Senior Jammu and Kashmir leaders return to Congress fold
New Delhi (PTI): Seventeen former leaders of the Democratic Azad Party (DAP), including ex-deputy chief minister Tara Chand and ex-PCC chief Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, on Friday returned to the Congress fold and were welcomed back by the party which said they were on a "leave of two months".
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal welcomed the leaders, saying it was a happy day for the party as they were returning back to their home ahead of the Bharat Jodo Yatra which will enter Jammu and Kashmir after two weeks.
"The Bharat Jodo Yatra has become a big movement in the country and that is why all these leaders have decided to come back to the Congress fold," he told reporters.
"This is only a beginning and when the Yatra is entering Jammu and Kashmir, all people with Congress ideology and who want a united India will join the party. I think, they had gone on a leave for two months," he said.
Asked whether there are any talks with DAP chief Ghulam Nabi Azad to return to the Congress fold, Venugopal said he has himself denied any such talks.
On whether Azad has been invited for the Yatra, he said, "Those who believe in the Congress ideology are welcome to join the Bharat Jodo Yatra."
"We have invited all like-minded parties to join the Yatra," he said, adding that Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Sayeed will join the Yatra and walk with Rahul Gandhi in Srinagar.
Party leader Jairam Ramesh said, "A total of 19 leaders were to join today, but 17 were able to come to Delhi and join today. This is the first phase and others will also join soon".
Asked about the reasons to quit the Congress, Tara Chand said, "We got carried away by emotions and friendship and quit the party in haste".
On why they rejoined, he said, "We were not comfortable" in DAP as we have spent 50 years of our life in the Congress and realised our mistake".
Peerzada said there is need to strengthen and unite all secular forces in Jammu and Kashmir, where terrorism has increased instead of decreasing in the last eight years.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
