Section 144 imposed near hotel where Karnataka rebel MLAs are staying
Mumbai: Mumbai Police on Wednesday imposed prohibitory orders near the hotel where the rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs from Karnataka are staying, an official said.
Congress leader and Karnataka minister D K Shivakumar was earlier prevented from entering the Renaissance Hotel in Powai area when he insisted on meeting the rebel MLAs in a desperate bid to pull the Congress-JD(S) government from the brink of collapse..
"We have invoked Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) Section 144 near the hotel," a senior police official said. Section 144 of the CrPC prohibits an assembly of more than four persons in an area.
Shivakumar and his supporters, however, refused to leave the place.
There was high drama as security personnel, camera crews, media personnel and political supporters jostled with each other outside the luxury hotel. Another group shouted slogans such as "Shivakumar go back".
As the showdown intensified, an e-mail from the hotel to a Ms Hetavi revealed a room had been booked but the reservation was cancelled due to "some emergency".
Ten of the 12 MLAs in the hotel have written to Mumbai Police, saying they feared a threat to their lives and Shivakumar should be prevented from entering the hotel.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Milind Deora alleged that the BJP was "sponsoring this sabotage".
"I urge the Karnataka MLAs to return to Bengaluru & resolve the matter constitutionally. BJP is sponsoring this sabotage by misusing its power in Maharashtra," Deora, who earlier resigned as Mumbai Congress president, said in a tweet.
He also extended his support to Shivakumar, who is currently outside the hotel where the rebel MLAs are staying.
"I have spoken to @DKShivakumar ji & assured him that local Congress leaders & workers are available to lend any support," he said in the same tweet.
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Kharge expresses regret over 'illiterate' remark, says he has highest of respect for Gujaratis
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New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday expressed regret over his controversial statement calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate", and said he has always had and will continue to have the highest of respect for the people of the state.
In a post on X, the Congress president said, "Some remarks of mine in a recent election speech in Kerala are being deliberately misinterpreted. Even so, I express my sincere regret.
"It was never my intention to hurt the sentiments of the people of Gujarat for whom I have always had and will continue to have the highest of respect."
Kharge on Sunday had sparked a row during his Assembly poll campaign in Kerala, calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate" and claiming they were being "fooled" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At the same time, Kharge said neither Modi nor Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan could fool the people of Kerala, describing them as "very clever and educated".
"Don’t misguide the people of Kerala. They are very clever and educated. Modiji, Vijayan, you both can fool people who are illiterate in Gujarat or other places, but you cannot fool the people of Kerala," the Congress chief had said.
He made the remark while alleging that both Modi and Vijayan were following the same path, with no difference between them except the parties they lead.
The BJP on Tuesday had demanded an apology from Kharge for his remarks, saying that the comment was "shameless, demeaning and utterly despicable."
Addressing a press conference here, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to clarify whether they agreed with Kharge's statement.
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