Rebel JD(S) faction declares CK Nanu as national president, to back INDIA bloc
Bengaluru, Dec 11: Expelled JD(S) national vice president C K Nanu on Monday was declared as the new national president of the party, replacing former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, by the rebel faction being propped up by leaders like C M Ibrahim.
At a "national plenary meeting" convened by Nanu, a former Kerala minister, here, the rebel faction, along with "acting" against Gowda for deciding to join the BJP-led NDA, declared itself to be the "actual JD(S)", while announcing support to INDIA bloc.
They have also decided on moving to the Election Commission in this regard, and take necessary legal steps to stake their claim over the party.
The Gowda-led JD(S) on Saturday expelled rebels Ibrahim and Nanu for "anti-party" activities.
ALSO READ: JDS officially expels former state president CM Ibrahim for anti-party activities
"For two seats (in Lok Sabha), for the interest of your children, at the age of 92-years you (Gowda) sacrificed the ideology...." Ibrahim, a former Union Minister who was earlier the JD(S) state President, said after the meeting.
"We gave him (Gowda) three opportunity -- on October 16 we held a meeting here, on November 9, we held a meeting in Kerala and requested to change the decision (of going with BJP), you (Gowda) didn't change, finally today on December 11 at a plenary meeting in Bengaluru, we have removed him from President post and have elected C K Nanu as the new national president. We have given him the powers to constitute all state committees," he said.
Gowda, as the national president, took a decision against the "secular ideology" of the party, Ibrahim alleged, adding that "Our party constitution itself states there should not be any ties with any communal party, if such ties are there, such a person cannot be JD(S) member. As Deve Gowda has gone against the ideology, the plenary session today has removed him and replaced with a new president."
Ibrahim was on November 17 suspended from the party for alleged anti-party activities. Gowda earlier had replaced Ibrahim as the party state president on October 19 and appointed his son and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in his place.
Ibrahim claimed that the plenary session was attended by leaders from various States and discussions were held on party matters. "In Karnataka, myself, and like minded leaders like Nadagouda, Mahima Patel and five MLAs were present, without me calling them five MLAs had come, I don't want to reveal their names now."
"I will wait for that number of MLAs to become 12, once we have 12 MLAs on our side, the MLAs will elect their new leader in Vidhana Sabha (replacing Kumaraswamy), and we will do it," he said.
Ibrahim had raised a banner of revolt against the JD(S) leadership, following its decision to join the NDA.
Announcing support to INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha polls, Ibrahim said, after discussion with JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar, RJD's Lalu Prasad Yadav, SP's Akhilesh Yadav and Congress' Rahul Gandhi, a decision will be taken over the constituencies from where his party would contest the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka.
Comparing Gowda to 'Dhritarashtra', a character in epic Mahabharata, he said, one family (Gowda family) has gone outside the JD(S), rest JD(S) members are still in JD(S). We are the actual JD(S), not an alternative....we will go to the election commission and even to the court."
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Jhansi fire: Nurse's heroic efforts helped save over dozen babies
Lucknow/Jhansi (UP), Nov 17: Nurse Megha James was on duty when the fire broke out at the Jhansi hospital and she threw herself headlong into the rescue efforts, playing a hero's role by saving several babies.
Even when her salwar got burned, she refused to give up and was able to evacuate 14-15 babies with others' help.
"I had gone to take a syringe to give an injection to a child. When I came back, I saw that the (oxygen) concentrator had caught fire. I called the ward boy, who came with the fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. But by then, the fire had spread," James said.
Ten babies perished in a fire that broke out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi Friday night.
Faced with an enormous blaze, James's mind worked with a frenetic speed, to the extent she cared little about burning herself.
"My chappal caught fire and I burned my foot. Then my salwar caught fire. I removed my salwar and discarded it. At that time, my mind was virtually not working," she told PTI Videos.
James just wore another salwar and went back to the rescue operation.
"There was a lot of smoke, and once the lights went out, we could not see anything. The entire staff brought out at least 14-15 children. There were 11 beds in the ward with 23-24 babies," she said.
Had the lights not gone out they could have saved more children, James said. "It all happened very suddenly. None of us had expected it."
Assistant Nursing Superintendent Nalini Sood praised James's valour and recounted bits from how the rescue operation was carried out.
"The hospital staff broke the glasses of the NICU ward to evacuate the babies. It was then Nurse Megha's salwar caught fire. Instead of caring for her safety, she stayed there to rescue the babies and handed them over to people outside," she said.
Sood said James is currently undergoing treatment at the same medical college. She said she did not know the extent of her burns.
"The rescued babies were shifted to a ward very close to the NICU ward… When I recall the scene, I feel like crying," she said.
Dr Anshul Jain, the head of the anaesthesiology department at the medical college, explained the standard rescue operation and claimed the hospital followed the protocol to the T.
"In the triage process during an ICU evacuation, the policy is to evacuate less-affected patients first. The rationale behind this approach is that patients requiring minimal support can be relocated quickly, enabling a larger number of evacuations to be completed in a shorter time.
"In contrast, patients on ventilators or requiring high oxygen support demand more time and resources for evacuation," he said.
"This principle was successfully implemented in Jhansi, playing a significant role in saving many lives," Jain said.
A newborn rescued from the fire died due to illness on Sunday, Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar said.
