DK Shivakumar cancels Delhi visit, sparks off speculations
Bengaluru, May 15: Chief Minister aspirant and Karnataka state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Monday cancelled his Delhi trip, hours after confirming he would be flying to the national capital.
He cited health reasons for the change in his travel plans.
The senior Congress leader is locked in an intense power struggle with Siddaramaiah over who will lead the party-led government, after Congress stormed to power by winning 135 seats in the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.
Siddaramaiah, a former CM, had left for Delhi by Monday afternoon to meet with AICC leaders.
"I have some problem in the stomach. Doctor is coming in ten minutes. It's burning. It looks like some infection and I have fever..... please let me be free...." Shivakumar told reporters.
Sources close to him confirmed he is not going to Delhi today.
ALSO READ: Karnataka: Power play for CM post shifts to Delhi, all eyes on Congress top brass
Amid speculations about the number of MLAs supporting him and Siddaramaiah for the CM's post, Shivakumar said earlier on Monday that his strength is 135, as under his presidency, the party won the said number of Assembly segments.
He said he and Siddaramaiah have been called to Delhi by the party high command and that he will be going there late due to personal commitments.
"Since today is my birthday, a lot of people have come to wish me. I have to go to my deity with my family, after going there, I will leave for Delhi. I don't know what time I will be going to Delhi. I will take whichever flight is available," he had said.
The Congress' central leadership will be deciding on the new Chief Minister, after its observers submitted a report on the opinion of the MLAs which they collected in the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting in Bengaluru on Sunday.
The CLP had authorised party president M Mallikarjun Kharge to decide on the CM nominee, allowing the party chief to decide on an issue that was expected to take centrestage at some point of time post elections in the event of Congress emerging victorious in the hustings.
Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have never hid their CM ambitions.
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Two more Hindu priests arrested in Bangladesh: ISKCON Kolkata
Kolkata, Nov 30: Two more Hindu priests were arrested in Bangladesh, ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson Radharamn Das claimed on Saturday.
Speaking to PTI, Radharamn said, "I have received information that two more ISKCON monks have been arrested by police in Bangladesh."
In a post on X on Friday night, Radharamn said, "In the meantime, bad news has come: two devotees who went with prasad for Chinmaya Prabhu were arrested on their way back to the temple, and Chinmaya prabhu's secretary is also missing. Please pray for them."
Earlier on Friday, Radharamn had posted, "Another Brahmachari, Sri Shyam Das Prabhu, was arrested by Chattogram Police today."
"Does he look like a terrorist? #FreeISKCONMonks Bangladesh. The arrest of innocent #ISKCON brahmacharis are deeply shocking & disturbing," Radharamn posted on X on Saturday. His comments comes comes in the backdrop of unconfirmed reports of arrest of three more ISKCON monks, days after the arrest of spiritual leader Chinmay Das.
Chinmay Das, who also served as a spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday while en route to Chattogram to attend a rally. He was denied bail and sent to jail on Tuesday by the Chattogram Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate Court.
Historically, Hindus made up approximately 22 per cent of Bangladesh's population during the 1971 Liberation War.
The Hindu population, once a substantial demographic in Bangladesh, has experienced a significant decline in recent decades, with the minority community now comprising only around 8 per cent of the country's total population.
This drop is largely attributed to a combination of socio-political marginalisation, exodus and sporadic violence over the years.
In the meantime, bad news has come: two devotees who went with prasad for Chinmaya Prabhu were arrested on their way back to the temple, and Chinmaya prabhu's secretary is also missing. Please pray for them. #Bangladesh #ISKCON pic.twitter.com/NLX8hNZmpN
— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) November 29, 2024
Does he look like a terrorist?#FreeISKCONMonks Bangladesh. The arrest of innocent #ISKCON brahmacharis are deeply shocking & disturbing. pic.twitter.com/VG6u7jlnXB
— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) November 30, 2024
