Sole aim at present to defeat BJP in Rajasthan:Sachin Pilot
Jaipur, Aug 2 : Amid claims and counterclaims within the party to Rajasthan Chief Minister's post, Congress state unit President Sachin Pilot on Thursday said that his sole aim at present is to defeat the BJP and make his party form the state government.
"As Pandava prince Arjun was totally focused on his target, a fish's eye, I too am focusing on one thing: To form a Congress government in Rajasthan," said the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief, who has returned from a four-day Australia trip.
He said that the opposition party will work unitedly to ensure the ouster of the Vasundhara Raje-led Bharatiya Janata Party government.
As for the party claimants to the CM's post, he said that the Congress had earlier too given him big responsibilities at quite a young age. "I was made an MP when I was just 25; I was made the Union Minister at 31; and now I am leading the Congress state unit at 35."
He also took a dig at Raje, asking her to remain well prepared during her 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra' since the public would question her on the unfulfilled promises made during the time she was in the opposition.
There have been claims and counterclaims by various Congress leaders in Rajasthan on the party's chief ministerial candidate. Many Congress leaders have demanded that Ashok Gehlot be named the party's chief ministerial face in the Assembly elections to be held this year.
In the past, Gehlot had said in Jodhpur: "When the (chief ministerial) face is in front of you for 10 years, where is the need to talk about a new face?"
Congress state party affairs incharge Avinash Pandey had announced later that the Assembly elections will be contested under the leadership of Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
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Two women died, 6 taken ill after ‘consuming’ mango kernel gruel in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur/Phulbani, Nov 1: At least two tribal women died and six others fell ill after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Friday.
Consumption of mango kernel, prepared by boiling the seeds in water, was reported from Mandipanka village in the district's Daringbadi block, an officer said.
While one of the two women (Rasmita Pattamajhi aged 22) died on Thursday night at Mohana community health centre in Gajapati district where she was undergoing treatment after "consuming the gruel", another woman (Runu Majhi aged 29) breathed her last while being taken to MKCG Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Gadapur sarpanch Kumari Mallick said.
Six others, who fell ill after allegedly consuming the gruel, were admitted to a hospital and their condition was critical, said Dr Subrat Das, a medical officer of the health facility.
"All the six have been admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. We suspected that they fell sick due to food poisoning. The exact cause of the illness will be ascertained after completion of the investigation," he added.
The six were identified as Pravati Patmajhi, Dranglu Patmajhi, Tuni Majhi, Susama Patmajhi, Jita Majhi and Jibanti Majhi, Daringbadi BDO Pritiranjan Ratha said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has rejected allegations that tribal people have been consuming mango kernel gruel due to a lack of access to rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Rasmita's husband Anil Pattamajhi alleged that they were denied rice under PDS for the last three months because of which his wife consumed mango kernel.
However, Kandhamal district magistrate-cum-collector Amrit Ruturaj dismissed the allegations, saying the family received rice according to PDS norms. "We are awaiting the postmortem report to determine the facts," the collector added.
Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who is also in-charge of the women and child development department said, "It is not a case of malnutrition. Mango kernel is part of their (tribal) regular diet. Sometime, the mango kernels get contaminated and lead to such unfortunate incidents. We have been actively spreading awareness about the risks of food contamination."
Health and family welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, who ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of two tribal women, said a team from the district headquarters hospital and another local team are at the spot to assess the situation and conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
Mahaling said that the government was waiting for the postmortem report for a confirmation on the cause of the deaths. "People in Kandhamal consume mango kernel. It is common in that region and there also have been reports of health complications linked to it in the past," he said.
The Kandhmal incident reminds a similar tragedy involving mango kernel deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where at least 20 people died in 2001, and two more succumbed to mango kernel consumption in 2016. Additionally, mango kernel has claimed lives in Laxmipur in Koraput district in 2012 and 2013, as well as in Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district in 2018.
