Committee approves appointment of 35 bureaucrats, including Deputy Election Commissioner
New Delhi: The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet has approved the appointment of 35 officers from various all-India services, including IAS, IPS, IRSS, ITS, IRS, IES, and IRTS, to key administrative positions.
Madhup Vyas, an IAS officer from the AGMUT cadre, has been appointed as the Deputy Election Commissioner for a five-year term. Mukund Agarwal (IAS, 2008 batch, Rajasthan) will serve as the CEO of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, also for five years.
IAS officers Prasanna R. and Sushma Chauhan have been designated as joint secretaries in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Kamala Kant Tripathy, a 1999-batch officer of the Indian Economic Service (IES), has been appointed joint secretary at the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), NITI Aayog.
Prajakta L. Verma has been assigned as joint secretary in the Department of Atomic Energy, while Lakhpat Singh Choudhary will serve in the Ministry of Coal. Saket Kumar (IAS, 2009 batch, Bihar) has been named joint secretary in the Department of Commerce.
Other appointments include Satinder Kumar Bhalla as secretary of the North Eastern Council Secretariat, Ajay Kumar as joint secretary in the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, and Devesh Deval (IAS, 2004 batch, Maharashtra) as joint secretary in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
Raghav Langer has been confirmed as secretary of the National Medical Commission, and Jyoti Yadav will take charge as joint secretary in the National Health Authority (NHA). Prem Chandra Maurya has been appointed joint secretary in the Ministry of Heavy Industries, while Armstrong Pame will serve in the Department of Higher Education.
In addition, Samir Kumar from the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) has been appointed joint secretary at the National Human Rights Commission. Pradeep Kumar Jha and Isha will assume roles as joint secretaries in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
