52 killed as bus falls into gorge in Telangana
Hyderabad, Sep 11: In a ghastly tragedy, as many as 52 people were killed and more than 20 others injured when a state-run overcrowded bus fell into a gorge in Telangana's Jagtial district on Tuesday.
The bus belonging to the Telangana State Road Transport Corp (TSRTC) fell off Kondagattu Ghat Road while returning from Anjaneya Swamy temple atop Kondagattu Hills, about 190 km from Hyderabad.
The bus, carrying more than 70 passengers, met with the accident when the driver reportedly lost control at a speed breaker.
Finance Minister Etela Rajender told reports at Jagtial that 52 people were killed in the disaster. He said 47 bodies were brought to Jagtial Hospital while five people succumbed at a hospital in Karimnagar.
The dead include driver B. Srinivas. Officials said the victims include 26 women and 10 children. The toll could go up as the condition of some of the injured was stated to be critical.
The injured were shifted to a government hospital in Jagtial. A few critically injured were taken to hospitals in Karimnagar and Hyderabad.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao expressed shock over the accident. He announced Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia each for the families of the dead.
Jagtial district Superintendent of Police Sindhu Sharma said the accident occurred around 11 a.m. when the bus was coming down from the hill and was to join the highway.
The driver apparently applied brakes at a speed breaker and the passengers who were standing fell onto one side, tilting the bus which then hurtled down after breaking an iron railing.
The victims belonged to Jagtial and Peddapalli districts.
Heart rending scenes were witnessed at the accident site as some of the injured lay amid bodies crying for help. Wailing relatives of the victims crowded Jagtial Hospital, where the medical staff struggled to deal with the large number of casualties.
Meanwhile, locals voiced their anger against the authorities over poor condition of the road and the alleged negligence of TSRTC.
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Notices seeking CEC's removal refer to Rahul's dissent note, incidents of voter-list manipulation
New Delhi (PTI): Notices seeking a motion for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar flag issues ranging from the appointment process to his public attack on Rahul Gandhi and instances of alleged manipulation of votes in recent elections, an opposition leader said on Monday.
The notices, submitted in both Houses of Parliament on Friday, seek a motion for Kumar's removal from the CEC's post, as opposition MPs have cried foul over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls and raised concerns over the alleged manipulation of voters' lists on multiple occasions.
The process to remove the CEC is similar to that for the removal of a Supreme Court or high court judge, meaning an impeachment can be effected only on the ground of "proven misbehaviour or incapacity".
According to the opposition leader, the around-10-page-long notices refer to a dissent note submitted by Gandhi in February 2025, when Kumar was picked for the post. Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, is a member of the panel that appoints the CEC, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
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In his dissent note, the LoP had said, "It is both disrespectful and discourteous for the PM and HM to have made a midnight decision to select the new CEC, when the very composition of the committee and the process is being challenged in the Supreme Court and is due to be heard in less than forty-eight hours."
The notices also mention the CEC's public ultimatum to Gandhi from a press conference in August 2025. Amid allegations of "vote theft" by the opposition, a combative Kumar had asked the LoP to either apologise or back his claims with a signed affidavit, as required under electoral rules.
The notices also refer to allegations of manipulations in the voters' list raised by opposition parties in Karnataka's Aland and Mahadevapura.
The notices have been signed by around 130 members in the Lok Sabha and 60 in the Rajya Sabha. The signatories include leaders of the INDIA bloc parties, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and some independent MPs.
According to sources, the notices list seven charges against Kumar, including "partisan and discriminatory conduct in office", "deliberate obstruction of investigation of electoral fraud" and "mass disenfranchisement".
The opposition parties have accused the CEC of aiding the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on several occasions, especially with the SIR exercise, which they have alleged aims at helping the ruling party at the Centre.
If the motion is admitted in both Houses, a committee will be constituted jointly by the Lok Sabha speaker and the Rajya Sabha chairman.
The committee will consist of the chief justice of India (CJI) or a Supreme Court judge, the chief justice of one of the 25 high courts and a "distinguished jurist".
The proceedings of the committee are like any court proceedings where witnesses and the accused are cross-examined.
The CEC, too, will get a chance to speak before the panel.
According to rules, once the committee submits its report, it will be tabled in the House and discussions will commence for impeachment.
A motion to remove a judge or, in this case, the CEC, will have to be passed by both Houses.
When the House discusses the motion, Kumar will have the right to defend himself standing at the entrance of the House chamber.
