Cong may crack whip against Khan for his "racist" slur against Kumaraswamy, indicates Paramaeshwara
Mysuru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday indicated that the state Congress may initiate disciplinary proceedings against Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan for referring to Union Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy as “Kaalia” (dark-skinned), which the NDA had slammed as a "racist" slur.
Several Congress office-bearers have been pushing the party to crack the whip against Khan, a lawmaker from Chamarajpet, accusing him of causing damage and embarrassment to the party.
"Our state Congress President (D K Shivakumar), after the by-polls, has said that his (Khan's) statement had its impact on the election. There is a disciplinary committee in the party under (K) Rahman Khan (former Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha). If the party president refers the matter to the disciplinary committee, they may call Khan and inquire him," Parameshwara said to a question on the impact of the Minister's statement on by-polls
Speaking to reporters here, he said: "if the matter is serious in nature the committee may recommend action against him."
Many Congress leaders and those in the political circles believe that Khan's statement had an adverse impact on the party's prospects in the Channapatna Assembly segment, which went for by-polls along with Shiggaon and Sandur seats on November 13. The results will be declared on November 23.
Khan had made those comments, during the campaigning in Channapatna, where Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy is the joint candidate of BJP-JD(S) alliance.
He had also claimed that the Muslim community had enough strength to raise funds to “buy” Kumaraswamy’s family.
Former PM and veteran politician H D Deve Gowda is Kumaraswamy's father.
Khan's comments had also come under intense criticism from the Vokkaliga community to which the Gowda family belongs to.
Channapatna Congress candidate C P Yogeeshwara too, after the voting, had lamented that Khan's controversial statements might have had an adverse impact on his high-stakes battle in the Vokkaliga dominated constituency.
With his comments becoming a major controversy, Khan last week tendered an apology.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
