Vajpayee's ashes immersed in Cauvery river in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Aug 23 : The ashes of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were immersed in the Cauvery river at Srirangapatna on Thursday, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) official said.
"The ashes in urns were immersed in the Cauvery by party's state unit President B.S. Yeddyurappa from the river's bank at 'Pashchim Vahini' in Srirangapatna near Mysuru," a party official told reporters here.
Srirangapatna in Mandya district is about 130km from Bengaluru in the old Mysuru region.
Hundreds of people from the historic town and Mysuru gathered at the river banks to pay homage to Vajpayee on the occasion.
Vajpayee, 94, passed away in New Delhi on August 16 after prolonged illness.
"The ashes will also be immersed on Friday in seven other rivers across the state -- Netravathi, Malaprabha, Krishna, Karanja, Tungabhadra, Sharavati and Tunga -- by the party's state leaders and cadres.
Yeddyurappa and Central ministers from the southern state Ananth Kumar and D.V. Sadananda Gowda brought the ashes in eight urns from New Delhi on Wednesday for immersion in the eight rivers across the state.
A condolence meeting will be held in Bengaluru on Sunday to pay tributes to Vajpayee.
The urns containing the ashes were kept at the party's state unit office after they were brought from Delhi to enable the party's leaders, cadres and the public to pay floral tributes to the departed leader.
"Amar Rahe, Amar Rahe, Atal Bihari Amar Rahe" slogans rent the air.
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By-election result not a mandate for the government: Basavaraja Bommai
Bengaluru: The results of the by-elections in three constituencies do not represent a mandate for the state government, said MP Basavaraja Bommai, adding that ruling party MLAs are dissatisfied with the lack of development in the state.
Speaking to the media at the BJP office on Tuesday, he stated that by-elections typically favor the ruling government. "When we were in power, we won 13 out of 17 by-elections. The Congress should not assume that this is a verdict in their favor," he remarked.
Bommai emphasized that these results are confined to the constituencies where the by-elections were held. He also accused the state government of poorly implementing its guarantee schemes without adequate financial preparation, claiming that the schemes are being halted due to financial strain.
He alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's government has borrowed over ₹1 lakh crore, leading to difficulties in financial management. Bommai pointed out that the state government is yet to release over ₹2,000 crore to local bodies, including village panchayats, as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission.
"Anganwadi workers and contract workers are not receiving their salaries, and contractors are refusing to take up work due to non-release of funds, even after tenders have been floated," he added.
Responding to questions about internal dissent within the BJP, Bommai denied any significant issues, stating, "There is no dissent in the BJP. Everyone is committed to the party. There may be differing opinions on some matters, but I am confident that everything will be resolved within a month." He also noted that a motivated BJP team is actively working for the party.
