Mallikarjun Kharge should have been made CM long time ago: Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, May 15: Amid the 'Siddaramaiah for CM' clamour in Karnataka, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has said Congress veteran M Mallikarjun Kharge should have been given the position a long time ago and "injustice" was done to the leader.
His remarks come amid a bitter spat between the leaders of the ruling coalition partners Congress and JD(S) to make Siddaramaiah the state chief minister once again.
But the comments gave fresh ammunition to the BJP to target the alliance government. BJP state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa asked Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) to immediately vacate the post for Kharge, the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha.
Kharge, a nine-time MLA and two-term Lok Sabha member who has never tasted electoral defeat, termed Kumaraswamy's remarks as "election-time statement."
Addressing a meeting in Chincholi assembly segment for a by-election attended by Kharge on Tuesday, Kumaraswamy said the Congress leader should have become chief minister long ago.
"Mallikarjun Kharge should have become the chief minister long ago. I feel injustice has been done to him. I would like to clearly say Kharge has not been given recognition for the work he has done (for his party)," Kumaraswamy said, adding there has been a "fault somewhere".
Kharge could have become the CM in the current coalition government but he said he will abide by the Congress leadership's decision, Kumaraswamy revealed.
Latching onto the remarks, Yeddyurappa asked Kumaraswamy to resign and make Kharge CM.
"He (Kumaraswamy) has said he (Kharge) should have become CM long ago. To make his dream come true, let him resign tomorrow itself and make Kharge the chief minister," the BJP leader told reporters in Kalaburagi Wednesday.
Senior BJP legislator Basanagouda Patil Yatnal termed Kumaraswamy's remarks a conspiracy aimed at creating a rift between Siddaramaiah and Kharge to continue in power.
"If he wants to make Kharge (CM), he can give up the seat for him. It is kind of a drama (by Kumaraswamy)," he said, adding no one, even in Congress, was interested in making Kharge CM.
Yeddyurappa, however, claimed the Congress-JD(S) government would fall due to a rift between both parties.
"I have never said we will topple the government. We are not making attempts. JD(S) and Congress are fighting each other and because of their differences, the government will collapse," he said.
Siddaramaiah, the coalition coordination committee chairman, has termed the growing clamour within Congress to make him the chief minister as an expression of supporters' affection, but said he still stands by his word to not contest the next assembly election.
Chincholi assembly seat will go to bypolls on May 19.
Subhash Rathod is the Congress candidate there.
Kharge has been elected twice from Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency and has been a central cabinet minister during Congress rule in the past.
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Trump rushed out of dinner event after shots fired; one arrested
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump and other top White House officials were evacuated unharmed from the annual dinner of White House correspondents after a man armed with multiple weapons fired shots outside the ballroom of the hotel.
The incident took place at around 8:34 PM local time when dinner was served. At that time, Trump was seen having a conversation with Weijia Jiang, the President of the White House Correspondents' Association, and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to present a show at the marquee event at the Washington Hilton here.
Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.
Several guests at the dinner, including leaders across the political spectrum, journalists and other invitees, ducked under the table, apparently as a reflex reaction.
Putting up a brave face, President Trump later announced on Truth Social that the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom is all that I heard, and many guests ducked under the table,” a C-SPAN reporter at the dinner said.
Hours later, Trump addressed a press conference at the White House and announced that the security personnel had captured one person who hails from California.
“I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. I've heard that many times. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He (the attacker) hadn't reached the area at all. They really got him,” Trump told reporters, recalling the incident.
Trump said one security officer was shot at but saved as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Several protestors had lined up on the road outside the hotel, raising slogans against the Trump administration and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A CNN reporter who was outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton said he saw a gunman opening fire just a few feet away. He was among the dozens of attendees who took cover as law enforcement swarmed the venue.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California.
Asked how Saturday’s incident impacts him as the US president, Trump told reporters he is in a dangerous job but that he is no “basket case.”
“I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled,” Trump said.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
“I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives...everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd,” he said.
“We had some great work done by law enforcement, but in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
