Deve Gowda will not run for President, says H D Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, Jun 17: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Friday clarified former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda will not run for President.
He said the 89-year-old JD(S) patriarch's only aim is to see JD(S) forming an independent government in Karnataka, during his lifetime.
"Couple of days ago Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal CM) had invited me and our national President (Gowda) to attend the meeting (opposition meeting on the President candidate)...we had attended the meeting that was attended by about 17 parties, who have expressed their opinion," Kumaraswamy said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, the former Karnataka chief minister said another round of meeting would probably be called on June 20 to decide on the candidate for Presidential polls, as there was no outcome from the previous meeting.
"No, there is no question of Deve Gowda's name in the race (for Presidency), he has no interest in it. His desire is to see JD(S) forming an independent government in Karnataka during his lifetime, that's his aim," he said in response to a question regarding Gowda, as a likely candidate for Presidential polls.
As many as 17 opposition parties attended the meeting on June 15 to build a consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the BJP-led NDA. They will meet again on June 20-21 which will be convened by Pawar in Mumbai.
The leaders at the opposition meeting adopted a resolution saying, "in the forthcoming Presidential elections held in the year of the 75th anniversary of Indian independence, we have decided to field a common candidate who will truly serve as the custodian of the constitution and stop the Modi government from doing further damage to India's social fabric and democracy".
Leaders of several opposition parties had urged NCP supremo Sharad Pawar to be the joint opposition candidate for the Presidential elections, but the veteran leader declined the offer at a meeting convened by Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi.
The election is scheduled to be held on July 18.
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BJP accuses AAP of circulating 'edited' videos to malign Swati Maliwal
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi BJP Saturday accused AAP leaders of circulating "edited" videos to tarnish the image of their own party MP Swati Maliwal, who has accused an aide of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of assaulting her.
It is regrettable that "edited" videos are being circulated on social media groups since Friday in an attempt to "defame" Maliwal who is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police arrested Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar who has been accused by Maliwal of assaulting her at the CM's residence on Monday.
A couple of videos from the chief minister's residence from the day of the incident have surfaced on social media, one showed Maliwal having an argument with security personnel, while the other showed her walking out of the CM's residence in the Civil Lines.
"Now that the entire Aam Aadmi Party is tarnishing the image of Swati Maliwal, it's time Kejriwal comes forward and speaks on the matter," Sachdeva said.
The AAP has accused Maliwal of lying and becoming a part of the BJP conspiracy to frame Kejriwal in a fake case in the midst of elections.
Sachdeva said now that Kejriwal's aide has been arrested by police, many "dirty pages" of AAP's politics will become public.
If the AAP is trying to implicate Maliwal by circulating "edited" videos, it would be better for the Delhi Police to immediately take possession of the complete CCTV footage of the chief minister's residence, Sachdeva said.
He charged that Maliwal is not the first woman leader of the AAP that the party has has defamed.
Earlier, they also raised questions about Kiran Bedi, Shazia Ilmi and Richa Pandey who have all left the AAP, Sachdeva added.
