Kumaraswamy accuses PM of not sharing details of Balakot air strikes
Bengaluru, Apr 19: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not sharing complete details of Balakot air strikes.
The remarks come a day after Modi's attack on him during the PM's Belagavi and Chikkodi election meetings on Thursday.
Modi took on Kumaraswamy for saying the matter of air strikes on terror camps in Pakistan's Balakot should not be over publicised "fearing the vote bank bank would get angry."
"Now tell me, Where is Congress and the JD(S) vote bank? Is it in Bagalkot or Balakot? This Congress-JD(S) has to decide," the prime minister said.
Talking to reporters in Hubballi, Kumaraswamy said, "We do not know anything about the air strike. We read only in the newspapers. You (Modi) did not give the complete information to the people of India about the air strikes.
"He (Modi) publicises it as if he himself carried out the air strike and nobody had ever crossed the Pakistan border in the past," the chief minister said.
He said the prime minister had been projecting that Pakistan was trembling with fear.
The JD(S) leader added that he found Indira Gandhi a bigger leader than Modi.
"Did Narendra Modi from Bangladesh? It is Indira Gandhi's gift. What have you (Modi) done?" Kumaraswamy said.
On Modi's jibe that the Congress and JD(S) projected the attack inside Balakot in Pakistan as if it was something in Bagalkot in Karnataka as the two parties thought India could not dare to do so, the chief minister said, "We have not seen Balakot.
"You (Modi) must have seen it. You only went there with a shawl to celebrate an event with the (then) prime minister (Nawaz Sharif). What discussions you had there? What harmony you could establish with the Pakistan prime minister whom you gave the shawl?" he said.
Referring to Modi ridiculing his purported remark that people who were unable to get two square meals a day go to the defence services, the JD(S) leader said, "I did say that since Modi does not have the ability to give jobs to the youth, people go to the Army to sustain their families and survive somehow.
"I spoke about the poverty of the families. I told him not to play with the lives of such youths. But they twisted my words and they twisted my statement. BJP is expert in that," he added.
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West Asia conflict: Six Indians lost their lives in 'various incidents', says MEA
New Delhi (PTI): Amid the escalating West Asia conflict, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said six Indian nationals have lost their lives while one remains missing in "various incidents".
At an inter-ministerial briefing here, Additional Secretary (Gulf), MEA, Aseem R Mahajan, also said, "Late yesterday night, we received information regarding the tragic demise of an Indian national, during an attack in Riyadh on March 18." He, however, did not elaborate upon the circumstances of this death.
"We express our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. Our Mission in Riyadh is in touch with the family and closely co-ordinating with local authorities for the early return of the mortal remains to India," he said.
On Friday, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh also said that an Indian national was killed in Saudi Arabia due to the “recent events of March 18”.
In a social media post, the Indian Mission expressed its “deepest condolences on the tragic demise of an Indian national in Riyadh due to recent events on March 18".
A day earlier, the Indian embassy said alerts were received by residents in Riyadh and some other regions on Wednesday. “The Indian community is advised to remain calm and composed,” the embassy said.
Mahajan also told reporters in Delhi that "six Indian nationals have lost their lives and one is missing in various incidents".
"Our missions in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iraq, and the UAE are in regular touch with the concerned authorities regarding the missing Indian national and for the early repatriation of mortal remains of the deceased Indian nationals to India," he said.
Less than a week ago, the MEA official had told reporters in an inter-ministerial briefing on the West Asia situation that five Indian nationals had lost their lives while one is missing in various incidents.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israel combine launched military strikes on Iran. In retaliation, Tehran has targeted Gulf countries hosting US military bases.
Energy and other civilian infrastructure in the Gulf region have also come under attack during this conflict that has stretched into three weeks, with no end to it in sight.
Since February 28, around three lakh passengers have returned from the region to India, Mahajan said.
