JDS not contesting bypolls as it wants its "marginal" votes to go to BJP: Siddaramaiah
Hubballi: Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged on Thursday JDS was not contesting the coming Assembly and Lok Sabha by-elections in north Karnataka as the party wants its "marginal votes" to go to the ruling BJP in the State.
His comments a day after JDS patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda said his party would not field candidates as it did not have the funds to fight the bypolls.
Bypolls for Belgaum (Belagavi) Lok Sabha, and Basavakalyan, Sindgi and Maski Assembly seats are due and the schedule is expected to be announced by the Election Commission soon.
Siddaramaiah, also Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, told reporters here that the JDS was not strong in these constituencies.
"They want their marginal votes also to go to BJP. Hence, JDS is not contesting," he claimed.
Senior JDS MLC, Basavaraj Horatti was elected Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council on Tuesday with the support of the BJP amid indications that the two parties are warming up to each other.
To a question on the ongoing agitation demanding ST (Scheduled Tribe) status to the Kuruba (shepherd) community, to which he also belongs, Siddaramaiah said when he was Chief Minister he had ordered a 'Kulashastra Adhyayana' (ethnographic study) about categorising Kurubas into ST category.
"The study is still ongoing.The demands should be made after the study is over.In my opinion, rallies are not needed at this point," he said.
In a show of strength, Kurubas, categorised as Other Backward Castes (OBCs), staged a mammoth rally last Sunday demanding ST tag for the community.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the BJP and RSS were playing politics in the issue to provide reservation to Kurubas, and "their main motive is to divide Kuruba community".
"Why is K S Eshwarappa (a Kuruba and senior minister in the B S Yediyurappa Cabinet) is protesting against his own party? This clearly exposes their motive," Siddaramaiah said.
Reacting to Siddaramaiah's statement, Eshwarappa, the Rural Development and Panchayatraj Minister, sought to know why Siddaramaiah was "opposed to the campaign" by the community.
"We have no objection to the Kulashastra Adhyayana but Siddaramaiah should make it clear why this agitation is not required," Eshwarappa told reporters in the district headquarters town of Shivamogga.
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902 families wiped out in one year, one survivor in 1,364 Palestinian families: Gazan Media office
Gaza: The Government Media Office in Gaza issued a statement on Wednesday, accusing the Israeli military of committing acts of genocide, with the support of the United States and other Western nations, over the past year in the Gaza Strip. The statement claimed that the Israeli occupation forces had exterminated 902 Palestinian families, erasing them from the civil registry by killing all members of these families during the year-long conflict.
Additionally, the statement highlighted that 1,364 Palestinian families were left with only one surviving member, while 3,472 families had two surviving members. The total number of casualties in Gaza has reportedly exceeded 41,000, with nearly 20,000 people still missing, according to Palestinian officials.
The statement also extended condemnation to the United States and several European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, accusing them of supplying Israel with banned weapons. It called upon the international community and United Nations organizations to intervene, pressuring Israel to halt its military actions in Gaza and to end the violence that has been ongoing for a full year.
The conflict, which began on October 7 last year following an attack by Hamas, has since expanded into Lebanon. Despite calls for an immediate ceasefire from the UN Security Council, Israel’s military operations in Gaza continue.
The Government Media Office in Gaza emphasized the need for global denouncement of what it described as systematic crimes against civilians, including women and children, urging action to stop the bloodshed.
