PM Modi has agreed to visit poll-bound K'taka, at least once a month: BS Yediyurappa
Bengaluru, Aug 27: Veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to his request of visiting Karnataka, where the party is aiming to come back to power, at least once a month, in the run-up to the 2023 Assembly polls.
The former Chief Minister who was in New Delhi on Friday to meet the party's central leadership said, no force can stop the BJP from coming back to power in Karnataka.
"I had a detailed discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party national President J P Nadda. They tried to know about the political situation in Karnataka. I have requested the Prime Minister to frequently visit the state and have assured him that the BJP will win more than 140 seats (out of the total 224) and come back to power," Yediyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters here on returning from New Delhi, he said the Prime Minister is visiting Mangaluru on September 2 and a mega event is planned there by gathering lakhs of people.
"I have requested Modiji to frequently visit, at least once a month, various parts of the state, and he has agreed to it. I have also spoken to Nadda in this regard. We will strengthen the party and put in all efforts," he added.
This was the first visit of the Karnataka BJP strongman to the national capital after his recent induction into the party's Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee.
State leaders will begin travel across the state in the next few days aimed at strengthening the party, Yediyurappa said adding, no force can stop the BJP from coming back to power in Karnataka.
"We are confident that people will bless us...the Congress is dreaming about coming to power, but we will not give the opportunity to them and will work unitedly to form a BJP government," he added.
To a question on 40 per cent commission charge against Ministers and MLAs by the contractors' association in public works, Yediyurappa said, "just because some fools are making such false allegations under someone's influence, it cannot be true. Let them go to Lok Ayukta and get it inquired, we have no objection."
Alleging that Congress leader Siddaramaiah is intentionally getting this done, he said, "we will respond to it (allegations) in the Assembly...it will have no impact, people know these are false allegations."
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2 Indian nationals part of crew of luxury cruise ship that reported hantavirus outbreak
London (PTI): At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew of the Dutch vessel MV Hondius which reported a hantavirus outbreak with five confirmed cases and three deaths so far, according to the BBC.
The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.
About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the luxury cruise, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on April 24, according to the report.
Of the 28 nationalities onboard, 38 are from the Philippines, 31 from the UK, 23 from the US, 16 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, nine from Germany, six from Canada, and two crew members from India, among others, the BBC reported.
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The World Health Organization said on Thursday that five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases had been confirmed.
A 69-year-old Dutch woman, confirmed to have the virus, has died; her Dutch husband and a German woman were also among the fatalities. Their cases are being investigated.
The UN health agency has said the outbreak is not the start of a pandemic.
Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO, told a news briefing that the situation is not the same as six years ago with Covid-19 because hantavirus spreads through “close, intimate contact”.
Van Kerkhove said “this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently”. She said authorities had asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.
Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should “wear a higher level of personal protective equipment”.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.
Meanwhile, health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.
Oceanwide Expedition said 29 passengers, of at least 12 different nationalities, had left the MV Hondius in St Helena, the British Overseas Territory.
It also said the body of one deceased person—now known to be a Dutch man - was taken off the vessel.
Seven of those who left the cruise liner were British nationals.
