Stopped from meeting rebel Cong MLAs Digvijay Singh protests outside Bengaluru resort, detained
Bengaluru: High drama unfolded on Wednesday morning near the resort where rebel Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh are staying, as senior party leader Digvijay Singh staged a protest accusing the police of not allowing him to meet the legislators.
Singh, who has been detained by the police, accused the BJP of holding the MLAs captive and said that he would go on a "hunger strike".
"BJP MLA Arvind Bhadoriya and an MP are holding them captive. Why can't I meet my MLAs, my voters (for Rajya Sabha election), my own party people. What is the BJP doing in between?" he said.
Singh alleged that Congress MLAs inside the resort want to meet him, but they are not being allowed.
As the police tried to convince him, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said, "It is my right to meet my Congress MLAs. I don't want to meet the BJP MLAs. I want to meet the Congress MLAs. People have voted them as Congress MLAs, not as BJP MLAs."
Singh, landed in the city early on Wednesday morning and he was received at by newly appointed state Congress chief D K Shivakumar, former minister Krishna Byre Gowda and others, party sources said.
The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister then drove straight to the resort, where they were denied entry by police, sources said adding that Shivakumar and other state leaders have also reached the spot.
In a video released by the Congress, Singh is seen saying, "I'm an ex-chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, who is a Rajya Sabha election candidate. The voting is on March 26. Twenty-two MLAs are staying here and they want to talk to me. But their phones have been taken away and the police are not allowing us to talk to them."
"The police are saying that the MLAs have a security threat. I have told them (police) that I'm a Gandhian and I don't have a bomb or any rifle, allow them to meet us and I will go back."
Superintendent of Police (Bengaluru Rural) Bheemashankar S Guled tried to convince Singh, saying the Madhya Pradesh legislators at the resort have sought police protection.
The MLAs have written to the police stating that they don't want to meet anybody as they fear trouble, and the same has been communicated to Singh and others, the police officer said, adding, "We have also shown the letter to him."
Questioning the police's claim, Singh said, "They (police) don't know the MLAs' name or anything, how can we know that he (SP) has spoken to the legislators?"
Claiming that no letter by the MLAs was shown to him, Singh said something on a phone was shown to him which had names of two legislators, "one of whom had been a minister in my government".
"Those very MLAs had sent a word to me asking me to come here," he said, and alleged that the signatures of MLAs were forged.
The 22 rebel Congress MLAs held a press conference on Tuesday and claimed that 20 more party MLAs want to join them and they were thinking of crossing over to the BJP in the days to come.
In a massive setback for the Congress, its prominent youth leader Jyotiradtya Scindia quit the party and in a coordinated rebellion last week 22 MLAs loyal to him resigned in Madhya Pradesh, pushing the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government to the brink of collapse. Scindia joined the BJP on March 11.
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President Donald Trump to feature on limited edition US passports
Washington (PTI): The State Department is all set to unveil a limited-edition US passport with pictures of President Donald Trump and the Founding Fathers to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence in July.
The special passports will be available only to those who show up in person at the Washington Passport Agency and not anywhere else across the country.
The Department of State shared images of the limited edition passports on its social media accounts.
One page of the passport carries Trump's image surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the American flag along with the president's signature in gold.
Another page features the famous painting of the founding fathers at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The passports, which are set to be released this summer, are part of the Trump administration’s broader "America250" celebration, which also includes a Grand Prix race on the National Mall in August and a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn in June.
"As the United States celebrates America's 250th anniversary in July, @StateDept is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US Passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a post on X.
A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the new designs will be available for "any American citizen" who applies for a passport when the rollout happens and will continue for as long as there is availability.
“These passports will feature customised artwork and enhanced imagery while maintaining the same security features that make the US Passport the most secure documents in the world,” Pigott said in a statement.
In October, the Department of Treasury proposed minting a one dollar coin featuring Trump’s image on it, to mark the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
According to draft images confirmed as real by US Treasurer Brandon Beach, one side of the coin would feature Trump’s profile, along with the words “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “1776-2026.”
The other side of the coin would feature Trump standing with a clenched right fist in front of an American flag and the words “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” — a reference to his chant after the 2024 assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
