BJP attempting 'Operation Kamala' to destabilise govt, but will not be successful: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Accusing BJP of attempting 'Operation Kamala' to destabilise his government, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday asserted that they will not be successful in their efforts, as none of the Congress legislators will fall victim to it.
'Operation Kamala' (Operation Lotus) refers to an alleged attempt of the BJP to engineer defection of opponent party legislators to install its own government and to ensure its stability.
The CM was reacting to party's Mandya MLA Ravikumar Gowda's (Ravi Ganiga) statement that a team which was behind the fall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2019 was now working to lure Congress legislators with allurements like Rs 50 crore and a minister post, and four legislators have already been contacted, and there is evidence for it, which will be shared soon.
"I don't know, I haven't spoken to Ravi (Ravikumar Gowda), who has made the statement. But, I too have the information that BJP is attempting Operation Kamala to destabilise this government," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question on MLA's statement.
Speaking to reporters here, he asserted that the saffron party will never be successful as no Congress MLA will fall victim to 'Operation Kamala'.
Gowda had also claimed that BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa's former PA, who had joined JD(S) and lost the assembly polls, was among those behind activities to lure legislators.
In his response to Gowda's remarks, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said, "Big conspiracy is being hatched, but it will not bear fruit. We are aware of everyone's conduct. He (Gowda) has taken a youngster's name, but big people are making efforts in this (Operation Kamala). Nothing will happen."
Recently, Shivakumar himself had alleged that a team is active in the BJP to destabilise the state government, and the Congress legislators have apprised him and Siddaramaiah, as to who is in touch with them and what offer is being made to them.
Urging Congress MLAs not to make any open statements on matters related to the party's internal affairs or regarding the administration, Shivakukumar, who is also the Congress' state chief today said, "this is both the last warning and request. If such statements are made in the future, it will be inevitable for me to issue notice."
Gowda had on Friday claimed that Shivakumar will become the CM after two-and-half years of the Siddaramaiah-led government's tenure, which has caused flutters within party circles.
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.
Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
