Bengaluru deserves action, not excuses and intimidation: R Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Tuesday accused the Congress government in Karnataka of "Tax Chori" (tax theft) and said Bengaluru deserves action to address its infrastructure woes, not excuses and intimidation.
Ashoka, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, attacked the government by highlighting a citizens' forum's letter urging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to intervene and direct the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) not to collect property tax from residents, complaining that "unscientific and incomplete" civic works in their locality have led to flooding and poor road conditions.
The tax chori allegation is also seen as a counter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori" (votes theft) charge against the BJP and the Election Commission.
"Mr Rahul Gandhi, Bengaluru has a new slogan: CONGRESS TAX CHOR HAI!," Ashoka said in a post on 'X' alleging that the government is collecting taxes, but not building roads or fixing drains.
"Thanks to the apathy of CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, Bengaluru citizens are fed up and demanding: STOP THIS TAX CHORI!" he said.
Ashoka said it is unprecedented in India's history, where citizens are writing to the CM saying-- "stop collecting our taxes until you stop stealing our money!"
"Bengaluru deserves action, not excuses and intimidation," he added.
In a letter dated October 13 addressed to the chief minister, the residents of the Varthur-Balagere-Panathur area, under the banner of the "Individual Tax Payers Forum", which represents income tax payers and advocates for their rights, alleged that they have been suffering due to "half-measured, unscientific, and poorly coordinated" road white-topping and stormwater drainage works carried out by municipal authorities in their areas.
The state government has come under criticism over the poor state of infrastructure like roads and traffic issues in the city, for some time now, with industry veterans like former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw repeatedly openly urging the state government to immediately intervene.
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Pune airport runway restored after IAF aircraft snag; ops resume
Pune (PTI): The runway at Pune airport, which was temporarily unavailable due to an incident involving an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft, has now been restored and declared operational, the Air Force said on Saturday.
The authorities at the Pune International Airport had earlier said that around 10.25 pm on Friday, a fighter aircraft experienced an undercarriage failure during landing, causing the runway to be blocked.
As many as 91 flights of airlines, including IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, Akasa, and Air India Express, were affected due to the incident, they said.
Earlier on Friday night, the Air Force had stated that the runway at Pune airport was temporarily unavailable following an incident involving one of its fighter aircraft. The aircrew are safe, and there is no damage to civil property, it had said.
"The runway at Pune Airport, which was temporarily unavailable due to an incident involving an Indian Air Force aircraft, has now been restored and declared operational. All necessary safety inspections and clearances have been completed. Operations are resuming in a phased manner," it said in a post on X.
Flight operations at Pune airport are being gradually restored. The situation has been brought under control with the highest priority given to the safety of citizens, a Defence PRO said.
