Pawan Khera supports Surjewala, says political fight on between 'demons and humans'
Jaipur, Aug 14: Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said here on Monday that the present political fight in the country is going on between "demons and humans", referring to party colleague Randeep Singh Surjewala's remarks calling those voting for the ruling party as having "demonic tendencies".
He also said the country needs a responsible prime minister, not a "publicity minister".
To a question on Surjewala's comment at a recent rally in Haryana, Khera said, "The prime minister spoke for 2 hours and 13 minutes in Parliament. Sloppy jokes were cracked. Slogans were raised. You have seen what happened to women in Manipur. So, you tell me if this is not a demonic mentality, then what is?"
"The women of our country are being misbehaved with and raped openly and the prime minister is leading in cracking sloppy jokes in Parliament. In the history of this country, I have seen many prime ministers. I have seen different prime ministers belonging to different parties. But, I have not seen such a prime minister who is cracking jokes, that too shallow ones, when one part of the country is burning."
He said he completely agrees with Surjewala's comment that there is a fight going on today between demons and humans.
"I completely agree with his point that the fight that is going on today, the struggle that is going on, is between demons and humans. There is no doubt about it," Khera said.
"This country needs a responsible prime minister, not a publicity minister," he said.
Surjewala sparked a row with his remarks on Sunday, calling the BJP and the JJP as parties of "demons" and also said those who vote for and support the BJP are of "demonic tendency".
On Monday, Surjewala put out a clarification, defending his comments and accusing the BJP of clinging onto words to murder the issues raised by him. This government repeatedly tries to hide its failures behind emotional issues, he alleged.
Citing several alleged failures of the government, including communal violence in Nuh, he said, "Are those who have thrown society into the fire of hate and killed the dreams of youngsters are any less than demons?"
Khera, who has come out in Surjewala's support, expressed confidence that the Congress would win again in Rajasthan and break the "custom of changing the government" in every election in the state.
He said, "The happiness that is seen among the people regarding the plans of (Chief Minister) Ashok Gehlot makes us believe that this time the custom will be broken and the Congress government will come again."
Replying to a question that the BJP is targeting the state government over law and order issues, Khera said it is ironic that "the BJP people do not read the figures of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released by their own central government".
He said, "The data of their government tells what is happening in Uttar Pradesh or Assam or other states. Our mentality is not to compare states. A crime is a crime. What is wrong is wrong. But, you can definitely compare how aware the government is."
He further said, "Whenever such an incident took place, the Gehlot government gave an example to the whole country by taking quick action. We are not like them that when there is an incident in Kathua, Unnao or Hathras, we go and stand with the rapists."
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Two women died, 6 taken ill after ‘consuming’ mango kernel gruel in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur/Phulbani, Nov 1: At least two tribal women died and six others fell ill after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Friday.
Consumption of mango kernel, prepared by boiling the seeds in water, was reported from Mandipanka village in the district's Daringbadi block, an officer said.
While one of the two women (Rasmita Pattamajhi aged 22) died on Thursday night at Mohana community health centre in Gajapati district where she was undergoing treatment after "consuming the gruel", another woman (Runu Majhi aged 29) breathed her last while being taken to MKCG Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Gadapur sarpanch Kumari Mallick said.
Six others, who fell ill after allegedly consuming the gruel, were admitted to a hospital and their condition was critical, said Dr Subrat Das, a medical officer of the health facility.
"All the six have been admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. We suspected that they fell sick due to food poisoning. The exact cause of the illness will be ascertained after completion of the investigation," he added.
The six were identified as Pravati Patmajhi, Dranglu Patmajhi, Tuni Majhi, Susama Patmajhi, Jita Majhi and Jibanti Majhi, Daringbadi BDO Pritiranjan Ratha said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has rejected allegations that tribal people have been consuming mango kernel gruel due to a lack of access to rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Rasmita's husband Anil Pattamajhi alleged that they were denied rice under PDS for the last three months because of which his wife consumed mango kernel.
However, Kandhamal district magistrate-cum-collector Amrit Ruturaj dismissed the allegations, saying the family received rice according to PDS norms. "We are awaiting the postmortem report to determine the facts," the collector added.
Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who is also in-charge of the women and child development department said, "It is not a case of malnutrition. Mango kernel is part of their (tribal) regular diet. Sometime, the mango kernels get contaminated and lead to such unfortunate incidents. We have been actively spreading awareness about the risks of food contamination."
Health and family welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, who ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of two tribal women, said a team from the district headquarters hospital and another local team are at the spot to assess the situation and conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
Mahaling said that the government was waiting for the postmortem report for a confirmation on the cause of the deaths. "People in Kandhamal consume mango kernel. It is common in that region and there also have been reports of health complications linked to it in the past," he said.
The Kandhmal incident reminds a similar tragedy involving mango kernel deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where at least 20 people died in 2001, and two more succumbed to mango kernel consumption in 2016. Additionally, mango kernel has claimed lives in Laxmipur in Koraput district in 2012 and 2013, as well as in Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district in 2018.
