Only three citizens of Pakistan, all children below six years of age, are currently residing in Karnataka, and the rest were deported back to their country, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Monday.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
Responding to media queries at H D Kote, near Mysuru, he said, “In Mysuru, only three children are there. All of them were sent to the border (for deportation). But, since nobody came to receive them, they returned.”
The Central government had decided to deport all Pakistani citizens following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam. A total of 108 Pakistani citizens were in Karnataka, of which 88 were married to Indian citizens.
Asked if the Central government should have called for an all-party meeting before declaring a ceasefire with Pakistan, the CM responded in the affirmative. “Along with this, Parliament should also have been convened (to discuss the war). Because it is a very serious matter,” Siddaramaiah said. To a question on the BJP allegedly taking credit for Operation Sindoor, he said that the credit should go to the country’s armed forces and not to any political party.
On the events held to mark the completion of two years of Congress government in Karnataka, he said that the state government has decided to celebrate it after initially being apprehensive about the event due to the conflict between India and Pakistan. “In the last Cabinet, we did not take a decision (on the events) as the ceasefire was not announced yet,” he said.
The state leadership had informed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi that the event would be postponed. However, since the state government has decided to celebrate it now, it has approached the two leaders again for their presence in the event, Siddaramaiah added.
The Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government was sworn in on May 20, 2023, after the Congress comfortably won the Assembly elections.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd