Savarkar a murderer, says Siddaramaiah
Mangaluru, Oct 18: Calling Veer Savarkar a murderer, former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah slammed the BJP on Friday for its plan to bestow Bharat Ratna to him posthumously.
He said Savarkar was one of the accused in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, but the charges could not be proved due to lack of evidence and he was freed.
"The murderer of Mahatma Gandhi is getting Bharat Ratna! Those who conspired to eliminate Gandhiji are getting Bharat Ratna!
Should BJP be allowed to gain a foothold in Mangaluru, known as a land of intellectuals?" Siddaramaiah asked party workers at a meeting here.
The Maharashtra BJP unit had said in its election manifesto that the party would ask the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar.
Claiming that the accused in 90 out of 100 cases are acquitted, Siddaramaiah alleged that Savarkar was part of the conspiracy to assassinate Gandhi.
"Now they have moved ahead to bestow Bharat Ratna to him! What will happen to the nation? That's why somebody said you give it (Bharat Ratna) to(Nathuram) Godse too.
Godse was the one who assassinated Gandhiji," he said.
Alleging that RSS and Hindu Mahasabha never took part in the freedom struggle, the former chief minister said they all had ganged up with the British.
The Congress leader charged that the Sangh Parivar, including BJP, diverted peoples attention from real issues in the last Lok Sabha elections.
He conceded that the Congress could not convince people of their achievements to counter the 'communal campaign' of the BJP government at the Centre.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the country was facing an economic crisis due to demonetisation and irrational implementation of GST.
He predicted that the BJP government in Karnataka would not survive beyond the assembly by-elections in December.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
