will work to strengthen BJP "till his last breath" and that bringing it to power once again was his responsibility.
Conceding that is current stint was more "challenging",he also trained his guns on leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah for calling him a "weak Chief Minister" and giving the government a score of 'zero' for its performance so far.
"Till my last breath I will work to build this party. I don't want any positions. People know who I am," he said.
In an interview to PTI, the Chief Minister said, "I will work to further build the party and bringing it to power once again is my responsibility."
The 76 year-old Lingayat strongman was responding to a query about his political retirement, amid speculations about him not completing his full term in office, citing his age and also the BJP central leadership allegedly not being keen on continuing with him in the top post for long.
As the BJP government led by him completed its 100th day in office on Saturday, Yediyurappa expressed confidence about completing his full term and asserted that he enjoys the full confidence of the high command, its leaders, MLAs and workers.
"...there is more love and affection towards me, or else why would I have been made Chief Minister? There is some wrong perception in the minds of some people, which is not right.
Whether it is Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) or Home Minister (Amit Shah, also BJP President)- have good faith in me, there is expectation for good administration," he said.
On his first 100 days in office, he said there were "pluses and minuses" as rains had filled water bodies in the state that was reeling under drought, but also caused large scale flooding in several areas,destroying lives and property.
Noting that the challenge was to provide relief and rehabilitation to the flood affected,he pointed out that crops in seven lakh hectares and lakhs of houses had been damaged.
"For the first time in the history of the country we are giving Rs 5 lakh instead of Rs 98,000 as per norms for damaged houses, out of which Rs 1 lakh has already been given for laying foundation stones of houses.
An amount of Rs 10,000 has been given as immediate relief to the affected and Rs 5,000 as rent to those displaced.No one has done this," he said, adding that crop damage compensation has also been enhanced.
Yediyurappa said this was '101 per cent more challenging' than the last term, but he was confident of facing it.
Rubbishing reports about lack of support from the central government for flood relief, the Chief Minister said, "I'm hundred per cent getting cooperation from the centre."
Citing Amit Shah's aerial survey and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman's visit to the affected areas,Yediyurppa said a study team which was sent had submitted its report, after which Rs 1,200 crore was released as interim relief
"We are expecting Rs 2,000 crore more, we will wait".
Hitting out at Siddaramaiah, he said the former Chief Minister's conduct and the way he was 'crossing his limits' and manner of speaking smacked of 'complete arrogance'.
"He (Siddaramaiah) is saying he will give a score of zero to my government. Who is he to score? People have to give me marks...he is trying to create confusion among people for political reasons, as the LoP," he said.
"Siddaramaiah was Chief Minister and now the LoP. Under his leadership, how many seats did Congress win in Lok Sabha election? Just one.
People have already scored you (Siddaramaiah)," Yediyurappa said and flayed Congress' proposed padyatra (march) in flood affected areas as a "political circus".
Siddaramaiah on Friday had given a score of "zero" for the Yediyurappa-led ministry and had called him a "weak" CM.
Stating that the December 5 bypolls for 15 assembly constituencies would be fought on the development agenda, Yediyurappa conceded that there was opposition within BJP for giving tickets to disqualified MLAs and said "we will decide on candidates after the Supreme Court verdict."
Bypolls to 15 of 17 seats represented by disqualified MLAs, whose resignation and absence from the trust vote led to the fall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government, and made way for the BJP to come to power, will be held on December 5.
The then Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar had disqualified them as MLAs, ruling that those disqualified, cease to be MLAs with immediate effect till the expiry of the 15th assembly (in 2023), which they have challenged in the Supreme Court
The matter is currently being heard by the top Court
On whether BJP would join hands with JD(S) if it failed to win maximum seats in the bypolls, as that party leader H D Kumaraswamy had recently stated he would not destabilize the government, Yediyurappa said "There is no question of joining hands with JD(S). I don't want to answer it. We will complete our remaining 3.5 year term on our strength."
BJP needs to win at least six seats in the bypolls to retain its majority in the 224-member Assembly, which will still have two vacant seats-- Maski and R R Nagar.
"Improving farmers' economy, irrigation, development of Bengaluru, tourism, housing sector and industrial development is my government's focus area," Yediyurappa said, adding that the state was financially stable.
However, the economic slowdown would have its affect on the state, the Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said in response to a question.
"So far our revenue collection is satisfactory. We are marching ahead. There will be no shortage in tax collection, but there will be some setback in central funds that we get.
How much it is, we have to wait and watch."
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Bondi Beach shooting suspect conducted firearms training with his father, Australian police say
Melbourne (AP): A man accused of killing 15 people at Sydney's Bondi Beach conducted firearms training in an area of New South Wales state outside of Sydney with his father, Australian police documents released on Monday allege.
The men recorded a video about their justification for the meticulously planned attack, according to a police statement of facts that was made public following Naveed Akram's video court appearance Monday from a Sydney hospital where he has been treated for an abdominal injury.
Officers wounded Akram at the scene of the Dec. 14 shooting and killed his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram.
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The New South Wales state government confirmed Naveed Akram was transferred on Monday from a hospital to a prison. Neither facility was identified by authorities.
The statement alleges the 24-year-old and his father began their attack by throwing four improvised explosive devices toward a crowd celebrating an annual Jewish event at Bondi Beach, but the devices failed to explode.
Police described the devices as three aluminium pipe bombs and a tennis ball bomb containing an explosive, black powder and steel ball bearings. None detonated, but police described them as “viable” IEDs.
Authorities have charged Akram with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder in relation to the wounded survivors and one count of committing a terrorist act.
The antisemitic attack at the start of the eight-day Hanukkah celebration was Australia's worst mass shooting since a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania state in 1996.
The New South Wales government introduced draft laws to Parliament on Monday that Premier Chris Minns said would become the toughest in Australia.
The new restrictions would include making Australian citizenship a condition of qualifying for a firearms license. That would have excluded Sajid Akram, who was an Indian citizen with a permanent resident visa.
Sajid Akram also legally owned six rifles and shotguns. A new legal limit for recreational shooters would be a maximum of four guns.
Police said a video found on Naveed Akram's phone shows him with his father "reciting their political and religious views and appear to summarise their justification for the Bondi terrorist attack.”
The men are seen in the video “condemning the acts of Zionists” while they also “adhere to a religiously motivated ideology linked to the Islamic State,” police said.
Video shot in October shows them “firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner” on grassland surrounded by trees, police said.
“There is evidence that the Accused and his father meticulously planned this terrorist attack for many months,” police allege.
