On Wednesday afternoon, under-fire Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu rubbished talk of his resignation. “Neither (has) anyone asked for my resignation nor have I presented my resignation to anyone. We will prove our majority. We will win…” he said, accusing the BJP of “spreading rumours” to break the party before the budget is tabled.
“They want to create a break in the party. They want Congress MLAs to leave and join them. But Congress is united…” he declared, claiming also that some of his lawmakers who had cross-voted had already reached out, and were trying to return to the fold.
The defiant note comes amid buzz the BJP will force the Congress into a floor test to prove its majority in the 68-member House, in which the majority mark is set at 35.
The Congress had 40 MLAs before the cross-voting. However, if it has lost the six cross-voters, its count slips to 34 – one seat below majority. The BJP had 25 but could now have as many as 34 too, including the independents, making for a dramatic hung House.
Alarmed at the potential loss of another state government, the Congress has rushed three ‘observers’ – Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, ex-Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and state-in-charge Rajeev Shukla – to defuse the situation.
Senior leader Jairam Ramesh called the cross-voting “unfortunate” and said those responsible would be identified. The priority, though, is to “save the Congress government”, he said, claiming another chapter in ‘Operation Lotus’ – the term used by the opposition when accusing the BJP of conspiring to oust elected governments.
However, there seemed to be subtext in Mr Ramesh’s message to the media that suggested Chief Minister Sukhu might be removed if he doesn’t quit. “We will have to take some difficult decisions and we will not stop short of that,” Jairam Ramesh said.
Meanwhile, across the aisle, the BJP’s Jairam Thakur – who has been leading his party’s charge since the Rajya Sabha poll reversal – demanded Mr Sukhu resign “if he has even a little bit of morality left”. The Congress “does not have a majority”, he said. He also claimed “there can be many others” after saying nine ‘opposition’ MLAs “are with us”.
The numbers game in Himachal Pradesh was further muddied this morning after the Assembly Speaker expelled 15 BJP MLAs for sloganeering and alleged misconduct. This means the effective strength of the House falls to 53 and the effective majority to 27 – which is low enough for the Congress to clear any floor test. However, if it turns out the 15 were only suspended, the Congress would then fail, as the House strength remains 68.
If the Congress does lose Himachal, it will underline the size of the challenge facing it and the INDIA bloc – formed last year to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP, and led by the party – before a general election due in just a few weeks.

With input from ANI

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Some labourers who are very much alive and working have been listed as dead to siphon off government money from a scheme in Madhya Pradesh, documents seen by NDTV show.

The Madhya Pradesh Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board gives Rs 2 lakh for funeral arrangement to families if a labourer dies at work or in an accident. Compensation is also given if a registered labourer suffers permanent or partial temporary disability due to a work-related accident.

Many labourers who are still working in the state capital Bhopal, however, have been found to be listed as “dead” on paper, the documents show. Some officials opened fake bank accounts in the names of these workers and made themselves nominees, after which the Rs 2 lakh aid was transferred.

Registered workers in every municipal body in Madhya Pradesh are eligible for this financial assistance.

Of 118 cases, 11 were of labourers who are alive.

Urmila Raikwar, who feeds a family of 12 members, some of them vegetable sellers in Bhopal’s Chandbad neighbourhood, was shocked to see her name in the list of “dead” workers.

Documents seen by NDTV show Ms Raikwar “died” in June 2023 and her family received Rs 2 lakh. Not only this, the nominee was also in her own name.

“This paper says I am dead, and got Rs 2 lakh. But am alive, of course. I haven’t got any money. It’s surprising that even after my death on paper, my children should have got the money. They killed me bhaiya,” says Ms Raikwar.

There are countless other workers who don’t know they are dead in the records kept for financial aid to their families.

Mohammad Qamar, who lives 3 km away from Chandbad, was also listed as “dead” and the money was released on June 21, 2023 to a nominee who has the same name.

“These papers say I am dead, that I have taken the money. The absurdity of a dead person being the nominee aside, I am actually standing here. Am surprised and shocked. I will file a report about these irregularities,” says Mr Qamar.

The welfare board also gives an assistance of Rs 51,000 for marriage. Mr Qamar says he applied for it for his daughter a few years ago, but never got a rupee. “We get an assistance of Rs 51,000 from this card,” he says, showing the card of a registered worker. “But I didn’t get it. This is very sad. I can’t give my documents to anyone now. I don’t trust anyone with my documents,” he says.

And then there are genuine cases of labourers who died in work-related accidents, but their families never got the money.

Leelabai, a resident of Bhopal’s Jahangirabad neighbourhood, says someone withdrew the Rs 2 lakh she was meant to get after her daughter, who was a registered worker, died two years ago.

“After my daughter Mumobai died two years ago, suddenly some people from the municipal corporation came and started asking whether I have taken Rs 2 lakh from the scheme. We haven’t got any money from anyone,” she says.

“The municipal corporation says the money has been withdrawn in the name of our daughter. They are calling and harassing us every day. If we had given our names in any scheme, then our documents and signatures would be there,” she says. “Show the papers to us. Why are we being harassed without any reason? We are already heartbroken after our daughter died,” says Leelabai.

In most of the cases, “e-payment orders” were found to be issued after 11 pm, and the copies of the death certificates were blurred. None of the identities have been linked with updated Aadhaar details. Even the Samagra IDs, an essential document issued by the state government, were created just before the “death” of labourers.

The officials appeared to have targetted only those labourers whose wage diaries, used to track payments, were inactive.

The workers board has helped over 61,200 beneficiaries in case of death, and released Rs 775 crore for funeral and ex-gratia assistance.

The Madhya Pradesh government told NDTV they will investigate the matter.

“If such a fraud has taken place anywhere, it will be investigated and strict action will be taken against whoever is guilty, no one in our government has the right to do such acts, There will be an investigation and the culprits will not be spared, we will not allow the public to be played with and this is the aim of our government,” Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla told NDTV.

Aamir Khan is once again aiming to dominate the Christmas 2024 box office. The actor has announced that his comeback film Sitaare Zameen Par will be hitting the theatres on Christmas this year. This will be his first Christmas release in eight years, with his last Christmas release being the blockbuster film Dangal in 2016. Sitaare Zameen Par also signifies his return to the big screen, as Aamir took a break after the disappointment of Laal Singh Chaddha.

Sharing details about the release of his next film, Sitaare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan stated in an interview with a news portal that they have started filming for his next film Sitaare Zameen Par where he is in a lead role. He also said that they’re aiming to release the film at the end of the year on the occasion of Christmas.

He further added, “But besides that, you will be able to see me not as a lead actor in the film but I am doing a few things. Let’s see how the audience reacts. I’am doing a few small roles.”

A few weeks ago it was reported that Aamir Khan will start shooting for the film from February 2.

Sitaare Zameen Par also stars Genelia Deshmukh.

See Also: Genelia Deshmukh will reportedly star alongside Aamir Khan in Sitaare Zameen Par