HD Kumaraswamy's "rural women have lost their way" comment sparks row
Bengaluru, Apr 14: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's comment that women in rural areas have "lost their way" because of the five guarantee schemes introduced by the Congress government in Karnataka, has elicited sharp reactions from the ruling party.
Some women Congress workers staged a protest with "Go back Kumaraswamy" slogans and placards in Mandya, from where the former Chief Minister is contesting the Lok Sabha elections.
With Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar also attacking him over his comments, Kumaraswamy sought to clarify by stating he was only cautioning the womenfolk about their "innocence being misused" by the Congress administration in the name of guarantee schemes and that he did not insult them.
Questioning from whose pockets, the government is funding guarantee schemes, Kumaraswamy during a roadshow in Tumakuru on Saturday said, "This government (state) in the last election had announced five guarantees, (because of which), our mothers in the villages have lost their way. One should think about what will happen to their livelihood and that of their families."
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"They (Congress) don't have anything other than five guarantees, every day advertising about guarantees in newspapers with CM and Deputy CM photos, they have spent over Rs 300 crore," he said.
Sharply reacting to Kumaraswamy's remark, Siddaramaiah in Madikeri on Sunday said it shows his mindset and his feelings for women.
"What does he mean by saying -- they have lost their way? Being a two-time Chief Minister, if he speaks about women in such a way, will people tolerate it?" he said.
Pointing out that Kumaraswamy is a former CM, son of a former PM and head of JD(S), Shivakumar said, "...I'm feeling deeply pained and don't want to respond (to such comments). Self-respecting women of the state are making thousands of phone calls to me, there is a situation as though the womenfolk seem to be ready for an uprising (against Kumaraswamy's statement)."
Noting that crores of women are getting benefited from the guarantee schemes, he said, "If he (Kumaraswamy) says, women have lost their way because of these schemes, I won't ask him to apologise (for comments)...PM Modi, Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani have to respond to this, as he is a NDA partner now. No one can tolerate such insulting comments against our mothers and sisters."
Clarifying on his statement, Kumaraswamy said Congress doesn't have anything else to discuss about him other than this.
"What I said yesterday is, in the name of guarantees, attempts are being made to mislead you - the innocent women from villages. I told them -- without giving you strength, they (Congress govt) are trying to keep you in a position where you seek alms, and be aware of it, without losing your way...," he said.
Stating that he has lots of respect for women, who have given him strength to survive in politics, Kumaraswamy further said, "women are like my mother and sisters and I have always worked for them. I need not learn from Congress, nor is there a need for me to respond to them."
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2 LPG tankers sail through Strait of Hormuz, 16 still stranded
New Delhi (PTI): Two more Indian-flagged LPG tankers have safely crossed the war-hit Strait of Hormuz and are headed for Indian ports even as 16 other vessels remain stranded in the Persian Gulf, officials said Monday.
LPG vessel Green Sanvi carrying 46,650 tonnes of LPG is scheduled to reach Indian port on April 7 while Green Asha with 15,500 tonnes of cargo is scheduled to touch Indian coast on April 9, said Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary in Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways at a news briefing.
"Indian maritime operations remain safe and uninterrupted amid West Asia crisis. 16 Indian-flagged vessels with 433 seafarers are in the region; two LPG carriers, Green Sanvi and Green Asha, safely crossed Strait of Hormuz," he said.
With this, eight Indian-flagged LPG tankers have safely transited through the strategic waterway, which has remained effectively shut since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28 and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
Of the vessels still stuck in the Persian Gulf, one is of a loaded liquefied natural gas (LNG), two are LPG tankers (one loaded and one empty), six are crude carriers (five loaded, one empty), three are container ships, one is a dredger, one is carrying chemical cargo and two are bulk carriers, he said.
Asked about reports of Iran charging a fee for letting ships cross the strait, Mangal said, "we have no information of such payments."
For a country that relies on imports from Gulf nations to meet as much as 60 per cent of its cooking gas needs, the arrivals will help ease the worst LPG shortage it is battling in decades. India consumed 33.15 million tonne of LPG last year, with imports accounting for about 60 per cent of demand. As much as 90 per cent of those imports came from West Asia.
The US-Israel attacks on Iran, and Tehran's sweeping retaliation have all but halted shipping through the strait - the narrow shipping lane that is the conduit for oil and gas exports from Gulf countries to the world. Iran has, however, stated that "non-hostile vessels" may transit the waterway after coordinating with Iranian authorities.
Last week, two LPG carriers, BW TYR and BW ELM, carrying combined LPG cargo of about 94,000 tonnes safely transited the region. While BW TYR reached Mumbai on March 31, BW ELM docked at New Mangalore on April 1.
Prior to that, four Indian-flagged LPG tankers had safely sailed through the strait. Pine Gas and Jag Vasant, carrying 92,612 tonnes of LPG, reached Indian ports between March 26 and March 28. MT Shivalik and MT Nanda Devi, carrying about 92,712 tonnes of LPG, had reached Mundra port in Gujarat on March 16 and Kandla port in the state on March 17.
Originally, there were 28 Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz when the war in West Asia broke. Of these, 24 were on the West side of the strait and four on the East side. Eight vessels from the west side and two from east have managed to sail to safety.
Besides the eight LPG tankers, the Indian-flagged oil tanker Jag Laadki, with 80,886 tonnes of crude oil from the UAE, reached Mundra on March 18.
Another tanker, Jag Prakash, carrying gasoline from Oman to Africa, had previously safely crossed the strait and is en route to Tanzania.
