BJP accuses Congress of not being 'vocal' against rioters in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: The ruling BJP in Karnataka on Wednesday accused the Congress of not being "vocal" against rioters who attacked a legislator of the opposition party in Bengaluru, saying "appeasement" seemed to be its official policy.
The BJP also said Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa must make the rioters pay heavily for destruction of properties.
"Shameful n disgusting! Karnataka Congress is silent on yesterday's vandalism in Bengaluru. Pseudos are also not vocal against this riot! Freedom from fear of riots is what B'luru needs now. Sri B S Yediyurappa must make rioters pay heavily for destruction of properties.#SaveBengaluru," BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao tweeted. Rao is the BJP's in-charge for Karnataka affairs. The BJP is in power in the state.
BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh alleged that the Congress was maintaining "dead silence". He noted that rioters had attacked the house of Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy, a Dalit. "Total support for right to riot. For them appeasement is the only official party policy," he said.
"After 14 hours Karnataka Congress wakes up to blame Naveen for Facebook post & Police for delay in taking action. One straight question. Does your party support riots like this? Why Cong hesitates to condemn riots by minority groups? #CongSupportsRiots," he said in a tweet.
Karnataka Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao hit back at Santhosh, accusing him of using the incident to gain political mileage. His statement is a crude attempt to communalise the issue & divide on caste lines, Rao said, calling it "pathetic and deplorable".
"That's what BJP & RSS do best, play politics over/with dead bodies," he alleged.
Responding to his swipe, Santhosh tweeted, "At least acknowledge that your own Dalit MLA's house was ransacked. The police station was destroyed. Why so much of appeasement, fear when your own MLA is targeted? Be simple & straight Sir."
At least three persons were killed after police opened fire to quell a mob that went on a rampage in Bengaluru.
Rioters were angry over a social media post allegedly put out by the Congress legislator's relative. The post's content was deemed religiously offensives by them.
Police said Naveen, who allegedly put out the post, has been arrested.
Opposition Congress and JD(S) in Karnataka have extended complete support to the state government in establishing peace in violence-hit parts of the city and demanded immediate action against culprits.
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Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London faces tech issue; returns to Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London Heathrow returned to the national capital due to a technical issue on Thursday afternoon after being airborne for nearly seven hours.
The same A350-900 aircraft VT-JRF had faced a technical issue on March 15, following which the plane operating the flight from New York to Delhi was diverted to the Irish town of Shannon, sources said.
An Air India spokesperson said its flight AI111, operating from Delhi to London on Thursday, made a precautionary air-return to the national capital following a suspected technical issue.
"The aircraft landed safely and consistent with Air India's high safety standards, it is currently subject to extensive technical evaluations, which will require additional time to complete," the spokesperson said in a statement.
According to the sources, noises were heard in the aircraft following which it was diverted.
The spokesperson also regretted the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the unforeseen situation and said the airline was making every effort to ensure passengers are able to continue their journey to London at the earliest.
Details about the number of passengers onboard could not be ascertained.
The aircraft operating the flight AI111 was airborne for around four hours before the decision was taken to divert the plane when it was in the Saudi Arabia airspace. In total, the plane was airborne for nearly seven hours before landing back in the national capital, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
The flight had taken off from Delhi around 6 am on Thursday and landed back at about 12.30 pm.
Air India started operating A350-900 planes from January 2024.
