Kumaraswamy slams Congress after EC stops farmhouse feast
Bengaluru (PTI): Officials on election duty on Wednesday allegedly stopped the 'Hosa Todaku' programme at the farmhouse of JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy at Bidadi in Ramanagara district, citing violation of model code of conduct in force for the Lok Sabha polls.
The programme is celebrated a day after Ugadi when many communities in the state have a non-vegetarian feast and the EC action elicited a sharp reaction from the former chief minister, who hit out at the Congress for casting its evil eye on the tradition.
“Ugadi is the Hindu New Year. It is the cultural and religious identity of Hindus. Non-veg feast is a tradition, which is organised on the next day of Ugadi since time immemorial. Now Congress in Karnataka has cast its 'evil eye' on our tradition, culture and practice and is depicting this feast as an act of terrorism,” the JD(S) second-in-command and son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, said.
Kumaraswamy, who is the NDA candidate from Mandya in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, said there was nothing special in him organising ‘Hosa Todaku’ ritual at his house and claimed that 'it happens in every Hindu home'.
JD(S) sources said ‘Hoda Todaku’ was organised for the labourers of his farmhouse. "It was not a feast for the general public but a get-together of his workers in Bidadi. The election officers ‘raided’ on a complaint by some Congress leaders,” a JD(S) leader said.
“Now the feast has been stopped. We are worried that all the items that were cooked will go to waste,' he added.
Kumaraswamy alleged that the Congress has set its 'jaundiced eye' on Hindu festivals. "The appeasement of castes and religions has stuck to the Congress party,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, responding to a question, Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D K Shivakumar said: 'Our boys had arranged for food for 500 people and had taken permission, but they (JD(S) filed a complaint. Now they have arranged for food... let them do 'Varsha Todaku' (Hosa Todaku) or anything, I'm not bothered."
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
