Cong-JD(S) coalition govt will fall due to internal bickering: K S Eshwarappa
Bengaluru, Jan 20 : Former Karnataka deputy chief minister and BJP leader K S Eshwarappa has said the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the state would fall due to internal bickering and his party would form the government.
The present political turbulence is because of the internal bickering in the Congress and their leaders have been needlessly levelling allegations against the BJP, he said.
"There actually is no need for the BJP to indulge in Operation Kamala to topple the Congress-JD(S) coalition government," Eshwarappa told reporters after arriving at the Bengaluru airport late Saturday night.
"All our 104 MLAs are together, unlike the Congress where four to five of their MLAs are going to desert, which could further precipitate confusion and culminate in the fall of the government...and the BJP will form the government," he added.
Former deputy chief minister R Ashoka, who also arrived along with Eshwarappa from Gurgaon, said the present coalition government does not deserve to rule the state as it has failed to govern properly for the past seven months.
Another BJP MLA Kumar Bangarappa said the Congress-JD(S) government is certain to fall because the Congress has no faith in its MLAs remaining with it and hence they have been whisked away to a resort on the city outskirts.
"Hundred per cent this government will fall. There is no doubt about it, because what is the necessity for the Congress to whisk its MLAs away to a resort? They can well be left free as we are being left free by our leadership. The Congress is afraid of losing its MLAs," he added.
The Congress Friday had swiftly moved all its MLAs to the resort on the city outskirts keeping them on leash to "escape" the BJP's alleged "onslaught" to woo its MLAs with money and other allurements.
Another BJP MLA Raju Gowda said some of the MLAs, including himself, had learnt the art of playing resort politics from Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
