No MLA has sought my protection: Speaker Ramesh Kumar
Bengaluru, July 19: Karnataka Assembly speaker K R Ramesh Kumar Friday said no MLA has sought protection from him amid allegations by the Congress that rebel lawmakers were being held captive to bring down the government.
The statement by the speaker in the assembly came after senior Congress leader H K Patil requested him to create an atmosphere conducive for the legislators who are holed up outside the city to attend the session.
"No one has come seeking protection... nor have their families come.. so the issue ends there," Kumar said.
Senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar said he had been to Mumbai where the rebel MLAs are sequestered and according to his information, they were in "captivity and confinement".
The House, which missed the Governor's 1.30 pm deadline for the voting on the confidence motion, was also locked in a debate on when the trust vote process should be completed.
"Lot of discussion has happened; I want to close it (trust motion process) today," the speaker said.
He also said, "Caesar's wife should be above suspicion; I cannot be guilty of dragging proceedings."
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said "I have made preliminary submission; we can conclude (the process) on Monday."
BJP leader Suresh Kumar said sanctity of trust vote would be lost if dragged on and insisted that the process be completed Friday itself.
The speaker said he would give the ruling a little later.
After the 1.30 pm deadline set by him Thursday was missed, state Governor Vajubhai Vala has asked Kumaraswamy to complete the process by Friday itself.
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Four of family killed as car jumps divider on highway in Gujarat's Panchmahal
Godhra (Gujarat) (PTI): Four members of a family were killed, and one sustained grievous injuries after their speeding car jumped a divider on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway corridor in Gujarat's Panchmahal district on Monday, police said.
The car driver lost control of the wheels near Kalol. As a result, the four-wheeler jumped the divider and veered off to the other side of the highway, an official from Kalol police station said.
Soon after the accident, some locals rushed to the scene and also alerted the police. Efforts were made to pull out the people trapped in the car.
Four persons died on the spot, while one suffered injuries, the official said.
The deceased were members of a family from Vadodara and were returning from Rajasthan when the tragedy struck, the official said.
They have been identified as Sajid Iqbal Khinji (55), Ilyas Iqbal Khinji (50), Ishaq Iqbal Khinji (48) and Rehan Azgar Khinji (35).
