I do not have the kind of money to contest Lok Sabha elections: Nirmala Sitharaman
New Delhi, Mar 27: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said she declined the offer of the BJP to contest elections pleading that she did not have the 'kind of funds' required for fighting the Lok Sabha polls.
The minister said that the BJP President (J P Nadda) gave her the option to contest either from Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu.
"After thinking over a week or ten days, I just went back to say... maybe not. I do not have that kind of money to contest. I also have a problem whether it is Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. It's also going to be a question of various other winnability criteria that they use...Are you from this community or are you from that religion? Are you from this? I said no, I do not think I am going to able to do it," she said.
Sitharaman was speaking at the TIMES NOW Summit 2024 here.
"I am very grateful that they accepted my argument...So I am not contesting," she added.
When asked why even the finance minister of the country does not have enough funds to fight Lok Sabha elections, she said that the Consolidated Fund of India does not belong to her.
She said, "My salary, my earnings, my savings are mine and not the Consolidated Fund of India".
The ruling BJP has fielded several existing Rajya Sabha members in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, beginning April 19.
These include Piyush Goyal, Bhupender Yadav, Rajiv Chandrasekhar, Mansukh Mandaviya, and Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Sitharaman is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka.
The minister said that she will be campaigning for different candidates.
"I will also be attending a lot of media events. And going with the candidates like tomorrow I will be going for Rajiv Chandrasekhar campaign and so yes, I'll be on the campaign trail," she added.
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Delhi sees 140 per cent rise in fire calls in April as city reels under intense heat
New Delhi (PTI): As temperatures climb across the national capital, fire incidents have surged sharply, with the Delhi Fire Services responding to over 3,200 calls this month until April 26, even as daily calls have risen by around 140 per cent compared to the pre-April period.
Before April, the department was receiving around 70 to 80 calls daily, which has now increased to nearly 190 to 200 calls per day, especially since last Monday, amid the ongoing spell of heat, an official said.
"Heat alone is not the only factor, but it is certainly a major contributing one," a DFS official told PTI, adding that as temperatures rise, the load on electrical infrastructure increases significantly.
"Air conditioners run continuously, wiring heats up, and transformers operate under stress, which raises the chances of short circuits and fire incidents," the official explained.
The official further added that the weather is also extremely dry at this time, which compounds the vulnerability, making even a small spark dangerous.
Once a fire starts, it tends to spread faster than usual under such conditions, he said.
"We do observe a seasonal rise in fire incidents during summer months every year, but this time the increase has been sharper," the official underscored, adding that the combination of sustained high temperatures, dry winds and increased power usage is making the situation more challenging.
"Our teams are on alert and responding to a significantly higher volume of calls on a daily basis," the official emphasised.
The spike in fire calls comes as Delhi continues to reel under high temperatures, fluctuating between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius in recent days.
On April 25, the city recorded a maximum of 42.8 degrees Celsius, 5.1 degrees above normal, making it the highest April temperature recorded in the last four years, since 2022 when the mercury had reached 43.5 degrees Celsius on April 28.
On Monday, at Safdarjung, the city’s base station, the maximum temperature was recorded at 42.3 degrees Celsius, 3.3 degrees above normal, making it the second-hottest day of the month.
Palam also recorded a maximum of 42.3 degrees Celsius, about 2.1 degrees above normal, while Lodhi Road logged 42.4 degrees Celsius, about 4.4 degrees above normal.
The Ridge station recorded the highest maximum at 43.8 degrees Celsius, about 4.3 degrees above normal, followed by Ayanagar at 43.2 degrees Celsius, around 3.7 degrees above normal.
However, some respite is expected in the coming days, with the weather office forecasting thunderstorms, gusty winds and light rain from Tuesday onwards, which could bring a dip in temperatures next week.
