Will not be rigid in demand to contest from 12 seats; Deve Gowda
Bengaluru: Indicating that he was agreeable to showing some flexibility in seat sharing talks for the coming Lok Sabha polls with ruling coalition partner Congress, JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda Sunday said his party would not be 'rigid' in its demand to contest from 12 of the total of 28 seats.
Gowda said he had also asked the Congress to have a similar mentality during the seat sharing discussions as there should not be any room for differences on seat sharing between the parties, whose main aim was to halt the BJP's growth.
"I have said 12 seats should be given to us, but I will also not be rigid in saying that they should give us 12," the former Prime Minister said.
Speaking to reporters in Mangaluru, he said, "By loosening our stand a bit... a final decision should be arrived at.
You (Congress) should also have that mentality, I have said. Finally we will come to a decision cordially."
Gowda said he was stating this to bring to an end all speculation and talk that differences may emerge within the coalition during discussions on seat sharing.
The JD(S) leader said he would not be 'adamant' in his demand for seats as the main focus was to halt the BJP's progress and nothing should cause a threat to the alliance.
Congress and JD(S) leaders are likely to discuss seat sharing for the coming Lok Sabha polls at the coalition coordination committee meeting on Monday.
The coalition partners had held the first round of talks on seat sharing on February 25, during which Congress insisted that winnability would be the criteria, while the JD(S) maintained its stand to contest 12 seats.
As per their coalition agreement, both Congress and JD(S) have decided to fight the Lok Sabha polls together.
However, seat sharing is likely to be a major test for both parties as the JD(S), which is banking on two-third, one-third formula adopted in ministry formation and allocation of boards and corporations, has demanded 12 seats out of the total of 28 seats.
According to sources, JD(S) is said to be keen on contesting from Mandya, Hassan, Bangalore North, Mysuru, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Raichur, Bidar, Bijapur, Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga.
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After fake ID crackdown, IRCTC daily new accounts down to 5000 from one lakh: Railways
New Delhi (PTI): With a new, stringent system to establish user identity, the number of new user IDs being added daily on the IRCTC website has declined to about 5,000 from nearly one lakh, officials said on Saturday.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw noted that the crackdown by Indian Railways on train ticket booking through fake identities is yielding positive results, according to a press note.
Before the latest reforms, this number had touched nearly one lakh new user IDs per day, it said.
"Following the introduction of a stringent system to establish user identity and detect fake IDs, about 5,000 new user IDs are now being added daily on the IRCTC website," the note said.
The officials stated that these steps have already helped Indian Railways deactivate 3.03 crore fake accounts.
"Another 2.7 crore user IDs have either been temporarily suspended or identified for suspension based on the suspicious activities they are indulging in," they said.
The Union minister directed officials to ensure that the ticketing system is reformed to a level where all travellers are able to book tickets easily through a real and genuine user ID, the press note added.
Additionally, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed officials to provide local cuisine of the region in Vande Bharat trains.
Introducing local cuisine that reflects the culture and tastes of the regions being traversed will significantly enhance the passenger experience, officials said.
This facility will be expanded to all the trains progressively in future, they added.
