Karnataka Congress continues agitation inside Vidhana Soudha demanding minister's dismissal
Bengaluru (PTI): The Congress in Karnataka continued its agitation inside the Karnataka Assembly for the past three days demanding removal of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa for his alleged statement on the national flag.
The Congress legislators have been camping in the Vidhana Soudha inside the Assembly Hall and have been sleeping there in the night.
"The agitation is happening because of the adamant stand of the BJP. Who is asking for Eshwarappa's resignation? No one. We want his dismissal. Our appeal is also to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to dismiss him," KPCC chief D K Shivakumar said.
He was confident that the minister would be dismissed from office in the next two days.
Stating that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is under pressure from within the party, Shivakumar said if the CM has self-esteem then he would have thrown out "foul-mouthed" Eshwarappa from the government when the latter had said Medium and Large Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani would become the next chief minister.
However, the Chief Minister said on Saturday that the Congress has lost the morality to be the opposition party.
Reacting to a question about the protest and camping inside the Karnataka Assembly by Congress party members, Bommai said they had lost morality to be either the ruling party or even sit in the opposition.
"D K Shivakumar and other Congress legislators go home for a while to come back again. The agitation will continue either till the dismissal of Eshwarappa or till the end of the current assembly session," a source close to Shivakumar told PTI.
The source said the legislators have been sleeping at night inside the Assembly, perform yoga under the rising sun and jog and walk around the Vidhana Soudha in the morning.
The Congress in Karnataka has been demanding the resignation of the minister and that he be booked for sedition regarding his statement about the national flag.
The party's agitation led to chaos in the assembly and council proceedings for three days.
Eshwarappa had said on February 9 that 'Bhagwa dhwaj' (saffron flag), may become the national flag some time in the future.
The senior party leader, however, had said the tricolour is the national flag now, and it should be respected by everyone.
"Hundreds of years ago, the chariots of Sri Ramachandra and Maruthi had saffron flags on them. Was the tricolour flag there in our country then? Now, it (tricolour) is fixed as our national flag, what respect it has to be given, should be given by every person who eats food in this country, there is no question about it," Eshwarappa had said.
Responding to a question by reporters, whether the saffron flag can be hoisted on the red fort, he had said: "Not today, some day in the future."
"Discussions are today taking place in the country on 'Hindu vichara' and 'Hindutva'. People used to laugh at one point when we said Ram Mandair will be constructed in Ayodhya, aren't we constructing it now?" he said.
"In the same way some time in the future, after 100 or 200 or 500 years Bhagwa dhwaj may become the national flag. I don't know," Eshwarappa added.
The 'overnight agitation' by the Congress came even as protests by the party legislators rocked the proceedings in both houses.
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Myanmar quake: India sends more humanitarian aid in C-17 aircraft
New Delhi (PTI): India on Sunday sent 31 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including replenishment stores for an Indian army field hospital unit deployed in Myanmar, to augment New Delhi's efforts to provide succour to the quake-hit neighbouring country.
The aid was sent in a C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift aircraft.
It took off from the Hindon air force station in Ghaziabad early Sunday, a senior official said.
"#OperationBrahma@IAF_MCC C> C-17 plane departs for Mandalay with 31 tons of humanitarian aid, including replenishment stores for the Indian army field hospital unit," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar posted on X and also shared a few photos.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake jolted Myanmar last week, with the toll rising to over 3,000 even as rescuers continue to search through the rubble for signs of life.
India mounted its relief mission named 'Operation Brahma' as a swift response to the devastation caused by the earthquake that hit Myanmar as well as Thailand on March 28.
The field hospital, under 'Operation Brahma', continues its humanitarian mission in Myanmar as the local government and its agencies also soldiered on with their efforts in relief and rescue work.
The hospital unit comprising 118 personnel was deployed in Myanmar using two C-17 heavy-lift aircraft of the IAF which had taken off from Agra on March 29.
The field hospital has been set up by the Indian Army in Mandalay.
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