K'taka Congress MLA accepts threatening to quit citing 'self-respect' at CLP meeting
says did not apologise
Kalaburagi (K'taka), July 30: Senior MLA B R Patil on Sunday admitted that he threatened to resign during the recent Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, citing "self-respect", but said he did not apologise for writing a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister highlighting his concerns.
The CLP meeting on Thursday evening was significant as it came amid reports that as many as 30 legislators have written to Siddaramaiah and the party leadership expressing concern over non-implementation of development works in their constituencies.
The behaviour and conduct of certain ministers has upset some legislators, Patil said, as he warned that their fight would continue, if it is not corrected.
The Aland MLA, however said he is satisfied with the Legislature party meeting held on Thursday and what transpired there.
Senior MLA B R Patil | DH File Photo
"I too have seen media and newspaper reports. I don't know who has apologised. I have not apologised, nor will I. Have we committed any crime to apologise? Or have we made a big mistake?" Patil said in response to a question that some ministers including Home Minister G Parameshwara had stated that those who wrote letters to the CM had apologised at the CLP meeting.
Speaking to reporters, he said, "There is internal democracy in our party, we have the right to request a legislature party meeting.
Accordingly, leaders have called (for the meeting). There was open and detailed discussion in the meeting and I'm satisfied, but I'm not a coward to apologise. If I had committed any mistake, I would have apologised," he added.
Several legislators are said to be miffed and have complained that they had not been able to get work done in their constituencies, and have not been granted transfers (of government servants) as requested. They have expressed unhappiness regarding some ministers, alleging that they were not cooperating with them.
According to party sources, Patil, one of the MLAs who wrote to the CM, slammed ministers at the CLP meeting for not taking MLAs into confidence.
They said Patil asserted his rights when Siddaramaiah questioned the need for the letter that was written to him.
Stating that there is no disgruntlement, Patil today told reporters that he along with some legislators wanted certain issues to be discussed for which they had requested that a legislature party meeting be called.
Asked whether he had said that he would resign at the meeting, he said, "I said one thing at one point, that if my self respect is hurt I will throw my resignation and go."
He however did not wish to elaborate as to what the context was in which he made such a statement. "It cannot be discussed openly in the media, we have discussed internally."
The behaviour and conduct of certain ministers has upset some legislators, Patil said, adding, "I don't know whether CM has advised them (ministers) or not... If their behaviour is not right, our fight against it will be there."
Clarifying that there is no team as such in place to fight against the ministers' behaviour, Patil, in response to a question, admitted that he walked out of the CLP meeting, and was persuaded by a couple of ministers to get back. But he did not wish to go into details.
He however said that the chief minister subsequently spoke to him over the phone.
Patil, clarifying that the issue that legislators have is not related to transfer of government servants, said that the CM has explained at the CLP meeting about the burden on the exchequer due to implementation of the poll guarantees, and that there will be shortage of funds for developmental works initially this year, which will be set right in the days ahead.
"We are satisfied with what CM said," he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
