Koppal (Karnataka), May 25: Karnataka Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi on Saturday said if the BJP wins the Lok Sabha elections again then Prime Minister Narendra Modi will build his own temples in every village.
Tangadagi, who holds the Backward Class Development and Kannada and Culture portfolio, said the statements of the prime minister is such that he would get his temples constructed in every village of the country.
The minister's remark came in the backdrop of PM Modi's interview to a national TV channel where he reportedly said, "Until my mother was alive, I used to think I was born biologically. After her demise, when I look at my experiences, I am convinced that I was sent by God. This strength is not from my body. It has been given to me by God. That's why God also gave me the ability, strength, pure-heartedness, and inspiration to do this. I'm nothing but an instrument that God has sent."
Tangadagi also took a swipe at BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra's statement that Lord Jagannath is PM Modi's devotee.
"In case Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins this time, a situation will emerge to build his temples everywhere. Ram temple has happened and others are also being constructed. 'Now (he will say) my own temple should be built' because his statements are like that," Tangadagi told reporters at Karatagi in this district.
"Modi's mind has reached to an extent where he says if people give him a chance this time, he will say that his temple should be built in every village," the minister said, and added that public representatives are public servants and they are not God.
Ridiculing Patra's statement, Tangadagi said, "They (BJP leaders) say that Puri Jagannath is Modi's devotee. If God is his devotee, then (you can guess) where has the BJP people's mindset reached."
Calling his statement a slip of tongue, Patra, the BJP's candidate from Jagannath Puri in Odisha, had apologised to the people and did penance for three days.
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Dubai, Aug 30: An Israeli missile hit a convoy carrying medical supplies and fuel to an Emirati hospital in the Gaza Strip, killing several people from a local transportation company, the American Near East Refugee Aid group said Friday. Israel claimed without immediate evidence that it opened fire after gunmen seized the convoy.
The strike killed several people employed by a transportation company that the aid group was using to bring supplies to the Emirates Red Crescent Hospital in Rafah, said Sandra Rasheed, Anera's director for the Palestinian territories.
The strike happened Thursday on the Salah al-Din Road in the Gaza Strip and hit the convoy's first vehicle.
“The convoy, which was coordinated by Anera and approved by Israeli authorities, included an Anera employee who was fortunately unharmed,” Rasheed said in a statement. “Despite this devastating incident, our understanding is that the remaining vehicles in the convoy were able to continue and successfully deliver the aid to the hospital. We are urgently seeking further details about what happened.”
Anera planned to release more information later Friday.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday from The Associated Press. However, Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee posted to the social platform X that “gunmen seized a car at the head of the convoy (a jeep) and began driving.”
“After the seizure operation and after confirming the possibility of attacking the gunmen' vehicle alone, the raid was carried out, as the rest of the convoy vehicles were not harmed and reached their target according to the plan,” Adraee wrote. “The operation to target the gunmen removed the risk of seizing the humanitarian convoy.”
He added: “The presence of armed men inside a humanitarian convoy in an uncoordinated manner makes it difficult to secure the convoys and their staff and harms the humanitarian effort.”
The United Arab Emirates, which reached a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel in 2020 and has been providing aid to Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began, did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
Israeli forces have opened fire on other aid convoys in the Gaza Strip. The World Food Program announced Wednesday it is pausing all staff movement in Gaza until further notice over Israeli troops opening fire on one of its marked vehicles, hitting it with at least 10 rounds. The shooting came despite having received multiple clearances from Israeli authorities.
On July 23, UNICEF said two of its vehicles were hit with live ammunition while waiting at a designated holding point. An Israeli attack in April hit three World Central Kitchen vehicles, killing seven people.