Karnataka Ministers in Delhi as Congress convenes meet to discuss strategies for LS elections
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Ministers on Thursday headed to New Delhi to attend a meeting convened by the central leadership of the Congress to discuss strategies for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the State.
Ministers K N Rajanna, K J George, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, G Parameshwara, Laxmi Hebbalkar, N S Boseraju and R B Thimmapur are among those who flew to the national capital in the morning, Congress sources said.
"The information we have is that 29 ministers have been summoned to Delhi to discuss strategies," a senior Congress leader told PTI.
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According to him, the key focus this time is to identify the right candidates, and find ways to counter the Rama temple issue so that it does not adversely affect the party's poll prospects in Karnataka.
"The ministers will be asked to publicise the five guarantees (pre-poll promises of the party) and various other welfare schemes of the state government. Our key strength in the Lok Sabha election is our five guarantees, which no other state has implemented," the Congress leader claimed.
While Rama temple may come up for discussion, the Congress leader said the party is not unduly worried about it.
"We are not very much thinking about the Ram Temple issue because the Hindu community itself is divided with four Shankaracharyas reportedly not attending the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya on January 22," a Congress source said.
He also underlined that the demand by some Ministers that three deputy chief ministers should be appointed in Karnataka may not come up for discussion in the meeting.
"Our party president (M) Mallikarjun Kharge has snubbed the ministers and MLAs demanding it. He has strictly told them not to raise this issue till the elections are over," the source said.
The Congress put up a dismal show in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, where it won just one of the total 28 seats.
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No 'bacterial infection' found in bodies of 4 Mumbai family members who died after eating watermelon
Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.
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 (on April 26), 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.
After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.
After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.
As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.
"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.
The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.
"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.
