BJP sinking ship, says NCP's Tariq Anwar
New Delhi, July 20 : Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and MP Tariq Anwar on Friday termed the BJP a sinking ship, saying no one was ready to sail in it.
The MP, who supported the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, said if the current situation, as the BJP claims, is like 'Ram Raj', then he wondered what the 'Ravan Raj' would be.
"The government had come to power with a slogan of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas', but today the government is supporting no one, and vikas (development) is absent," he said.
"In the last four years of the BJP government, unemployment has risen, farmers are unhappy, women are unsafe and minorities and weaker sections are being threatened. The prices of petrol-diesel are going up. The government has also failed to frame sound foreign policies," he added.
The MP from Katihar in Bihar also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah spent most of the last four years attacking the Gandhi-Nehru family. The government is using investigating agencies for political gains, he added.
"Instead of attacking the Gandhi-Nehru family, they should have improved the situation in the country. All of Modi's speech is about what the Congress has done wrong or has not done in 60 years," he said.
Speaking about Home Minister Rajnath Singh's remarks on mob lynching, he said: "His clarification appeared like a silent support to it. If this government was serious about the issue, 200 deaths would not have taken place due to lynching," he said.
The BJP leadership, he said, is limited to two people. "This is the reason why those who supported the BJP are nowhere to be seen," he said, adding the Telugu Desam Party, which once supported the BJP, has driftd away from it.
"The Shiv Sena too is not seen anywhere around. Bihar Chief Minister and JD-U head Nitish Kumar has also shown his defiance."
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Mamata visits Bhabanipur EVM strong room, warns against counting irregularities
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee early Friday warned against any attempt to tamper with the counting process, hours after she visited an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur, alleging possible malpractice.
Banerjee, who emerged around 12:07 am after spending nearly four hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency housed in Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, said only one person would be allowed inside the designated counting area.
"Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installation of a CCTV camera for the media," she told reporters.
Stressing the need for transparency, she said, "It is essential to maintain transparency. People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter."
Sounding a stern note ahead of the May 4 counting, she added, "If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated."
On Thursday evening, Banerjee had reached the Bhabanipur Assembly segment counting centre, which houses the strong room for EVMs used in the April 29 polling, citing suspicion of tampering with the machines.
She entered the premises along with her election agent and remained inside for hours, even as Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port segment Firhad Hakim reached the spot but could not meet her.
"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn’t meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn’t allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said.
The development coincided with protests by TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, where they staged a sit-in alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms, leading to face-offs between TMC and BJP supporters.
Earlier in a video message, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on EVM strong rooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
Her remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state following a fiercely contested Assembly election, with parties closely monitoring arrangements and raising concerns over transparency.
