Yediyurappa cautions party workers against taking opposition lightly
Davangere, Sep 19: Former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Sunday cautioned his party colleagues against taking the opposition lightly in the upcoming elections.
"I have a suggestion to all of you. None of you should take the opposition lightly. They have their own calculation and strengths," Yediyurappa said at the BJP Core Committee meeting here.
The Lingayat strongman claimed that a few Congress leaders are in touch with some BJP leaders.
"You need to tread with confidence without giving chance to such incidents (defection). We have to make a sincere effort for the BJP to come back to power with 140 seats in the next assembly elections," Yediyurappa, who stepped down as the Chief Minister on July 26, said here.
He said the party can be strengthened by inducting into the BJP leaders from SC/ST and OBC communities.
Further, he asked to include a team of 20 to 25 women and the BJP youth wing leaders at the booth level organisation.
Yediyurappa also appealed to the party functionaries to make the welfare programmes of the Centre and the state government reach every household.
He also told the gathering that he would take up a state-wide tour shortly to strengthen the party base.
Yediyurappa reminded the core committee members that the BJP has to win both Hanagal and Sindagi assembly bypolls because its failure will send the wrong signals.
"No one here should assume that Hanagal and Sindagi are easy turfs," Yediyurappa said.
Speaking about the demolition of temple in Nanjangud in Mysuru recently, which drew widespread criticism, Yediyurappa said a decision has been taken not to allow destruction of any temples anywhere.
He also said that the BJP government will file a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking "correction" in the judgment.
"Whatever has happened is now over. It will not be repeated. Those party workers who are upset should take note of this," Yediyurappa said.
BJP state chief Nalin Kumar Kateel and BJP national general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Arun Singh too addressed the gathering.
In his address, Kateel took a dig at Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah regarding his criticism of temple demolition in Nanjangud.
He said this is one instance which occurred without the knowledge of the government but the Congress government turned a blind eye to the attacks and murders of many BJP workers in Karnataka.
Senior party functionaries such as union ministers Pralhad Joshi, Shobha Karanjlaje and D V Sadananda Gowda, Karnataka ministers, former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, his son and BJP state vice-president B Y Vijayendra, BJP MLAs, MLCs, MPs and district level BJP functionaries are attending the event.
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Owaisi seeks independent probe into cleric’s death on train, calls it ‘transit-based hate crime’
New Delhi: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has written to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, requesting an independent investigation into the death of Maulana Tousif Raza Mazhari, who allegedly died after being assaulted on a train in Uttar Pradesh on April 26.
In his letter, Owaisi defined the incident as a "transit-based hate crime" and raised concerns about what he called frequent attempts to dismiss such incidents as unintentional.
According to The Observer Post, Mazhari was travelling on Train No. 04314 after attending a religious meeting in Bareilly when the incident occurred.
The Hyderabad MP also demanded financial compensation for the victim’s family and a government job on compassionate grounds for a dependent. He noted that the deceased was the sole breadwinner.
According to the family, Mazhari, an imam and madrasa teacher from Kishanganj, was allegedly assaulted by a group of passengers who accused him of theft. His wife, Tabassum Khatoon, claimed she witnessed part of the incident during a video call, in which he was seen being beaten and dragged despite identifying himself as a teacher.
Police in Bareilly said the case came to light after a body was recovered near railway tracks on April 27. The incident was initially treated as a possible accidental fall. However, following objections raised by the family, officials said further investigation is underway.
The case has drawn reactions from several opposition leaders, including Md Jawaid, Imran Pratapgarhi, and Chandrashekhar Azad. They questioned the initial police version and called for a transparent investigation.
