In a major waste of taxpayer money, 400 Mahindra Bolero SUVs purchased for Chhattisgarh's emergency Dial-112 service are lying unused on the campus of the third battalion of the state's security force. With several instances of inadequate disaster response being reported, these vehicles remain unused while people suffer due to a lack of resources. The issue has sparked questions from the Deputy Chief Minister, with the need for a new tender and costly maintenance delaying their potential use for at least 5-6 months.
Speaking at a rally in Surguja, Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress over Indian Overseas Congress chairman Sam Pitroda's recent remarks supporting an inheritance tax. PM Modi accused the Congress of wanting to impose higher taxes on the middle class and burdening them with an inheritance tax, which would snatch away their hard-earned assets and their children's rights. However, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh clarified that Pitroda's views do not reflect the party's position and accused PM Modi of sensationalizing the issue to divert attention from his election campaign based on lies.