Rebel Congress MLA Umesh Jadhav joins BJP, likely to be pitted against Kharge in LS polls
Kalaburagi (K'taka): Congress rebel MLA Umesh Jadhav joined the BJP at a rally here Wednesday, two days after he quit the Karnataka Assembly membership, and is tipped to take on Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge in the coming Lok Saba elections.
Jadhav joined the BJP before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address at the rally, in the presence of state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa, former chief minister Jagadish Shettar and a host of other party leaders.
"I am happy and proud joining BJP," Jadhav said before Modi arrived on the stage.
He also sought blessings from the people of Kalaburagi to make Modi Prime Minister again.
BJP sources said, Jadhav is likely to be the party's Lok Sabha candidate for the Gulbarga seat to challenge Kharge, a nine-time MLA and two-term Lok Sabha member who has never tasted electoral defeat.
Jadhav had Monday submitted his resignation from the Assembly to Speaker Ramesh Kumar.
The Congress has petitioned the Speaker seeking disqualification of Jadhav along with Ramesh Jarkiholi, B Nagendra and Mahesh Kumathali under the anti-defection law.
The four MLAs had kept the party on tenterhooks for several weeks, defying its whip twice to attend the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meetings on January 18 and February 8 and had skipped the early part of the budget session.
After the MLAs refused to fall in line, the Congress had petitioned Speaker to disqualify them under the Anti-Defection Law.
However, Jadhav along with other three MLAs had attended the session and voted in favour of the finance bill, with an intention not to violate whip and avoid any stringent action.
Jadhav was upset with Congress against the alleged dominance by veteran party leader Kharge and his son Minister Priyank Kharge in the region.
He was against Priyank Kharge getting Ministerial berth from the region, ahead of several senior Congress leaders including himself.
Jadhav's quitting the Congress has come after two other senior leaders, Baburao Chinchansur and Malikayya Guttedar, from the region quit the party and joined the BJP, allegedly against dominance of the Kharges.
Jadhav is likely to face some hurdles ahead of his candidature for the Lok Sabha polls, as a petition to disqualify him was still pending before the Speaker.
"The petition to disqualify Jadhav is still pending... without disposal of this petition his resignation cannot be accepted as per law, in my knowledge," Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday.
However, whether to accept the resignation or not is ultimately left to the Speaker as he is the ultimate authority, he had added.
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Austrian police detain suspect in case of rat poison found in baby food jars on supermarket shelves
Vienna (AP): Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.
HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide further updates as verified details come in.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.
It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.
Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand's baby jars from sale.
The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”
Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.
