Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan tenders apology for referring to Kumaraswamy as 'Kaalia'

Vartha Bharati | 12-11-2024 | 15:23:00 IST

Mysuru (PTI): Karnataka Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan tendered an apology on Tuesday for referring to Union Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy as "Kaalia", which the NDA had slammed as a "racist" slur.

The Congress leader, however, repeatedly tried to clarify that he had earlier too addressed Kumaraswamy in such a way out of affection, when they shared a good bonding, and it's not the first time.

The Housing and Waqf Minister was earlier with JD(S), and was considered to be a close associate of Kumaraswamy, who had earlier served as the Chief Minister, at the time.

"....If I had called him using such a word for the first time, I would have apologised....out of affection, he used to call me 'Kulla' (dwarf), I used to call him Kariyanna (black brother). If still he or anyone is pained by it, I apologise. What is there in that?" Khan said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said: "I used to call him like that out of affection since the beginning, not today. He used to call me 'Kullanna' and I used to call him 'Kariyanna' (referring to his skin complexion)."

Asked whether his statements will have its impact on the Assembly by-polls in Channapatna, Khan said: "why will it affect? I have not called in such a way for the first time. When Kumaraswamy and I were close, he used to call me 'Kulla', I used to call him Kariyanna....If JD(S) workers are pained by it, I apologise."

The JD(S) and BJP had demanded that the Congress government sack Khan from the Cabinet for his "racist slur".

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Three killed as fire destroys huts in Thane district

11-04-2026 ¦ 11-04-2026 IST

Thane (PTI): Three persons were killed in a major fire that broke out in a slum cluster in Thane district of Maharashtra, triggering the explosion of multiple LPG cylinders, a civic official said on Saturday.

The blaze erupted at around 8.30 PM on Friday in the Navghar area of Mira Bhayander at Indralok slum colony, Chief Fire Officer of Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) Prakash Borade told PTI.

Flames were visible from a long distance as the fire quickly spread through the densely packed cluster of temporary huts made of thatch and cloth, he said.

Around 30 to 35 huts were gutted in the incident. Several gas cylinders exploded during the blaze. Fire personnel managed to remove as many as 24 cylinders from the site, some of them filled and others empty, the official said.

Firefighters battled the blaze for nearly an hour before bringing it under control, Borade said.

The three deceased were charred beyond recognition, and their bodies have been sent to a government hospital for postmortem, he added.

The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.