Bengaluru: People object to PM Modi’s campaign for candidate facing attempt to murder charges
Bengaluru: The propriety of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's road show in Bengaluru for BJP candidate N Chandra from Shivajinagar has come under question due to the candidate's criminal case of attempted murder. Chandra, who is facing charges of attacking Dr. UV Singh, former head of the Lokayukta investigation team and chief forest preservation officer of the Lake Development Authority during an investigation into illegal mining activities, had a case filed against him at the Amrutahalli Police Station in 2011. While his brother and uncle were arrested, Chandra was absconding and later granted bail.
On Saturday, Modi conducted a road show to campaign for Chandra, which has raised many eyebrows, with members of political parties and citizens questioning the propriety of the Prime Minister's decision. The Aam Aadmi Party's state president Mukund Gowda tweeted, citing Basavanna's lines referring to closeness, "Just as Basavanna stated, 'Iva Nammava, Iva Nammava' (He's ours), PM Modi too is attempting to show that every rogue, murderer, fraudster, and anti-social element is one of theirs."
Gowda went on to criticize the BJP for continuing to expand its foothold as a party centered around rowdyism, calling it unfortunate that the Prime Minister and senior leader of a national party stoops to such low levels. He also questioned whether the Prime Minister was completely in the dark about the matter, given that he had pretended to cancel his campaign rally when a long list of cases against the BJP candidate from Chittapura in Kalaburagi district was revealed.
Congress candidate Rizwan Arshad commented on the matter, saying, "The BJP is a party that depends on its theatrics. Every one of us is well aware who is on the side of the criminals - and the voters will display their awareness during elections."
The hearing of Chandra's case is pending in the 65th CCH Court. Many people in Bengaluru and members of political parties are questioning the propriety of the Prime Minister campaigning for a candidate who faces such serious charges.
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
