Congress is 'Sultan of tukde, tukde gang': PM Modi at Karnataka poll rally
Mysuru (Karnataka), Apr 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called the Congress "the sultan of tukde tukde gang", as he accused the opposition party of having the dangerous intention to "divide, break and weaken" the country.
He was addressing a mega public meeting at Maharaja's college ground here aimed at drumming up support for BJP and JD(S) candidates from Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Hassan Lok Sabha constituencies.
"This is a land where mothers dream about sending their children to armed forces in the service of the nation. On the other hand, there is a Congress party which is going around becoming the 'Sultan of tukde tukde gang'. The dangerous intention of Congress to divide, break and weaken the country is still the same," Modi claimed.
JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda was among those who shared the dais with Modi in a show of strength by the NDA.
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The JD(S) joined the NDA in September last year. Of the total 28 seats in Karnataka, BJP is contesting in 25 and the JD(S) in three, including neighbouring Mandya.
"In Karnataka, NDA has the guidance of senior leaders like H D Deve Gowda and (BJP leader B S) Yediyurappa and cooperation of (JD(S) leader) H D Kumaraswamy", Modi said.
Modi claimed that the Congress has crossed "all the limits of hating the country".
"People of Karnataka are witness that those who speak against India, Congress as a reward gives them an election ticket. Recently you might have seen at a Congress election rally a person made people shout 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogan, but before doing it, he had to seek the permission of leaders sitting on the stage," the prime minister said.
Questioning whether one requires permission to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', he asked, "Will the country, Karnataka, Mysuru forgive such a Congress? First opposed 'Vande Mataram' and now hesitated to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. This is the height of Congress's downfall."
Scion of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar is the BJP candidate in the coming Lok Sabha elections here. Deve Gowda's son, former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy is contesting from Mandya.
Karnataka is very important for the BJP as it's the only state in South India where the party has had held power.
In the 2019 general elections, BJP bagged 25 seats, while an independent backed by the party also emerged victorious.
The Congress and JD(S) which fought the polls in an alliance back then secured just one seat each.
Accusing the Congress of playing with fire for the sake of power, the PM said that at the time when India's stature is increasing globally, Congress leaders going abroad are not leaving any opportunity to project India in poor light.
"The country gives a befitting reply to its enemies, but Congress seeks evidence for 'surgical strikes' from the army. Congress is working with a political wing of a banned organisation which is involved in terror activities," he alleged.
Claiming that an "open game" of appeasement is on in the country, Modi alleged that efforts are on to put a stop to fairs and festivals.
"Will you give the country's administration into the hands of those playing this game of vote bank politics?" he asked, as he hit out at the Congress and INDIA bloc for "boycotting" the Ram Mandir consecration at Ayodhya by rejecting the invitation, which "insulted our faith".
Alleging that the INDIA alliance people want to "end Sanatan", and "destroy Hindu Dharma's Shakti", the PM said, "Until there is Modi, and he has your blessings, these forces of hate will never be successful. This is Modi's guarantee."
Karnataka is going to the polls in two phases. While polling for 14 Lok Sabha segments in the southern part of the state will be held on April 26, the second phase of voting in northern districts will be held on May 7.
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2 LPG tankers sail through Strait of Hormuz, 16 still stranded
New Delhi (PTI): Two more Indian-flagged LPG tankers have safely crossed the war-hit Strait of Hormuz and are headed for Indian ports even as 16 other vessels remain stranded in the Persian Gulf, officials said Monday.
LPG vessel Green Sanvi carrying 46,650 tonnes of LPG is scheduled to reach Indian port on April 7 while Green Asha with 15,500 tonnes of cargo is scheduled to touch Indian coast on April 9, said Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary in Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways at a news briefing.
"Indian maritime operations remain safe and uninterrupted amid West Asia crisis. 16 Indian-flagged vessels with 433 seafarers are in the region; two LPG carriers, Green Sanvi and Green Asha, safely crossed Strait of Hormuz," he said.
With this, eight Indian-flagged LPG tankers have safely transited through the strategic waterway, which has remained effectively shut since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28 and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
Of the vessels still stuck in the Persian Gulf, one is of a loaded liquefied natural gas (LNG), two are LPG tankers (one loaded and one empty), six are crude carriers (five loaded, one empty), three are container ships, one is a dredger, one is carrying chemical cargo and two are bulk carriers, he said.
Asked about reports of Iran charging a fee for letting ships cross the strait, Mangal said, "we have no information of such payments."
For a country that relies on imports from Gulf nations to meet as much as 60 per cent of its cooking gas needs, the arrivals will help ease the worst LPG shortage it is battling in decades. India consumed 33.15 million tonne of LPG last year, with imports accounting for about 60 per cent of demand. As much as 90 per cent of those imports came from West Asia.
The US-Israel attacks on Iran, and Tehran's sweeping retaliation have all but halted shipping through the strait - the narrow shipping lane that is the conduit for oil and gas exports from Gulf countries to the world. Iran has, however, stated that "non-hostile vessels" may transit the waterway after coordinating with Iranian authorities.
Last week, two LPG carriers, BW TYR and BW ELM, carrying combined LPG cargo of about 94,000 tonnes safely transited the region. While BW TYR reached Mumbai on March 31, BW ELM docked at New Mangalore on April 1.
Prior to that, four Indian-flagged LPG tankers had safely sailed through the strait. Pine Gas and Jag Vasant, carrying 92,612 tonnes of LPG, reached Indian ports between March 26 and March 28. MT Shivalik and MT Nanda Devi, carrying about 92,712 tonnes of LPG, had reached Mundra port in Gujarat on March 16 and Kandla port in the state on March 17.
Originally, there were 28 Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz when the war in West Asia broke. Of these, 24 were on the West side of the strait and four on the East side. Eight vessels from the west side and two from east have managed to sail to safety.
Besides the eight LPG tankers, the Indian-flagged oil tanker Jag Laadki, with 80,886 tonnes of crude oil from the UAE, reached Mundra on March 18.
Another tanker, Jag Prakash, carrying gasoline from Oman to Africa, had previously safely crossed the strait and is en route to Tanzania.
