Fire Scare at Rahul Gandhi’s MP Roadshow as Helium Balloons Explode
Madhya Pradesh, Oct 07: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi escaped unhurt after helium balloons used to welcome him exploded at his rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district on Saturday.
The incident reportedly occurred when Gandhi’s convoy was passing through a road where scores of supporters had queued to welcome him with ‘aarthi thalis’. The balloons came in contact with a few lamps and caught fire, causing an explosion.
In a video of the accident, the Congress President can be seen greeting supporters from a vehicle when the celebratory balloons suddenly burst into flames. After the explosion, Gandhi and supporters in the crowd looked shaken and clamoured for safety.
Jabalpur Superintendent of Police Amit Singh on Sunday confirmed the incident but denied any lapse in security. "There would have been lapse if the incident had occurred inside the security ring, but it occurred around 15-feet away. Nobody was injured in the incident, though there was a flame due to helium (gas) in the balloon," Singh told PTI.
He added that a Congress block president, identified as Kaudi Lal Rai, wanted to greet Gandhi. Some party workers were standing beside him holding balloons. “The balloons came into contact with the lamp and a huge flame went up," the police officer was quoted as saying by PTI.
Replying to a question about how helium filled balloons were allowed at Gandhi's rally, an SPG-protectee, Singh said that the Blue Book (security guidelines) doesn't state that such balloons or the 'aarti' plate are not allowed. "One can obviously be startled, if a balloon bursts near one even in a birthday party," he said.
on Saturday started his 8-kilometre road show in MP’s Jabalpur district after paying obeisance to the Narmada River, with hundreds of posters dotting the route terming him a "Narmada bhakt".
Courtesy: www.news18.com
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
