Place facts about Amarnath tragedy before country: Yashwant Sinha to govt
Srinagar (PTI): The Opposition's joint candidate for the presidential election Yashwant Sinha on Saturday expressed anguish over the lives lost due to a cloudburst near the Amarnath cave shrine and urged the government to place facts about the incident before the country.
Sinha, who arrived here this morning to seek support for his candidature, was speaking at a meeting with opposition parties of Kashmir.
"I express deep anguish over the loss of life in the Amarnath tragedy. We don't know exactly how many people have been killed but it seems that many lives have been lost," the former Union minister said.
"It is our duty that we try to bring out the truth. The government should place facts about the tragedy before the nation and not hide anything," Sinha said.
At least 16 people have died and 25 have been injured in a flash flood triggered by the cloudburst near the Amarnath cave shrine. Many are feared trapped under the debris, according to officials.
Searches for the missing people continued without a break after tents and community kitchens were swept away by the flash flood and landslides.
The annual Amarnath Yatra, which began on June 30, has been suspended following the tragedy and a decision on its resumption will be taken after rescue operations get over, a senior administration official said.
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Karnataka Guv letter to govt, want to know how it got 'confidential material' from Lokayukta
Bengaluru (PTI): Another letter written by Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to the Chief Secretary, expressing "perplexity", as to how the government came to know about the "confidential material" relating to Lokayukta's request to him seeking prosecution or investigation sanction against some opposition leaders, surfaced on Friday.
In the letter to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, the Governor also pointed out that in the August 22 Cabinet decision there is only observation with regard to pendency in according sanction in four cases, and there was no "advice" to him, as reported in the media.
The Karnataka Cabinet has decided to give "aid and advice" to the Governor to act on requests seeking sanction for prosecution against JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy and three former BJP ministers including mining baron G Janardhan Reddy, the government had said on August 22.
"I have been made aware through media reports published on 23-08-2024 that the Cabinet had advised the Governor to accord sanction for investigation/prosecution proposal against H D Kumaraswamy, Murugesh Nirani, Janardhan Reddy, and Shashikala Jolle received from Lokayukta police without delay," the Governor said in a letter dated August 28.
"But, on thorough reading of the Cabinet decisions, it is further noted, that there is only observation with regard to pendency in according sanction in the above four cases along with dates of submission by Lokayukta Police to this Secretariat but there is no advice as such," he said.
Further noting that he is both "curious and perplexed" to note that how did the State Government and the Cabinet came to know about the request from Lokayukta Police along with dates of submission to the sanctioning authority and other details, the Governor asked, "how did Lokayukta Police being an independent body share confidential material with any person other than the sanctioning authority since I have seen in the media the confidential material floating around?"
"I am also curious to see the Cabinet note/materials regarding this subject based on which the Cabinet has observed and decided and which has been conveyed to me officially. Hence, I expect a prompt and early reply along with Cabinet note/supporting documents and the source of documents/ information in this regard," he added.
The August 22 Cabinet meeting and its decision that the Governor is referring to, was held within a week after him granting sanction for prosecution and investigation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case on August 16.
On August 19, Siddaramaiah moved the High Court challenging the legality of the Governor's order.
The High Court on September 12 completed its hearing on Siddaramaiah's petition challenging the legality of Governor Gehlot's approval for investigation against him in the MUDA site allotment case and reserved its orders.
In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife B M Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by the MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts. Some Opposition leaders and activists have also claimed that Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land.
