Rajasthan: Government trying to ‘divert attention’, Gehlot says
Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday accused the Vasundhara Raje-led state government of waging a political vendetta against the opposition with its accusation that he embezzled over Rs 2.5 crore in an ambulance scam. Gehlot said that the government had made the charges against him to divert the attention of the media from the scams allegedly involving Raje and her family. Gehlot and other Congress leaders have been accused of irregularities in allotting a contract to operate the 108-Ambulance service in Rajasthan.
Jammu and Kashmir: 18 soldiers injured in blast
Eighteen soldiers were wounded after an accidental explosion took place at an army school in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. A senior Army official said that the explosion took place during regular training exercise at around 8.45 am. Defence spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel NN Joshi said that the soldiers had been shifted to a local hospital and that their condition was reported to be stable.
Punjab: AAP suspends two state MPs
The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday suspended two of its MPs from Punjab for anti-party activities. Punjab AAP convener SS Chhotepur said that Dharamvira Gandhi and HS Khalsa were suspended after they held a “parallel rally” despite the party’s warning that holding such a rally would “amount to anti-party” activity. Chhotepur further alleged that the two legislators had been “openly critical” of the AAP’s Central and state leadership. Gandhi and Khalsa are reported to be close to Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, the two former leaders of the AAP who were expelled from the party for allegedly trying to undermine its electoral campaign for the assembly polls in Delhi earlier this year.
Kerala: Minister accuses BJP, CPI(M) of spreading violence
Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of trying to spread violence in the state. His remarks came a day after a CPI(M) worker and the BJP activist were killed in separate incidents in the Kasargode and Thrissur districts of the state. The killings led to both parties clashing as well as holding strikes and protests in parts of the state.
Andhra Pradesh: Bandh for special status disrupts normal life
Normal life was disrupted across Andhra Pradesh on Saturday by a state-wide bandh organised by the YS Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party. The bandh, called to protest the delay in according special status to the state, was also supported students’ unions, member-parties of the Left bloc and other organisations. At least three former state ministers were among those taken into custody after they tried to disrupt traffic.
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Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday accused the Vasundhara Raje-led state government of waging a political vendetta against the opposition with its accusation that he embezzled over Rs 2.5 crore in an ambulance scam. Gehlot said that the government had made the charges against him to divert the attention of the media from the scams allegedly involving Raje and her family. Gehlot and other Congress leaders have been accused of irregularities in allotting a contract to operate the 108-Ambulance service in Rajasthan.
Jammu and Kashmir: 18 soldiers injured in blast
Eighteen soldiers were wounded after an accidental explosion took place at an army school in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. A senior Army official said that the explosion took place during regular training exercise at around 8.45 am. Defence spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel NN Joshi said that the soldiers had been shifted to a local hospital and that their condition was reported to be stable.
Punjab: AAP suspends two state MPs
The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday suspended two of its MPs from Punjab for anti-party activities. Punjab AAP convener SS Chhotepur said that Dharamvira Gandhi and HS Khalsa were suspended after they held a “parallel rally” despite the party’s warning that holding such a rally would “amount to anti-party” activity. Chhotepur further alleged that the two legislators had been “openly critical” of the AAP’s Central and state leadership. Gandhi and Khalsa are reported to be close to Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, the two former leaders of the AAP who were expelled from the party for allegedly trying to undermine its electoral campaign for the assembly polls in Delhi earlier this year.
Kerala: Minister accuses BJP, CPI(M) of spreading violence
Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of trying to spread violence in the state. His remarks came a day after a CPI(M) worker and the BJP activist were killed in separate incidents in the Kasargode and Thrissur districts of the state. The killings led to both parties clashing as well as holding strikes and protests in parts of the state.
Andhra Pradesh: Bandh for special status disrupts normal life
Normal life was disrupted across Andhra Pradesh on Saturday by a state-wide bandh organised by the YS Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party. The bandh, called to protest the delay in according special status to the state, was also supported students’ unions, member-parties of the Left bloc and other organisations. At least three former state ministers were among those taken into custody after they tried to disrupt traffic.
