BJP accuses Congress of failing to fulfil promise to waive farm loans
Bengaluru, Dec 19: The Karnataka BJP Unit Wednesday accused the Congress of failing to keep up its poll manifesto promise of waiving farmers' loans even after the lapse of six months since its coalition government with JDS was formed.
"6 months on & loan waiver is not a reality in Karnataka.
Eventually, farmers of MP, Rajasthan & Chhattisgarh will know about your lying skills.
Press statements & tweets don't really mean loans are waived off.
Btw @RahulGandhi waiving off loan isn't like getting gold from potato's," the state partyunit tweeted.
The remarks come in the wake of AICC President Rahul Gandhi's statement that the Congress had waived farmers loan and would do so in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, where the party had won assembly elections.
"CM, Madhya Pradesh, waives farm loans. 1 done. 2 to go," he had tweeted on December 17.
Soon after winning the elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Chief Ministers Kamal Nath and Bhupesh Baghel announced waiving farmers' loans.
Gandhi also said the Prime Minister is sleeping over the issue and the party would wake him up from his slumber.
"The Congress party has managed to wake the CM's of Assam & Gujarat from their deep slumber. PM is still asleep. We will wake him up too," he had tweeted.
In reply, the Karnataka BJP said in fact, the Congress should learn from Assam and Gujarat chief ministers and urged them to wake Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to waive farmers' loans as promised.
"Had your family not slept on the country's development for 60 years our farmers would have been self sustainable today.
BTW what is stopping you from waking up CM @hd_kumaraswamy to waive off farmers loan as promised.
In fact you should learn from CM's of Assam & Gujarat," it said.
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Virudhunagar firecracker unit blast: Toll climbs to 25, Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia announced
Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): With most bodies charred beyond recognition, identification remains difficult, police said on Monday, as the toll in the massive explosion at a fireworks unit near Kattanarpatti here rose to 25.
The Virudhunagar district administration has announced Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia to the kin of deceased.
The accident is one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the region in recent years.
"Bodies were so badly charred that we were able to identify mostly with jewellery that the victims were wearing," a police official told PTI.
He said that the families have not yet claimed the bodies due to the uncertainly in the identities.
The factory owner is absconding, he added.
The accident occurred at the Vanaja firecracker unit, owned by one Muthumanickam, which functions under the Vachakarapatti police station limits.
The unit is reportedly licensed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Nagpur.
Post-mortem reports have established that the 25 victims, include 22 women and three men, the police official added.
Eight workers, mostly women, are critically injured with 60 per cent burn injuries. Twelve others, including eight policemen, were injured in a second blast on Sunday evening while rescue operations were underway.
Rescue operations were severely hampered for hours, as unexploded materials continued to detonate.
A second blast at 7.20 pm, triggered as an earthmover was clearing debris, caused chaos and injured several responders, including a revenue official.
Meanwhile, sources said about 1,000 people, including the families of the victims and residents of nearby villages, are threatening a road roko, demanding the arrest of the owner of the factory.
Local eyewitnesses, including Ranganathan from the nearby Seervaikarampatti village, described hearing a massive blast that sent "thick black smoke" into the sky.
"Nothing was recognisable. We saw bodies being loaded four at a time into vehicles," he told PTI Videos.
Many of the deceased were from Seervaikarampatti village, with residents claiming that at least 20 victims belonged to their village.
Among those killed was 46-year-old Indrani, a veteran worker of 25 years.
"My mother was the sole breadwinner. My father is disabled and stays home. I have an MSc degree, but I’m working at a petrol bunk to help out, and we haven't even paid my brother's school fees yet," said Madhubala, Indrani’s daughter, while pleading for government employment assistance.
Virudhunagar Collector N O Sukhaputra confirmed that the unit was operating without permission on a rest day.
Preliminary findings suggest the blast originated in a chemical mixing shed, where nearly 40 workers were busy making crackers, a violation of safety norms that typically limit occupancy to four workers per shed.
"Had these workers followed primary safety norms, the casualties could have been minimal," a senior official stated.
Chief Minister M K Stalin has ordered a high-level probe and directed ministers to oversee relief efforts.
The tragedy follows a similar accident in Vembakottai just days earlier, which claimed four lives, intensifying calls for stricter enforcement of safety regulations in the district’s firecracker hub.
The explosion occurred at approximately 3.15 pm on Sunday. Although the fireworks industry is officially shut on Sundays, over 100 workers were reportedly engaged in production.
Later in the day, Sukhaputra said Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia each has been finalised for the families of 25 persons killed in the explosion.
Speaking to PTI Videos, he said the ex gratia cheques are ready for immediate distribution to the legal heirs.
"Out of 25 deaths, we have finished conducting post-mortems on 22 bodies. Already we have cheques (that) are ready,” Sukhaputra said.
The announcement followed intense demands from grieving relatives for financial security and government employment.
