Karnataka by-polls: Not against to joining hands with JD(S) again, says Congress
Bengaluru, Dec 1: Sounding upbeat after forming a coalition government in Maharashtra, Congress in Karnataka on Sunday made it clear that it was not averse to joining hands with JD(S) once again, in case the ruling BJP fails to garner the required number of seats to be in majority, after December 5 bypolls.
JD(S) leaders have already dropped enough hints about the party being open to such a possibility.
The Congress and JD(S), who ran a coalition government for 14 months in the state and contested Lok Sabha polls in alliance, have parted ways after the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy ministry in July following the rebellion by 17 MLAs, and are contesting the bypolls independently.
The ruling BJP led by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa needs to win at least six seats in the bypolls to 15 constituencies to remain in a majority in the 224-member assembly, which would still have two vacant seats-- Maski and R R Nagar.
"In order to protect the constitution, democracy and to provide social justice with secular principles, when the situation arises, we will take necessary steps after discussing with our allies and UPA partners on such a matter," veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Let's see what happens in the future... winning in 15 seats is what we are looking for.. we will let you know. We will give you a correct picture on December 9.. we will give you good news."
Kharge, who is also Congress General Secretary in- charge of Maharashtra, where the party formed a coalition government in alliance with Shiv Sena and NCP and successfully managed to keep BJP out of power, noted that the party took such a decision in the neighboring state to "protect" democracy and in the interest of the people.
"Look at Maharashtra, where Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress have formed a government together.
To tell you the truth, our President (Sonia Gandhi) was not in favour of it and wanted us to be in opposition, but the people, parties with progressive thinking told us to look at keeping BJP away from power..," he said.
Under pressure from legislators, and other parties including leftist parties, a decision was taken with an intention to keep out BJP, which is "fascist" and functions against the democracy, he added.
Another senior Congress leader G Parameshwara too said there was a possibility for Congress and JD(S) coming together if the situation arises, and it would be examined and decided by the high command.
He said, "After results are out on December 9, if Congress gets more seats and BJP gets less, government will collapse, then we will have two options- one not forming the government and staying out, while the second was to join hands with JD(S) to form a coalition government again."
"There is possibility of coming together.. Are we in a position to face mid term polls immediately? Should we impose another election on the people?
I think we may look at the possibilities of going for a coalition government once again, but the decision will be taken by the high command looking at pros and cons, as they did in Maharashtra," he added.
Parameshwara, a former state Congress chief was the Deputy Chief Minister in the previous Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy.
JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda in a cryptic remark made in the context of the by-polls had recently said Congress President Sonia Gandhi's decision after the bypolls should be watched out for, leading to speculation about the possible coming together of the two parties once again, if the situation arose.
Gowda's son Kumaraswamy too had said there would be a stable government in the state after the bypolls, but not necessarily that of BJP, as he asked media persons to wait for December 9 bypoll results.
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Mumbai family deaths: FDA finds no watermelon vendor in area to check for affected stock
Mumbai (PTI): The Food and Drug Administration team probing the cause of death of four members of a family in south Mumbai's JJ Marg area have not been able to zero in on any watermelon vendor in the vicinity to check if the fruit had a role to play in the ill-fated incident, an official said on Thursday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am, hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
"The FDA team visited the house of Dokadia and collected samples of chicken pulao and watermelon pieces. After two days, the leftover chicken pulao had developed fungus growth. The team also tried to locate watermelon vendors to check for any affected lots," he said.
But no vendors were found in the area for the past two days, preventing the FDA team from getting samples, the official added.
The FDA has requested the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to share the report on the food samples collected by them, he added.
A senior Mumbai police official said the force is waiting for FSL reports in the case, adding that questions on presence of sedatives etc in the fruit could be answered only then.
The statements of the kin of the deceased are being recorded to ascertain if it is a case of mass suicide, and it is being checked if the Dokadia family were in debt or distressed over some issue, the police official said.
