They've unleashed terror in country: Rajasthan CM targets BJP after ED action
Jaipur (PTI) Slamming the ED action against his son Vaibhav and Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Thursday accused the BJP of unleashing "terror" in the country.
Gehlot also said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) swung into action after he announced two poll promises on Wednesday for women of the state.
He said that five more promises are also going to be declared on Friday and dared the ED to find five more Congress leaders to take action.
The chief minister also likened the ED action to locust attack and said the ED raids would destroy "BJP's crops".
Gehlot claimed that ED raids happen wherever elections are held. Be it Chhattisgarh, Karnataka or Himachal Pradesh, ED raids happened just before elections, the chief minister said.
"Raids happened but the Congress won the elections. The situation is worrisome. They have unleashed terror in the country," Gehlot said at a press conference here.
Asserting that the Congress "will not be scared no matter how hard they try", he alleged the BJP was targeting him through ED raids as they could not topple his government.
"We will win the elections," the chief minister asserted.
The ED on Thursday raided the premises of state Congress president Dotasra and Omprakash Hudla, the party's candidate from Mahua assembly seat, as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged exam paper leak case in the poll-bound state.
The agency has also summoned Vaibhav Gehlot for questioning in a case related to alleged contravention of the foreign exchange law.
After the raids, Congress workers sat on a dharna in Sikar and Jaipur and raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Citing data, Gehlot said that 112 searches by the ED happened during 10 years of UPA rule and charge sheets were filed in 104 cases. But after 2014, as many as 3,010 raids happened and charge sheets were filed in 881 cases, he said.
He said, "The locusts come here from Pakistan and eat the crops. ED will destroy their (BJP's) crops. ED will worsen the condition of BJP... word will spread in every village that (they) are using ED like locusts," he said.
Referring to the 2020 political crisis, Gehlot said that Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah could not topple the Congress government in Rajasthan, hence the state and he (Gehlot) are their target.
"They are targeting me because, be it Prime Minister Modi or Amit Shah, they could not topple the government in Rajasthan. That pain is so terrible for them. Rajasthan is deliberately their biggest target because their attempts failed here," he said.
Gehlot said that the situation in the country is worrying and "terror" is being created through investigative agencies.
"They know that the Congress is going to give seven 'guarantees' (poll promises). Two guarantees were given yesterday in the presence of Priyanka Gandhi. Five more are yet to be announced. Those guarantees will be announced tomorrow," he said.
In a public rally of AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi in Jhunjhunu on Wednesday, CM Gehlot promised two "guarantees" if the Congress is re-elected in the state -- cooking gas cylinders for Rs 500 to 1.05 crore families and an annual honorarium of Rs 10,000 to the woman head of a family in instalments.
Gehlot said that the state investigating agency sent letters to the ED six times in the Sanjeevani Credit Cooperative Society "scam" case but the federal agency was not taking any action.
The CM has been targeting Union minister and Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, while accusing him of being involved in the "scam".
The Congress' state in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and state ministers Mahesh Joshi and Pratap Singh Khachariyawas were among those present at the press conference.
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
