29 killed, 18 injured after bus falls from bridge in Uttar Pradesh
Agra: Twenty-nine people were killed and 18 injured after a state-run bus skidded off the Yamuna Expressway and fell into a large drain in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, officials said.
The bus was going from Lucknow to Delhi and had at least 50 passengers on board, they said.
"As per the district magistrate (of Agra) 29 persons have died. The bus fell into a 'nallah' (drain)," Additional Chief Secretary Information, Awanish Awasthi, said.
The Uttar Pradesh Roadways will pay ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased, the officials said.
"One sleeper coach passenger bus travelling from Lucknow to Delhi met with an accident on Yamuna Expressway (sic)," the Uttar Pradesh Police said on Twitter.
The officials said the bus fell from a bridge and into an overflowing drain near Etmadpur.The gushing water is making it difficult to conduct rescue operations, they said.
"DGP UP OP Singh has directed to carry out relief & rescue work in full swing and is supervising it personally. All senior officers present at the spot (sic)," the state police tweeted.
The Janrath bus of the Uttar Pradesh Roadways' Awadh Depot was going from Lucknow to the national capital's Anand Vihar ISBT, the officials said.
The 165-km six-lane expressway connects Noida with Agra in Uttar Pradesh.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences and has directed the Agra district magistrate and senior superintendent of police to ensure the injured get proper medical treatment.
He has asked his deputy Dinesh Sharma and Minister of State for Transport Swatantra Dev Singh to immediately visit the accident site.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled the death of the 29 passengers.
"Saddened to hear about the tragic loss of lives because of another bus accident, this time near Agra. My heartfelt condolences to the grieving families. I wish the injured a speedy recovery. Let us all follow #SafeDriveSaveLife" she tweeted.
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PM must clarify whether he endorses Sarma's 'utterly shameful' remarks on Kharge: Priyanka
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New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said the use of "abusive" language by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is "utterly shameful" and added Prime Minister Narendra Modi must clarify whether he endorses this "insult".
Sarma had triggered a row on Tuesday when he hit out at Kharge, saying that he was "speaking like a mad man" due to old age, after the latter put the onus on central agencies to probe the charges made against the Assam chief minister.
In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The kind of abusive and derogatory language used by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma against the Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, is utterly shameful and unacceptable."
She said Kharge is one of the most senior leaders in the country and serves as an enlightened representative not only of the Congress party but also of the Dalits and the marginalised sections of the nation.
"By insulting him, the BJP chief minister has insulted crores of people across the country," she said.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi must clarify to the nation: does he endorse this insult directed at crores of Indians?" she said.
The Congress on Tuesday accused Sarma of insulting party chief Kharge and demanded an unconditional apology from him for his "deplorable conduct" that it alleged reflects the "anti-Dalit mindset" of the BJP.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday had said the use of "derogatory language" against party chief Mallikarjun Kharge by Sarma was an insult to the entire SC/ST community, and the silence of Prime Minister Modi on the matter "is not his helplessness, but his consent".
"If the prime minister sees an attack on the dignity of crores of Dalits in the country and does not speak up - he is not only shirking his responsibility, but is also a party to that insult," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.
Gandhi said the use of "vulgar and derogatory language" by Sarma against Kharge "is entirely condemnable, shameful, and unacceptable".
"Kharge ji is a senior and popular Dalit leader of the country - his experience, stature, and prestige are unparalleled. Insulting him is not an insult to one individual alone, but also to crores of people from the SC-ST community in this country," he posted.
This, he said, just reflected the "old and premeditated mindset" of the BJP-RSS and was nothing new.
"Whether it is the insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar, belittling Dalit leaders, or personal attacks on representatives of the SC-ST community - the history of BJP and RSS bears witness that whenever a Dalit leader speaks the truth, they stoop to humiliate him," Gandhi said.
"This is their ideology, this is their true character and face," he added.
Posing a direct question to the prime minister, he asked, "Do you support Himanta Sarma's use of this language? Your silence is not helplessness, it is consent."
