Rajasthan BJP chief Madan Lal Saini dies at 75
Jaipur/New Delhi: Rajasthan BJP president Madan Lal Saini died on Monday while undergoing treatment at AIIMS in Delhi, a party spokesperson said.
Saini, also a Rajya Sabha MP, was 75.
He was diagnosed with infection in lungs and was admitted at a private hospital in Jaipur. On Saturday, he was shifted to Delhi owing to his deteriorating health and was being treated under the Hematology Department at AIIMS.
"He was later shifted to the ICU after his condition further deteriorated. He passed away today around 7.09 pm," a source at AIIMS said.
Saini, who hailed from Sikar district, was appointed BJP state president last year. He was a former MLA and RSS volunteer who held various posts in the Bhartiya Kisan Morcha as well.
A pall of gloom descended at the party's state headquarters in Jaipur where a large number of BJP leaders and workers gathered after hearing the news of Saini's death.
His body will be kept at the party office in Jaipur for visitors on Tuesday morning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief and said Saini's death was a major loss for the BJP.
"The passing away of Shri Madanlal Saini Ji is a major loss for the BJP family. He contributed to strengthening the party in Rajasthan. He was widely respected for his congenial nature and community service efforts. My thoughts are with his family and supporters. Om Shanti," he tweeted.
BJP chief Amit Shah, its working president J P Nadda and Union minister Rajnath Singh were among senior party leaders who went to AIIMS to pay their respects to Saini.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said, "Saddened by the sudden demise of Shri Madan Lal Saini, Member of Rajya Sabha. In his extensive public life as an MP, MLA and state BJP president in Rajasthan, he served with distinction. My profound condolences to bereaved family members and followers. May his soul rest in peace."
Condoling the members of Saini's family, Amit Shah said he was a true public servant whose whole life was devoted to the party and society.
Saini was instrumental in strengthening the BJP in Rajasthan, he added. Nadda said Saini dedicated his entire life for the society and his passing away was an irreparable loss for the party.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also expressed grief over Saini's demise and said, "Shocked and saddened to hear about the passing away of Sh. Madan Lal Saini ji, President of BJP #Rajasthan. My thoughts and prayers are with his family members. May God give them strength to bear this loss. May his soul rest in peace."
Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje said Saini was not only a leader of unparallel image, but also a true and grounded worker of the party.
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Kamala Harris claims she 'had a certain responsibility' to argue against Biden running again
Washington: Former US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Monday evening that she regrets not expressing her concerns about then-President Joe Biden running for a second term when a majority of Americans felt he was too old for the job.
"I have and had a certain responsibility that I should have followed through on," Harris told Rachel Maddow on MSNBC in her first live television interview since the election.
Such a conversation, even if it happened privately and behind the scenes, would have been an extraordinary breach in a relationship between a president and vice president.
Harris' comments expand on a passage in her book, "107 Days," that looks back on her experience replacing Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee after he dropped out of the race. Harris ultimately lost to Republican candidate Donald Trump.
In the book, Harris wrote that everyone in the White House would say “it's Joe and Jill's decision” about running for reelection, referring to the president and first lady. “Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness,” she wrote.
“The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision.”
In her interview with Maddow, Harris said, "when I talk about the recklessness, as much as anything, I'm talking about myself.”
Harris said in the interview she was concerned that “it would come off as completely self-serving” if she had counseled Biden not to seek reelection. She had competed against him for their party's 2020 nomination, and she was well positioned to run again.
A representative for Biden declined comment.
