BJP trying to lure our leaders and legislators: Karnataka Cong chief DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Jan 26: Accusing the BJP of trying to lure his party's leaders and legislators, state Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday indicated that he too was not silent and that many leaders from the saffron party are in touch with him.
His comments came a day after former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar rejoined the BJP quitting Congress. He had joined Congress, ahead of Assembly polls last year, after being denied ticket by the BJP to contest the elections.
"I'm in talks with several (BJP) leaders, many are looking at us, I don't want to reveal names," Shivakumar told reporters here as he accused BJP of making all efforts to lure Congress leaders into the party.
"Whom have they left? They are trying every one, I don't want to take names. But we too know the job, I'm not speaking now that's all, if not (their) houses would have become empty by now, but we are remaining silent that's all," he added.
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On some BJP leaders claiming to be in touch with several Congress leaders and legislators, Shivakumar said, "Don't they know that I'm too in touch with them. Have they left me? Should I read the list...let's not do it now."
Noting that Shettar had joined Congress unconditionally after quitting BJP accusing it of insulting and ill treating him, Shivakumar said, considering his stature being a senior leader, Congress gave him ticket to contest Assembly polls and despite him losing the polls by a margin of about 35,000 votes, the party made him an MLC.
"Denying a loyal party worker the ticket, we gave him a ticket and treated him with respect.....we were aware about BJP leaders contacting him from the last two-three months, and he kept saying he will not go. Day before yesterday I had spoken to him, but all of a sudden, he announced quitting the party," he said.
Shettar may have quit the party, but Congress is like an ocean, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief said hundreds of people may come to the party, and hundreds may quit, but no one can do anything to Congress.
"We have won 136 seats on our strength in assembly polls. Because of our own mistakes we might have lost seven to eight seats, or else our calculation was over 141 seats."
He further said, Shettar quitting the Congress may cause "just one day's embarrassment to the party before the media, but the party workers are happy about him going out, as it will help them in organising Congress much better."
"Congress will give the seat vacated by Shettar to a loyal Congress worker and fight it out.....Congress is like an ocean, we are least bothered (about Shettar joining BJP)," he added.
Shivakumar also said that Congress MLA Laxman Savadi, who too had joined the party quitting BJP ahead of Assembly polls, has assured that he will remain in the Congress and work for the party.
"He (Savadi) is a leader of the party and will be an asset to the party," he added.
Shivakumar, hitting out at JD(S) and its leader H D Kumaraswamy for allying with BJP which had brought down the Congress-JD(S) coalition government led by him with the help of "operation Kamala", said: JD(S) and Kumaraswamy have become spokesperson for BJP.
"They (JDS) are hugging and having a relationship with the party that removed them from power," he added.
Responding to a question on Minister K N Rajanna's alleged comments violating the party discipline that has embarrassed the party, Shivakumar said, he (Rajanna) is cabinet minister and the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will respond to it; also high command and national president of Congress are watching.
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49 killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza over 24 hours as mediators scramble to restart ceasefire
Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip), Apr 26 (AP): At least 49 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to health officials, as Arab mediators scrambled to restart a ceasefire.
An airstrike in a neighbourhood in western Gaza City early Saturday morning, flattened a three-story house, killing 10 people, according to a cameraman cooperating with The Associated Press.
The number was confirmed by Gaza's Health Ministry, along with three more people who were killed in the Shati refugee camp along the city's shoreline.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the strikes.
The attacks come as Hamas said on Saturday that it sent a high-level delegation to Cairo to try and get the stalled ceasefire back on track.
Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas last month and has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is destroyed, or disarmed and sent into exile. It says it will hold parts of Gaza indefinitely and implement President Donald Trump's proposal for the resettlement of the population in other countries, which has been widely rejected internationally.
Hamas has said it will only release the dozens of hostages it holds in return for Palestinian prisoners, a complete Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire, as called for in the now-defunct agreement reached in January.
Hamas said on Saturday that the delegation will discuss with Egyptian officials the group's vision to end the war, which includes the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and reconstruction.
Earlier this week, other Hamas officials arrived in Cairo to discuss a proposal that would include a five-to-seven year truce and the release of all remaining hostages, officials said.
Egypt and Qatar are still developing the proposal, which would include the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to an Egyptian official and a Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief media.
Meanwhile, Israel has continued its nearly two-month blockade on Gaza even as aid groups warn that supplies are dwindling.
On Friday, the World Food Program said its food stocks in Gaza had run out, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.
The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.
About 80 per cent of Gaza's population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel's blockade, according to the UN.
The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told The Associated Press.
Israel's offensive has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The war began when Hamas-led group stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. The fighter group still have 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
