BJP leaders, who cast votes in Delhi, also voted in first phase of Bihar polls: Rahul
Banka/Bhagalpur (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that BJP leaders, who had exercised their franchise in Delhi, also cast votes in the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls.
Gandhi, addressing election rallies in Banka and Bhagalpur, also asserted that the Congress produced evidence of “vote chori” (vote theft) in the Haryana polls, and the Election Commission cannot deny the charges.
The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha had on Wednesday alleged that the Haryana assembly polls last year were "stolen", citing electoral list data to claim that 25 lakh entries were fake and the Election Commission colluded with the BJP to ensure the party's victory.
“Many BJP leaders voted in Bihar yesterday, and the same leaders had also voted in the Delhi elections. On one hand, the BJP leaders are being allowed to cast more than one vote, and on the other.... Names of those who voted for the Congress are being deleted,” the former Congress president claimed.
He, however, did not elaborate further or mention anybody by name.
“Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have been stealing votes for many years. Earlier, we didn't have any evidence, but now we have all the evidence backed by data. And that is why I say, there is a government of thieves in Haryana,” he asserted.
“Out of the 2 crore voters in Haryana, 29 lakh electors are fake... The BJP indulged in ‘vote chori’ in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana, and now they are trying to repeat it in Bihar. But, I am certain the people of Bihar will not allow this to happen in their state,” Gandhi said.
He also accused the NDA government of encouraging the youth to make social media reels to “divert attention from pressing issues”.
“Reels are the addiction of the 21st century, which is distracting the youth so that they cannot ask questions on issues like unemployment, education and health,” Gandhi said.
At the Bhagalpur rally, the Rae Bareli MP alleged that farmers, labourers and weavers in Bihar neither get loans from banks, nor is their debt waived.
The BJP-led government, however, always waives loans of certain corporates, Gandhi claimed.
He alleged that land is given away to big corporates at throwaway prices in the state.
Gandhi also asserted that TV channels get paid by the BJP to show the Prime Minister’s face 24 hours.
“The media is being controlled by the BJP... Whatever we say, you can see that on social media... But, not on TV channels. Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and the EC stole the Haryana polls, and we have the evidence in black and white... I can say with full confidence that the Haryana government is 'Chori ki Sarkar' (government formed through theft),” he claimed.
Gandhi said only the rich and sons of corporate leaders can dream big in the country in today’s era.
“Take for example, Amit Shah's son; he doesn't know how to hold a cricket bat, but he controls cricket...,” he asserted.
The Congress leader also said a change is imminent in Bihar after the assembly polls.
“The government will change. Bihar will change. And, these changes will be recorded in Bihar's history like a golden page, one that took it out of unemployment, migration, poverty, and rule by goons and set it on the path of development,” he said.
Gandhi said the opposition INDIA bloc, if voted to power, will be a government of every citizen of Bihar.
“The ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government will be the voice of entire Bihar,” he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
SC refuses to entertain plea against deletion of names from WB voter list, terms it ‘premature’
_vb_77.jpeg)
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea by a group of 13 people seeking its intervention in the deletion of their names from the voter list during the Special Institutional Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, where polling for the first phase of the assembly election will be held on April 23.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi termed the petition "premature", directing the aggrieved parties to approach the established appellate tribunals instead.
"Since the petitioners (Quaraisha Yeasmin and others) have already approached the appellate tribunals… in our considered view, the apprehensions expressed in the petition are premature. If the plea is allowed, then necessary consequences will follow,” the bench said in its order, adding that it has not expressed any views on the merits of the plea.
The plea alleged that the Election Commission was summarily deleting names without following due process, and that appeals against these deletions were not being heard in a timely manner.
The Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court has set up as many as 19 tribunals headed by former HC chief justices and judges to decide appeals against deletions of names of persons from the voters’ lists.
Senior advocate D S Naidu, appearing for the poll panel, informed the court that there are approximately 30 to 34 lakh appeals currently pending. "Every tribunal now has over one lakh appeals to handle," the bench said.
The petitioners’ counsel argued that the EC had failed to place necessary orders before the relevant judicial authorities and that the "freezing date" for the electoral rolls should be extended.
"If I am not allowed to argue, then what is the use? Will these appeals be decided within a timeframe or just kept extending?" the counsel asked.
Justice Bagchi, during the hearing, referred to the sanctity of the electoral process and said the right to vote is not merely a constitutional formality but a "sentimental" pillar of democracy.
"The right to vote in a country you were born in is not just constitutional, but sentimental. It is about being part of a democracy and helping elect a government," he said.
He, however, said that the tribunals, manned by former judges, cannot be overburdened by fixing the timelines for adjudications.
"It is not the end justifying the means, but the means justifying the end," Justice Bagchi said.
"We need to protect due process rights. The voter should not be sandwiched between two constitutional authorities," he said, adding that it would not interdict the election process at this stage.
Justice Bagchi noted that the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice had already formulated the manner and mode for appeals, which began on Monday.
"Unless and until an enormous number of voters are excluded or it materially affects the election... the election cannot be cancelled," the bench said, adding that judicial intervention is intended to "promote elections, not interdict them."
The CJI emphasised that the petitioners must exhaust their remedies before the appellate tribunals.
Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, and votes will be counted on May 4.
_vb_67.jpeg)
_vb_65.jpeg)
_vb_52.jpeg)