HD Kumaraswamy lying about phone tapping to divert attention from Prajwal case: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, May 22: Outrightly rejecting the phone tapping allegations made by JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said he has never indulged in such a "dirty job" in his political life so far, and will not in the future too.
Speaking to reporters, he accused former chief minister Kumaraswamy of making the false claims to divert attention from the cases of sexual abuse against his nephew and MP Prajwal Revanna.
"In my political life, whether as chief minister now or earlier, I have never done the dirty job of phone tapping. I have not done so far and will not do it in the future too," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question on Kumaraswamy's allegations.
"To divert (attention) from the Prajwal Revanna case, he (Kumaraswamy) is saying such things. He is lying," he added.
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Kumaraswamy on Monday had alleged that 40 phones, including his own and those of his family members and supporters, are being tapped. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara have dismissed these claims.
BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Tuesday had demanded a CBI probe into the phone-tapping allegations.
In response to an unrelated question about the elections, Siddaramaiah said that to take stock of the Lok Sabha polls, Shivakumar, who is also the Congress's state president, has invited all the ministers, including him, for a dinner meeting later today.
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Dense fog disrupts operations at Delhi airport; 228 flights cancelled, 5 diverted
New Delhi (PTI): Dense fog disrupted flight operations at Delhi Airport on Monday, with various airlines cancelling 228 flights and diverting five to nearby airports due to low visibility, an official said.
However, except for Air India, which had in an X post in the morning announced the cancellation of some 40 flights, no other airlines, including crisis-hit IndiGo, shared the numbers of their cancelled or delayed flights.
"As many as 228 flights -- 131 departures and 97 arrivals-- have been cancelled due to low visibility, so far," the airport official said.
In addition to this, five flights have been diverted so far, he said.
Earlier, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), in a statement, said, "Our on-ground officials are working closely with all stakeholders to assist passengers and provide necessary support across Terminals.
"Low visibility (below minima), due to dense fog, has severely impacted operations at Delhi and other airports across northern India, which is unfortunately beyond our control," IndiGo said in a statement.
As operations are adjusted to prevailing weather conditions, some flights may experience delays, while a few others may be proactively cancelled during the day to prioritise safety and minimise extended waiting at the airport, the airline said in a statement.
IndiGo, however, did not say how many of its flights were cancelled or delayed.
The airline said its teams are "closely monitoring" the situation and coordinating with Delhi airport.
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IndiGo also said it issued advisories to its customers and "proactively" informing them, to minimise inconvenience.
“Poor visibility due to dense fog in Delhi this morning has impacted flight operations for all airlines. We are closely monitoring conditions and will resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so,” Air India said in a post on X in the morning.
It also said that some flights have been cancelled In the interest of safety, and to avoid prolonged uncertainty for the guests, while listing out some 40 arrivals and departures that it had cancelled for the day.
Delhi airport is the country's busiest, handling around 1,300 flight movements daily.
