CM Bommai takes a dig at Congress, says he is proud of RSS ideals and patriotism
Bengaluru, Aug 15: Amid controversy over excluding first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the Karnataka government's newspaper advertisement on freedom fighters, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday took a dig at the Congress and said he is proud of the RSS' ideals and bowed his head to its patriotism.
Clarifying that he and his government respects Nehru, using whose name Congress ruled the country for 65 years, he said and accused the grand old party of neglecting other national icons like B R Ambedkar and Lal Bahadur Shastri.
"In the government's advertisement yesterday, we had mentioned about some freedom fighters, who were even never heard of before with their photos, no one spoke good about it, instead of it, they (Congress) are sad that one of their leader's names was missing," Bommai said.
Speaking at a BJP event to commemorate 75th anniversary of India's independence, he said, "We haven't forgotten him and his works. We have respect for Nehru. In fact , there is a picture of him in that ad."
"Some one said, Bommai has become an RSS slave, I want to tell that I bow down my head to its (RSS) ideals and principles and that patriotism. I'm committed to build the country on those ideals and principles and I'm proud of it," he said.
The Congress on Sunday took strong exception to the exclusion of Nehru in the newspaper advertisement on freedom fighters and termed the BJP government's action "pathetic".
Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah had called Bommai an "RSS slave", while AICC general secretary and in-charge of the party affairs in the state Randeep Surjewala had said the BJP's hatred for the country's first prime minister had reached its zenith.
State BJP General Secretary N Ravi Kumar, had however, said Nehru's name was omitted "intentionally", as he was responsible for the partition of the country.
The Chief Minister further hit out at the Congress, accusing it of not allowing B R Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, to come to Parliament, and neglecting his memory for years.
Further pointing out that the families of several national icons like Subash Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Ambedkar are today not in mainstream politics, without naming anyone, he said those people who got politically benefited because of the freedom struggle will have to answer about the ill things that exist today like- appeasement politics.
Stating that no one can change the history of the freedom struggle, Bommai said, "but those writing history have tried to change it for 75 years. Now the time has come to speak out the truth and make people know the truth. We have got freedom because of the sacrifice of thousands of unnamed youth, farmers, labourers."
This 75th anniversary of India's Independence should be dedicated to the unnamed freedom fighters of the country, he said.
Earlier in the day, in his address at the 76th Independence Day event at the Manekshaw Parade Ground here, the Chief Minister, taking a veiled dig at the Congress, pointed out at attempts to "forget" national icons like Ambedkar, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Abdul Ghaffar Khan among others.
He also said that all Prime Ministers so far and leaders of the country have contributed to India's progress in their own way, and there is no question of forgetting anyone.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set up a Prime Ministers' Museum in New Delhi to highlight each one's contribution, Bommai further said "If any Prime Minister had thought about making known the contributions of various PMs to the country it is Modi. There is no question of forgetting anyone here. Everyone has contributed in their own way. Only PMs have not contributed, there are several luminaries who have contributed."
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
