Odisha's Naveen Patnaik replaces West Bengal's Jyoti Basu as second-longest-serving CM in India
Bhubaneswar, Jul 22: Odisha's Naveen Patnaik on Saturday became the second-longest-serving chief minister in the country, replacing West Bengal's Jyoti Basu.
Former Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling still holds the record of being the longest-serving CM in the country. He was the CM of the Himalayan state from December 12, 1994 till May 27, 2019 -- more than 24 years.
Patnaik, the five-time chief minister of Odisha, took charge on March 5, 2000, and holds the post for 23 years and 138 days.
Basu served as the chief minister of West Bengal from June 21, 1977 to November 5, 2000, which was 23 years and 137 days.
Patnaik is also the third leader after Chamling and Basu to become the chief minister of a state for five consecutive times. If the ruling BJD wins the 2024 elections, Patnaik will be the longest-serving chief minister in India.
BJD vice president Prasanna Acharya said, "We are happy that our chief minister has crossed the record of West Bengal's former CM Jyoti Basu. I am sure that Patnaik will break all the records of the past, and will emerge as the longest-serving CM."
Congress leader SS Saluja said, "We congratulate Naveen Patnaik for becoming the second-longest-serving CM, but we are pained that Patnaik is not doing anything during his term."
Senior BJP leader Suresh Pujari said history will not remember how long one serves as the chief minister, but how one creates history within a short span of time.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Kurla BEST bus accident: Driver was not drunk, didn't have mental illness, say police
Mumbai (PTI): Medical tests of the driver involved in the Kurla BEST bus accident, which claimed eight lives, have indicated he did not have any mental disorder and was not drunk at the time of the incident, police said on Wednesday.
The electric bus, hired on a wet-lease basis by the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking and driven by Sanjay More, ploughed into a crowd in Mumbai's Kurla area on December 9.
The accident claimed eight lives and left more than 40 persons injured. Several vehicles were also damaged in the incident.
More (54) is in police custody for alleged reckless driving and booked on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Before the commencement of the case trial, the driver's psychological test was recently conducted at a civic hospital in Sion to confirm if he had any mental illness, a Kurla police official said.
The test report confirmed his mental condition was normal and he had no mental disorder and he was not suffering from any brain-related disease, the official said.
Also, More's blood test report revealed he was not driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident, he said.
Earlier, More claimed the bus brake failure led to the accident, but police have received a report from the regional transport office (RTO), stating the vehicle was working fine and there was no brake or any other technical failure, the official said.
BEST administration has claimed More received three days' training before he was allowed to drive the electric bus.
RTO officials suspect human error and lack of proper training for driving automatic transmission buses could be the reason behind the accident, among the most horrific involving BEST buses in recent history.
