Cong chief Kharge to host dinner for INDIA bloc MPs on Monday
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will hold a dinner for INDIA bloc MPs on Monday, sources said amid a concerted bid by the opposition grouping to close ranks against the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and alleged poll rigging.
Opposition leaders and MPs would also take out a protest march on Monday from Parliament to the Election Commission office over the "poll fraud" issue.
The same day, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Kharge will host INDIA bloc MPs for dinner at the Hotel Taj Palace, Chanakyapuri, sources said.
This comes just days after, in a show of unity, top INDIA bloc leaders held a dinner meeting at the residence of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and vowed to fight against the electoral rolls' revision in Bihar as well as what they described as the "vote chori model" of the BJP-Election Commission.
This was the first physical meeting of top leaders of the opposition bloc since they last met in June 2024, soon after the Lok Sabha elections at Kharge's residence.
Several leaders from 25 parties were present at the meeting, which included Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference supremo Farooq Abdullah, PDP's Mehbooba Mufti, SP's Akhilesh Yadav, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, TMC's Abhishek Banerjee, Shiv Sena(UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, DMK's Tiruchi Siva and T R Baalu, CPI(M)'s M A Baby, CPI's D Raja, CPI(ML)'s Dipankar Bhattacharya and MNM chief Kamal Haasan.
During the meeting, Rahul Gandhi gave a presentation on the "vote chori model" being allegedly perpetrated by the BJP through the Election Commission.
Gandhi explained the entire "game" of how the BJP and the Election Commission were "rigging" the elections, the Congress said.
"A united front against electoral manipulation! We are committed to protecting democracy and will save it from being destroyed at all costs," the Congress had said in a post on X later.
At a press conference earlier, Gandhi had made a presentation with explosive claims of a "huge criminal fraud" in polls through "collusion" between the BJP and the Election Commission.
"The way opposition parties have been united in Parliament in national interest and have cornered the government, the same unity was visible in the meeting as well," Congress' deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi had said.
Opposition parties have been protesting against the SIR exercise underway in Bihar, stating that it would lead to disenfranchisement of many.
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Chlorine gas leaks at defunct water purification plant in Pune; 24 persons hospitalised
Pune, Apr 30 (PTI): At least 22 residents and two firemen were hospitalised after a chlorine gas leakage at Kondhwa in Pune after midnight on Thursday, fire officials said.
The leak originated from an abandoned tank containing chlorine at a defunct water purification plant godown in the Gangadham area around 1 am, they said.
"Following the leak and the subsequent spread of gas, residents in the vicinity complained of breathlessness. Upon receiving the call, fire teams were dispatched. Several citizens were evacuated, and the leaking tank was patched using safety equipment," a fire official said.
During the operation, 22 residents and two fire personnel complained of breathlessness and were rushed to the hospital, he said.
A man who previously operated the water purification plant at the site said he had dismantled the unit, but the tank containing chlorine appeared to have remained unattended and developed a leak.
"All the affected residents and the two fire personnel are out of danger and currently under observation at Sassoon General Hospital," the official said.
