Goa Congress stakes claim to form government
Panaji, Sep 18 : A day after staking claim to form the new government in Goa, the opposition Congress on Tuesday said that it was right in doing so as the Manohar Parrikar-led coalition government was "already in a minority".
"The BJP-led coalition government is in a minority. We have asked for an appointment with the Governor. We have the right to stake claim to form the government," Goa Congress legislative party spokesperson Aleixo Reginaldo told reporters here.
Goa Congress leaders are expected to meet Governor Mridula Sinha on Tuesday as she is scheduled to return to Goa from a two-day Delhi visit in the evening.
Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar on Monday visited the Raj Bhavan and submitted a letter signed by all 16 Congress MLAs to Sinha's office and demanded that she should not dissolve the Assembly and thus pave the way for fresh elections.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer, is admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi even as the BJP high command is trying to find an alternative in Parrikar's absence. Some among the allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party are demanding a bigger role in government and even eyeing the Chief Minister's chair.
The Congress is the single largest party in the 40-member Goa Assembly with 16 MLAs, while the BJP with 14 MLAs is supported by three members each of Goa Forward and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, the lone Nationalist Congress Party legislator and three Independents.
What queers the pitch in the numbers game, however, is the health condition of three BJP MLAs -- Parrikar and Urban Development Minister Francis D'Souza getting treatment for cancer and Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar who is bed-ridden after suffering a brainstroke some months back.
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Bengal: On way to PM's rally, 3 mowed down by train amid dense fog
Kolkata (PTI): Three persons died and three others were injured after being hit by a train amid dense fog on Saturday, while travelling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at Taherpur in West Bengal's Nadia district, a senior official said.
The incident occurred between Taherpur and Badkulla railway stations under the Sealdah-Krishnanagar section of Eastern Railway, he said.
Modi, whose helicopter could not land at Taherpur due to dense fog and low visibility, condoled the death of the “BJP workers” in his virtual address from Kolkata airport.
“I have come to know that some BJP workers, while travelling to the rally, lost their lives in a rail accident. My condolences are with the families of those who have lost their loved ones, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Modi said.
The Eastern Railway official told PTI that the incident occurred in the morning when these people, who were travelling by a bus, had stopped the vehicle and walked to the railway tracks to answer nature's call.
"While three persons died on the spot, two others with injuries were admitted to a local hospital," he said.
Another person with minor injuries was released after having been administered first aid, the official said.
The deceased have been identified as Ramprasad Ghosh (74), Shaktipada Sutradhar (55) and Gopinath Das (38).
Meanwhile, Mahua Moitra, Trinamool Congress MP from Krishnanagar constituency in Nadia district, alleged that the BJP ignored the incident and went ahead with the rally.
"Terrible tragedy hushed up at altar of @narendramodi ego. @BJP4India supporters brought from far Murshidabad for PM rally in Ranaghat today," she said in a post on X.
"4 went to answer nature's call and were killed by 31814 down local train near Taherpur. BJP ignored, blacked out & went ahead with rally," Moitra claimed.
Reacting to her remarks, the West Bengal BJP, in a post on X, asserted that the TMC "has always been adept at milking tragedies", and was being "disrespectful to the unfortunate victims of this tragedy".
The TMC alleged that BJP leaders have not shown "neither concern nor compassion" over the mishap.
"The loss of three lives in Taherpur should have united everyone in grief. But @BJP4India leaders showed neither concern nor compassion," it said in another post on X.
"At this painful moment, Smt @MamataOfficial and Shri @abhishekaitc put humanity above party lines and stood beside the families of the deceased," the party said.
TMC’s on-ground leaders promptly reached out to the grieving family members, ensuring them of help and assistance, it said.
"While Delhi’s rulers chase Bengal with arrogance, our leadership chose empathy. This is the difference between politics of power and politics of people!" the TMC added.
