Congress general secretary Harish Rawat resigns
New Delhi, Jul 4: Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat announced his resignation as the Congress general secretary in-charge of Assam on Thursday, taking moral responsibility of the party's poor show in the north-eastern state in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls.
Rawat said as the in-charge of party affairs in Assam, he was responsible for the below-par performance of the Congress in the parliamentary polls and thus, had decided to step down from the post.
The resignation comes in the wake of Rahul Gandhi resigning as the Congress chief on Wednesday.
"We the office bearers of the Congress are responsible for the party's defeat and organisational failure. I am responsible for the below-expected result of the party in Assam as in-charge of the state. I accept my shortcoming and resign as general secretary in-charge of state," Rawat said on Twitter.
He added that for people like him, posts were not important, but a leader like Gandhi, who inspired the workers, should continue to lead the party.
"If the leadership remains in his hand, it is possible that he could lead the party to victory in 2022 assembly elections in states and also in 2024 Lok Sabha elections to defeat the BJP and Narendra Modi. That is why all democratic forces and Congress workers want to see Rahul Gandhi as Congress president," the former Uttarakhand chief minister said.
In the parliamentary polls held in April-May, the Congress managed to win only three of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam.
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Steel mirrors deployed in Mysuru to discourage public urination
Mysuru (PTI): Fed up with people relieving themselves along roadsides, the Mysuru City Corporation has adopted a unique strategy to curb the practice and promote civic sense by installing reflective steel mirrors along pavements, officials said on Friday.
In what officials described as a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Corporation installed stainless steel sheets with a mirror finish along an 80-metre stretch opposite the Mysuru Suburban Bus Stand.
Officials said the reflective sheets are intended to confront anyone attempting to urinate in public with their own reflection, thereby discouraging the act psychologically.
“The idea is to maintain cleanliness and hygiene, prevent public nuisance, and promote civic sense. It is a simple yet psychological approach that encourages self-awareness through reflection,” officials added.
Soon after the mirrors were installed, videos of the initiative went viral on social media, with many people appreciating the administration’s innovative attempt to address public urination. At the same time, some users pointed out the lack of basic civic sense among people.
Several social media users also suggested that more public toilets, maintained in a hygienic condition, were needed to further discourage open urination.
Explaining how the idea originated, Nitesh Patil, Administrator and Regional Commissioner of the Mysuru City Corporation, told PTI that despite a public toilet being located next to the bus stand, many people continued to urinate in the open.
Even fines and warnings failed to deter them from relieving themselves against vacant compound walls, leaving behind a foul smell.
“One of our engineers came up with this idea, and we decided to implement it. The initiative has received a very positive response from the public, social media, and the press. We are now planning to identify more such locations in the city and install similar reflectors,” he said.
According to him, to ensure that the installation is both effective and visually appealing, LED lighting that switches on along with the streetlights has also been added, causing the stretch to glow at night and enhancing the city’s appearance.
Patil said the initiative had helped create civic awareness while also beautifying the city.
“We want our city to be clean and hygienic. We aspire to become the cleanest city in the country,” he added, recalling that Mysuru secured third place nationally in the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2024–25 last year.
