Siddaramiah says JD(S)-Congress government strong, rubbishes Yeddyurappa's claims that it will fall
Bengaluru: Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah Monday asserted that the JDS-Congress government was a 'strong' one and ridiculed state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa for repeatedly claiming that the coalition will collapse.
In a series of tweets, he also said the people's mandate was for continuation of the BJP-led government at the Centre and not for 'toppling' the state government.
"Yeddyurappa has been saying for the past one year the government will fall. He will continue to say the same for the next four years. I am confident the government is strong," Siddaramaiah said.
Referring to Prime Minister Narenda Modi bowing to the Constitution after being elected leader of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance on Saturday, he sought to know which article in the Constitution gave the BJP the right to topple a state government.
"@BSYBJP (Yeddyurappa) claims to form the govt inspite of not having the number. This is not a new drama but this is continuously misleading the public. Mr. @narendramodi bowed to the Constitution but in which article has the constitution given the right for @BJP4India to destabilise our govt (sic)," the Congress Legislature Party leader asked.
He asserted that all Congress MLAs, including dissident leader Ramesh Jarkiholi, were with the party and nobody was leaving.
Dismissing Yeddyurappa's claim that the state government would collapse on June 1, Siddaramaiah dared him to resign from his post if his prediction did not come true.
The BJP has predicted the collapse of the ruling coalition and an increase in its tally in the assembly after the LS poll results, claiming that 20 odd Congress MLAs were unhappy with the government and may take any decision anytime.
Siddaramiah said the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections, in which the BJP won 25 seats, was for continuation of the NDA government at the Centre and not for toppling the government in the state and make Yeddyurappa chief minister again.
"It's nonsense to say the assembly should be dissolved because the Lok Sabha election results were against us," Siddaramaiah said.
Yeddyurappa Sunday told PTI that it was impossible for the BJP to form a government with the JD(S) in the event of the present coalition government collapsing and favoured fresh assembly elections.
"We are ready for fresh assembly elections. There is no option left for our party," Yeddyurappa had said, citing the failure of the previous coalition arrangement between the JD(S) and the BJP in 2007.
His comments came against the backdrop of speculations that the JD(S)-Congress coalition would fall in view of the poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara also exuded confidence that Ramesh Jarkiholi will not leave the party.
"I am pretty confident that he will take a decision in favour of the party and government. Ramesh Jarkiholi is our close friend. I believe that neither he nor his team will leave Congress," he told reporters here Monday.
In response to a question about his resignation, Jarkiholi had Sunday said "Will give (resignation)...will not give it through media, will (discuss with) well wishers and give... I won't say (when)...I may even give after one year."
Jarkiholi has been hobnobbing with the BJP for some time and had threatened to resign from the party along with some MLAs after the Lok Sabha polls.
He had Sunday visited senior BJP leader S M Krishna here in the presence of Yeddyurappa.
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Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
