BJP unable to mobilise funds as it's almost certain of losing 5 state elections: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday hit out at the BJP, alleging that the IT and ED raids are being carried out to blackmail rich businessmen and contractors to collect money, as the party is unable to mobilise funds like before and it is almost certain about defeat in the upcoming five state elections.
Targeting the BJP and its leaders for charging the Congress government led by him with corruption, the CM claimed that the J P Nadda-led party is already looking for lame excuses to explain its drubbing in the upcoming elections.
He was reacting to BJP's allegation that crores of rupees recovered from contractors during the recent IT department searches, was commission money collected at the behest of the ruling Congress in Karnataka to fund the party for elections in five states.
"The BJP is not being able to mobilise funds like before as it is almost certain about their defeat in the upcoming five state elections as well as in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Moreover, its biggest source of 40 per cent commission in Karnataka has also stopped now.
Hence, IT-ED attacks are being carried out to blackmail rich businessmen and contractors to collect money," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
Looking at the recent political developments, the BJP's defeat appears imminent in the assembly elections of the five states, the CM claimed. "So, the party is already looking for lame excuses to explain its drubbing. It won't be surprising if a statement from the BJP comes out the day after the election saying that we lost because of the Congress party's money power."
The details of money collected by BJP through electoral bonds is the proof that which party is involved in looting money for its electoral politics, the Chief Minister said, adding that between March 2018 and January 2023, electoral bonds worth Rs 12,008 crore were sold, of which Rs 5,272 crore belong to the BJP.
"Did the businessmen give this money voluntarily? Or were they blackmailed?" he asked.
Siddaramaiah alleged that former BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa went to jail after getting caught red-handed while taking hefty bribes, but when he was released on bail, BJP leaders carried him on their shoulders. "But now they are demanding our resignations for the money found in the house of some private contractor. Does the BJP have any morality?"
The faces of BJP leaders dominate in the state's history of corruption scandals, he said.
State BJP leaders such as former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, former ministers G Janardhana Reddy, Katta Subrahmanya Naidu and Krishnaiah Shetty, former MLA Sampangi, and Virupakshappa - all have been jailed on corruption charges. The people of the state are taking note of this and laughing at those accusing us of corruption, the Chief Minister said.
Alleging that former ministers K S Eshwarappa, Muniratna, K Sudhakar and B C Patil of BJP were accused of charging 40 per cent commission, Siddaramaiah said former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and state BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel have been implicated in the Bitcoin scam.
"Dr Ashwath Narayan, B Y Vijayendra and Araga Jnanendra (BJP leaders) are facing charges of involvement in the PSI recruitment scam. B L Santosh, Sunil Kumar and C T Ravi (BJP leaders) have been named in the election ticket fraud case. It is ridiculous that all of them are accusing us of corruption," he said.
"It is amusing to see ex-minister Eshwarappa, who was allegedly the reason behind the suicide of a contractor, and Yediyurappa, who has been jailed over corruption allegations, pontificating on the issue of corruption now," he added.
It is ironic that these BJP leaders, who have "looted money" from corporates and handed over the country to "the king of corporate corruption Adani", are talking about corruption today, the CM said.
"Each of the scams of businessman Gautam Adani is crossing lakhs of crores (of rupees). There is no accounting for the misappropriation of thousands of crores (of rupees). The leaders of BJP, especially (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, have not been able to answer even one of the countless questions asked by the Congress party in this regard."
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
