CM Siddaramaiah expresses shock over 'shoot Rahul Gandhi' remark by BJP leader
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday expressed shock over an alleged comment made by a BJP leader that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be shot in the chest.
The chief minister sought to know whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah endorsed the view.
"The shocking fact that a spokesperson of @BJP4India has openly issued a death threat saying, "We will shoot Rahul Gandhi in the chest, beware..!!", aimed at the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Shri Rahul Gandhi, who has been consistently raising his voice against the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, has left the nation stunned," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
Siddaramaiah said, "The silence of Prime Minister @narendramodi and Home Minister @AmitShah on such a statement has naturally led everyone to wonder whether they, too, endorse this view."
Threatening ideological opponents to silence their voices, and when that fails, resorting to eliminating them altogether is nothing new to the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, the chief minister alleged.
He added that those who earlier stood behind the scenes supporting the killings of their critics are now stepping into the arena openly.
The fact that they cannot counter their opponents through dialogue and debate and have chosen instead to resort to physical violence exposes their intellectual bankruptcy, he said.
"Are the victims of the Sangh Parivar's extremists just one or two? The list of killings, beginning with Mahatma Gandhi, has continued to grow with Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar, M. M. Kalaburagi, Gauri Lankesh, and many more," Siddaramaiah alleged.
Even though the leaders of the Sangh Parivar conveniently wash their hands off by claiming no connection with these killers, they have never been able to wash away the stains of blood on their hands, he said.
"In the past too, not only I but also many writers, thinkers, and activists in the country have received death threats in the form of letters. The police are investigating these incidents," Siddaramaiah claimed.
He further said that he has never been one to cower before such threats or betray the ideals he believed in.
"I am confident that one day all these evil forces will have to bow before justice," the CM said.
He further said that this was not the first time that Rahul Gandhi's family has faced death threats.
"It was at the hands of such killers that Rahul Gandhi lost both his grandmother and his father. Let the murderous minds in the BJP know that Rahul Gandhi is no longer alone, he has the unwavering support of millions of workers and citizens," Siddaramaiah asserted.
Printu Mahadevan, reportedly a former ABVP leader, allegedly made the remarks during a television debate on protests in Bangladesh and Nepal.
He reportedly said such protests were not possible in India as people here supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding that if Rahul Gandhi had similar aspirations, "bullets will pierce his chest".
A case against Mahadevan was registered by Peramangalam police in Kerala following a complaint from KPCC secretary Sreekumar C C. He was arrested on Tuesday night and later granted bail.
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West Asia: India supplied 22,000 MT of high-speed diesel to Bangladesh in March, says MEA
New Delhi (PTI): Amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, India has supplied 22,000 metric tonnes of high-speed diesel to Bangladesh in March and has received a request from Seychelles and the Maldives to meet their energy requirements, the MEA said on Friday.
At his weekly briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in his response to a query related to requests received from India's neighbouring countries for fuel amid the West Asia situation, also said that India is "finalising a government-to-government agreement" for the supply of oil and gas, which will play an important role in reinforcing energy security of Mauritius.
The conflict in West Asia has now stretched to nearly 50 days, with global ramifications.
"So, we have received requests from our neighbouring countries for supply of fuel, and these are being looked into, keeping in mind our own requirements, availability and refining capacity," Jaiswal told reporters.
He further said India has "supplied 22,000 metric tonnes of high-speed diesel to Bangladesh in March 2026, and further supplies have continued this month as well".
"You would recall that last month we had supplied 38 metric tonnes of petroleum products to Sri Lanka as well," he added.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Mauritius last week, the MEA spokesperson said, adding, "We are finalising a government-to-government agreement for supply of oil and gas, which will play an important role in reinforcing the energy security of Mauritius".
As far as Nepal is concerned, there is an existing arrangement between Indian Oil Corporation and Nepal Oil Corporation to supply petroleum products to Nepal as per its requirements. The supplies are continuing without any interruption, he said.
Energy supplies to Bhutan also continue according to the existing arrangement.
"As I had mentioned earlier, we have received a request from Seychelles and the Maldives to meet their energy requirements. We continue to be in touch with them in this regard, and are considering the request keeping in mind our own domestic requirements and availability of fuel.
"I would also like to add that our neighbouring country governments have expressed appreciation for the uninterrupted supply, fuel supply to them during the West Asian conflict," Jaiswal said.
Global oil and gas prices surged after Iran restricted the transit of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG trade.
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