Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai calls Subramanian Swamy a 'freelance politician'
Bengaluru(PTI): Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai on Wednesday termed senior BJP Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy as a 'freelance politician' whose character and forte had been to speak against his own party and its leadership.
"You know well about Subramanian Swamy. Whichever party he is in, he is like a freelance politician. He says whatever comes to his mind. Based on his analysis, he keeps saying things," Bommai said during a debate on price rise in the Karnataka Assembly.
Bommai said Swamy spoke against the leadership of Janata Party and then Janata Dal as well.
"While being in the government, he spoke against the then Prime Minister Chandrashekhar. It is the character and forte of Subramanian Swamy," he said.
The Chief Minister's statement came as the Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah quoted Swamy's February 2, 2021 tweet, which read, 'Petrol Rs 93 in Ram's India, Rs 53 in Sita's Nepal and Rs 51 in Ravan's Lanka."
Siddaramaiah quoted the sitting BJP Rajya Sabha member to point out the rising fuel prices in India and its cascading effect on other commodities.
"It's not me who has said this but Subramanian Swamy, who is a sitting Rajya Sabha member of the BJP. He was your father's (former CM Late S R Bommai) friend," Siddaramaiah quipped.
He even challenged the BJP leadership to sack Swamy if he was not right.
"I have no objection if the BJP leadership tolerates his statement. Don't forget that he is an economist and you have made him your Rajya Sabha member," Siddaramaiah said.
To this, Bommai agreed saying Swamy is genius in economics and the party gave him due credit.
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Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 24, mostly women, children
Deir al-Balah, Apr 6 (AP): Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 24 people, including over a dozen women and children, local health officials said Sunday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to the United States to meet with President Donald Trump about the war.
Israel last month ended its ceasefire with Hamas and renewed its air and ground offensive, carrying out waves of strikes and seizing territory to pressure the fighter group to accept a new deal for a truce and release of remaining hostages.
It has also blocked the import of food, fuel and humanitarian aid for over a month to the coastal territory heavily reliant on outside assistance.
“Stocks are getting low and the situation is becoming desperate,” the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said on social media.
The latest Israeli strikes overnight into Sunday hit a tent and a house in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.
A female journalist was among those killed. “My daughter is innocent. She had no involvement, she loved journalism and adored it,” said her mother, Amal Kaskeen.
The body of one child, 1 1/2-year old, took up just one end of an emergency stretcher.
“Trump wants to end the Gaza issue. He is in a hurry, and that is clear from this morning,” asserted Mohammad Abdel-Hadi, cousin of a woman killed.
Israeli shelling killed at least four people in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. And the bodies of five people, including a child and three women, arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, according to an Associated Press journalist there.
Dozens of Palestinians took to the streets in Jabaliya for a new round of anti-war protests. Footage circulating on social media showed people marching and chanting against Hamas. Such protests, while rare, have occurred in recent weeks.
There is also anger inside Israel over the war's resumption and its effects on remaining hostages in Gaza. Families of hostages along with some of those recently freed from Gaza and their supporters on Saturday urged Trump to help ensure the fighting ends.
Netanyahu on Monday will meet with Trump for the second time since Trump began his latest term in January. The prime minister said they would discuss the war and the new 17 per cent tariff imposed on Israel, part of a sweeping global decision by the new US administration.
“There is a very large queue of leaders who want to do this with respect to their economies. I think it reflects the special personal connection and the special connection between the United States and Israel, which is so vital at this time,” Netanyahu said while wrapping up a visit to Hungary.
The US, a mediator in ceasefire efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, expressed support for Israel's resumption of the war last month.
The toll of war
Hundreds of Palestinians since then have been killed, among them 15 medics whose bodies were recovered only a week later. Israel's military this weekend backtracked on its account of what happened in the incident, captured in part on video, that caused anger by Red Cross and Red Crescent and UN officials.
The war began when Hamas-led group attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Fifty-nine hostages are still held in Gaza — 24 believed to be alive — after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel's offensive has killed at least 50,695 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says more than half were women and children. It says another 115,338 people have been wounded. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 members of the group, without providing evidence.
