Sonia, Rahul pay tribute to Nelson Mandela on birth centenary
New Delhi, July 18: Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her successor Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday paid tributes to South African anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela on his birth centenary.
In a letter to the African National Congress, Sonia Gandhi described Mandela as a man of "indomitable spirit and extraordinary courage".
"For me personally, it was an immense privilege to meet him, and to experience his magnetic charisma, the warmth of his personality, and the strength of his convictions.
"...I and my colleagues at Indian National Congress, join you and your comrades in the ANC in celebrating Madiba's (Mandela's) life and in saluting his memory," she said.
Rahul Gandhi also recalled his meeting with the South African leader, saying: "We spoke at length about the need for a nation to forgive its oppressors and to heal, but to never forget the oppression unleashed on it.
"...he told me that it was India's freedom struggle and the life of Mahatama Gandhi that had helped shape his beliefs."
Gandhi wrote that Mandela's birth centenary is also a time to remember the historic, cultural, and political bonds between the people of South Africa and India.
"These bonds were further strengthened during the struggle for South African independence and in the long years that Madiba was in prison, when the INC stood shoulder to shoulder with the ANC in solidarity against oppression, apartheid and colonial exploitation," he said.
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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.
