RJD warns its workers against celebratory firing, 'uncivil behaviour' on result day
Patna: With exit polls predicting victory for the RJD-led Grand Alliance, the party Sunday warned its workers against indulging in celebratory firing and "uncivil behaviour" towards rivals on the day of counting of votes on November 10, irrespective of the results.
In a tweet addressed to its workers, the party said, "Whatever the election results are on November 10, it has to be accepted with absolute restraint, simplicity and courtesy.
"Improper fireworks, celebratory firing and uncivil behaviour towards our rivals or their supporters will not be accepted at any cost," it said.
The votes will be counted on November 10, a day after RJDs chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav celebrates his 32nd birthday.
The instructions to the party workers to behave decently on the counting day is part of Tejashwi's efforts to do away with "rowdy behaviour" prevalent on such occasions in the past and establish a new culture.
Multiple exit polls released Saturday evening have predicted the Mahagathbandhan to win a majority in the 243- strong Bihar assembly.
RJD's Bihar unit president Jagdanand Singh said the partymen have been told to accept the results of the polls with "all humility." Praising Tejashwi, Singh said "while Lalu Prasad is the centre of 'astha' (faith), Tejashwi is the centre of 'wyavastha' (arrangements) of the party."
Singh, a close confidante of Lalu Prasad, told the partymen that Tejashwi laboured hard to win peoples faith in the party and its duty of everybody to maintain it.
RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari said the partys own assessment from their sources on ground suggests that it will win more seats than predicted in exit polls.
"There is a wave in support of Mahagathbandhan and Tejashwi Yadav. We will win with a two-thirds majority," he told PTI.
The RJDs election campaign was centred on Tejashwi Yadavs promise of providing 10 lakh governments jobs to youths in Bihar.
Its rival kept attacking the party over its record on and law and order, and also berated as "jungle raj" during the 15-year rule of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi.
In a rally during the polls, BJP chief JP Nadda had assailed the RJD over its reputation of preferring muscle power to ideology, saying the party has a history of conducting 'Tail Piyawan, Danda Bhanjan (dipping lathis in oil and wielding them to assert power)' rally.
Naddas reference to Tel Piyawan, Danda Bhanjan was a throwback to an RJD rally in 2003, two years before the party was ousted from power in Bihar.
As the name suggests, the party workers and supporters carrying 'lathi' (stick) had participated in that rally at Gandhi maidan in the state capital.
In its second tweet on Sunday, the RJD asked its workers to keep in mind that irrespective of the results "at the centre of your politics is public upliftment and their convenience".
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
