Rahul Gandhi asks Telangana govt to leave no stone unturned to save trapped personnel
Hyderabad, Feb 23 (PTI): Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi called Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday over the ongoing rescue operations at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel collapse site.
The Congress leader appreciated the steps taken and the constant vigil and monitoring and asked the government to leave no stone unturned to try and save the trapped workers, an official release said.
In the nearly 20-minute update, CM Reddy emphasised the urgency with which the government responded upon receiving the news, rushing Minister Uttam Reddy to the spot and deploying the NDRF and SDRF rescue squads, it said.
CM Revanth Reddy elaborated on the steps taken for the medical relief of those injured and the reach out to the families of those trapped inside.
As many as eight people have remained trapped for the past 24 hours inside a tunnel after a section of it collapsed in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project in Nagarkurnool District on Saturday, even as rescue operations are on to extricate them.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
