Ashish Khetan quits AAP
New Delhi, Aug 22: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashish Khetan on Wednesday announced his resignation from the party, a step that comes a week after another leader, Ashutosh, took a similar decision.
"Early this year I made my decision to quit active politics after much deliberation and in consultation with family and close friends. However, since both the party and the government were beset with a series of crises, I waited for an opportune time to formalize my decision. I had also informed the party leadership about my decision, on more than one occasion," he said in a Facebook post.
He said that his "personal decision" to move away from the party and electoral politics should not be viewed as a reflection on the AAP.
"I have only received love and respect from the party and its members and volunteers. And I will be forever grateful for that," he said.
His Facebook came after a lot of speculation over his move and reports that he had quit the party. Initially, he gave vague replies on Twitter without confirming his decision.
There was no official comment from the AAP on Khetan's decision. In the case of Ashutosh, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did not accept his resignation.
In April, Khetan had resigned as the Vice Chairman of the Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) to join the Bar and practice commercial law.
"I've also taken up legal causes in the larger public interest and will continue to do so. Besides practising law, I'm also keen to return to writing," he said.
He sought to quell rumours that his decision was in any way linked to his desire for getting a ticket in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He was a candidate in the 2014 election.
"The party had graciously asked me to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, but I had politely turned it down. Contesting one more election would have further entrenched me in the world of politics, something I don't want at this point in time.
"I continue to hold all my ex-party colleagues in high regard and wish them good luck in their future endeavours," he said.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13; body of last missing person recovered
Jabalpur (PTI): The bodies of a five-year-old boy and his uncle were recovered from Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district on Sunday morning, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy to 13, police said.
The boat, around 20 years old and operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening.
"The bodies of Mayuram (5) and his uncle Kamraj (around 50), an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, were found floating and were fished out of the dam," Bargi Sub Divisional Officer of Police Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI over the phone.
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All 13 missing persons identified have now been accounted for, he said, adding the bodies were sent to a government hospital for postmortem.
Teams comprising around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, along with personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, were involved in the search operation, the police said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the vessel, 28 were rescued after the incident, according to the police.
The CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat, though the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far, they said.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members. It also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
