Sri Lankan Muslim ministers rejoin government after Easter Sunday bombings
Colombo: Four Sri Lankan Muslim ministers, who resigned following the Easter Sunday bombings that killed 258 people, have rejoined the government after investigators found no link in their alleged involvement with a local islamist extremist group.
Two senior Muslim leaders Rauff Hakeem - the leader of the main Muslim party Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Rishad Badiyudeen, the leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress - were sworn in by President Maithripala Sirisena last night.
Along with them, two more Muslims, a state minister and a deputy minister rejoined the government.
The ministers were among nine government legislators, several of them cabinet ministers, who resigned in early June after a Buddhist lawmaker demanded their sacking and accused them of terror links.
Badiyudeen was targeted by the Opposition which demanded his resignation over his alleged close links to local islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ).
Nine suicide bombers attacked three churches and as many luxury hotels on April 21 in one of Sri Lanka's worst terror attacks, killing 25 people and injuring hundreds others.
The ISIS terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed the NTJ for the bombings. "We want the government response to the issues faced by the Muslim community," said Hakeem on his return.
The Opposition said they again would move a no trust motion against Badiyudeen.
"We will present the no confidence motion against Badiyudeen," said Shehan Semasinghe, an opposition legislator.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said since police investigations against the Muslim ministers over their alleged links to NTJ had drawn a blank, they were free to re-join the government.
The 9 per cent Muslim minority votes will be crucial for the two national parties in this election year. The next presidential election must be held before December 8 this year.
The minorities Tamils and Muslims in large numbers sided with the current government in 2015, helping it defeat former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and bring an end to his 10-year rule.
In the wake of the bombings, the majority Sinhala community mobs attacked Muslim-owned properties in towns north of the capital killing one Muslim man and leaving hundreds of homes, shops and mosques vandalised.
The Muslim ministers quit their posts after two Muslim provincial governors resigned following protests by thousands of people, including majority Buddhist community monks, in the pilgrim city of Kandy.
They demanded their sacking for allegedly supporting Islamist extremists responsible for the Easter suicide bombings.
Muslims account for about 10 per cent of the population and are the second-largest minority after Hindus. Around seven per cent of Sri Lankans are Christians.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
