Will send aircraft for Rahul Gandhi to visit Kashmir: JK Governor
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Monday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks that there have been reports of violence in Kashmir, saying he will send him an aircraft to visit the valley and observe the ground situation.
The governor said Gandhi should feel ashamed about the behaviour of one of his leaders who was talking like an "idiot" in Parliament.
"I have invited Rahul Gandhi to come here. I will send you a plane, to observe (the situation) and then speak up. You are a responsible person and you should not speak like this," Malik said.
Malik was replying to a question about statements and reports by some leaders and the media about the violence in Kashmir.
On Saturday night, Gandhi said that some reports had come in from Jammu and Kashmir about the violence there and Prime Minister Narendra Modi must assuage concerns over the matter in a transparent manner.
The governor said there was no communal angle in scrapping provisions of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Scrapping of Article 370 and Article 35-A was for everyone. There is no communal angle (for scrapping it) in Leh, Kargil, Jammu, Rajouri-Poonch and not here either (Kashmir). There is no communal angle to it," he said.
Malik said that the issue was being fanned by some people but they were not successful in it.
"Foreign press has made an attempt (of wrong reportage) and we have warned them. All hospitals are open for you and if even a single person has been hit by a bullet, prove it. But only four people were hit by pellets in legs when there was violence by youths and there were no serious injuries to anyone," he said.
Replying to a question about allegations that Kashmir has been turned into a concentration camp, the governor said that despite being educated, people don't know the meaning of a concentration camp.
"I know what it is. I have gone to jail 30 times. Even then, I will not term it as a concentration camp. They (Congress) imprisoned people for one-and-half-years during Emergency, but nobody termed them concentration camps. Is preventative arrest (equal to) a concentration camp," he asked.
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Karnataka bypolls: Over 60 per cent voter turnout in Bagalkot, Davanagere South till 5 pm
Bengaluru (PTI): Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in both Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, where bypolls were held on Thursday.
While the turnout in Bagalkot was 65.68 per cent, it was 63.04 per cent in Davanagere South.
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP aims to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
