PM reacting to a statement I never made, says Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, Jan 12: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Saturday said he was "amused" at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "clerk" comment referring to him and clarified that he had never made such a statement.
"I am amused to see Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi reacting to a statement which I never made.
After farmers loan this is the second time he is reacting to false information/statement.
Such statements won't deter our coalition government from the development agenda," Kumaraswamy Said in a tweet.
The "farmers' loan" was a reference to Modi's statement at a rally in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh in December 29 last year that Congress promised loan waivers to lakhs of farmers, but the JD(S)-Congress coalition in Karnataka did not deliver.
"Lollipops" were handed out. The loan waiver was given to only 800 farmers, Modi had claimed.
Addressing the BJP's National Convention in New Delhi Saturday, Modi referred to a reported statement of Kumaraswamy about functioning like a clerk.
"In Karnataka, where there is a coalition government,what is the Chief Minister there saying? Karnataka Chief Minister, who is the Chief Minister of a coalition government.
It has been a just few months, but he is worried so much that he is saying that instead of (being treated as) Chief Minister, he is being treated like a clerk," Modi said.
According to some media reports, Kumaraswamy, during the recent meeting with party legislators, had told them that he was working under pressure.
The reports had also quoted the Chief Minister as having told them that he was functioning like a clerk and accusing the JDS coalition partner Congress of interference.
Kumaraswamy had on Thursday rubbished the media reports, terming them as "speculative" and "imaginary".
Reacting to the Prime Minister's comments, JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda asked "Will he praise the coalition government and not criticise?"
No one should speak lightly about anybody. I don't have the practise of talking lightly about anyone. I don't want its advantage also", he said.
The state Congress too has hit back at Modi, calling him a "leader of failures".
"Respected Narendra Modi, you have called the Chief Minister of a democratically elected government a clerk.
You, aleader of failures, lord of lies, have diminished the position of Prime Minister," Karnataka Congress said in a tweet in Kannada.
It attacked the Prime Minister for not coming to Parliament and responding to the charges against him.
Noting that the matter was something between Congress and JD(S), the coalition coordination committee chief and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asked what Modi has to do with it.
He said "Modi doesn't know anything he is trying to instigate"
Karnataka BJP leaders Prahlad Joshi and Jagadish Shettar defended Modi's remark, saying that he was only quoting Kumaraswamy.
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Ban on outsiders' entry extended in Sambhal, SP MPs barred from entering
Lucknow/Sambhal (UP) (PTI): Three Samajwadi Party parliamentarians, including its Sambhal MP, were stopped from entering the violence-hit district, as the administration on Saturday extended the ban on the entry of outsiders into Sambhal to December 10 to maintain "peace and order".
The administration's earlier ban on the entry of outsiders was to expire on Saturday.
The Samajwadi Party's Muzaffarnagar MP Harendra Malik, accompanied by its Kairana and Sambhal MPs, was stopped from entering Sambhal from Ghaziabad.
"I don't understand why we are being stopped. Are the opposition leader and the MPs so irresponsible that they can't be allowed to move within the state?" Malik said.
The party had earlier announced a 15-member delegation would visit the district to gather information about the violence that broke out over a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid.
Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, set to expire on Sunday, were extended to December 31.
In a statement issued in Sambhal, District Magistrate Rajendra Pensiya said, "To maintain peace and order, the imposition of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita in the district has been extended to December 31."
"No outsider, any social organisation or public representative can enter into the borders of the district without seeking the permission of the competent authority till December 10," he added.
Tension had been brewing in Sambhal since November 19 when the court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque was carried out following claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site.
Violence erupted during a second survey on November 24 as protesters gathered near the mosque and clashed with security personnel, leading to stone pelting and arson. Four people died and several others were injured in the clashes. The police have denied allegations that it fired at the protesters.
The Supreme Court has since ordered the Sambhal trial court to halt proceedings in the case and its survey.
Pensiya further said, "If anyone tries to spread rumours on any group on social media, the group admin will delete the post and immediately inform the police. Cyber cafes will keep a register to enter the names of visitors. No person in Sambhal will burn effigies at public places."
Malik, who was stopped from entering Sambhal, further said, "Our delegation also included MPs Zia-ur-Rehman Barq (Sambhal) and Iqra Hasan (Kairana). What can we do? The government is acting in an autocratic manner."
Sambhal MP Barq has been booked in connection with the November 24 violence for "provocative acts".
In Moradabad, Samajwadi Party MP Ruchi Veera's residence was surrounded by cops to prevent her from travelling to Sambhal.
Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey, who was to lead the delegation, told reporters outside his Lucknow residence that Home Secretary Sanjay Prasad called him and requested him to not visit Sambhal.
Pandey is sitting on a dharna in Lucknow.
"The Sambhal district magistrate also called and told me that the ban on the entry of outsiders had been extended. I will now visit the party office and discuss the issue before deciding on our next action," he said.
"The government perhaps wanted to prevent me in order to hide its wrongdoings in Sambhal as our visit would have exposed its mistakes," he added.
Heavy security has been deployed outside Pandey's residence since Friday.
The Samajwadi Party had postponed an earlier visit after assurances from the director general of police about a fair investigation into the violence.
Congress state chief Ajay Rai earlier told PTI that a party delegation would visit Sambhal on December 2.
