Mangaluru blast: CM Bommai asks Congress not to trivialise terrorism
Belagavi, Dec 27: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday asked the Congress in Karnataka not to trivialise terrorism.
Bommai's remarks came during a discussion initiated by BJP national general secretary C T Ravi on terrorist activities in Karnataka.
The ruling BJP charged that the Congress state president and Kanakapura MLA D K Shivakumar questioned the integrity of the Director General of Police Praveen Sood.
The BJP was taking objection over Shivakumar's purported remark that the Mangaluru cooker blast on November 19 was aimed at diverting public attention from the alleged voter data theft case.
Ravi highlighted the terror-related activities in the state including the cooker blast in Mangaluru. He, however, charged that the Congress state president Shivakumar questioned the integrity of Sood.
Reacting to this, Shivakumar said he has seen all kinds of thefts but not the theft of voter data where 8,000 Block Level Officers, were appointed by a private organisation to steal voter data.
"We have lost our leaders to terrorism and we oppose it..." Shivakumar clarified.
The Chief Minister charged that Shivakumar's statement on the Mangaluru blast gave an impression that he called the accused innocent.
He pointed out that the seriousness of the case could be gauged from the fact that the National Investigation Agency took up the probe.
Bommai also rejected Shivakumar's voter data theft charge, saying that addition and deletion of voters is not done by us and it was not part of BJP's culture.
"We will initiate steps in the voter case. There is no need for us to cover it up but I ask you not to trivialise terrorism," Bommai said.
Participating in the discussion, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said the integrity of the DGP was questioned.
"The integrity of the DGP was questioned for his statement but who should say on the issue of law and order if not the DGP? I condemn such statements," Jnanendra said.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
