Droupadi Murmu is "suitable and competent" candidate for President: Deve Gowda
Bengaluru, June 22: JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda on Wednesday termed BJP-led NDA's candidate for presidential polls Droupadi Murmu, as "suitable" and "non controversial".
The former Prime Minister said he doesn't want to refer Murmu as merely a tribal candidate, but wants to say that she is "competent" for the post of the President.
"I don't want to go into details on the reasons why BJP has made her (Murmu) the candidate. Several names were floated. First meeting (of opposition parties) I attended with Sharad Pawar. But the point is, in my opinion the candidate that was selected (by BJP) is really one of the suitable candidates," Gowda said in response to a question on Murmu's candidacy.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Why, I tell you....she was Governor of Jharkhand, no one spoke against her there. She was first the Minister in the Naveen Patnaik government (in Odisha), then Governor of Jharkhand...I think non controversial in my experience."
Battle lines have been drawn for the July 18 presidential election with the BJP-led NDA on Tuesday naming Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, as its candidate while former Union minister Yashwant Sinha was declared as a joint nominee by major opposition parties, including the Congress, the NCP and the TMC.
BJP president J P Nadda announced the candidature of 64-year-old Murmu, former Jharkhand governor, following a meeting of the party's parliamentary board, hours after opposition parties in a joint statement named Sinha, who was earlier with the BJP but fell out with the Modi-Shah leadership and joined the Trinamool Congress in March 2021.
Gowda however did not respond to a question whether his party would support Murmu or Sinha.
The former PM and his son H D Kumaraswamy, a former CM, had attended a meeting convened by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on June 15 to build a consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the BJP-led NDA, in which as many as 17 opposition parties attended.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
