Cong-JDS coordination committee to meet tomorrow to discuss turmoil, seat sharing for LS polls
Bengaluru, Jan 23: Karnataka's ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition coordination committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday, amid chinks in the alliance and an alleged bid by the BJP to dislodge the H D Kumaraswamy government.
The meeting gains significance as it comes days after political turmoil that also saw Congress, the senior partner, herd its MLAs to a resort to shield them from BJP's alleged poaching bid, where two lawmakers entered into a brawl, causing embarrassment to the government.
The coalition government's coordination committee meeting,chaired by Siddaramaiah (committee Chairman), is scheduled to take place tomorrow (Thursday) at 5 PM, Siddaramaiah's office said in a statement.
Sources said that the meeting is expected to discuss the upcoming state budget, preparations for the Lok Sabha polls and recent political developments that include the alleged bid by the BJP to topple the government and disgruntlement within the Congress.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy,who also holds the Finance portfolio, is scheduled to present the coalition government's second budget on February 8 and the coordination committee is expected to primarily discuss it.
Recently in an interview to PTI, Kumaraswamy had said that he would fulfil his Rs 46,000-crore loan waiver commitment made to farmers "completely" in the budget.
The coordination committee is likely to start preliminary discussions on seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls and preparations, the sources said.
As the negotiations on seat sharing have already been delayed, the two parties are likely to discuss the procedures to be adapted and fix the timeline to arrive at a decision.
Four dissidents Friday skipped the Congress Legislature Party meeting that was meant to be a show of strength against BJP's alleged toppling bid.
The absentee MLAs have been served show cause notices, asking why action should not be taken against them under the Anti-Defection Law.
Congress in Karnataka Monday suspended its MLA J N Ganesh, who was also slapped with a case of attempt to murder by police based on the complaint by Anand Singh.
Meanwhile, there is also growing demand to expand the coordination committee by inducting state presidents on both Congress and JD(S) into it.
JD(S) state president Vishwanath Wednesday said the coordination committee was incomplete without state presidents of alliance partners in it.
However, Pradesh Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao has said that the party has to decide on his inclusion into the committee.
According to reports, Siddaramaiah is not in favour of Vishwanath coming on board as both don't enjoy a cordial relationship anymore,as the former Chief Minister suspects the JD(S) chief of having worked for his defeat in Chamundeshwari in Mysuru during the assembly polls.
The coordination committee comprises Kumaraswamy, Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC chief G Parameshwara, Siddaramaiah, Congress General Secretary Venugopal and JD(S) Secretary General Danish Ali.
While Siddaramaiah is the chairman,Ali is the convener of the coalition coordination and monitoring committee.
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Ahmedabad plane crash: Six months on, college hostel lies in ruins, sans bustle of students
Ahmedabad (PTI): Six months after the AI-171 plane crash, the B J Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad stands as a haunting reminder, with its charred walls and burnt trees replacing the once lively chatter of students with an eerie stillness.
Scattered across the crash site are grim remnants of daily life - burnt cars and motorcycles, twisted beds and furniture, charred books, clothes and personal belongings.
The Atulyam-4 hostel building and the adjoining canteen complex stand abandoned, with entry strictly prohibited.
For residents near the site, memories of the incident still linger, casting a lasting shadow on their lives, with some of them saying they are still afraid to look up at the sky when an aircraft passes overhead.
On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed moments after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 persons.
The aircraft slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar, turning a lively student neighbourhood into a landscape of ruin and grief.
"The area now lies very silent, only a few birds chirp here," Sanjaybhai, a security guard deployed at the premises by authorities to prevent trespassing, told PTI.
Mahendrasingh Jadeja, a general store owner whose shop is just 50 metres from the point where the aircraft struck, described it as an unimaginable calamity. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this."
Pointing to a tree behind his shop, the 60-year-old said the aircraft first struck there before crashing into the hostel building.
"It was a scorching summer afternoon. Not many people were outside. When I heard a loud crashing sound, I ran out of my shop. We were all terrified," he recalled.
"Even today, we instinctively look up whenever a plane passes overhead," he added.
Another local, Manubhai Rajput, who lives barely 200 metres from the site, said he witnessed the horror unfold on June 12.
"The plane was flying unusually low. Before I could understand what was happening, there was thick black smoke and a deafening crash," he said.
For over three decades, Rajput and his neighbours lived close to the airport without giving much thought to the aircraft overhead.
"We never looked up at the sky. But that day is etched in my mind. The plane hit a tree first, and then there was a loud sound," he said.
Rajput recalled how hundreds of locals rushed to the site even before police, fire services or the Army arrived.
Tinaben, another resident of Meghaninagar, said she never imagined something like this could happen in Ahmedabad.
"Despite being close to the airport, this area always felt safe," she said.
As an aircraft roared overhead during the conversation, Tinaben paused, looked up nervously and said, "It's still scary."
A senior official of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state government has yet to decide what to do with the damaged site.
Currently, investigations are going on and the site is strictly prohibited for people, he added.
