New Delhi, May 26: As the Narendra Modi-led NDA government completed four years on Saturday, the AAP alleged that it has spent the time fulfilling interests of their corporate backers for which it had depleted public resources while destroying people's livelihoods.
"It is not that all sections of society are dissatisfied. There is a class of people who have benefitted disproportionately. Large corporations and businessmen have been allowed to loot public banks and flee the country," Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh told media here.
"The Prime Minister promised 1.5 times cost of production to farmers, but today farmers are being forced to dump their stock for negligible rates. When a farmer demands his fair price, he gets a bullet in return," he said.
Singh also accused Modi of trying to distract people from unemployment, economic slowdown, and farmer distress by talking about 'fitness' of late.
"Excise duty on fuel has been hiked to an exorbitant level -- more than 211 per cent increase compared to the 2014 levels. Until Karnataka elections, the Centre was forced to control petrol and diesel prices, but as soon as the voting ended, the prices were increased. We are paying the highest prices for fuel in the entire subcontinent. We will see a direct rise in inflation as a consequence," the AAP leader said.
AAP spokesperson Dilip Pandey said that every scheme announced by the NDA government was a renamed version of previous governments. "Instead of making them work, the focus is on the publicity and propaganda of the scheme. On the one hand, you announce 'Selfie With Daughters', and on the other, your party members are raping and assaulting women," he said.
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Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.