After mocking Shah over illness, Cong MP B.K Hariprasad stokes another row
Bengaluru, Jan 18: A day after mocking Amit Shah over his illness, Congress Rajya Sabha member B K Hariprasad stoked another controversy Friday saying the BJP president was not suffering from 'swine flu'.
"We also know people in AIIMS. He has not been admitted because of the flu. Let me get the fact. Then I will get back to you," the MP said when asked by reporters what he meant by his 'pig fever' jibe.
When asked about the ailment of Shah if it was not swine flu, Hariprasad said that was the report he got.
To a question whether Shah was suffering from something else, he said, "I don't know."
Hariprasad also refused to retract from his remarks made Thursday despite furious reaction by the BJP which has demanded that the Congress sack him and tender a public apology.
"Whatever statement I made is there. I will talk to you later," he said, adding that he spoke in Kannada, which was his mother tongue and there was nothing wrong in that.
Speaking at a Congress protest in Bengaluru against the alleged attempt by the BJP to dislodge the Congress-JDS government in Karnataka by luring the ruling coalition MLAs, Hariprasad had said in Kannada,"As a few legislators have already come back, Amit Shah is shaken and has got fever. It is not a normal fever. It is swine flu."
He added that "You should know that if you try to destabilise the Karnataka government, not just swine flu, you will get vomiting and dysentery also."
Shah was Wednesday admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for treatment of swine flu.
Union ministers, BJP leaders in the state and in Delhi had slammed Hariprasad and used his comments to attack the opposition party.
"The kind of ugly and indecent comments Congress MP B K Hariprasad have made about BJP president Amit Shah's health show the standards of the Congress. Flu is curable but it is difficult to cure Congress leaders' mental illness," Union minister Piyush Goyal had said.
Apart from Goyal several union ministers, including Rajyavardhan Rathore, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, had reacted sharply.
The Congress sought to distance itself with its spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi saying the party could never think of wishing illness to any BJP leader.
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CM Siddaramaiah urges Centre to increase LPG supply
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has urged the Centre to immediately intervene to address a severe shortage of commercial LPG in Bengaluru, saying the crisis is forcing restaurants and related establishments to shut down and impacting a wide cross-section of the public dependent on the hospitality sector.
In a letter written to Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday and shared with the media on Thursday, Siddaramaiah highlighted a sharp mismatch between demand and supply, noting that only a fraction of the required cylinders is being made available.
“As against the demand of 50,000 LPG cylinders from restaurants, hotels, catering establishments and PG accommodations etc., we are able to supply only 1,000 cylinders per day,” the Chief Minister said.
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He added that the shortage has led to a visible increase in shutting down of establishments due to unavailability of commercial LPG, affecting students, IT professionals, farmers, dairy producers and others reliant on the hospitality ecosystem.
Referring to recent directions from the Ministry prioritising domestic LPG supply, Siddaramaiah said the State has taken steps to regulate allocation for essential segments in line with the Centre’s guidelines, but the situation remains critical.
The CM also flagged the absence of an integrated monitoring system for commercial LPG distribution, in contrast to the existing IT system for domestic gas supply, leading to gaps in transparency and oversight.
He further pointed out that Auto LPG, a key fuel for autorickshaws that provide last-mile connectivity in Bengaluru, is also facing similar issues due to the lack of a monitoring mechanism.
Noting that India is expected to receive two LPG tankers soon, Siddaramaiah sought the Union Minister’s intervention to ensure adequate allocation to Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru, considering its operational needs and dependency patterns.
“I request your kind intervention to ensure adequate allocation and availability of commercial LPG and Auto LPG to Karnataka, keeping in view the operational requirements and unique dependency patterns of the State, especially city of Bengaluru,” he said.
