Rajasthan HC issues notice on expense details of Gaurav Yatra
Jaipur, Aug 10 : The Rajasthan High Court on Friday issued notice to the BJP state unit chief on a PIL regarding the expenses incurred on the party's ongoing 'Gaurav Yatra' led by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in the state, a lawyer said.
The court directed Bharatiya Janata Party state unit President Madanlal Saini to submit his party's stand on the expenses by August 16, said petitioner-advocate Vibhuti Bhushan Sharma.
Sharma's PIL was taken up in the court of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog.
On August 4, BJP President Amit Shah flagged off the 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra' from Charbhuja temple in Rajsamund, which is being seen as the official start of the party's campaigning ahead of the Assembly polls this year.
The PIL mentioned that the 'Gaurav Yatra' was a ruling party initiative and questioned the state government orders to the Public Works Department on August 1 to make arrangements for setting up the stage, sound system, decoration etc for the yatra by inviting tenders for the same.
The PIL listed as respondents the state Chief Secretary, PWD Principal Secretary and Chief Engineer and BJP state unit President Madanlal Saini.
He also questioned the delegation of tasks to officials of Information and Public Relations Department for publicity work.
Sharma told IANS that advocates for the Chief Secretary and PWD told the court on Friday that orders pertaining to expenses for the yatra have since been withdrawn.
However, Sharma said, the Chief Justice maintained that hearing in the matter is mandatory and thus issued a show-cause notice to Saini who was directed to present his party's stand by August 16.
State Congress chief Sachin Pilot has claimed that government funds are being misused for the yatra and showed to the media state government orders to PWD officials on the issue.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
