Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge, BJP leaders engage in verbal duel over remarks on RSS
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge and BJP leaders on Monday engaged in a sharp spat over the former's remarks against the RSS, with both sides trading barbs over ideology and development issues.
The BJP leaders were reacting to Kharge's comments made in Bengaluru on Sunday, where he accused the RSS of indulging in "money laundering" and questioned its source of income.
"It (RSS) has a network of more than 2,500 organisations… They take money from them. I am telling — that these people are into money laundering," Kharge alleged, while asking why the organisation remained unregistered and whether it was "above law or Constitution."
Hitting back, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said in a post on 'X': "Minister Priyank Kharge, first ensure that the registration of the Congress party — which is presided over by your father and is on the verge of losing its existence on the political map — is not cancelled. Only then worry about the registration of others."
Targeting the minister over regional development, Vijayendra said the Kharge family had "contributed nothing except making 'Kalyana Karnataka' one of the most backward regions on India’s map."
"After becoming a minister, what contribution has Priyank Kharge made to the development of Kalyana Karnataka," the Shikaripura MLA asked.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka also attacked the minister, saying, "For four decades, enjoying power due to the blessings of the people of Kalyana Karnataka, while putting up a permanent 'come tomorrow' board when it comes to development, those who have betrayed the people of Kalyana Karnataka will not remain for long — the day of reckoning is not far."
"Abusing the RSS is like spitting at the sky," Ashoka added.
Responding on Monday, Kharge defended his remarks and countered the BJP over Kalyana Karnataka.
"Kalyana Karnataka is a backward region. If you had understood that this regional imbalance has historical and geographical reasons, the BJP-led Central Government would not have refused to grant special status under Article 371J," he said.
"Why did the BJP lack the willpower to bring this backward region forward? Why did the KKRDB allocation decline during your government’s tenure," he asked.
He also took a swipe at Vijayendra, saying, "Was not your father B S Yediyurappa a four-time Chief Minister? Why was Shivamogga not developed like Singapore?"
"The Anti-Communal Task Force was not formed to draw rangoli designs, but to curb communal conflicts and maintain peace and harmony," Kharge added.
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Media dinner shooting suspect wrote about targeting of administration officials, Trump says
Washington (AP): The man accused of trying to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner with guns and knives had written about targeting Trump administration officials, and his family raised concerns with law enforcement before the event, President Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview on Fox News Channel.
The accused gunman's family had alerted police in Connecticut, Trump said, revealing new details about a chaotic encounter that disrupted one of Washington's glitziest annual events the night before.
The suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was expected to face criminal charges on Monday from the Justice Department, whose acting leader, Todd Blanche, said the suspect travelled by train from California and checked in as a guest days earlier at the Washington hotel where the Saturday night gala dinner was held with its typically tight security.
Law enforcement officials who have interviewed Allen's relatives, examined the gunman's electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner.
He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a violent scene that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC's “Meet the Press.”
The suspect is believed to have purchased the two firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
“He failed,” Blanche said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “Law enforcement did their jobs.”
Authorities believe the suspect fired the shot that hit the Secret Service officer, who is expected to make a full recovery, Blanche said.
“He's going to be great, he's going to be fine, and thank God he was wearing a bulletproof vest,” Blanche said Sunday on ABC's “This Week.”
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump.
The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got underway.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realised something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
Trump was unusually conciliatory after what he saw as a third attempt on his life in less than two years. He suggested that his personal politics had made him a repeated target, but he also called for unity and bipartisan healing in an increasingly violent world.
“It's always shocking when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes,” Trump told reporters in a hastily organised news conference at the White House late Saturday.
