Will allot slot for trust vote when CM seeks it: Speaker Ramesh Kumar
Bengaluru: In the wake of H D Kumaraswamy deciding to seek a trust vote, Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar Friday said a slot would be allotted whenever the Karnataka Chief Minister opted for it.
"The chief minister has spoken his mind that he would not cling to power amid the confusion. He said he will seek the trust of the House," the Speaker told reporters here.
"Whenever he tells me that he wants to move the trust motion, the very next day I will put it in the business of the day," he added.
The embattled chief minister Friday sought time from the Speaker to move the trust vote in the House in the wake of resignation by 16 MLAs--13 from the Congress and three JD(S) legislators.
Also, two independent MLAs withdrew their support to the government and aligned with the BJP.
To a question on the justification behind the chief minister seeking to trust vote while paying condolences, the Speaker said the question should be put to Kumaraswamy.
"I feel that it can be heard because he had said that he will not cling to power in the current situation. I cannot say that I will hear it today itself. He has only informed me that on a certain day he will seek the trust vote. My job will be to include it in the list of business of the day," Ramesh Kumar added.
The Speaker was supposed to start the hearing on the resignation of three MLAs Anand Singh, Prathap Gouda Patil and Narayana Gowda Friday.
However, two of them approached the Supreme Court, which directed the speaker to maintain 'status quo'.
Asked whether he would still start proceedings on the resignation by three MLAs, Kumar said, "I will start the process if they come. If they don't come I will sleep at home.
That's it."
The resignations have pushed the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the state to the brink. If the resignations are accepted, the coalition of Congress and JD(S) will have 100 members while BJP will have 107 MLAs.
The ruling coalition's total strength is 116 (Congress-78, JD(S)-37 and BSP-1), besides the Speaker.
With the support of the two independents, who Monday resigned from the ministry, the BJP has 107 MLAs in the 224-member House, where the half-way mark is 113.
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Bengal: On way to PM's rally, 3 mowed down by train amid dense fog
Kolkata (PTI): Three persons died and three others were injured after being hit by a train amid dense fog on Saturday, while travelling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at Taherpur in West Bengal's Nadia district, a senior official said.
The incident occurred between Taherpur and Badkulla railway stations under the Sealdah-Krishnanagar section of Eastern Railway, he said.
Modi, whose helicopter could not land at Taherpur due to dense fog and low visibility, condoled the death of the “BJP workers” in his virtual address from Kolkata airport.
“I have come to know that some BJP workers, while travelling to the rally, lost their lives in a rail accident. My condolences are with the families of those who have lost their loved ones, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Modi said.
The Eastern Railway official told PTI that the incident occurred in the morning when these people, who were travelling by a bus, had stopped the vehicle and walked to the railway tracks to answer nature's call.
"While three persons died on the spot, two others with injuries were admitted to a local hospital," he said.
Another person with minor injuries was released after having been administered first aid, the official said.
The deceased have been identified as Ramprasad Ghosh (74), Shaktipada Sutradhar (55) and Gopinath Das (38).
Meanwhile, Mahua Moitra, Trinamool Congress MP from Krishnanagar constituency in Nadia district, alleged that the BJP ignored the incident and went ahead with the rally.
"Terrible tragedy hushed up at altar of @narendramodi ego. @BJP4India supporters brought from far Murshidabad for PM rally in Ranaghat today," she said in a post on X.
"4 went to answer nature's call and were killed by 31814 down local train near Taherpur. BJP ignored, blacked out & went ahead with rally," Moitra claimed.
Reacting to her remarks, the West Bengal BJP, in a post on X, asserted that the TMC "has always been adept at milking tragedies", and was being "disrespectful to the unfortunate victims of this tragedy".
The TMC alleged that BJP leaders have not shown "neither concern nor compassion" over the mishap.
"The loss of three lives in Taherpur should have united everyone in grief. But @BJP4India leaders showed neither concern nor compassion," it said in another post on X.
"At this painful moment, Smt @MamataOfficial and Shri @abhishekaitc put humanity above party lines and stood beside the families of the deceased," the party said.
TMC’s on-ground leaders promptly reached out to the grieving family members, ensuring them of help and assistance, it said.
"While Delhi’s rulers chase Bengal with arrogance, our leadership chose empathy. This is the difference between politics of power and politics of people!" the TMC added.
