Even my corpse will not go to BJP: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (KTK) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said even his "corpse" will not go to the BJP, as he outrightly rejected claims that he had made such an attempt in the past.
Noting that throughout his political life he has fought communal forces, the CM said, he might have met BJP leaders, but that doesn't mean that he has sacrificed his ideologies.
"Is it possible for anyone to imagine it? My political life itself is for secularism and I have been fighting against communal forces all along," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question about JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's statement that he had planned to join the BJP in the past and had met the saffron party leaders in this regard.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "I might have met leaders.... I might have met Advani (BJP veteran L K Advani), recently I had also met Amit Shah (Union Home Minister)... even my corpse will not go to BJP. My politics has been against communal forces throughout, since socialist party times."
He said Kumaraswamy is allying with the BJP for the sake of dynasty politics and is saying all this on the basis of someone's statement.
"This much is certain that for no reason, whether I am in power or not, there is no compromise with communal forces. Just because I met leaders, it doesn't mean I have sacrificed my ideologies."
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'War no solution, terrorists must be hunted down': Raj Thackeray
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray said war was not a solution to the problem of terrorism, and the government should give priority to finding the perpetrators of terror attacks.
On a day Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, he said the government must be questioned about why a terror attack could take place in Pahalgam in the first place.
"War is no answer to a terrorist attack. In the US, they (terrorists) toppled the Twin Towers, attacked the Pentagon. The US did not wage a war. They killed those terrorists," said the MNS chief, speaking to reporters here.
"You have not found the terrorists who attacked (tourists in Pahalgam). Why there was no security in a place where thousands of tourists are going for the last many years? It is more important to carry out a combing operation inside our country and find them out. The airstrike, distracting people....this, war can not be the solution," he added.
Instead of Wednesday's planned mock drill of Civil Defence, a "combing operation" should be carried out all over the country, Thackeray further said.
Criticizing what he called a misplaced show of strength, Thackeray said, "There seems to be a desire to create a war-like situation in another country. Now we see mock drills and sirens (going off). But we need to ask the fundamental question, why did this (attack in Pahalgam on April 22 in which 26 civilians were killed) happen in the first place?"
He also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his itinerary in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack. "The prime minister was in Saudi Arabia when this (terror attack) happened, and he returned early, only to go to Bihar for campaigning. That was not necessary. He went to Kerala for the inauguration of Adani's port and later came to Mumbai for the WAVES function. If the situation was so grave, all this could have been avoided," said the MNS chief who had backed Modi during the 2024 general elections.
The government's failures need to be pointed out, Thackeray said, adding the country does not need a symbolic response. "Find the terrorists, dismantle their networks, and tackle the drug menace that is spreading through our streets," he said.
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