HD Kumaraswamy accuses CM of avoiding responsibility on sugarcane farmers' issues
Mysuru: Union Minister for Large and Medium Industries, HD Kumaraswamy has accused the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of shirking responsibility on the sugarcane farmers' issues and trying to avoid accountability by writing to the Prime Minister. Speaking to the media ahead of the Disha Committee meeting in Mysuru on Friday, Kumaraswamy alleged that the government has no intention of addressing the plight of farmers and is instead passing the buck to the Centre.
"The Chief Minister has written a letter to the Prime Minister because he wants to avoid responsibility. The government is failing to respond to the distress of the farmers, and every issue is being shifted to the Centre. This is the work of a government that is busy avoiding responsibility," Kumaraswamy said.
He further questioned why the Chief Minister did not take direct action to resolve the issues at hand. "If the Chief Minister was willing, this is a small issue that could be solved within minutes. But instead, the CM is playing politics on every matter. Farmers are facing problems, and the CM has written to the Prime Minister for help. Which state in the country has the Prime Minister had to intervene to solve the sugarcane growers' problems?" he asked.
Kumaraswamy also expressed his frustration with the government's approach to resolving the sugarcane farmers’ crisis, emphasizing that the CM could directly take decisions in favor of the farmers rather than playing politics. "The Chief Minister can take immediate decisions in favor of sugarcane farmers. Instead, he is passing the blame to the Centre, possibly due to pressure from local MLAs in Belagavi and the sugar lobby. But he must prioritize the interests of farmers and not succumb to such pressures," he stated.
In response to media reports suggesting that JD(S) leaders own sugar factories in Belagavi, Kumaraswamy clarified that no leader in his party owns sugar mills. "I've seen reports that JD(S) leaders own sugar factories in Belagavi. Let me clarify, none of our leaders own a sugar factory. In the past, Bandappa Kashampur had one, but he has sold it recently. Therefore, there are no sugar factories in the hands of JD(S) leaders," he said.
On the ongoing speculation about a leadership change in the Congress and the so-called "November revolution," Kumaraswamy was dismissive. "There will be no revolution in November, and there will be no upheaval either. I know Siddaramaiah’s character well, having worked with him when he was in our party. There won’t be any change. The talk about a leadership change is just political theater," he stated.
Reacting to DK Shivakumar’s statement about Congress returning to power in Karnataka in 2028, Kumaraswamy sarcastically remarked, "I know what happened to those who said 'we'll be in power in 20 or 10 years.' Let’s wait and see what happens in 2028. Who knows what the future holds? Let them talk, and we will see," he said with a chuckle.
Kumaraswamy also commented on the controversy surrounding Siddaramaiah’s proposal to turn Mysuru into a 'Greater Mysuru,' calling it a mere political rivalry between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar. "This is just a competition between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar. Siddaramaiah is proposing 'Greater Mysuru' while DK Shivakumar wants 'Greater Bengaluru.' Neither will happen. This is just a waste of time," he remarked, dismissing the proposal as political maneuvering rather than a genuine development plan.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
