Apologise or face Rs 100 cr defamation suit, CM warns Modi and Shah

Bangalore: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has threatened to initiate defamation proceedings against prime minister Narendra Modi for allegedly making false and malicious statements against him. The chief minister demanded a public apology from the BJP leadership or face a Rs 100 crore defamation case. Siddaramaiah al­so sent notices to BJP chief Amit Shah and party chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa.

Modi, during a rally in Bangalore, attacked Siddar­amaiah over alleged corruption, calling his government “seedha rupaiya sarkar” (government that takes bri­be for every work) and “10 per cent commission gover­nment,” the notice claimed.

Earlier, Modi alleged that while his government talked about ease of doing business, Siddaramaiah government was facilitating “ease of doing murders,” referring to the killing of Hindu activists.

Also, BJP had published advertisements titled “Sidda Sarkara”, containing false information, the notice said.

“These allegations are co­­mpletely false and fabric­a­­ted. It has been made with a malicious intent to defame Siddaramaiah and destroy his reputation,” the notice said.

Further stepping up attack on Modi, the party also lodged a complaint against him with the Election Commission of India, saying he violated  the model code of conduct by making a promise to resolve the Mahadayi  river water sharing issue with the neighbouring Goa.

The party quoted Modi as saying, “The Union government is ready to talk to the riparian states and resolve the Mahadayi water sharing issue amicably."

The complaint said Modi misused his position to garn­er votes and inti­midated voters, especially th­ose living around Mahadayi river to vote for his party.

PM slams Oppn, says his party wants to promote modern India

Bangalore: Prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday slammed the Opposition for opposing technology and said the BJP wants to promote a modern India by giving importance to skill development and innovation.

Addressing BJP yuva morcha workers via the ‘Narendra Modi App,’ the prime minister said “On one hand, there are parties that have lagged behind in technology, either they cannot understand or are intentionally spreading lies. They have opposed all subjects in technology —  EVM and Aadhaar card. On the other hand for a modern India, in every field of life we want to give importance to technology, be it skill development or innovation. This is the era of artificial intelligence and India cannot lag behind.”

Praising the yuva morcha workers for increasing the importance of technology wit­hin the organisation, Modi said “Youth power is at the forefront whether it is online, offline or mass contact. Youth are the biggest asset of the BJP."

He also lauded efforts of the party workers in maintaining the public mood in favour of the party despite rumours of a hung assembly in the May 12 elections in Karnataka.

“At 45 degree temperature, I have seen the enthusiasm of people...It is rare to witness such level of enthusiasm...I can see that in Karnataka, people themselves are fighting the elections,” he said.

BJP rakes up Hublot watch controversy
Bangalore: Hitting out at chief minister Siddaramaiah over his alleged links with a company running a Ponzi scheme, BJP on Monday sought to know his connection with its head Vijay Eswaran, who was under serious scrutiny of the UPA government.

Union minister for communications and information technology Ravi Sha­nkar Prasad sought to know why Siddaramaiah feted a person who, despite being probed by the UPA government, came to Karn­a­taka and initiated ponzi sc­hemes. He sought to know from the chief minister who Vijay Eswaran was and how he had feted him in China.

“A person against whom the Serious Fraud Investigation office had investigated under Manmohan Si­ngh, not only feted by you in China, but at your instance comes to Karnataka to invest and initiates ponzi schemes,” he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP raked up the Hublot watch controversy involving chief minister Siddaramaiah and accused him of ‘aiding, abetting and promoting’  the cheating of private investors in the alleged Ponzi scheme. The saffron outfit also sought to know whe­ther Siddaramaiah received the costly Hublot watch for 'facilitating' QI Group of Companies, headed by Vijay Eswaran, to operate in the state.

It should be noted that Siddaramaiah handed over the diamond-studded Hub­lot watch to the assembly speaker asking him to make it a state asset after a controversy erupted over it in March 2016.

Addressing reporters BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on Sunday said the party intends to file a complaint with the governor to sanction the prosecution of Siddaramaiah for dealing with the company, “which was declared as a threat to national security by the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO).”

Meanwhile, in a statement, QNET said it operat­es in India through Vihaan Direct  Selling (India) Private Limited, its sub-franchisee, which is into direct selling on an e-commerce platform. The company neither solicits investments nor seeks any deposits or registration fees for joining the business, it said.

It also said Karnataka state investigated the company and filed a detailed cha­rgesheet, which was qu­ashed by the high court wh­ile holding that the co­m­pany was not a Ponzi scheme.