CM Siddaramaiah suspects BJP, its 'brother' responsible for 'fake letter' against Agriculture Min
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has questioned whether the BJP or its "brother" was behind a "fake letter" accusing Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy of demanding bribes from officials after the Governor asked the government to probe the complaint.
The "brother" remark was an apparent dig at JD(S) leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy. The opposition BJP and the JD(S) have been warming up to each other after the recent Assembly elections.
In the letter purportedly criticising Cheluvarayaswamy, seven assistant agriculture directors posted in Mandya district have accused the minister of demanding Rs 6 to 8 lakh from officers of the department.
The complainants, in the letter, threatened to end their lives along with their family members if such corrupt practices are not stopped.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday tweeted: "It has come out that the letter in circulation in the public domain is fake. The joint agriculture director has already clarified that no officers in the district have written such a letter," he added.
"The leaders of BJP, are you the creator of such a fake letter spreading slander against the government or your brother?" he tweeted.
The Chief Minister said the matter would be reviewed by the government and assured that an investigation would be conducted, if necessary.
After receiving the letter, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot referred it to Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma on August 1 to look into the issue and take required action as per the rules.
Minister Cheluvarayaswamy too said the letter to the Governor against him appears to be fake and said that he would try to ascertain its authenticity.
Cheluvarayaswamy said he spoke to Agriculture Joint Director of Mandya district V S Ashoka, who said it was a fake letter.
Meanwhile, Ashoka convened a meeting on Monday with the assistant directors of all taluks in Mandya and enquired with them whether they wrote any letter to the Governor. "They all said in unison that they have not written any letter to the Governor," he told PTI.
Minister Cheluvarayaswamy said: "It appears to be a fake letter. Some people are trying to dig out something about me. I will ask the secretary of our department to investigate it."
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
