'TINA- There Is No Accountability': Rahul on UP techie death
New Delhi (PTI): Days after the death of a software engineer whose car plunged into a water-filled pit in Noida, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said India's urban collapse is not about lack of money, technology, or solutions but about the lack of accountability.
Yuvraj Mehta (27), who worked in Gurugram, was returning to his home in Noida Sector 150 when his car fell into a deep, water-filled pit near an under-construction site on the night of January 16. He died after frantically pleading for help for around two hours.
In a post on X, Gandhi said, "Roads kill, bridges kill, fires kill, water kills, pollution kills, corruption kills, indifference kills."
"India's urban collapse isn't about lack of money, technology, or solutions. It's about lack of accountability.TINA m: There Is No Accountability," the Leader of Opposition said in a post on X.
Gandhi shared a video carrying the remarks of an eyewitness, who said timely action could have saved the man, and that of the deceased's father, who lamented that there were several people there with some of them making videos but did not act to save his son.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday removed the Noida Authority CEO and ordered an SIT probe into the death of the software engineer, amid mounting outrage over the incident and allegations of official and developer negligence.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the incident and directed the constitution of a high-level Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the circumstances leading to the accident and submit a report within five days.
Mehta, a resident of Tata Eureka Park society, worked with a Gurugram-based company and was returning home late at night when the accident occurred.
His body was recovered after a prolonged search operation involving the fire department, police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
The postmortem examination conducted on Monday revealed that Mehta died due to asphyxia followed by cardiac arrest, police said. The report noted that his nose was blocked with mud and water, indicating drowning. His last rites were performed later in the day in Haridwar in the presence of his father Raj Kumar Mehta and other family members.
The incident has sparked allegations of negligence, inadequate safety arrangements and delays in rescue efforts, with his father saying he had reached the spot and police, other rescue personnel were also there but could not save him.
"If expert divers could have gone in, then maybe my son would have been saved. Yuvraj kept crying for help as the car drowned," he had lamented while speaking to reporters.
An eyewitness, Monidra, a delivery agent, alleged that timely intervention could have saved the techie. Local residents staged protests over the weekend, accusing authorities and developers of ignoring repeated complaints about waterlogging, lack of barricading and absence of reflectors near the drain and construction site.
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'Will do whatever the party asks me to': Shivakumar on Odisha Cong MLAs camping in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday said though he had not brought the Congress MLAs from Odisha to Bengaluru ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections in that state, he will follow the party's directives.
His remarks come after a group of Odisha Congress legislators were moved to Bengaluru amid apprehensions of cross-voting in the March 16 biennial election.
According to party insiders, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president D K Shivakumar oversaw the logistical arrangements for their stay in the city.
The legislators are currently staying at the resort facility of an amusement park, located about 35 kms from Bengaluru.
Congress sources said the MLAs are expected to remain there until Monday morning before returning to Bhubaneswar to participate in the voting for the Rajya Sabha election.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said he did not bring them, though he will do whatever the party leadership asks him to.
“Look, whatever the party asks us to do, we must do. These things are happening in every state across the country; it’s nothing new. Since they (Odisha MLAs) have come, I will meet them. They asked me for time, but I told them not to come here (Vidhana Soudha) because the Assembly session is going on. I said I would come after finishing the Assembly work,” the Deputy CM said.
According to party sources, around eight MLAs from the party’s Odisha unit were flown from Bhubaneswar to Bengaluru late on Thursday night and have been accommodated at a resort on the outskirts of the city.
Six more legislators from Odisha along with their Congress Odisha unit president will be reaching Bengaluru in the night.
The move, party insiders said, is aimed at ensuring unity among the legislators in the run-up to the election.
Sources added that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure after the BJP fielded a second candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat, triggering intense political manoeuvring in the state.
“There were concerns about possible cross-voting and attempts to influence MLAs. As a safeguard, the leadership decided to move them out of the state until the voting,” a Congress functionary said.
“Six more MLAs and their party president are expected to arrive in Bengaluru by Friday night.”
The Congress currently has 14 MLAs in the Odisha Assembly and requires additional support to ensure the success of its Rajya Sabha nominee.
Sources said the party leadership feared possible political bargaining and inducements involving legislators from different parties ahead of the poll.
