Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express derails near Kanpur
Kanpur (UP): Twelve coaches of the Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express derailed near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh early on Saturday, injuring at least 14 people, railway officials said.
The train was going to New Delhi when the incident occurred near Rooma railway station -- about 20 km from here -- in Kanpur Nagar district around 12.50 am. Four out of the 12 derailed Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches have overturned, North Central Railway public relations officer Amit Malviya said.
Fourteen people were injured and three of them were admitted to a hospital. The coaches that derailed are: S8, S9, B1-B5, A1, A2, HA1, pantry car and an SLR (seating cum luggage rake), according to a railway statement.
The district magistrate, senior superintendent of police and other senior officials reached the spot and supervised the rescue operation, the officials said.
"The administration, police and the locals, who were the first responders, have done an wonderful job by rushing the victims to hospitals in a short span of time after a such a major accident," a National Disaster Response Force official told reporters.
Recounting the incident, a passenger said there was a loud sound and everyone fell off their seats. Another passenger said he got out of the window of the train after the accident.
The railways have issued helpline numbers: 1072, 9454403738, 9454401463, 9454401075, 9454400384 and 0512-23333111/112/113.
It has diverted and cancelled a number of trains. Efforts are on to resume the operations in the line, the statement said.
The passengers were brought to the Kanpur Central railway station, from where they left for New Delhi in a special train at 5.45 am, it added.
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'Last rites' of INDIA bloc: BJP on Cong-DMK fallout in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday took a swipe at the Congress for extending support to Vijay's TVK in forming the government in Tamil Nadu and breaking away from its long term ally DMK, saying the party has a history of "betraying" its allies.
The saffron party also attacked the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming the alliance is "falling apart like a pack of cards" and lacks any common ideology or vision.
The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, sources said.
The decision to support the TVK was taken at an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday night.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the INDIA alliance had effectively come to an end after the declaration of assembly election results on May 4.
"There is nobody whom the Congress has not deceived. Imagine what they will do to the Samajwadi Party if they have done this to the DMK," he wrote in a post on X.
Calling it the "last rites" of the INDIA bloc, Poonawalla, in a video post, said, "It has become a Bharat free of the DMK, TMC and the Left, and now Congress has dumped the DMK for the TVK."
The BJP spokesperson alleged that the opposition bloc was formed solely out of political compulsions and personal ambitions.
"The INDI alliance never had any mission or vision. It was only about ambition for position, corruption, commission and obsession against Modi ji that they came together. But now it is all falling apart like a pack of cards," he said.
Questioning the unity of the opposition parties, Poonawalla said the alliance was absent in several states during the election.
"Where was the INDI alliance in Bengal, in Kerala, in Gujarat, in Punjab, in Delhi, in Haryana, in Karnataka? There is no INDI alliance," he said.
The DMK on Wednesday described the Congress move to extend support to TVK as a "backstab" by its long-time national ally.
Speaking to PTI videos, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai said, "The Congress party has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging their support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... They have backstabbed the people of Tamil Nadu. They've backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu."
He said that the decision came even before the electoral process had fully concluded.
"Even before the ink on the returning officer's signature on the victory certificate dried up, they've chosen to go ahead with an alliance," he said.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.
The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each. The outgoing ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat, and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.
The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.
