BJP seeks action against CM Kumaraswamy for claims on IT raids
Submits memorandum to Karnataka Governor
Bengaluru, Apr 9: A BJP delegation led by Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar Tuesday submitted a memorandum to Governor Vajubhai Vala seeking action against Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy for claiming to have prior information about I-T raids and 'military operations.'
Kumaraswamy stoked a controversy recently, claiming a retired military officer had told him in 2017 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would create a 'story of a conflict between India and Pakistan' and 'mislead' the people to seek votes.
Coming down heavily on Kumaraswamy's remarks, BJP spokesperson Go Madhusudan had said the chief minister has committed 'treason' by not disclosing the Pulwama ploy despite having knowledge beforehand.
Chandrasekhar, BJP's Karnataka election management co-convenor, said either Kumaraswamy or the military officer should clarify on the prior information about 'surgical strikes' before Lok Sabha elections.
Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister should have reported it to President Pranab Mukherjee, Chandrasekhar said.
"If it is true, it is a violation of the Official Secrets Act by the said military officer.
So, either Kumaraswamy has to divulge the name of that military officer if it is true or confirm that it is a lie," he said in a release here.
On Kumaraswamy's prior information on I-T raids, Chandrasekhar alleged that Kumaraswamy had attempted to intimidate income tax officers which amounted to a clear-cut case of obstruction of justice by Chief Minister of the state.
The MP wanted to know how Kumaraswamy got hold of the information relating to the income tax raid
"And why did he violate his constitutional responsibility to secrecy by revealing that and tipping off those who had collected and hoarded cash?" he asked.
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Bondi Beach shooting suspect conducted firearms training with his father, Australian police say
Melbourne (AP): A man accused of killing 15 people at Sydney's Bondi Beach conducted firearms training in an area of New South Wales state outside of Sydney with his father, Australian police documents released on Monday allege.
The men recorded a video about their justification for the meticulously planned attack, according to a police statement of facts that was made public following Naveed Akram's video court appearance Monday from a Sydney hospital where he has been treated for an abdominal injury.
Officers wounded Akram at the scene of the Dec. 14 shooting and killed his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram.
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The New South Wales state government confirmed Naveed Akram was transferred on Monday from a hospital to a prison. Neither facility was identified by authorities.
The statement alleges the 24-year-old and his father began their attack by throwing four improvised explosive devices toward a crowd celebrating an annual Jewish event at Bondi Beach, but the devices failed to explode.
Police described the devices as three aluminium pipe bombs and a tennis ball bomb containing an explosive, black powder and steel ball bearings. None detonated, but police described them as “viable” IEDs.
Authorities have charged Akram with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder in relation to the wounded survivors and one count of committing a terrorist act.
The antisemitic attack at the start of the eight-day Hanukkah celebration was Australia's worst mass shooting since a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania state in 1996.
The New South Wales government introduced draft laws to Parliament on Monday that Premier Chris Minns said would become the toughest in Australia.
The new restrictions would include making Australian citizenship a condition of qualifying for a firearms license. That would have excluded Sajid Akram, who was an Indian citizen with a permanent resident visa.
Sajid Akram also legally owned six rifles and shotguns. A new legal limit for recreational shooters would be a maximum of four guns.
Police said a video found on Naveed Akram's phone shows him with his father "reciting their political and religious views and appear to summarise their justification for the Bondi terrorist attack.”
The men are seen in the video “condemning the acts of Zionists” while they also “adhere to a religiously motivated ideology linked to the Islamic State,” police said.
Video shot in October shows them “firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner” on grassland surrounded by trees, police said.
“There is evidence that the Accused and his father meticulously planned this terrorist attack for many months,” police allege.
