CM Kumaraswamy loses cool as power station workers block convoy
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Wednesday lost his cool when employees of the Yermarus Thermal Power Station (YTPS) in Raichur district blocked his convoy to submit a list of their grievances.
Kumaraswamy shouted at a group of workers who approached him. The chief minister was in Raichur for his 'Grama Vastavya' (village stay) programme.
"You voted for Narendra Modi and want me to get your works done! You want me to give you respect. Should I baton-charge you? Leave the place," he told the YTPS employees, leaving onlookers shocked.
The chief minister then left the place.
Later, Kumaraswamy told a television channel that he had sought 15 days time to address the workers' grievances but they blocked the road which made him angry.
He asked if the Prime Minister's convoy was blocked would anyone accept it. This government is tolerant, but it is not incapable and knows how to deal with situations, said the 59-year-old chief minister.
He will spend the night at a government higher primary school in Karegudda under Manvi Taluk of the district as part of his 'Grama Vastavya' programme. This is the chief minister's second such stay, the first was in Chandaraki village in Yadgiri district.
#WATCH Raichur: Workers from Yermarus Thermal Power Station protested before the bus of Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy over wages and other issues & raised slogans of 'Shame! Shame!', while he was on his way to Karegudda for his 'village stay prog'. The CM got angry on protesters. pic.twitter.com/FK3OI4limx
— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2019
Meanwhile, the Karnataka BJP condemned the chief minister's outburst and threatened to stage state-wide agitations if Kumaraswamy did not apologise to the masses.
BJP MLC and spokesperson N Ravi Kumar said Kumaraswamy seemed to have forgotten that he is the chief minister of 6.5 crore people of the state and not only of some Janata Dal (Secular) workers and legislators.
Kumar said the chief minister's act was against democracy.
"This is against democracy. The chief minister should immediately seek an apology from the people. He should call them and hear them. If this continues, the BJP will agitate against him across the state," Kumar told PTI.
He reminded the chief minister that the purpose of the "Grama Vastavya" programme was to address the grievances of farmers, workers, women, children and people at large.
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Drug peddler's property worth Rs 1 crore attached in Srinagar
Srinagar (PTI): Property worth Rs 1 crore belonging to a notorious drug peddler was on Saturday attached in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, police said.
A double-storey house on eight marlas of land situated at Wantpora Eidgah, belonging to Basit Bilal Dar, a notorious drug peddler, valued at approximately Rs 1 crore, a police spokesperson said.
He said Dar is involved in two cases registered under various sections of the NDPS Act.
During investigation, it was established that the accused had acquired the said property through illicit proceeds generated from drug trafficking activities, the spokesperson said.
Consequently, the property was attached under the provisions of the NDPS Act. The attachment proceedings were conducted in the presence of the two independent witnesses, strictly in accordance with the prescribed legal procedures, he said.
As per the attachment order, the owner has been restrained from selling, leasing, transferring, altering, or creating any third-party interest in the property till further orders, the spokesperson added.
