Rahul mocks Modi for garlanding Basavanna in London
Bengaluru, April 26: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his garlanding of Karnataka's 12th century social reformer Basavanna's bust in London recently and accused him of not practising the saint poet's preachings.
"Modi has garlanded the bust of Basavanna, but does not follow his words or practise the reformer's preaching to 'Walk the Talk'," said Gandhi at a public meeting at Honnavar in Karnataka's Uttara Kannada district, about 450 km from here.
During his three-day visit to London from April 18 to 20, Modi garlanded Basavanna's bust located at Albert Embankment Gardens on the banks of Thames River in the British capital on April 18.
Later, during an interaction -- Bharat ki Baat, Sabke Saath -- with the Indian Diaspora at the Westminster Hall in London, Modi mentioned Basavanna's "vachanas" (sermons) and how they are so relevant even in the 21st century.
Criticising Modi for calling the Siddaramaiah government in the state "a 10 per cent commission sarkar", Gandhi questioned the Prime Minister's right to speak on corruption, sitting next to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s chief ministerial face B.S. Yeddyurappa, who "went to jail on corruption charges".
As the party's first Chief Minister in south India, Yeddyurappa resigned on July 31, 2011 after the state's anti-graft watchdog (Lokayukta) named him in a probe report on the multi-crore mining scam that rocked the state for over a decade from 2001-10.
Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the poll-bound southern state starting Thursday, launched the ruling party's campaign for the May 12 legislative assembly elections in the coastal region.
He participated in road shows, held interactive sessions and addressed corner meetings in Ankola, Kumta, Honnavar and Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district.
At Kumta, Gandhi said Siddaramaiah had waived loans of thousands of farmers to provide them relief from distress and agrarian crisis due to successive droughts in the state, whereas the Modi government did nothing for them.
Gandhi will release the party's election manifesto in the port city of Mangaluru on Friday, along with senior leaders like Karnataka in-charge K.C. Venugopal and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Adequate LPG stock in Chhattisgarh, no need to panic, says CM Sai
Raipur (PTI): Amid reports of shortage of commercial LPG cylinder in several parts of the country due to the US-Israel-Iran conflict, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday assured people that they need not worry about the availability of cooking gas in the state.
He asserted that adequate stock of LPG as well as petrol and diesel was available in the state.
Sai said in a statement that authorities have been directed to regularly monitor stock at gas agencies and keep a close watch on the supply chain. Necessary instructions were issued to officials in all districts to ensure a smooth supply of LPG.
The chief minister instructed officials to take strict action if any complaint of black marketing or hoarding of LPG cylinders is received.
Sai urged state residents not to pay attention to rumours and to book cooking gas cylinders as per their actual requirement.
The government was fully alert to ensure the availability of essential commodities to citizens, he emphasised.
Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh Hotel and Restaurant Association has issued an advisory to hotels, restaurants, caterers and other food businesses across the state, urging them to maintain calm and avoid panic buying.
In the advisory, Taranjeet Singh Hora, president of the association, asked members to maintain coordination and immediately inform it about any major disruption in LPG supply.
He cautioned businesses against hoarding cylinders, saying such practices could worsen the situation for the entire hospitality sector.
The association advised hotels and restaurants to prioritise essential kitchen operations, core menu items and already committed banquet events.
Use electric cooking equipment wherever possible for emergency and staff kitchens such as induction cooktops, electric hot plates, electric rice cookers and kettles, the advisory stated.
