Create congenial atmosphere to hold election in J&K, Congress to centre
New Delhi, June 20: A day after BJP ended its alliance with PDP in Jammu and Kashmir and the state came under Governor's rule, Congress on Wednesday accused both parties of "betraying" the people's aspirations in the lust of power and demanded the Central government ensure a "congenial atmosphere" for conduct of fresh elections.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said: "At the moment there is Governor's rule. By when will the centre and Governor create an atmosphere and ensure that the security scenario will change and law and order is maintained so that we can have elections.
"We don't want to have elections like we had during (Srinagar) Lok Sabha bypoll, where the poll percentage was 7 per cent."
"We would definitely like to have a government representing the people of the state. The Governor and the government of India must create a congenial atmosphere for the elections," he said to a query about early elections in the state.
Azad also saod the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has betraying the people of Jammu and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) of betraying the people of Kashmir by "forging an unethical alliance" in the state while the BJP central leadership has "betrayed the people of the country".
Also accusing the BJP of setting the state on "a fire of anarchy and radicalization" in its three years coalition rule with PDP, the Congress sought to know from the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as to what plans they had for bringing normalcy and peace back to the state.
"The BJP, in its pursuit of power and political opportunism, in the past three years, disrupted the ongoing constructive engagement with the people of the state and has imperiled the security situation, setting the state of Jammu and Kashmir on a fire of anarchy, radicalization, malgovernance and corruption," Azad and party colleague Ambika Soni said in a statement after a meeting of party's core group on Jammu and Kashmir held at the behest of party President Rahul Gandhi.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram and Karan Singh also attended the meeting.
The Congress said that both BJP and PDP share "equal blame" for undoing all the progress towards normalcy achieved during the United Progressive Alliance government.
Slamming the Modi government's "directionless, agenda-less and clueless policy", the Congress asked: "How does Prime Minister Modi propose to ensure peace and normalcy in the state?"
It also sought to know the economic roadmap for inclusion and progress for the state's people, proposals to prevent the radicalization of youth as well how the Modi government proposes to engage with various sections of the state "in order to win their hearts and minds".
"We caution the Modi government to correct its flawed approach and work for rebuilding the trust and restoration of normalcy in the state," it said.
Noting BJP leaders and ministers have been citing national interest as a reason for breaking the alliance, Azad said he thanked them for "accepting this that they were working against national interest in the last three years".
Congress' state chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir said: "It was expected from the day the alliance was formed that it would break. People of the state did not accept this alliance. Both the parties PDP and BJP betrayed their own voters by this alliance. Hence, it led to political alienation which it was increasing.
"As an opposition, we supported their Agenda of Alliance. But it was also a false promise. Modi's promise of Rs 80,000 crore to the state was not a 'package' but it was 'packaging'. The alliance was broken keeping 2019 election in mind."
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Hospital wall collapse: CM orders suspension of executive engineer; kin of victims get solatium
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the immediate suspension of an executive engineer for the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital wall collapse that claimed the lives of seven people, during a high-level review meeting at Vidhana Soudha.
A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, as announced by the CM Siddaramaiah, was distributed to the families of seven victims who lost their lives in the tragedy on Wednesday evening, which occurred due to heavy downpour with gusty winds and hailstorm.
The meeting of municipal commissioners of the five corporations, chaired by the chief minister and attended by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, focused on fixing accountability and examining lapses that led to the tragedy.
"Why was soil dumped in a way that damaged the wall? Why did you not monitor this?" Siddaramaiah asked, pulling up hospital authorities during the meeting.
A statement from the chief minister's office said that the CM ordered the immediate suspension of the executive engineer of the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP).
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He also questioned the hospital authorities, asking why they failed to monitor the dumping of soil that weakened the structure.
The chief minister directed that a notice be issued to the head of the Hospital.
During the meeting, Siddaramaiah said the rains had caused extensive damage in the city, with over 250 trees uprooted.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to take necessary measures before the onset of the monsoon to avoid untoward incidents.
Commissioners of all five municipal zones in Bengaluru have been asked to take precautionary steps, including trimming dry and dangerous tree branches, the CMO said.
Siddaramaiah also directed them to get the silt cleared from stormwater drains to prevent flooding, and that immediate action be taken to remove debris and fallen branches from roads.
Further, he instructed that barricades be placed at underpasses where water stagnates and restricts public movement.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said in a statement that Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad distributed compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased on Thursday.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed amid heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
Police said the victims, comprising three from Bengaluru, two from Kerala on a study tour and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Assam, had taken shelter near the wall when it suddenly gave way, trapping them under the debris.
The chief minister questioned officials over the dumping of soil near the wall despite knowing it could weaken the structure, and directed that a notice be issued to the head of Bowring Hospital.
Siddaramaiah, who had visited the spot soon after the incident along with senior officials, reviewed the situation and ordered a detailed probe into the collapse.
