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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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
