Shivakumar rules out differences of opinion with Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday once again dismissed reports of internal differences with CM Siddaramaiah, asserting that he never took any MLAs to Delhi amid speculation over leadership changes that had erupted earlier.
On Saturday, the two leaders had a breakfast meeting after which they put up a united front, denying any difference between them.
"We never had differences of opinion. I never took a single MLA whenever I went to Delhi. I could have taken at least 10 to 12 MLAs. That does not serve any purpose," Shivakumar told reporters here.
He said that he being the Karnataka Pradesh Congress president is like a "father figure" to all the party members.
"I have to take everyone along. All 140 MLAs are dear to me. I never differentiate with anyone. I have no differences of opinion with anyone," the Deputy CM said.
Recalling his efforts during H D Kumaraswamy's tenure as chief minister for a year from May 2018, he said, "I tried my best to save the coalition government of Congress and JD(S). This is something which I and God know."
He added that Kumaraswamy and his father former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda also know it.
Responding to Kumaraswamy's charge that Shivakumar had sought the support of pontiffs in the midst of power tussle, he said, "I never asked for it. I love all the castes. Many seers had spoken in my favour. Did I ask them to speak on my behalf? No. It is their love and trust in me. Should I call that wrong?"
"Let him (Kumaraswamy) say whatever he wants, but I will not get hurt. I never backstab. I fight from the front," Shivakumar said.
On the BJP's criticism over the leadership row, he remarked, "The BJP can say anything for survival. Should we take them seriously?"
The Deputy CM said that he wants to convene an all-party meeting in Delhi to highlight host of issues pertaining to the state, including farmers issue and Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir project, in view of parliament session starting from December 1.
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Indigo flights chaos: SCR to run special trains to clear passenger rush
Hyderabad (PTI): The South Central Railway on Saturday announced that it would run four special trains to manage the surge in passengers resulting from the large-scale cancellation of IndiGo flights here.
The move comes as flyers face significant disruption and long queues at the airport due to the cancellation.
A press release from the SCR said it is running the special trains to clear the extra rush of passengers to Chennai, Mumbai and Shalimar (Kolkata) from Hyderabad today.
Meanwhile, as many as 43 outbound Indigo flights were cancelled from here on Saturday, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport sources said.
ALSO READ: IndiGo cancels over 200 flights from Delhi, Mumbai on Saturday
Similarly, 26 incoming flights are also likely to be cancelled during the day, they said.
The flight cancellations drew ire from passengers, who thronged the IndiGo counters at the airport demanding to know the exact situation.
“This is utter nonsense! Digiyatra done, message received that departure has been rescheduled ahead of the scheduled departure and now upon arriving at Hyderabad airport coming to know at the security checkpoint that Indigo flight is cancelled,” Tarun Singha, former Ministry of Defence spokesperson said in a post on X.
“But the thing is if you don’t shout they do nothing. Example at Hyderabad Airport, there was no staff no flight information for an hour. Then a fellow passenger started shouting on mic and an Indigo staff appeared finally,” a netizen said in a post.
On Friday, when IndiGo cancelled over 1,000 flights from across airports, its CEO Pieter Elbers apologised in a video message for the major inconvenience caused to passengers due to the disruptions.
In the one-way video communication, Elbers also said that the airline was expecting fewer than 1,000 flights on Saturday.
