Kumaraswamy hits back at Modi over charge he is remote controlled
Bengaluru, Mar 6: Stung by the Prime Minister's jibe that he was remote controlled by the Congress, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Wednesday retorted that Narendra Modi should gather enough information about the state, "which has the best programmes in the country,"before speaking in public.
"I never stabbed (anybody) like the BJP did.
As prime minister, while talking about a state government, it would have been better had Modi gathered all the information before speaking in public," a visibly upset chief minister told reporters.
Kumaraswamy alleged that Modi targeted him only to hide his 'failures' in the last four-and-half years.
"He should know that our programmes are the best in the country. Let him gather more information about our government," the chief minister said.
He also tweeted, "Respected Prime Minister, I expected you to speak the truth while addressing the people at Kalyana Karnataka, the land of Sharanas who advocated Kayaka Tatva."
Former chief minister and Congress strongman Siddaramaiah also hit back at Modi.
He tweeted, "No individuals can control a CM in democracy. Only people can control them with their votes.
Maybe @narendramodi's experience of him being controlled from Nagpur is making him comment against others."
Addressing a gathering at Kalaburagi earlier in the day, Modi said, "This Congress, which reached the corridors of power by stabbing the people of Karnataka, and the chief minister who is being run on remote control, have not yet availed the list of beneficiary farmers."
Modi alleged that the central scheme to benefit marginal farmers has no beneficiaries in Karnataka as the state government had not provided the centre with the list.
"They take the names of poor farmers to seek votes, but after getting their votes, they forget the farmers and the poor people.
They are doing injustice to the farmers of Karnataka," Modi said.
He had also alleged that the state government, instead of waiving all the farm loans, had filed cases against farmers.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
