No change in Rahul's itinerary during UK, Germany visits: Congress
New Delhi, Aug 17 : The Congress clarified on Friday that there has been no change in the engagements of Congress President Rahul Gandhi during his scheduled visits to Germany and the UK and accused the BJP of trying to undermine the visit because "it is getting popular".
Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said there is "absolutely no change in Gandhi's itinerary".
"He will go as per schedule of the itinerary decided by the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC). He will engage and interact with various sections of people as per the schedule. There is no change in the plans," she said.
"BJP is trying to undermine the entire visit because they know how popular it is getting and how people wish to hear Rahul Gandhi and want to reach out to him," she added.
Chaturvedi said if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was attempting to get any invite withdrawn, it exposes "its pettiness and its shortsightedness" at a time when leaders from across the political spectrum were appreciating the democratic norms followed by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Congress sources said IOC Chairman Sam Pitroda had conveyed that there had been no change in the proposed visit of Gandhi to the UK Parliament.
A media report said on Friday that Indian-origin millionaire Dr Rami Ranger, co-chairman of the Conservative Friends of India, and Tory peer Baroness Verma have rescinded an invitation to Rahul Gandhi during his trip to London saying the event had been cancelled.
It also said Labour MP Keith Vaz has sponsored a room elsewhere in the Parliament and Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) has taken over running the event.
Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Germany and London next week to meet businessmen, politicians, academics and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
Sam Pitroda said in a tweet on Thursday that Gandhi will be visiting Germany on August 22 and 23 and London on August 24 and 25.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
