Won’t contest polls, but will campaign for BJP; CM Bommai is like my uncle: Kichcha Sudeep

Mangaluru, May 25: Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha and Abhinava Bharath Sanghatane leaders have challenged Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel to contest as an independent candidate without using the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, and win at least 10% of votes that Arun Kumar Puthila won. 

Puthila had contested as an independent from Puttur assembly constituency in the recently concluded assembly election.

Hindu Mahasabha district president Dharmendra and Abhinava Bharath Belthangady wing president Puneeth Suvarna told reporters that they have been fighting against the fake Hindutva of the BJP. “Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja speaks on Mahesh Thimarodi, Praveen Walke and Satyajit Surathkal. What moral right he has to speak on them?” he questioned.

They demanded the resignation of MP Kateel in connection with the alleged police atrocity committed against Hindu activists in Puttur. “The house for the family of Praveen Nettaru was constructed only after the car of MP Nalin Kumar Kateel was jolted by Hindu workers. The Puttur DSP who is facing charges of assault on Hindu workers should be suspended immediately,” they demanded.

Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip have held a demonstration against the so-called "flag march," which they view as a highly provocative act.

Reports said on Thursday that Israeli forces have attacked the Palestinian protesters near the eastern borders of Gaza City and injured several of them.

Israeli forces used live fire and tear gas against the protesters, injuring several of them, as far-right Israelis held the "flag march" in occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds’s Old City.

The protest in Gaza was called for by Palestinian factions in response to the Israeli provocation.  

The demonstrators condemned the "flag march" in East Jerusalem al-Quds, and called for an end to Israeli attacks in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Similar protests were also held in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus in support of al-Quds.

The annual flag march marks Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and al-Quds in 1967. It is organized by far-right Israeli settlers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied al-Quds.

The march is also an attempt by extremist Israeli settlers to slam what they call the Tel Aviv regime’s failure to deal with the Palestinians and affirm their presence in the occupied Palestinian city and its holy sites.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) earlier warned that holding the demonstration would fuel tensions in the occupied territories and Israel will be fully responsible for any possible escalation.  

A spokesman for the Islamic Jihad movement also said the Israeli regime cannot defeat Palestinians through these measures.

He said the Palestinians’ fight against the regime won’t stop unless Israel is wiped off the map.

 Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Hamas resistance movement, commented on the issue as well.

He said the regime’s massive deployment of security forces to al-Quds shows it is fearful of acts of resistance by Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Israeli legislators are pushing a new bill that would see the display of the Palestinian flag punishable by up to one year in prison in the latest crackdown by the far-right Israeli administration.

The Israeli Knesset (parliament) has already voted on preliminary approval of the bill, and it will need three additional votes to pass.

Ever since taking office earlier this year as the most right-wing administration in the Israeli regime’s history, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has introduced a raft of legislation aimed at appeasing the far-right society in the occupied territories.

The Islamic resistance movement Hamas censured the Israeli parliament’s plan to ban Palestinian flags from public places.

Hamas in a statement said the bill shows the insistence of the regime on its fascist agenda and is a declaration of war against Palestinians.

It added, the bill will not scare Palestinians, but will rather encourage them to carry and raise their national flag which represents their identity everywhere.

Hamas also called on the international community and the UN to condemn Israeli atrocities against Palestinian people.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Saturday, reacting to the party’s victory in Karnataka Assembly elections, said that he did not fight a divisive battle, and that “the strength of crony-capitalism was defeated by the power of poor.”

Addressing a press conference in party headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi said, “the markets of hatred have closed down, and shops of love have opened in Karnataka.”

The BJP lost its only bastion in the south today, with Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai conceding defeat shortly after the Congress leads moved past 130 seats. The BJP is ahead on 60-plus seats and HD Kumaraswamy's JD(S) in over 20 seats.

Conceding defeat, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters: "In spite of a lot of efforts put in by the Prime Minister and the BJP workers, we have not been able to make the mark. Once the full results come, we will do a detailed analysis... We take this result in our stride to come back in Lok Sabha elections."

In the 2018 elections, the BJP had won 104 seats, the Congress 80 and the JDS 37 in Karnataka. The BJP's BS Yediyurappa formed government but resigned before a majority test. Then, the Congress and the JDS formed a coalition government. The coalition government lasted 14 months after which 16 MLAs switched to the BJP, toppling the government and bringing the BJP back in power.

The Karnataka results is expected to boost the Congress ahead of next year's general elections and the assembly polls in three states later this year. The party is hoping to make a comeback in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. It is also hoping to win back Madhya Pradesh, where its government crashed in 2020 with the defection of Jyotiraditya Scindia and his loyalists.

The results will be crucial for the BJP in terms of next year's national elections. The state accounts for 28 Lok Sabha seats. While the BJP vote share in the assembly polls has not dropped in comparison to 2018, the elections indicate that the party has not been able to make its much-needed breakthrough into the Vokkaliga and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes votes.

The Congress gains have hugely cheered the opposition. "The message from Karnataka is that the 'end' of BJP's negative, communal, corrupt, rich-oriented, anti-women-youth, social-divisive, false propaganda, individualistic politics has begun," tweeted Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.