Shah asks Eshwarappa to withdraw candidature, rebel BJP leader says not changing mind
Shivamogga (Karnataka) (PTI): Senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa on Tuesday said the Union Home Minister Amit Shah called him up and asked him to withdraw his candidature from this Lok Sabha constituency but he stood firm on his decision to contest.
Miffed over his son K E Kanthesh being denied the ticket to contest from neighbouring Haveri, the former Deputy Chief Minister had announced he would enter the fray in Shivamogga, where the BJP has again fielded the party veteran B S Yediyurappa's son and MP B Y Raghavendra.
Eshwarappa, who had also served as the party's state unit chief, had alleged that Yediyurappa, a member of the party's Parliamentary Board and central election committee, promised a ticket to his son but betrayed him.
He said Shah, who was on a visit to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, called him up and asked him to withdraw his candidature but he did not agree.
“This morning ‘iron man’ Amit Shah had called me. He told me that you are such a senior leader and contesting the election, which is surprising. He asked me why I am contesting,” he told reporters here.
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“Amit Shah asked me not to contest the election and withdraw the nomination papers. He said all the demands will be addressed in the coming days. Three months back I had gone to Delhi and I had explained to him (the prevailing situation in the party) but there were no changes in the situation,” the 75-year-old rebel BJP leader said.
According to him, Shah asked him to meet him in Delhi on April 3. Eshwarappa said he agreed but requested him not to press him to withdraw his decision, as it will cause him a problem.
“He must have understood my sentiments behind contesting the election. I will win the election and it will help achieve all the objectives for which I am contesting the election," Eshwarappa said.
He also said Shah promised to take care of his son’s political future. “I spoke to my son who told me not to worry about his future and it will be enough if it helps the state BJP unit. I am going to meet Shah in Delhi tomorrow."
“I told him (Shah) that I am contesting because I am deeply hurt just as all the workers are in pain, who want ‘purification’ of the party,” he said.
Eshwarappa said the BJP in Karnataka unit should follow what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been saying – to end dynastic politics.
“Narendra Modi has given a call to free a political party from a family but in the BJP Karnataka unit, the Congress culture is growing", Eshwarappa said adding that it is unjust that the entire party is in the grip of a family in the State. It has hurt those who built and toiled for the party.
“I am contesting this election to free the BJP from the control of ‘father and sons'," he said referring to Yediyurappa and his sons Raghavendra, who is Shivamogga MP, and B Y Vijayendra, the state unit President and also Shikaripura MLA.
According to him, the prominence Yediyurappa’s family has got has hurt all those who helped him grow in the party.
“Also, those fighting for Hindutva, such as former minister C T Ravi, MP Pratap Simha, Uttara Kannada MP Anantkumar Hegde, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal or former Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda or even myself...there is a feeling in the party whether it is wrong to work for Hindutva,” Eshwarappa said.
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Bad timing: Fraudsters call senior Indore cop during press briefing to pull off 'digital arrest'
Indore, Nov 24: Some online fraudsters got their target and timing horribly wrong on Sunday after they attempted to "digitally arrest" a senior police official with an automated call over "credit card misuse" while he was addressing a press conference in Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
"The caller informed that I had misused my credit card and as a result a case had been registered with Andheri West police station in Mumbai. I was having a press briefing at the time. I was told my bank account would be blocked and was asked to visit the police station in two hours," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) of Indore crime branch Rajesh Dandotia told PTI.
The official said he told the caller he would not be able to make it to Mumbai from Indore at such short notice.
"The caller told me he would be connect me to someone from the police station. He then connected me to another person, who asked me to wait. He said he would talk to his senior officer to see if my statement could be recorded via video call. When he saw me in police uniform, he immediately disconnected the video call," the official narrated.
Dandotia said he asked media persons to record a video so that people can be made aware of such cyber crimes and digital arrest.
Digital arrest is a modus operandi of cyber criminals who threaten a person with arrest, force the person to remain confined in a room while keeping him or her under electronic surveillance and then extort money on the pretext of "clearing" him or her of charges.
जब एडीसीपी क्राइम इंदौर को ही आ गया डिजिटल अरेस्ट के लिए कॉल pic.twitter.com/H965PKz1Mo
— SanjayGupta_Journalist (@sanjaygupta1304) November 24, 2024
