Congress fuelling protests against Agnipath scheme: CM Bommai
Bengaluru, Jun 19: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday charged that the Congress was fanning the agitation across the country against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme, which was "evident" from Khanapur Congress MLA Anjali Nimbalkar staging a sit-in demonstration.
Defending the Agnipath scheme, Bommai said it is a novel initiative that is prevalent in other parts of the world.
"The sit-in demonstration staged by the Khanapur MLA is an evidence that the Congress is adding fuel to the fire with regard to the ongoing agitation against the Agnipath scheme," Bommai told reporters.
"The system of inducting youth for military training is prevalent all over the world. If the youth get military training between the age group of 17 and 21 years, they would get many opportunities after their stint," the Chief Minister said.
The soldiers would be reinducted into the military and could also join the paramilitary forces, the BJP leader said.
According to him, the scheme has been launched to bring about a younger military and infuse youth power into the armed forces.
Bommai expressed confidence that the Union government will address the apprehensions of those aspirants who have already written the exam as part of previous recruitment cycles.
However, he said violence, arson and setting fire to trains are "simply unpardonable".
"Passengers are being inconvenienced and public property is being destroyed. No responsible person will ever do it. It is very clear that this is a politically motivated act. People will see and understand this very soon," Bommai said.
Violent protests have raged on against the new military recruitment scheme in many states and the opposition parties have stepped up pressure to cancel it. On Friday, a 24-year-old man Army aspirant died during protests at Secunderabad railway station in Telangana.
Replying to a question about protests against the textbook review, CM Bommai said he will consider the suggestions of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and the seers with an open mind.
"We have not made it (textbook review) a prestige issue. We are ready to rectify the mistakes if there are any objections. We have immense respect for the veterans who toiled for the development of the country and the state, historical kings, renowned litterateurs," Bommai said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
IPL 2025: KKR beat SRH by 80 runs
Kolkata, Apr 3 (PTI): Venkatesh Iyer answered his critics with a match-winning 60 off 29 balls, propelling Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing 80-run win in the Indian Premier League here on Thursday.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s classy 50 (32b, 5x4, 2x6) in an 81-run stand with skipper Ajinkya Rahane (38 off 27) laid the foundation, while Iyer and Rinku Singh (32 not out off 17b) provided the late fireworks with a blistering 91-run partnership (41b) to lift KKR to 200/6 -- their highest total of the season.
Seamer Vaibhav Arora set the tone by removing the dangerous Travis Head (4) and Ishan Kishan (2) in successive overs to return with impressive figures of 4-1-29-3.
Harshit Rana dismissed Abhishek Sharma (2), leaving SRH reeling at 9/3 in 2.1 overs, while Andre Russell and Sunil Narine also chipped in with a wicket each to make it 66/5 inside 10 overs.
Varun Chakravarthy then cleaned up the lower order taking two wickets in two balls en route to his 4-0-22-3 as SRH crumbled to 120 all out -- their explosive batting lineup lasting just 16.4 overs.
The defending champions thus returned to winning ways after losing two of their first three matches and will next face Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, SRH, enduring their third straight defeat, head home to take on Gujarat Titans on Sunday.
After being reduced to 9/3 in 2.1 overs, Nitish Reddy (19) counterattacked Arora with two fours and a six, while Kamindu Mendis (27 off 20 balls) lifted hopes by taking on Andre Russell with a pick-up shot over deep square leg.
But Russell struck back to remove Reddy before Sunil Narine (1/30) accounted for Mendis in the 10th over, reducing SRH to 66/5 at the halfway mark and effectively ending their chase.
Earlier, KKR’s new-look opening pair continued to struggle, with Quinton de Kock (1) and Narine (7) once again falling cheaply after Pat Cummins opted to bowl first.
Rahane and Raghuvanshi steadied the innings, countering early movement with intelligent shot selection.
Rahane’s back-to-back pull-shot sixes off Shami and Cummins broke the shackles, as KKR reached 53/2 after the powerplay.
Raghuvanshi showcased his stroke-making prowess with exquisite drives and a stunning reverse hit past backward point, reaching his fifty in 30 balls.
Zeeshan Ansari (1/25) eventually ended the partnership, dismissing Rahane in the same over Raghuvanshi was dropped on 43.
However, the youngster didn’t last long, falling to a stunning forward-diving catch off IPl debutant Kamindu Mendis.
Mendis, making his IPL debut, bowled left-arm spin to right-hander Raghuvanshi before switching to off-spin against the left-handed Rinku Singh in the same over, a rare sight in the competition.
Boundaries dried up for 16 balls before Iyer, KKR’s costliest player this season (INR 23.75 crore), broke the shackles with a desperate pull off a Simarjeet Singh beamer.
Rinku followed with three successive boundaries off Harshal Patel before Iyer tore into Simarjeet, hammering him for consecutive fours.
Rinku finished the over with a towering six over long-on, yielding 17 runs, while Iyer went berserk against Cummins in the 19th over, smashing him for 4, 6, 4, 4 in succession as KKR amassed 78 runs in the last five overs.
Cummins’ reluctance to use spin despite variable bounce raised eyebrows. Mendis (1/4) wasn’t given another over after his crucial breakthrough, while Ansari bowled just three overs (1/25).
Instead, Cummins trusted his pace attack, which failed to contain Iyer and Rinku in the death overs.
Brief Scores:
KKR: 200 for 5 in 20 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 60, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 50; Mohammed Shami 1/29, Kamindu Mendis 1/4).
SRH: 120 all out in 16.4 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 33; Vaibhav Arora 3/29, Varun Chakaravarthy 3/22).
