Yashwant Sinha joins AAP march to Lt Governor's office
New Delhi, June 13: Former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday joined hundreds of leaders and workers of Delhi's ruling AAP as they marched towards the Lt Governor's office where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues had been staging a sit-in since Monday.
Sinha, who resigned from the BJP in April, recalled former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, while addressing the crowd before the march.
"He (Kejriwal) is not just anybody, but an elected Chief Minister who got 67 seats. He is begging for justice and nobody is taking note of the matter. I was thinking if Vajpayeeji was the Prime Minister today, what would he have done? He would have ordered the Union Home Minister to sit with the elected Chief Minister of Delhi and find a solution to this impasse," he said.
Sinha, who was also joined by former diplomat K.C. Singh, said he tried to meet the Chief Minister and the LG, but "was not allowed" in the Raj Niwas -- the official accommodation-cum-office of Lt. Governor Anil Baijal.
He said he "wonders why the Centre, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister are not able to hear and see what all is happening" when the whole nation "is concerned with the situation here".
"Delhi is not just a city, but the national capital. Anything happening here will attract the attention of the world and the nation."
Showing his support to the "struggle", Sinha urged the party workers to continue the struggle until the demands of the Delhi government are fulfilled, adding that it would be better for the country if a solution to the crisis is found at the earliest.
He also called the Lt Governor a "babu, who do whatever he has been ordered".
Kejriwal and his colleagues were staging a sit-in at the LG office with demands -- a direction to IAS officers working in the Delhi administration to end their "strike", action against officers who have "struck work" for four months and approval to his government's proposal for doorstep delivery of ration to the poor. They have refused to leave until their demands were met.
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At least 200 dead in Congo coltan mine collapse, authorities say, as rebels dispute toll
Goma (Congo) (AP): A mine collapse on Tuesday at a major coltan mining site in eastern Congo left at least 200 dead, according to Congolese authorities, a number disputed by the rebel group that controls the mine.
The collapse took place on Tuesday at the Rubaya mines, which are controlled by the M23 rebels, according to a press release from the Ministry of Mines on Wednesday.
Fanny Kaj, a senior official in the M23 rebel group, which controls the mines, disputed the figure and said that the collapse was caused by “bombings” and only five people had been killed.
“I can confirm that what people are publishing is not true. There was no landslide; there were bombings, and the death toll isn't what people are saying. It's simply about five people who died,” Kaj said.
Ibrahim Taluseke, a miner at the site, said that he had helped to recover over 200 bodies from the area.
“We are afraid, but these are lives that are in danger,” said Taluseke. “The owners of the pits do not accept that the exact number of deaths be revealed.”
Rubaya lies in the heart of eastern Congo, a mineral-rich part of the Central African nation which for decades has been ripped apart by violence from government forces and different armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, whose recent resurgence has escalated the conflict, worsening an already acute humanitarian crisis.
Congo is a major supplier of coltan, a black metallic ore that contains the rare metal tantalum, a key component in the production of smartphones, computers and aircraft engines.
The country produced about 40 per cent of the world's coltan in 2023, according to the US Geological Survey, with Australia, Canada and Brazil being other big suppliers. Over 15 per cent of the world's supply of tantalum comes from Rubaya's mines.
In May 2024, M23 seized the town and took control of its mines. According to a UN report, since seizing Rubaya, the rebels have imposed taxes on the trade and transport of coltan, generating at least USD 800,000 a month.
Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Various conflicts have created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, including more than 300,000 who have fled their homes since December.
In June, the Congolese and Rwandan governments signed a peace deal brokered by the US and negotiations continue between rebels and Congo. However, fighting continues on several fronts in eastern Congo, continuing to claim numerous civilian and military casualties.
The deal between Congo and Rwanda also opens up access to critical minerals for the US government and American companies.
A similar collapse last month killed over 200.
