Siddaramaiah's repeated "chest-thumping" on completing term direct snub to Cong high command: Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Thursday said Chief Minister CM Siddaramaiah's "repeated chest-thumping" about completing a full term, despite the supposed "power-sharing agreement", was nothing short of a direct snub to the Congress high command.
When a sitting CM keeps reiterating his own permanence while conveniently ignoring the party's internal commitments, "it's not confidence, it's defiance," the Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly said.
Siddaramaiah had on Wednesday asserted that he will be in office for a full five-year term, amid speculations about leadership change in the ruling Congress later this year.
"What happened to the (Congress) "high command's will"? Has it been reduced to a rubber stamp in Karnataka? Or has Siddaramaiah already declared independence from party discipline?" Ashoka asked in a post on 'X'.
"By brushing aside the power-sharing pact and daringly stating "why should there be a doubt", he's not just undermining Karnataka Congress Chief and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, he's publicly diminishing the authority of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge," Ashoka said.
Kharge had on Monday asserted that it is up to the party high command to decide on matters such as change of guard.
If the Congress high command had any real control, they would not allow their own CM to so brazenly contradict internal arrangements, Ashoka further said.
But then again, maybe the CM's chair in Karnataka is decided by "lottery" and "luck", not leadership and loyalty, he added.
The question now is not whether Siddaramaiah will complete his term, it's whether the Congress high command has the spine to assert itself, Ashoka said.
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May 2023, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the deputy CM.
There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years, but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.
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Bihar: Woman alleges gang rape in ambulance after fainting during govt recruitment exam
Gayaji (PTI): A woman here has alleged that she was gang-raped inside an ambulance which drove her to a hospital after she fainted during a government recruitment test, police said on Saturday.
Two persons, identified by the complainant who had appeared at a recruitment drive for home guards, have been arrested, they said.
"When the woman fainted, on July 24, she was rushed to the Anugrah Narain Medical College and Hospital at Gayaji in an ambulance. After she regained consciousness, she alleged that she was raped inside the vehicle," said SP (Town), Gayaji Ramanand Kumar Kaushal.
"We thereafter detained the driver and a technician who were in the ambulance. The woman also identified them. Their reply was not satisfactory, so they were arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita," he added.
Kaushal said the medical examination of the complainant has been completed, and based on the findings of the reports, further action will be taken.
Meanwhile, the incident drew strong criticism from Union minister Chirag Paswan, who supports the NDA government in the state, as well as the opposition.
Before leaving for Gayaji to address a rally, Paswan told reporters in Patna, "The incident is deplorable. The guilty may have been caught, but the administration is obviously unable to prevent such crimes. The situation is scary, and I regret that I am supporting a regime that is incapable of controlling law and order."
Leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, shared on X a news clipping of the incident with the hashtag "vote out of power the Nitish Kumar government to protect the girl child (Nitish sarkar Hatao beti bachao).
The RJD leader also alleged that Bihar was under the "rule of demons (rakshas raj)" and accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and "his two so-called deputies" of a "criminal silence" on such incidents.
State Congress president Rajesh Kumar alleged, "The incident at Gayaji is reflective of a collapse in law and order, which is not surprising given the unruly behaviour of the ruling dispensation as witnessed in the recently held assembly session. Our party is committed to ensuring that the girl gets justice."
