BJP's reaction to Rahul Gandhi's comments on EC fuels 'mistrust': Sharad Pawar
Pune (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday claimed that BJP leaders routinely respond whenever Congress MP Rahul Gandhi questions the Election Commission's functioning, fuelling "mistrust" in the poll panel.
Responding to a question on Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the Election Commission of India over alleged "vote chori", Pawar said Gandhi and other Opposition leaders have raised key issues about the ECI's functioning.
"When Gandhi, the leader of opposition (in the Lok Sabha), raised the issue in Parliament, the institution concerned should have taken note of it. But what is happening is that when Gandhi raises questions and criticises the ECI, the ECI does not answer - it is the BJP and its leaders who respond," he told reporters here.
Instead of the Election Commission, the chief minister and other leaders are responding to such issues, the former Union minister noted.
"By doing this, they are actually contributing to the mistrust about the ECI, which is not good," he added.
Sharpening his attack on the issue of “vote chori” (vote theft), Gandhi last week accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting those who destroyed democracy.
To buttress his allegation, the leader of the opposition cited data from two assembly constituencies in Karnataka and Maharashtra, where he claimed voters were deleted/added in a fraudulent manner.
The Election Commission has dubbed the allegations as incorrect and baseless, and said, “No deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Gandhi.”
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
