'Chor machaye shor': BJP alleges irregularities in voter registration in seats of Oppn leaders
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday claimed irregularities in voter registration in Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Diamond Harbour and Kannauj parliamentary seats and asked Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Abhishek Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav to resign as Lok Sabha MPs, alleging they secured victory in elections with "vote chori".
Giving a slide-show presentation on the issue at the BJP headquarters here on an 'analysis' of electoral rolls in these constituencies represented by opposition leaders, former Union minister Anurag Thakur also flagged "irregularities" in the voter registration in Kolathur assembly seat in Tami Nadu and in Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh and asked Chief Minister and DMK supremo M K Stalin and SP leader Dimple Yadav to resign for "rigging" election.
He slammed the Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party and DMK leaders for raising questions on the Election Commission and accused them of running a vicious propaganda against the special intensive revision (SIR) of the elector rolls, which is currently underway in Bihar and would be launched in other states, to protect their "vote bank of illegal Bangladeshi infiltration" and other "intruders"
"Seeing this 'shor' (hue and cry) being made by the opposition, it now seems that 'chor machaye shor'", he said, suggesting those who are in the wrong are now crying foul.
"Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Kannuaj, to Diamond Harbour -- everywhere one question is coming up -- why did they make fake voters. Will they resign for indulging in 'vote chori' and protecting intruders?" Thakur said.
Levelling allegations of "vote chori", Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had on Thursday, through a presentation at a press conefrence, cited data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to claim that over 1 lakh votes were "stolen" in Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka through five types of manipulation, including duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, single-address voters.
On Tuesday, opposition leaders took out a protest march from the Parliament House to the Election Commission's headquarters here on the issue but were stopped and briefly detained by the police.
The Congress on Wednesday stepped up its campaign against alleged 'vote chori' by releasing a new video depicting how "fake votes" were being cast, with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge asking people to raise their voice and save constitutional institutions from the "clutches of the BJP".
Gandhi also shared the minute-long video and said, "Aapke vote ki chori aapke adhikar ki chori, aapki pehchaan ki chori hai".
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'Sarke Chunar' row: Sanjay Dutt apologises; to sponsor education of 50 tribal girls
New Delhi (PTI): Actor Sanjay Dutt on Monday appeared before the National Commission for Women (NCW) in connection with the controversy over the song 'Sarke Chunar Teri Sarke' and submitted a written apology, expressing regret for any "unintended" harm caused to society.
During the hearing, held under NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, the commission raised concerns over alleged vulgarity and indecent representation of women in the song from the movie "KD The Devil" and questioned issues of intent, awareness and accountability.
The chairperson emphasised whether adequate due diligence was undertaken before participating in content that could be perceived as promoting objectification of women, while also underlining the responsibility of senior and influential public figures in ensuring that their work remains within the bounds of legal and societal standards.
As a corrective measure, Dutt committed to sponsoring the education of 50 tribal girl children as part of efforts towards social welfare and women's empowerment, the NCW said in a statement.
He also assured the commission that his future artist agreements would include mandatory legal due diligence provisions to ensure dignified and appropriate representation of women and children in films and related creative projects.
Actor Nora Fatehi, who was also summoned, could not appear as she is currently abroad and has sought a fresh date for the hearing.
On April 6, other individuals associated with the song, including director Kiran Kumar alias Prem, lyricist Raqueeb Alam and representatives of KVN Production Company Gautam K M and Suprith, appeared before the commission and submitted their apologies.
The NCW underscored that while artistic freedom is important, it must be exercised with responsibility and sensitivity, reiterating the need for accountability in content reaching wide public audiences and reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding the dignity and representation of women.
The Hindi version of the song, released on March 15 on YouTube, drew public ire for its sexually explicit lyrics.
After the outrage, the makers deleted the Hindi version of the song from YouTube, although it was widely played and shared across various platforms.
Fatehi, in a video later, distanced herself from the song, saying she shot the video for the Kannada version and her permission was not taken to use it in the Hindi version. The lyricist, singer and the director also apologised.
The issue was brought up in Lok Sabha during Question Hour by Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Anand Bhadoria last month.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the song was already banned and the government was ready to take action against such vulgarity.
"KD The Devil" is a Kannada film, dubbed in four languages, including Hindi. It will release on April 30. The film features Dhruva Sarja, V Ravichandran, Ramesh Aravind, Shilpa Shetty, and Dutt.
