Barely hours after sitting on a hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar, expelled Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Vinod Kumar Binny called off the protest on Monday giving ‘more time’ to Kejriwal government in Delhi to fulfill its promises.

A deadline of 10 days was given by the rebel AAP MLA to the Kejriwal government reportedly on the suggestion of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.

Binny told PTI that Anna Hazare and Lt Guv Najeeb Jung suggested that “some days should be given to the AAP-led government so that he (Kejriwal) could work on public-related issues”.

Ahead of beginning his hunger strike, Binney met Lt Governor Najeeb Jung this morning and apprised him of the ongoing situation and talked about the alleged misbehaviour of Law Minister Somnath Bharti with Ugandan women during the midnight raid that took place in Khirki Extension in South Delhi recently.

“Lt Governor has assured that due action will be taken against those who have violated the law, irrespective of their positions,” he told reporters.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Jung, Binny said, “I think the AAP wants the government to fall, as they are scared that they would not be able to fulfill the promises they have made to people, and they are trying to run away from their responsibilities.”

He also alleged that AAP has already finalised the names of its candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Binny further said that he was the first one to join the party when AAP had no support and is the first one to protest when the party is deviating from its principals.

“They made false promises about free water and electricity to people, and the decisions and rules they have made on water and electricity have made the people confused and have mislead them,” he told reporters.

“They had also said that the Jan Lokpal Bill would come into effect fifteen days from the time they come to power, but nothing is being done about it,” he said.

“They had also promised to form a commando force for the safety of women, but there have been so many cases of crime against women in the past few days,” he added.

An overcrowded boat with over 50 passengers, mostly tourists, capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar on Sunday afternoon, killing at least 21 people. Union minister V Narayanasamy today said that there were no life jackets and no guides to save people. Officials say 29 people have been rescued and one person is still missing.

The boat, ‘Aqua Marine’, was reportedly carrying mainly tourists, including a large group of around 32 people from Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. It sank on its way from Ross Island to the North Bay at around 4 pm yesterday. Mohammed Rafique, the duty officer in Port Blair, said that the boat capsized about 300 feet from shore. He said the investigation so far suggests the boat hit a rock.
The passengers exceeded the boat’s capacity, Rafique said.

Many families in Kanchipuram have been left devastated as government sources say that at least 13 of those who have died belonged to this small temple town. KA Thyagarajan, a restaurant owner in Kanchipuram, lost four members.

Families say that they have learnt from the survivors that standard operating procedures were not followed. They say the survivors have told them that there were no life jackets on the boat, a mandatory requirement for such tours.

Suresh, a worker in the local silk industry, too lost a few family members.
Selvaraj, a popular tour operator in the area who owns Pooja Travels, organised the boat trip. His family too suffered casualties.

Two senior bureaucrats from Tamil Nadu have reached Port Blair to help in rescue and relief operations. The state government has said that it will bear the cost of shifting passengers to Chennai and their treatment. Government sources say the bodies of people who died are expected to be taken to Chennai this afternoon.

Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lt Gen (retd) AK Singh, told that the rescued people have been admitted to the GB Pant Hospital in Port Blair. He also denied reports that there was a delay on part of the government in launching rescue operations.

A magisterial probe has been ordered and the Lieutenant Governor has announced Rs. 1 lakh compensation to the families of the dead.

He has also spoken to Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and has briefed him about the rescue operations, according to sources.

Tamil Nadu politics is set for a major shake up after DMK chief M Karunanidhi, Friday, suspended his son MK Alagiri from the party for his continued opposition to efforts to stitch an alliance with Vijaykanth’s DMDK.

Karunanidhi’s strong action against his own son also indicates that the DMK patriarch has finally decided to end the bitter leadership tussle in the family. By suspending Alagiri, the DMK chief has made it clear that he favours his younger son MK Stalin to take over the reins of the party.

Alagiri had recently asserted that, for him, Karunandhi was the only leader of the DMK and he will not accept anyone else.

Alagiri always had an uncomfortable relationship with Stalin. Over the years, both brothers had divided territories – Stalin controlled party affairs in northern parts of the state including Chennai while Alagiri was the party’s undisputed boss in southern region, especially Madurai.

Karunanidhi had also been particular to keep the scales balanced – Stalin was the Deputy CM in last DMK government while Alagiri was sent to Delhi as a union minister.

But Karunanidhi had time and again expressed his fondness for Stalin, to which Alagiri once said that DMK is not a “mutt” that the throne can be handed down.

However, with DMK facing the prospect of a washout in the Lok Sabha polls and also in view of the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, Karunanidhi seems to have decided to get the house in order.

The tie up with ‘Captain’ Vijaykanth was part of the plan as DMK could not have taken on J Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK on its own. After the washout in the last assembly elections, DMK was replaced by Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) as the principle opposition party in the assembly and Vijaykanth became the Leader of the Opposition.

Karunanidhi, Wednesday, reiterated there have been no talks with the DMDK on forging an alliance for the general elections but an invite has been sent to the party.

While majority in the party leadership were keen to go with the DMDK, Alagiri had opposed the plan and said that he did not consider Vijaykanth – a movie superstar – a politician hence the party should not tie-up with him.

But the real reason behind Alagiri’s aversion to Vijayakant was because both hailed from Madurai and he feared that ‘Captain’ will encroach on his fiefdom.