Bengaluru, July 30: BJP state president and opposition leader BS Yeddyurappa alleged that former prime minister HD Deve Gowda has been conspiring to divide the state to strengthen his party JDS and the BJP would not allow this to happen.

Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Yeddyurappa said that the ancestors of the land laid down their life for the whole Karnataka. But observing the recent statements of the Chief Minister, it was clear that a systematic conspiracy has been hatched out to divide the unified Karnataka, he said.

He would go to Belagavi to convince the swamijis and activists who are going to participate in separate state protest to be held in front of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi on July 31 and ask them to commit for the unified Karnataka. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has been treating the North Karnataka people as step children. By saying that they have not voted him for waiving off farm loans, Kumaraswamy has insulted the Constitution, he alleged.

By saying that he would give the money of Bengaluru to develop North Karnataka, Kumaraswamy has conspired to divide the house. But the silence of Congress leaders in this issue has created suspicion. North Karnataka people were pained because of Kumaraswamy’s statements. But many people have been trying to get the political mileage of Kumaraswamy’s statements. But the BJP would not allow anyone to divide the state, said Yeddyurappa.



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Bhubaneswar/Berhampur/Phulbani, Nov 1: At least two tribal women died and six others fell ill after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Friday.

Consumption of mango kernel, prepared by boiling the seeds in water, was reported from Mandipanka village in the district's Daringbadi block, an officer said.

While one of the two women (Rasmita Pattamajhi aged 22) died on Thursday night at Mohana community health centre in Gajapati district where she was undergoing treatment after "consuming the gruel", another woman (Runu Majhi aged 29) breathed her last while being taken to MKCG Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Gadapur sarpanch Kumari Mallick said.

Six others, who fell ill after allegedly consuming the gruel, were admitted to a hospital and their condition was critical, said Dr Subrat Das, a medical officer of the health facility.

"All the six have been admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. We suspected that they fell sick due to food poisoning. The exact cause of the illness will be ascertained after completion of the investigation," he added.

The six were identified as Pravati Patmajhi, Dranglu Patmajhi, Tuni Majhi, Susama Patmajhi, Jita Majhi and Jibanti Majhi, Daringbadi BDO Pritiranjan Ratha said.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government has rejected allegations that tribal people have been consuming mango kernel gruel due to a lack of access to rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS).

Rasmita's husband Anil Pattamajhi alleged that they were denied rice under PDS for the last three months because of which his wife consumed mango kernel.

However, Kandhamal district magistrate-cum-collector Amrit Ruturaj dismissed the allegations, saying the family received rice according to PDS norms. "We are awaiting the postmortem report to determine the facts," the collector added.

Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who is also in-charge of the women and child development department said, "It is not a case of malnutrition. Mango kernel is part of their (tribal) regular diet. Sometime, the mango kernels get contaminated and lead to such unfortunate incidents. We have been actively spreading awareness about the risks of food contamination."

Health and family welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, who ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of two tribal women, said a team from the district headquarters hospital and another local team are at the spot to assess the situation and conduct a detailed probe into the incident.

Mahaling said that the government was waiting for the postmortem report for a confirmation on the cause of the deaths. "People in Kandhamal consume mango kernel. It is common in that region and there also have been reports of health complications linked to it in the past," he said.

The Kandhmal incident reminds a similar tragedy involving mango kernel deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where at least 20 people died in 2001, and two more succumbed to mango kernel consumption in 2016. Additionally, mango kernel has claimed lives in Laxmipur in Koraput district in 2012 and 2013, as well as in Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district in 2018.