MP: Jyotiraditya Scindia, BJP MLA cross swords over party's Vijaypur bypoll loss
Bhopal, Nov 30: The BJP's loss in the November 13 Vijaypur bypoll in Madhya Pradesh was at the centre of a war of words after Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday said he would have campaigned had he been called to do so.
BJP general secretary and MLA Bhagwandas Sabnani, in response, said Scindia was invited to campaign but the latter declined citing a busy schedule.
The BJP's Ramniwas Rawat lost to the Congress' Mukesh Malhotra by a margin of 7,364 votes in the Vijaypur assembly bypoll, results of which were declared on November 23.
It was particularly embarrassing for the ruling party as Rawat had quit as Congress MLA and joined the BJP. He was made forest minister in the Mohan Yadav government but failed to get re-elected.
Vijaypur is part of the state's Gwalior-Chambal region, where the Scindias hold considerable sway. The Union minister is MP from Guna in the region.
"We need to contemplate on this. This is a matter of concern. But our vote share has gone up. If I was asked I would have definitely gone (for campaigning)," Scindia told reporters in Gwalior while answering a question on whether the bypoll loss was due to his absence from the campaign.
When asked about this statement, MLA Sabnani told reporters the party leadership had asked Scindia to campaign.
"The state president and other top leaders talked to him. Scindia was in the list of star campaigners. He was invited but he declined due to his busy schedule," Sabnani claimed.
Meanwhile, Congress leaders latched on to Scindia's statement to mock the ruling party.
Leader of Opposition in the assembly Umang Singhar pointed out that the BJP had given respect to Scindia (after he switched sides from the Congress in 2020) and had made him a minister.
Next time the BJP must invite Scindia by sending yellow rice (a traditional way of inviting esteemed guests), Singhar taunted.
Singhar, however, added that Scindia's campaigning would not have had any affect since Vijaypur has always been a Congress bastion.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
