Rs 500 crore remark: Dy CM Shivakumar asks Navjot Kaur Sidhu to get admitted to 'mental hospital'
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday advised Congress leader Navjot Kaur Sidhu to get admitted in a mental health facility for her "Rs 500 crore for CM post" remark.
Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, had triggered a row on Saturday by claiming that "one who gives a suitcase of Rs 500 crore becomes the Chief Minister," drawing strong response from the BJP and AAP over Congress' functioning.
Responding to her remark, Shivakumar, also state Congress president, said, "let her be admitted to a hospital, some good mental hospital."
Sidhu had said her husband will return to active politics if the Congress declares him as the party's chief ministerial face in Punjab, ahead of the 2027 polls there.
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She further said they do not have money to give to any party but can transform Punjab into a 'golden state'.
"We always speak for Punjab and Punjabiyat...but do not have Rs 500 crore which we can give to sit in chief minister's chair," she told reporters on Saturday after meeting Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on issues, including alleged deterioration of law and order in the state.
When asked if anybody demanded money from them, she said that was not the case but that the "one who gives a suitcase of Rs 500 crore he becomes the CM".
She later claimed that a twist was given to her straight comment.
"I am shocked to see the twist given to a straight comment saying that our Congress party has never demanded anything from us. On being asked about Navjot becoming a CM face from any other party, I stated that we have no money to offer for a CM post," Kaur said in a post on X on Sunday evening.
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India submits nomination of Meghalaya's living root bridges for UNESCO World Heritage site
Shillong (PTI): India has submitted to UNESCO in Paris the nomination dossier of Meghalaya's living root bridges for consideration to include in the World Heritage list 2026-27, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Thursday.
The dossier was handed over by India's Ambassador Vishal V Sharma to UNESCO's World Heritage Centre Director Lazare Assomo Eloundou, a statement said.
"We are hopeful that the living root bridges will be inscribed this year, ensuring that the indigenous communities, the true guardians of this living heritage, receive the global recognition they so richly deserve," Sangma said on X.
While submitting the dossier, Sharma, the Permanent Representative to UNESCO, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Meghalaya CM for their support to the nomination, the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO said in a statement.
Sharma also acknowledged the role of Meghalaya Principal Secretary Frederick Kharkongor, officers of the Archaeological Survey of India, the Ministry of External Affairs, experts and the local communities in safeguarding the property and preparing the nomination.
Located across the southern slopes of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of the northeastern state, the nominated property represents a living cultural landscape shaped over centuries by indigenous Khasi and Jaintia communities.
"The landscape reflects a deep-rooted and harmonious relationship between people, nature and spirituality, embodied in traditional systems of land use, governance and ecological stewardship," the statement said.
The indigenous worldview underpinning the cultural landscape is anchored in principles of respect, reciprocity and responsibility towards Mei Ramew (Mother Earth), it said.
"The submission of this nomination underscores India's commitment to recognising and preserving living cultural traditions and indigenous knowledge systems, and to advancing global heritage conservation efforts through UNESCO," the statement added.
