National News
Odisha train tragedy: PM Modi announces ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each to kin of dead, ₹50,000 for injured
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased in the train derailment in Odisha’s Balasore.
According to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office, the ex-gratia amount will be allotted from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the next of kin of the dead.
The PMO also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 each for the injured in the horrific accident.
PM & HM express grief over incident
Earlier, on Friday, PM Modi expressed grief over the incident in which several coaches of two passenger trains derailed after colliding with a goods train.
Taking stock of the situation in Balasore, Prime Minister Modi informed that rescue operations were underway at the site of the accident and all possible assistance was being provided to the injured.
After the horrific collision and the subsequent derailment of coaches in Odisha’s Balasore district, in which several passengers are feared dead and over 132 injured, an additional rescue team from Odisha Fire and Emergency Service, comprising 26 members with advance rescue equipment from Odisha Fire and Disaster Response Academy in Bhubaneswar rushed to the spot to mobilise emergency rescue measures, the Odisha government stated in a release.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed grief over the accident.
Odisha train tragedy
Multiple coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Bahanaga station in Odisha’s Balasore after colliding with a goods train.
“There are casualties but the toll is yet to be determined. The derailment involved three trains, two of which were passenger trains and another a goods train,” Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said.
The injured were shifted to Soro CHC, Gopalpur CHC, and Khantapada PHC, the chief secretary informed further.
According to Railway spokesperson Amitabh Sharma, the accident took place around 7 pm on Friday.
“At around 7 pm, 10-12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Baleswar and fell on the opposite track. After some time, another train from Yeswanthpur to Howrah rammed into the derailed coaches, resulting in the derailment of 3-4 of its coaches,” Sharma told ANI.
Several teams deployed
A team of responders from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), numbering 22 members, reached the accident spot from Balasore Railway Station. Another team from Centralised Traffic Control (CTC), comprising 32 members, had set off for the spot half an hour before, said officials.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed the state minister Pramila Mallik and the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) to reach the accident spot immediately. The minister and SRC left for the scene almost immediately.
The state chief secretary added that a large number of buses were dispatched to the accident spot in Balasore to help in the relief and rescue operations.
“Nearly 50 ambulances were also rushed to the spot but the number of injured appear to be far too many,” he said.
National News
Woman MP complains to RS chairman against Rahul’s ‘misbehaviour’ during Parliament scuffle
New Delhi, Dec 19: Amidst the ugly scuffle followed by heated exchanges outside the Parliament complex, a BJP woman Parliamentarian has made startling and explosive charges against the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
Phangnon Konyak, the woman Rajya Sabha member from Nagaland, filed a complaint with the Rajya Sabha Chairman on Thursday, claiming that her dignity and self-esteem have been deeply hurt because of the ‘behaviour and conduct’ of Rahul Gandhi.
She claimed that the Congress MP along with party members misbehaved with her and also made her ‘uncomfortable’ while she was protesting against the insult meted out to Babasaheb Ambedkar by the grand old party.
“He misbehaved with me in a loud voice and his physical proximity to me was so close that I, being a lady member, felt extremely uncomfortable,” she said.
“I stepped aside with a heavy heart and felt that no Member of Parliament should behave this way,” she added.
Konyak, also the state President of BJP Mahila Morcha in Nagaland, said that the incident happened while she was protesting against Congress’ ‘ill-treatment’ of BR Ambedkar at Makar Dwaar, the main entrance of Parliament building.
“The Security Personnel had cordoned off the area and created a passage to the entrance for Hon’ble MP’s of other parties. Suddenly, Leader of Opposition, Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji along with other Party Members came in front of me despite there being a passage created for them,” she wrote in her complaint.
Earlier, the penultimate day of the Winter Session was marred by a huge controversy as a scuffle broke out between BJP and INDIA bloc MPs over insult and affront to the legacy of the country’s greatest Dalit icon. Two BJP MPs said that they suffered injuries after Rahul pushed a fellow lawmaker. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also claimed assault by the BJP Parliamentarians, saying that his “knees were hurt”.
Rahul Gandhi has rejected all the allegations and counter-charged that it was he who got shoved by the ruling party MPs.
National News
Ambedkar row: Lalu Prasad seeks HM Shah’s resignation
Patna, Dec 19: Lalu Prasad Yadav, the National President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), has sharply criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah over a recent statement concerning Dr. BR Ambedkar.
During an interaction with the media in Patna, Lalu Yadav accused HM and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of harbouring animosity toward Dr. Ambedkar, a key architect of the Indian Constitution and a symbol of social justice.
Expressing his strong disapproval, Lalu Yadav stated: “Amit Shah and BJP leaders have hatred for Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar. The statement of Amit Shah is an example of this. I strongly condemn his statement. He should resign from the post and leave politics.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Yadav accused the BJP and its ideological affiliates of consistently disrespecting Dr Ambedkar and his legacy.
In a scathing statement, Yadav said, “The genetic children of Golwalkar have always disrespected our idol, Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Followers of the book ‘Bunch of Thoughts’ can never truly embrace the ideas of Dr. Ambedkar, the architect of our Constitution. Their hatred for him is evident not only in their words but also in their body language.”
He went further to allege that BJP leaders harbour deep-rooted biases.
“Social inequality, untouchability, discrimination, and hatred towards Dalits and marginalised communities are ingrained in the blood of Sanghi BJP leaders. Their disdain for the Constitution and its principles is clear. “True followers of Baba Saheb Ambedkar do not associate with the BJP. Anyone who supports the BJP after such insults to Ambedkar is effectively endorsing and worshiping Golwalkar’s ideology and has become a staunch bootlicker of BJP leaders,” Yadav said.
Following the statement of Lalu Prasad Yadav, the leaders from the ruling alliance, including the JD(U) and BJP, have voiced strong objections to his comments, dismissing them as baseless and questioning his credibility.
Neeraj Kumar, JD(U) MLC criticised Lalu Prasad Yadav’s remarks, stating, “He lacks credibility as the Election Commission has declared him ineligible to contest elections. The public no longer takes Lalu’s statements seriously. Lalu Prasad should answer why a memorial for Ambedkar has not been established, while one exists for Sanjay Gandhi. Lalu’s family amassed assets worth ₹478 crore in Patna and now they are doing hypocrisy.”
BJP leader Arvind Kumar Singh defended HM Amit Shah, asserting that his statements exposed the Opposition’s historical sidelining of Dr. Ambedkar, causing discomfort among them.
Crime
RG Kar rape-murder: Victim’s parents approach Calcutta HC seeking fresh probe
Kolkata, Dec 19: Not satisfied with the current course of investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata in August this year, the parents of the victim on Thursday approached the Calcutta High Court seeking a court direction for initiating a fresh probe into the matter.
The victim’s parents have claimed that they do not have any faith in the course of the current investigation by the central agency in the matter and hence they want a fresh investigation from the beginning in the matter.
The parents have moved the single-judge Bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh with their petition in the matter.
Justice Ghosh has admitted the petition and the matter might come up for hearing next week.
According to the parents, since the trial process in the matter has already started and the statements of the witnesses are being recorded, unless the Calcutta High Court intervenes in the matter right now, there might be possibilities of the probe going in the wrong direction.
Since the time a special court in Kolkata last week granted “default bail” to two individuals accused of tampering with the evidence since the CBI was unable to file a supplementary charge sheet against them within 90 days from the day of their arrest, the victim’s parents as well as the representatives of the state’s medical fraternity had been accusing the CBI of gross incompetence in the matter.
Those two accused persons were the former principal of R.G. Kar Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal. Ghosh is still behind bars because of the pending parallel probe by the CBI against him in the case of financial irregularities at R.G. Kar, while Mondal is already out on bail.
The CBI so far has filed only one charge sheet in the case were civic volunteer Sanjay Roy had been identified as the “sole prime accused” in the rape and murder.
Recently, the victim’s parents have also changed their counsel representing them at the Supreme Court of India.
West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front, an umbrella of the body of the junior doctors in the state spearheading the movement on this issue, has already threatened to resume their protests which they withdrew earlier keeping the larger public interest in mind.
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