Nitish Kumar is BJP's 'Chunavi dulha', not CM choice: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday claimed the BJP was "using" JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar to sail through the Bihar Assembly election, and he won't be allowed to remain chief minister after the polls.
Asserting that Bihar is demanding a change and wants to move towards a better and prosperous future, he claimed that RJD's Tejashwi Yadav is going to become the chief minister after the Mahagathbandhan wins the polls.
Taking a swipe at Nitish Kumar while talking to reporters in Ghazipur, Yadav said, "He is definitely the BJP's 'Chunavi dulha', but for the post (of CM) he is not the 'dulha' (groom)."
"The BJP, under a conspiracy, is using Nitish Kumar. The INDIA bloc was making him the prime ministerial face. Today, he is only a face for the sake of elections," he remarked.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister further said, "I am telling you again, the people of Bihar know everything. Even leaders from the opposition platforms are saying that Nitish Kumar has been brought only for election purposes."
Yadav predicted the BJP would not make Kumar the chief minister after the elections. "You can ask on what basis I'm saying this. Look at what happened in Maharashtra and other states. Those who were projected as faces before elections were not made chief ministers later. The same will happen in Bihar too," he claimed.
Extending his full support to RLD leader Tejashwi Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief said, "Tejashwi Yadav is going to become the chief minister. We are all in his support. And not only are we supporting him, but we are also ready to help in running the government in every possible way -- to guide him and assist wherever needed."
Accusing the Election Commission of not acting impartially, he said the BJP wanted to do a scam in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
"The Election Commission does not act impartially. It is the responsibility of the EC to maintain an accurate voter list and ensure that every vote is cast. But do you really see impartiality? Look at any bypoll in Uttar Pradesh or even the general election -- the EC acts with bias, and that's why such allegations arise,” he said.
"The BJP wants to commit a scam in SIR. Check the list of booth-level officers if there is even one name from the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) community.
"There is a large number of 'Pidit' (suffering), 'Dukhi' (unhappy) and 'Apmanit' (humiliated), and the BJP is scared of them. The BJP cannot fight against the unity and strength of the PDA," Akhilesh Yadav added.
Polling in Bihar will be held on November 6 and 11, and results will be announced on November 14. The opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance, which has the RJD, Congress and Left parties as the main constituents, has declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav its chief ministerial candidate for the Bihar polls.
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Chhattisgarh Vedanta power plant blast: Death toll rises to 24
Raipur (PTI): The death toll in a blast at the Vedanta power plant in Chhattisgarh's Sakti district has gone up to 24 with one more worker succumbing to injuries on Sunday, officials said.
Eleven other persons were undergoing treatment in different hospitals. Two of them were reported to be in critical condition, they said.
A worker, identified as Manish Kumar, a native of Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh, died during treatment at Raigarh medical college in the wee hours, a government official told PTI.
With this, the death toll has gone up to 24 in the incident that occurred on April 14.
The explosion occurred in a steel tube carrying high-pressure steam from the boiler to the turbine at the Vedanta Ltd power plant located in Singhitarai village, leaving several workers with severe burn injuries.
According to officials, four workers died on the spot, while nine others succumbed to injuries soon after the incident. Seven more injured workers succumbed to injuries in hospitals on April 15, while another worker died on April 16 at a hospital in Raipur. Two more workers died in hospitals on Saturday.
The deceased include seven labourers from West Bengal, five from Chhattisgarh, four from Jharkhand, four from Uttar Pradesh, and two each from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
Of the 11 injured, six are admitted to Jindal Hospital, Raigarh, and two each at Balaji Metro Hospital and Apex Hospital, Raigarh. Another worker is undergoing treatment at Shri Shankara Hospital, Raipur, an official said.
Of them, two are critical, he said.
Police have registered an FIR under sections related to causing death by negligence and negligent conduct with machinery.
"Eight to ten individuals, including Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal and plant head Devendra Patel, have been named in the FIR. If more persons are found responsible during the investigation, their names will be added," Sakti Superintendent of Police Prafull Thakur had said.
A preliminary technical investigation into the blast found that excessive fuel accumulation inside the boiler furnace led to a pressure build-up, triggering the explosion, police officials earlier said.
A report by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Sakti also confirmed that the accumulation of fuel and the resulting excessive pressure were the primary causes of the explosion, they said.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai had directed the Bilaspur divisional commissioner to conduct a probe into the incident.
The Sakti district administration has also ordered a magisterial probe into the incident.
The Opposition Congress has demanded that stricter charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder be invoked in the case.
