Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday dared BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa to contest from the Varuna constituency here in the May 12 assembly election.

"I challenge Yeddyurappa to contest from Varuna if he is so sure of winning instead of fielding his second son (B.Y. Vijayendra) against my son Yathindra," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.

Though the Chief Minister was re-elected twice from Varuna since 2008 assembly poll, he is likely to field Yathindra this time, as he is planning to contest from Chamundeshwari in the same district.

He said that the BJP, which failed to win a single seat in the Mysuru region in May 2013 assembly election now "boasts of defeating me or my son this time. I accept the challenge. Let Yeddyurappa or his son contest against me or my son".

"As the people of Varuna know of my contribution to the constituency, they will certainly vote for those who worked and none else," said Siddaramaiah.

Questioning Yeddyurappa's credentials to contest from any assembly segment in Mysuru region, he asked what was the BJP leader's contribution to the region or the state during his three-year tenure.

"What is his (Yeddyurappa) connection with Varuna or Mysuru. As people are wise, they know whom to vote. Even if my son contests, people will vote for him and not Yeddyurappa's son (Vijayendra)," he said.

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Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the "unjust" war imposed on the people of Iran should end and peace should prevail, asserting that the US and Israel do not get to decide the leadership of the country.

He said it is for the people of Iran to decide about their leadership.

"At the end of the day, what we want is peace. We want this unjust war that has been imposed on the people of Iran to stop. As I have said time and again, America and Israel don't get to decide who the leader of Iran is. Israel and the US don't get to decide who the Supreme Leader is," Abdullah told reporters here.

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The chief minister said Iran's assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was not just the leader of Iran, "he was an acknowledged religious leader for the entire Muslim Ummah".

"So, this should not be seen as a conflict with Iran; it has far wider implications," he added.

Abdullah welcomed the Indian ships being allowed to carry fuel through the Strait of Hormuz.

"Anything that allows us to keep our prices low is a good thing, whether that means buying oil from Russia or being able to transport our gas and fuel supplies through the strait, which otherwise is closed for everybody else. It is good for us," he said.

However, he added that while India will benefit from the move, "ultimately we will benefit when peace prevails. And we want this unjust war to end".