Kumaraswamy invites Congress leader C M Ibrahim to return to JD(S)
Bengaluru, Dec 7: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday met senior leader and Congress MLC C M Ibrahim and invited him to return to the party fold.
Ibrahim, a former Union Minister and one-time close associate of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, had joined Congress in 2008, and is said to be sulking for some time now, upset with the party and its legislature party leader Siddaramaiah.
"He (Ibrahim) is more like an elder brother in the family. He has had a long political association with my father Deve Gowda (JDS supremo) even before I entered politics.
In whichever party he may be, he is like an elder member of our family," Kumaraswamy said.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Ibrahim, he said, though Ibrahim left the party in 2004 for certain reasons, there has been a cordial relationship between them.
"I have observed how Congress and a few of his friends have treated him.
We had political discussions today... In 1994, he along with Gowda immensely contributed in organising the party. I requested him (Ibrahim) to return to his former party to play the same role in the days to come ...he will take a decision at an appropriate time," he added.
Ibrahim had left JD(S) after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
He was also associated with "AHINDA" (a social movement forged by minorities, backwards and dalits) in Karnataka led by Siddaramaiah before both joined the Congress.
Ibrahim was seen as one among the close confidantes of Siddaramaiah.
According to sources, Ibrahim has been sulking, upset with Siddaramaiah after he was not considered for the Leader of the Opposition post in the legislative Council, the position currently occupied by S R Patil, who is also considered to be close to the former Chief Minister.
Stating that he has not yet decided on quitting Congress, Ibrahim said he will travel across the state after December 15 and get the opinion of his followers and well wishers before taking any decision.
"I'm now a Congress MLC. I will have to seek the opinion of the people on what step I have to take next and then come to a good decision... I will also talk to Deve Gowda and take a decision," he said.
Asked what was the reason for him being miffed with Siddaramaiah, he said, "nothing has happened between me and him...I have never left anyone, they left me.
I took Siddaramaiah to Badami (assembly constituency for 2018 polls)...I don't have anything against him. "
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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.
