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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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
