Congress high command has not asked us for even five paise: CM Siddaramaiah
Dismisses BJP allegation that cash seized in I-T raids belongs to ruling party
Mysuru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday dismissed as "politically motivated and baseless" the opposition BJP's allegation that the cash seized by the Income Tax Department in recent Income Tax raids here belonged to the Congress party.
"It's a political statement and baseless allegation. Are there Congress contractors and BJP contractors? I call them BJP contractors. Where is the evidence?" Siddaramaiah told reporters.
BJP on Sunday alleged that the cash including Rs 42 crore seized from a contractor and his son was linked to the Congress and that the Siddaramaiah government was using the State as an "ATM".
To a query on BJP's allegation that the seized cash was meant to be pumped into the coming elections in five States, Siddaramaiah said, "We have no connection with it (money). Those states which are going to polls should fight on their own. When we fought the elections, did we go to other states asking for money? It is the people who bless. Our state has no connection with (elections in) other states."
When asked about C T Ravi's allegation that there is a target of collecting Rs 1,000 crore for the Congress in Karnataka for funding the party to fight the assembly polls, Siddaramaiah said he would not react to the allegation by the BJP leader who "only speaks lies".
"Can anyone ask Karnataka to collect Rs 1,000 crore? Till now our high command has not asked us for even five paise," he said.
On former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's demand for a probe into the I-T raids , Siddarmaiah said, "Why should we investigate? It's Income Tax which should probe it. I-T had raided and they should investigate. Why my government should do it? Where's the allegation against the (state) government?"
There cannot be any investigation based on a politically motivated statement, the chief minister 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.
Emotional tributes paid to cops killed in blast at gunpowder dump of Maoists in Chhattisgarh
Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): Emotional scenes were witnessed on Sunday as wreaths were laid on the mortal remains of three of the four police personnel killed in an explosion in a gunpowder dump of Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district.
The grieving family members were inconsolable, while security personnel tried to comfort them.
Amid chants of "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Vande Mataram," public representatives, along with senior police and administrative officials, paid tributes to the deceased personnel.
The wreath-laying ceremony to pay homage to Inspector Sukhram Vatti (40), constables Krishna Komra (35) and Sanjay Gadhpale (29), killed in the explosion on Saturday, was held at the Police Lines in Narayanpur district, neighbouring Kanker.
The mortal remains of constable Parmanand Komra (29), who succumbed to injuries during treatment in Raipur, will be shifted to Kanker, where a separate wreath-laying ceremony will be held, police said.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattilingam, after paying homage, told reporters that the four police personnel made the supreme sacrifice while protecting the region.
"I pay my homage to them," he added.
The four personnel were killed while they were attempting to dispose of a gunpowder dump hidden earlier by Maoists in a forest near Aadnar village under Chhotebethiya police station limits in Kanker district, according to police.
It was the first explosion linked to Naxalites in the state since it was declared free from armed Maoists on March 31, and also the first instance this year in which security personnel engaged in anti-Naxal operations lost their lives.
District Reserve Guard (DRG) official Vatti, who was leading the team, hailed from Bijapur district. Constable Krishna Komra of the district force and constables Gadhpale and Parmanand Komra of the Bastar Fighters were residents of different villages in Kanker.
