Kumaraswamy a "political villain," more frustrated than BJP, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (PTI): Dubbing JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy a "political villain," Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday claimed that he was "more frustrated" than the BJP.
He hit out at the former Chief Minister for his recent attacks directed towards him and his government.
"If there is anyone who is a political villain, it is him, it is Mr Kumaraswamy. He has targeted me for watching a cricket match. But when his government (Congress-JD(S) coalition government) was about to collapse, he was sitting in America for a week. What should we call him?" Siddaramaiah said, in response to a question on Kumaraswamy allegedly comparing the Chief Minister to villains in the epic Mahabharata.
Speaking to reporters here, he claimed that, during his entire one year and two months as Chief Minister, Kumaraswamy spent time in a luxury hotel in Bengaluru.
To a question that Kumaraswamy has accused him of destabilising his government leading to its collapse in July, 2019, Siddaramaiah pointed out that earlier, the JD(S) leader had on record, in the Assembly, blamed the BJP for his government's collapse.
"He had made this statement accusing the BJP for his government's collapse, during the trust vote in the Assembly, but now he is saying different things and is blaming me, did he mislead the House then" he said, adding Kumaraswamy is "more frustrated" than the BJP and hence was making such statements.
In the May elections this year to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, the Congress bagged 135 seats, the BJP 66 and the JD(S) 19.
Last month, the JD (S) joined the BJP-led NDA; the two parties said they will have an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls next year.
Lashing out at Kumaraswamy for calling Siddaramaiah 'Mir Sadiq', Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar too, said the JD(S) leader had blamed the BJP for the collapse of his government and questioned as to how he has joined hands with the same party now.
Mir Sadiq, a minister during Tipu Sultan's rule, conspired with the British. His name is used when calling someone a traitor.
Pointing out as to how Siddaramaiah, the Congress party, its legislators and leadership stood by him during the then coalition government, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, accused Kumaraswamy of now "hugging" the same BJP which was responsible for its collapse and challenged him for a debate during the Assembly session in Belagavi and even for a media debate.
"...Who spoke what...let's bring things on record for future generations to know...earlier I had kept quiet abiding by a few (Vokkaliga) community leaders, but I have to speak now, as we too have self-esteem like you," he added.
Both Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar belong to the Vokkaliga community.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
