School bus driver using bamboo stick as gear hits car, held
Mumbai, Feb 7: A 22-year-old driver, who was operating a bus using a bamboo stick as gear lever, was arrested after his vehicle carrying school students hit a car in Mumbai, a police official said on Thursday.
No injury or casualty was reported in the mishap.
Raj Kumar was driving the bus to Podar International School located in Khar suburb on Wednesday when the vehicle hit the high-end car of a businessman, the official said.
The angry businessman then confronted the driver for causing damage to his car.
When two policemen arrived at the spot, Kumar blamed the steering wheel of his bus for the mishap, he said.
The car owner and the policemen then went inside the bus and they were shocked to see the bamboo stick in place of the gear lever, he said.
Kumar, who was subsequently arrested for negligent driving, told the police that the bus gear knob had broken some days back and since then he was using the bamboo stick as gear lever, the official said.
"All the students inside the bus were safe," he said.
The driver was later produced in a local court which granted him bail, he said, adding that a probe was underway into the incident.
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Right to vote under threat, must be made fundamental right: Cong's Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday that the right to vote is under threat and the time has come when it should be made a fundamental right for citizens.
Speaking with reporters, Ramesh lashed out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying the Election Commission (EC) has never been as compromised as it has been under him.
"The rot started under his predecessor. This man is a player and not a neutral observer," the Congress leader said, slamming Kumar.
Kumar is completely compromised and has become a player in elections, he alleged.
"Home Minister Amit Shah had talked about three Ds -- detect, delete and deport. So we want to know how many non-Indian citizens have been detected, how many have been deleted and how many have been deported," Ramesh said, adding that the right to vote is now under threat.
On opposition parties submitting a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to move a motion for the CEC's removal, the Congress leader said they will continue to make efforts for Kumar's removal as he is "compromised".
Ramesh also batted for the right to vote to be recognised as a fundamental right.
"I believe that the time has come that the right to vote should be made a fundamental right. It is a statutory right, it is not a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are justiciable," he said.
The former Union minister said this was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, but it was eventually decided that it should be made part of the Constitution.
B R Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram had warned that in the future, governments might try to disenfranchise voters, he added.
"Once and for all, include the right to vote as a fundamental right for Indian citizens," Ramesh asserted.
