Rahul Gandhi to pay obeisance to Basaveshwara on Basava Jayanti in Karnataka today
Bagalkote (k'taka) (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will begin his two-day visit to poll-bound Karnataka on Sunday by offering obeisance to 12th-century poet and social reformer Basaveshwara at his resting place in Kudala Sangama, on the occasion of his birth anniversary which is observed as "Basava Jayanti".
On his arrival in Hubballi from Delhi, the former AICC President will travel to Kudala Sangama by helicopter for the darshan at Sangamanatha temple and of the Aikya Linga.
Kudala Sangama, situated at the confluence of the rivers Krishna and Malaprabha in Bagalakote district, is a pilgrim centre. The Aikya Mantapa or the holy Samadhi of Basaveshwara, popularly known as Basavanna, the founder of the Lingayat sect, along with a Linga, which is believed to be self-born (Swayambhu), is here.
Kudala Sangama is also famed for its Chalukyan-style Sangameshwara temple where it is believed that Basavanna had worshipped lord Shiva.
According to his tour plan, shared with the media, Gandhi will then participate in the Basava Jayanti celebration organised by Utsava Samithi (festival committee) at Basava Mantapa, and take prasada (lunch) at Kudala Sangama dasoha bhavan.
This visit of Gandhi is seen as an attempt by the Congress to bolster the Lingayat outreach, ahead of the May 10 Assembly polls in the state. Lingayats are a dominant community constituting about 17 per cent of the state's population, largely seen as ruling BJP's vote-bank.
He will then leave for Vijayapura where in the evening he will hold a roadshow. He is expected to address the public at Shivaji Circle/Kanakadasa Circle there.
On Monday, Gandhi will be in Belagavi's Ramdurg where he will interact with sugarcane farmers, later take part in Yuva Samvaad in Gadag and address Public Meeting at Hangal, before leaving for Delhi.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
