POCSO case: Truth will come out from court; Siddaramaiah will get befitting reply, says Yediyurappa
Mysuru (PTI): Responding to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's statement asking him to retire from public life as he is an accused in a POCSO Act case, veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Friday said the truth will come out when the court decides on the case, and the former will get a befitting reply.
The former chief minister hit back at Siddaramaiah stating that the time for him to retire and go home is approaching, pointing at the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam'.
"He (Siddaramaih) has to say such things. The time for him to retire and go home is approaching, it is natural for him to say such things about others.
"Who will retire, who will not, we will get to know in the days ahead, when the case is decided by the court in a few days. Let's decide who will retire after that," Yediyurappa said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, the 81-year-old leader said, "Truth will come out once the court decides (on the case against me). I won't say anything until then. I feel that after the court order Siddaramaih will get a befitting reply. He is speaking whatever he feels like, let him speak, he has time. People will give him a befitting reply."
Questioning Yediyurappa's "moral right" to demand his resignation in connection with the MUDA site allotment 'scam', Siddaramaiah on Wednesday had urged that the former should retire from public life as he is an accused in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case.
The case was registered on March 14 this year based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl who alleged that Yediyurappa sexually assaulted her daughter during a meeting on February two, at his residence in Dollars Colony in Bengaluru.
The Criminal Investigation Department, which is probing the case, on June 27 filed a charge-sheet against him at the Fast Track Court.
Opposition BJP and JD(S) are on a week-long Bengaluru-Mysuru padayatre (foot march) demanding Siddaramaih's resignation in connection with the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by MUDA, including to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi.
They are scheduled to conclude their protest march on Saturday by holding a mega rally on reaching Mysuru.
A mega convention will be held tomorrow as the padayatre led by state BJP President B Y Vijayendra is reaching Mysuru. The padayatre has got a good response from the people all along, and to "root out this corrupt government", this programme is being held, Yediyurappa said.
"There is a good response beyond our expectation. Public anger against this government is being expressed everywhere. Let's wait and see what will happen in the future," the BJP veteran said.
Accusing Siddaramaiah of getting allotted to his wife a number of "costly" MUDA sites, Yediyurappa, in response to a question about CM's statement that he has done no wrong to resign, said, "the corruption has reached its peak in this government, what he (Siddaramaiah) has done is an unpardonable offence, so we are fighting against it."
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Rupee falls 17 paise to 92.71 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 17 paise to 92.71 against US dollar in early trade on Thursday as the fragile ceasefire and Iran's threat to step out of the talks if Israel kept bombing Lebanon kept investors wary.
Forex traders said markets are in a wait-and-watch mode rather than strong directional positioning as the situation in West Asia remains fragile.
Geo-Political uncertainty was still high amid Iran’s threat to step out of the talks if Israel kept bombing Lebanon, keeping investors wary of the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.63 against the US dollar, then gained ground to touch 92.71 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a gain of 17 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 92.54 against the American currency.
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon. The White House demanded that the channel be reopened and sought to keep peace talks on track.
"The fragile ceasefire could be jeopardized by the renewed Middle East tensions as Israel struck Lebanon and Iran warned of moving out of the ceasefire if strikes against Lebanon continued," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
This caused the dollar index to rise to 99.10, with the Euro and GBP both falling against the dollar. Asian currencies also fell from their Wednesday highs.
The RBI left Interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but flagged risks to the Indian economy from disruptions caused by the Iran war, Bhansali noted.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.10 per cent at 99.03
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 1.93 per cent at USD 96.52 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex dropped 243.57 points to 77,319.33 in opening trade, while the Nifty declined 88.3 points to 23,909.05.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,811.97 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met senior US officials here and discussed ways to further deepen the defence and trade relations and exchanged views on the developments in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia.
On a three-day visit here, Misri met under secretaries Michael Duffey and Elbridge Colby in the Department of Defence, and under secretaries Jeffrey Kessler and William Kimmitt in the Department of Commerce.
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