Congress MLA in Odisha casts vote in favour of NDA prez poll nominee
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim created a flutter in political circles on Monday by announcing that he has voted in favour of NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu as she happened to be a daughter of Odisha.
Immediately after exercising his franchise in the Assembly, the legislator from Cuttack-Barabati assembly segment said he went by his conscience call .
I am an Odia; I voted in favour of Droupadi Murmu as she is a daughter of Odisha. I went by my conscience. MLAs cannot be prevented from listening to their conscience, Moquim stated.
The Congress lawmaker also said that he had received phone calls from several eminent persons, including those staying abroad, requesting him to support the daughter of the soil .
People of Odisha will support my move. Murmu's victory will make me proud, Moquim explained.
Asked if he was under pressure from the ruling BJD, which has also pledged its support to Murmu, Moquim said, It is my personal decision... there is no other reason.
Meanwhile, Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra said all MLAs of the grand old party, including Moquim, had agreed to vote for joint opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha.
Condemning Moquim's change of stance , Congress MLAs S S Saluja and Taraprasad Bahinipati said the Cuttack-Barabati MLA must have been unhappy in the party.
Everyone should have toed the party line. Many meetings were held and all MLAs of the party had given assurance that they would vote for Yashwant Sinha. We will bring the matter to the notice of party high command for necessary action, Saluja maintained.
OPCC president Sarat Pattnayak, too, said that he would apprise the party high command of this latest development.
I cannot say for sure what exactly prompted him to go against the party line, he added.
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Patna-bound IndiGo flight makes emergency landing at Lucknow due to bad weather
Lucknow (PTI): Adverse weather forced an IndiGo Kolkata-Patna flight to make an emergency landing at Lucknow airport on Friday, airport sources said.
According to airport officials, weather conditions in Patna deteriorated suddenly on Friday afternoon, affecting flight operations.
IndiGo flight 6E 6917 from Kolkata, which was scheduled to land in Patna at 3.50 pm, could not land due to bad weather and kept circling in the air after failing to get clearance from air traffic control, they said.
The flight was later diverted to Lucknow and landed safely at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport at around 5.15 pm. There were 180 passengers and six crew members on board, officials said.
The aircraft was later allowed to depart for Patna after weather conditions improved.
