Parameshwara being targeted in gold smuggling case amid Cong power struggle, alleges HD Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, May 23 (PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday alleged that Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara is being deliberately implicated in the gold smuggling case involving Kannada actress Ranya Rao, as part of an internal power struggle within the ruling Congress party.
He also claimed that the motive is to sideline Parameshwara and derail his leadership ambitions.
In a statement, Kumaraswamy noted that Parameshwara's recent moves to organise a dalit convention and engage with senior party leaders in New Delhi may have ruffled feathers in the party.
He also referred to statements made by state Minister K N Rajanna in the assembly, hinting at surveillance and manipulation by a powerful political figure.
Kumaraswamy also said Rajanna’s remarks may now be relevant given the current developments.
The Union Minister also wondered how a Congress insider came to know about the alleged smuggling attempt involving an actress and how the information reached the authorities.
He raised doubts about whether the Intelligence Department, which reports directly to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, was truly unaware of these developments.
According to him, the gold smuggling case was being used to undermine Parameshwara's credibility and block his rise within the party.
A senior Congress leader, eyeing the CM’s post, may be orchestrating the situation behind the scenes.
Kumaraswamy further criticised the Congress party for blaming the central government while ignoring the internal power politics unfolding within their own ranks.
Lashing out at Kumaraswamy over the matter, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said, “Kumaraswamy has lost his mental balance.”
Shivakumar was speaking to reporters in Vijayapura.
Rao, the step daughter of DGP rank officer K Ramachandra Rao, was arrested on March 3 at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru after arriving from Dubai. Acting on a tip-off, DRI officials detained her and recovered 14.2 kg of gold bars valued at over Rs 12.56 crore from her.
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Rahul Gandhi should've been allowed to quote Naravane's 'memoir' in LS: Sharad Pawar
Baramati (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi should have been allowed in the Lok Sabha to quote from an unpublished "memoir" of former Army chief MM Naravane.
The controversy on the memoir, 'Four Stars of Destiny', centres on the events of the Indo-China stand-off in 2020.
A row erupted in the Lok Sabha on Monday after Gandhi sought to quote from the unpublished "memoir" of former Army chief Naravane, but Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with other BJP members, strongly opposed it and accused the Congress leader of "misleading" the House.
Pawar said Gandhi "should have been allowed" to speak on the subject in Parliament during the Budget session.
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"If the former Army chief has written something and if the leader of the opposition is saying something, then it is his (Gandhi's) right and he should have been given that opportunity," the Rajya Sabha member said at a press conference in Baramati.
He said that an atmosphere of suspicion should not prevail unnecessarily in the country.
"The former Army chief has written something in the book which shows there was some concerning situation. If a discussion had taken place in Parliament on the issue, people could have got a clear picture," Pawar said.
Though the book is unpublished, Gandhi held a copy of it and the Lok Sabha speaker asked to authenticate the copy, he noted. "Why was there opposition (to Gandhi) when the copy was authenticated?" Pawar asked.
Gandhi on Wednesday cited the unpublished "memoir" to claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not fulfil his responsibility during the India-China conflict in 2020 and passed the buck on to Naravane.
Addressing reporters in the premises of Parliament House complex, Gandhi held up Naravane's unpublished "memoir" and said he would like the youngsters in India to know that this 'book' exists despite the government claiming otherwise.
He said Naravane has written the full account of what happened in Ladakh.
Gandhi has also written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, lodging his strong protest over being disallowed from speaking in the House on a matter of national security and terming it a "blot on our democracy".
He has also said that it was for the first time in history that LoP was not allowed to speak on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
