Days after praising Deve Gowda, Modi attacks JD-S
Bengaluru, May 3: Days after praising former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda that set off speculation of a possible coming together of the BJP and the Janata Dal-Secular in Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the JD-S would finish a distant third in the Assembly polls and wondered why people should waste votes on that party.
Addressing a meeting, the Prime Minister also hit out at the Congress, accusing it of spreading rumours of a hung Assembly.
"The JD-S cannot form its own government and it cannot even remove the Congress from power. Why should any sensible voter vote for it?" he asked.
Modi said the JD-S had done a crime by joining hands with extremists and communal forces and by doing so it has tried to play with the future of Karnataka.
At a BJP rally in Udupi on Tuesday, the Prime Minister had showered praise on Deve Gowda, the JD-S patriarch and an influential Vokkaliga leader.
"I heard that the Congress President criticized the respected Deve Gowdaji at an election rally 15-20 days ago. Is that your culture?" Modi said, seemingly directing the question at Rahul Gandhi.
"Such arrogance. You are starting your political life and Deve Gowdaji is one of the greatest leaders of our country," Modi said.
That set off speculation that the BJP and JD-S could come together post-poll in case of a hung verdict, which many poll surveys had predicted.
Attacking the Congress, Modi said: "Be it 2104 Lok Sabha polls or any other elections to the state assemblies, whenever Congress is sure of its defeat, it starts spreading rumours like nobody is going to get majority or there will be a hung Assembly. They start spreading a lie. When the Congress starts spreading such lies, it means the BJP is winning," he said.
He said that all the political pundits or survey agencies were of the clear opinion that the JD-S will finish at a distant number three.
Modi said the enthusiasm of people in Karnataka towards the BJP was a clear indication that they would dethrone the Congress.
"The people of Karnataka have no faith in Congress government, its Chief Minister and other ministers," he said.
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Pak police registers case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on LeT co-founder
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Lahore (PTI): Pakistan's Punjab Police on Friday registered a case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founder Amir Hamza, who suffered bullet injuries in the attack in Lahore.
On Thursday, two unidentified gunmen riding on a bike opened fire on the vehicle of the private TV channel 24NewsHD TV, owned by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, on Peco Road in Lahore near the TV channel's office.
In the attack, Hamza suffered bullet injuries.
"The FIR has been registered against unidentified gunmen, but it is sealed forthwith," a senior police officer told PTI.
He said the intelligence agencies have taken over this case from the police, and they are currently investigating the matter.
The channel's religious programme host Justice (retd.) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi and Hamza were in the vehicle when it was attacked. Hamza was shifted to a hospital for treatment.
Punjab police on Friday said that "upon receiving information about the incident, the SSP Operations immediately reached the scene and a high alert was imposed in the area. SSP Operations Tauqeer Naeem also met the affected individuals. Thankfully, all present in the vehicle remained safe during the firing."
It further said senior police officers of the Township and Chung, along with a heavy police contingent, were present at the scene.
"Police collected evidence from the site and initiated an investigation. Efforts to arrest the suspects are underway using CCTV footage and geo-fencing techniques. Search and sweep operations are being conducted at various locations, with scrutiny of suspicious individuals ongoing," police said.
It added that those involved in the incident will be traced and arrested soon.
The police sources said that Hamza has been shifted to his residence in Jauhar Town, Lahore, where police and agency personnel met him.
The leadership of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a political front of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's banned Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD), including Hafiz Saeed's son Hafiz Talha Saeed, also called on him.
TV host retired Justice Ghazi, who remained unhurt in the attack, remained a legal counsel for Hafiz Saeed, they said.
The PMML has strongly condemned the attack on Hamza and demanded that those involved in the incident be arrested immediately.
Hamza is regarded as LeT's second most important leader after its chief Hafiz Saeed, who has been in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2019 after getting convicted for several years in terror financing cases.
Hamza has been designated as a terrorist by the US. In the past, he served as the head of LeT's "special campaigns" department.
In 2018, Hamza formed a fundraising group for the LeT following a ban on the JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation by the Pakistani government.
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