Congress disbands KPCC, spares Gundu Rao, Khandre
New Delhi/Bengaluru, June 19: A day after the Congress suspended its Bengaluru MLA R. Roshan Baig, the party on Wednesday dissolved the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), sparing its state unit President Dinesh Gundu Rao and Working President Easwar B. Khandre.
"The AICC has decided to dissolve the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). Its president (Rao) and working president (Khandre) remain unchanged," said All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary K.C. Venugopal in a statement in New Delhi.
Venugopal is also the in-charge of the party's state unit affairs.
The KPCC has 290 office-bearers, including former Central and state ministers, members of Parliament and the state legislature and presidents of its district committees.
"The KPCC has been dissolved for restructuring in the aftermath of the party's poor performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections in which it was routed, winning only one seat," party spokesman Ravi Gowda told IANS in Bengaluru.
As part of the pre-poll alliance with its coalition ally Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) on seat-sharing and to field joint candidates, the Congress contested from 21 of the 28 parliamentary seats in the state and managed to retain Bangalore Rural.
Though the JD-S contested the remaining 7 seats, it also won only one seat to retain Hassan.
In contrast, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 25 of the 27 seats it contested, which is the highest ever for it in the state.
Independent candidate, Sumalatha Ambareesh, backed by the BJP, wrested the Mandya seat from the JD-S. Sumalatha is a multi-lingual south Indian film actress and widow of former Congress state Minister M.H. Ambareesh.
The dissolution of the KPCC comes after Baig was suspended for anti-party activities on Tuesday.
Baig, 67, is an eight-time MLA from Shivajinagar assembly segment in Bengaluru's city centre.
Upset by Baig's public criticism of the party's state leadership, KPCC served notice to him in May, seeking explanation for his attack on Venugopal, Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah and Rao for the rout in the Lok Sabha elections.
Baig has also been in the news of late for the wrong reasons, including his alleged involvement in a multi-crore Ponzi scheme operated by jewellery trader Mohammed Mansoor Khan, who fled India on June 8.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
