Ara MP returns gold coin, silver bar gifted by Railway PSUs during Parliamentary panel tour
New Delhi: Ara MP and CPI(ML) leader Sudama Prasad has earned praise for returning a gold coin and a silver bar, gifts presented to him by Railway PSUs during a Parliamentary Standing Committee tour of South India.
Prasad, who is a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, was gifted a one gram gold coin and a 100 gram silver block by RITES and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) on November 1 while the committee was on a study tour in Bengaluru. Upon realising the nature of the gifts, he immediately wrote a letter to CM Ramesh, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, expressing his disapproval and returned the items in front of other MPs in the panel.
In his letter, Prasad condemned the gesture as "unethical" and said that it borders on corruption. He explained that the gifts were handed to him late in the night, and he initially did not inspect them due to exhaustion from the day's activities. “Later in the night, I discovered one gram gold coin and 100 gram silver block were given to me by RITES and RVNL, respectively. I was taken aback and raised questions about public morality and ethics on part of of Indian Railways for having given such gifts,” he stated.
Prasad said the organisations' action is “not only unethical but borders on corruption to silence the MPs” from raising issues concerning the public at a at a time when passengers are facing multiple challenges of railway safety, increasing fares, lack of facilities and humiliating treatment by the Railways.
Prasad also highlighted the plight of sanitation workers at railway stations, who are denied minimum wages and forced to work under harsh conditions and face harassment at the hand of contractors.
He further expressed dissatisfaction with the treatment of passengers, particularly in general and sleeper compartments. He noted that no new trains were being introduced for the poor and middle class. The focus, he said, appeared to be primarily on Vande Bharat trains.
Placing the gifts in front of the committee on November 2, he expressed “dissatisfaction and anger for treating an MP in this manner” by these organisations.
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Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
