BJP's Ladakh MP resigns from party, Lok Sabha on 'health grounds'
New Delhi : BJP MP Thupstan Chhewang, who represents Ladakh in the Lok Sabha, has resigned from the House and also the party, its Jammu and Kashmir unit president Ravinder Raina said Thursday.
Chhewang, 71, has resigned to pursue a "spiritual life" and had also been suffering from health issues, Raina told PTI, insisting that his resignation is on personal grounds.
The Ladakh MP in his letter written on Wednesday said he was resigning from the party's primary membership on "health grounds" with immediate effect. He was also quitting as an MP, he added.
Chhewang, who was serving his second term in the Lower House, could not be reached for comments.
Raina said the MP had been insisting for over a year that he wanted to quit politics and pursue a spiritual life. He also had health issues, the state party chief said.
In the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP had faced a drubbing in the recently-held urban local body elections.
The party lost in all 26 wards of the Leh and Kargil municipal committees in the region.
While the Congress swept the polls in Leh, winning all 13 wards, it won five municipal wards in Kargil and rest of the eight wards went to Independents.
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3 Indian students among those injured in Australia’s Bondi Beach attack
Melbourne (PTI): Three Indian students were among 40 people injured in the terrorist attack on Sydney's Bondi Beach in Australia, according to a media report on Tuesday.
Two out of these three students are believed to be receiving treatment in the hospital, The Australia Today news portal reported.
The names of the Indian students injured during Sunday's attack have not been disclosed yet.
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The Indian students sustained injuries during the shooting, and their exact condition has not been formally confirmed yet, it said.
Naveed Akram, 24, and his father, 50, opened fire on a gathering during the Jewish festival Hanukkah by the Sea celebration.
At least 15 people were killed in the attack, including a 10-year-old child. Five of the injured remain in critical condition, while two injured police officers are in serious but stable condition, it added.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the investigation is expanding as new information emerges, including international travel by the alleged attackers and the discovery of extremist material, the report said.
