Cong-JDS will decide on LS seat-sharing in 3 days: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Jan 24: The ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka will take a decision on seat sharing for the coming Lok Sabha elections in three or four days, coalition coordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah said Thursday.
Ruling out any threat to the H D Kumaraswamy-led government amid alleged attempts by the BJP to topple it, the former Chief Minister said both parties will face the polls together.
Preliminary discussions have been held on Lok Sabha elections and a meeting will be held in three or four days to decide on the constituencies, he said.
"keeping in mind the situation in the constituencies, we will decide," Siddaramaiah told reporters after the coordination committee meeting here.
Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda will also be part of that meeting, and it has been decided both parties will go together for the polls, he said.
On seats demanded by JD(S), Siddaramaiah said it has not been discussed.
"we will decide on seats and other things in the next meeting," he said.
Responding to a question about opinion within the Congress not to give up seats where the party has sitting MPs, he said "We have not discussed it."
JD(S) secretary general Danish Ali said "We only started a preliminary discussion on seat sharing, the process will continue and it will take many rounds to have a pre-poll alliance for Lok Sabha seats. It will take some time.
There is no demand, our common motive is to get the maximum seats to the coalition in Karnataka and reduce the BJP to minimum. We will put winning candidate and make him contest," he said.
Their expectation is JD(S)-Congress would win 25 plus out of 28 seats in Karnataka, he said.
JD(S) has already expressed its desire to contest in 12 seats, on which the Congress party has some reservations.
The Congress has said seat sharing will be on 'candidate-merit' basis.
Also, several senior Congress leaders and MPs, including Veerappa Moily, have reportedly asked the leadership not to cede nine seats where the party has its sitting MPs, to JD(S).
There are also voices with in the party not to field sitting MPs in certain constituencies.
In the 2014 polls, the BJP had won 17 seats in the state, the Congress nine and JD(S) two seats.
Siddaramaiah said the meeting also discussed recent political developments in the state,.
"There is no situation that will cause any threat to the government," he asserted.
Pointing out that as CLP leader he had called a legislature party meeting and four MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi, B Nagendra, Umesh Jadhav and Mahesh Kumatahalli, had skipped the meeting to whom notices were issued, he said, "out of them three have responded."
"Nagendra has sent his response yesterday, today Ramesh and Mahesh have responded, one more Umesh Jadhav is yet to respond..
Nagendra's response I have seen, he has said he is loyal to the party and because of some case hearing in court, he could not respond. He has not met BJP leaders among other things."
"Other two responses Im yet to see.. after seeing the other replies, we will decide on what action to be taken," Siddaramaiah added.
Terming the alleged brawl between two MLAs Ganesh and Anand Singh at a resort here as "unwanted incident", Siddaramaiah said it will not reflect on the whole government.
"I'm not defending this quarrel between two MLAs, I have said let law take its course. Our party has also taken action already. An inquiry committee has also been formed under the Chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister.
Both disciplinary and criminal action have also been initiated," he said.
Ruling out any 'operation lotus', the former Chief Minister said it was only a creation of the BJP "because of their illusion, by offering power and money."
On reports about BJP planning to bring no-trust motion against the coalition government during the coming assembly session, he said, "let them do whatever they want, we are ready to face. They have already failed miserably once."
Noting that the meeting also discussed the budget that is slated to be presented on February 8, Siddaramaiah said, "there is common minimum programme, keeping it as the base budget will be prepared."
On appointment of Chairmans to few boards and corporations that has been held back like Venkataramanaiah to KRDCL, Sudhakar for Pollution Control Board and Gopala Swamy as parliamentary Secretary, Siddaramaiah said "We have asked the Chief Minister to issue the orders, he will consider it."
"There are few more MLAs whom we will recommend to boards and corporations, we have requested the Chief Minister to issue the orders to them at the earliest, he said, adding that issues of some MLAs on constituency and development related works have also been discussed.
The coordination committee discussed the drought situation in the state and steps being taken by the government to manage the situation, Siddaramaiah said.
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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.
