CM Kumaraswamy meets 3 rebel Congress MLAs; tries to mollify them
Bengaluru, Mar 6: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Wednesday met three rebel Congress MLAs in an apparent bid to prevent any possible threat to the coalition government headed by him.
In the meeting aimed at pacifying Ramesh Jarkiholi, Nagendra and Mahesh Kumathalli, Kumaraswamy requested them not to take any decision in haste, sources said.
He asked them not to resign from the Congress and assured them of "some positive things" in the days to come, they said.
Kumaraswamy's meeting with the MLAs came on a day when Umesh Jadhav, another rebel Congress MLA, joined the BJP at Kalaburagi, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally.
According to sources, the coalition leaders are worried about the three MLAs too jumping ship to join BJP any time as part of the saffron party's alleged plan to destabilise the government in Karnataka.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Kumaraswamy said he had gone to the house of an MLA (Jarkiholi) for breakfast during which various issues were discussed.
"What development has happened to pacify? I had come to have breakfast...there is no need to come here to sort out any major issue.
They are all together and I have been saying it since the beginning. They are in constant touch with me and there are no issues," he said.
Stating that there were no issues even now, he said, "We discussed several matters...on the issue of development of their constituencies and districts. Other than that, no political discussions took place."
Asked about Umesh Jadhav's resignation and joining the BJP, the Chief Minister said he had nothing to do with it as he was never in touch with him.
"Since the beginning, my confidence was in Ramesh Jarkiholi, Nagendra and Mahesh Kumathali; they were in constant touch with me for the last four months and we had discussions on several issues...
Locally there are some issues and Congress leaders are capable enough to solve them."
BJP sources said Jadhav was likely to be the party's Lok Sabha candidate for Gulbarga to challenge Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, a nine-time MLA and two-term Lok Sabha member, who has never tasted electoral defeat.
Jadhav had Monday submitted his resignation from the Assembly to the Speaker, Ramesh Kumar.
Asked whether BJP was still in touch with MLAs, the Chief Minister said, "BJP people are in touch with everyone, including me. Why do you take it seriously?"
Pointing to the recent meeting of BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa and CLP leader Siddaramaiah, he said, "Can we add a different colour to it? All of us are friends.
In BJP also there will be friends and may talk and according to me there is no need to add a political colour to it."
The Congress has petitioned the Speaker, seeking disqualification of Jadhav, along with Ramesh Jarkiholi, B Nagendra and Mahesh Kumathali under the anti-defection law.
The four MLAs had kept the party on tenterhooks for several weeks, defying its whip twice to attend the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meetings on January 18 and February 8 and had skipped the early part of the budget session.
After the MLAs refused to fall in line, the Congress had petitioned the Speaker to disqualify them under the Anti-Defection Law.
However, Jadhav, along with other three MLAs hadattended the session and voted in favour of the finance bill,with an intention not to violate the whip and avoid stringent action.
Speaking to reporters Ramesh Jarkiholi said he and his colleagues were still dissatisfied with the Congress, but it had not ended yet and they had not gone to the stage of quitting the party.
He said they discussed several issues with the Chief Minister and that certain things could not be revealed.
"I'm saying we are still dissatisfied with the Congress.
It has not ended yet, but we have not gone to the stage of quitting the party.
There are certain issues, I can't say much now..."
"Temporarily things have ended, let's see what will happen in the days to come," he said, adding their displeasure was against the Congress and not the Chief Minister and that they had brought issues to the notice of the high command.
Nagendra said they discussed development issues relating to Belagavi and Ballari districts.
To a question, he said he was with the Congress party and would continue to be so, while his "brothers" were free to decide if they wanted to join the BJP.
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Austrian police detain suspect in case of rat poison found in baby food jars on supermarket shelves
Vienna (AP): Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.
HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide further updates as verified details come in.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.
It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.
Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand's baby jars from sale.
The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”
Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.
