Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday asserted that former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot be compared, as he praised the incumbent for taking strong actions on border issues and on matters concerning the nation's unity and integrity, compared to the former.

He also sought to know whether senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah was a Dravidian or Aryan, to counter the latter's jibe against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Targeting the RSS, the Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly on Friday had questioned whether those who belonged to the outfit were "native Indians", "Dravidians" or "Aryans", eliciting sharp reactions from several ruling BJP leaders.

Speaking at an event commemorating Nehru's death anniversary here, Siddaramaiah had said, Modi and Nehru cannot be compared, and it should not be done.

"Where is Nehru, where is Modi. It is like comparing land and sky, there is no comparison at all...he (Modi) has undone all the good works of Nehru, like the Five-Year Plans, among others," he had said.

Reacting to Siddaramaiah's comments, Bommai on Saturday said, there cannot be such comparison and pointed out at Modi's strong measures on national security and unity, compared to that of Nehru.

"Obviously, he (Modi) cannot be compared with Nehru, because Nehru when China invaded India (in 1962), without taking proper measures, gave away border areas (to China), while Narendra Modi stood strong and saved our border areas (in recent border skirmishes)," he said.

"Also, he (Modi) has not entered into any compromise with Pakistan. He has worked for India's unity and integrity, there are several such examples. Modi made India strong, so there can be no comparison," he told reporters here.

To a question on the Congress Legislature Party leader's comments against the RSS, the Chief Minister said, "I just want to ask, from where Siddaramaiah has come, whether he is a Dravida or Aryan. Let him tell that first." 

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Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.

Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”

He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.

His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.

Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.

He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.

“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.