TN woman bus driver quits following row over ticketing MP Kanimozhi
Coimbatore (TN) (PTI): The city's first woman driver, Sharmila on Friday quit her job over a controversy surrounding issuing of bus ticket to DMK MP Kanimozhi who preferred to travel in the vehicle with the youngster behind the wheel.
Sharmila alleged Kanimozhi was 'disrespected' by a woman conductor over carrying a ticket although the DMK MP bought one.
The issue seemed to be over tickets for those accompanying Kanimozhi.
Barely minutes after the DMK Parliamentarian took a ride from Gandhipuram to Peelamedu in the city, Sharmila said she had to give up her "dream job" allegedly after her colleague disrespected Kanimozhi and also because her management accused her of seeking publicity by inviting prominent personalities to travel in the bus.
"As promised, Kanimozhi madam had come to travel in the bus in which I was driving. But the conductor had asked the MP to buy the ticket and this led to an argument between me and the conductor," Sharmila told reporters.
She claimed she had intimated her management about the proposed visit of the MP but she could not digest the "disrespect" meted out to the DMK leader.
When she and her father took up the issue with the management she was accused of seeking publicity by inviting prominent personalities to travel in her bus, Sharmila, aged 24, who became popular as the city's first woman bus driver, said. Several of her videos had gone viral on social media.
She said BJP legislator Vanathi Srinivasan too had earlier travelled in her bus.
The transport owner Durai Kannan however denied being informed about Kanimozhi's visit today.
"Had we been intimated, we would have made proper arrangements for the MP," he told reporters here.
Also, he refuted a charge that the management forced Sharmila to quit the job and said that she left on her own accord.
Earlier, Kanimozhi who arrived in the city to participate in a meeting on cyber crimes against women, lauded Sharmila for her efforts in becoming a bus driver.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
