Former Dy CM R Ashok demands resignation of CM, Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, May 25: Senior BJP leader R Ashok Saturday demanded resignation of Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramaiah from their posts in view of the ruling coalition's rout in the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
Referring to his party's win in 25 of the 28 seats in the state, Ashok, a former deputy chief minister, said it meant people voted for it in more than 177 assembly segments.
People have given us massive support. They have voted for BJP in more than 177 assembly segments out of 224... it means Kumaraswamy and CLP leader Siddaramaiah must immediately step down from their positions, he told reporters here.
His demand came a day after the Karnataka cabinet Friday reposed its "faith and confidence" in the leadership of Kumaraswamy, asserting that the coalition would continue.
The JDS and Congress won only one seat each.
Mocking at Siddaramaiah, Ashok, an MLA, said the former chief minister was the chairman of the ruling coalition's coordination committee but the panel lacked coordination.
"People saw how Siddaramaiah coordinated in Tumkur and Mandya to ensure the defeat of JD(S) candidates (H D Deve Gowda and his grandson Nikhil Kumaraswamy), said Ashoka.
In a shocking outcome, Gowda lost to independent and multilingual actress Sumalatha, wife of late Congress MP and actor Ambareesh.
Ashok also claimed people rejected the JDS-Congress government within a year for its poor performance.
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Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
