'Threatened' ex-MLA hides inside train toilet to save life
Bhopal: In a shocking incident, former Madhya Pradesh MLA from Samajwadi Party Sunilam was forced to hide inside a train toilet after an unidentified youth allegedly threatened him with dire consequences.
The incident happened when Sunilam, two-time MLA from Multai constituency was travelling from Nizamuddin to Multai in an air-conditioned coach of Gondwana Express on the intervening night of Monday-Tuesday.
In a letter, Sunilam complained about the incident to Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday.
Sunilam said that the accused, along with a woman named Aarti, boarded the train at Bina. He allegedly misbehaved and threatened him with dire consequences.
The Samajwadi Party leader claimed that he narrated the incident to the train's travelling ticket examiner (TTE) but to no avail.
Sunilam said he hid inside the train toilet to save his life after the accused called up his accomplices when the train reached Bhopal railway station.
Sunilam alleged that he was forced to hide inside the toilet after the accused along with his accomplices tried to kill him.
During the incident, Sunilam also shared his ordeal on Twitter, while tagging Ministry of Railways.
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
