Free ration to those who lost work in Kerala floods
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 27 : The Kerala government on Thursday announced it will provide free ration for three months to those who lost their livelihood due to the devastating floods.
"The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme will also be reworked to provide more number of working days to those who suffered due to the floods," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media here.
He also announced various committees headed by senior officials to formulate policies and to speed up rebuilding efforts in flood-hit state.
A one-year moratorium has been declared on all agricultural and educational loans.
Heavy rains and floods from May-end to mid-August claimed 483 lives and forced at least 14.50 lakh persons to take refugee in over 3,000 relief camps across the state.
"To rebuild Kerala, various initiatives are being worked out. In order to help us chalk out schemes, a high-level committee of experts drawn from various fields will be set up. It will include serving officers besides retired ones," Vijayan said after a weekly Cabinet meeting.
It was the first Cabinet meeting this month as Vijayan left for the US for medical treatment on September 2 and returned early this week.
He said that reconstruction efforts would require building material like sand and stones and that a committee of experts would be set up to explore the use of prefabricated material to minimise the use of traditional building material.
"It has also been decided to tap corporates for CSR funds for rebuilding our state in whatever possible ways. Crowd funding and sponsoring of projects also will be taken up. For this, another committee will be set up," the Chief Minister added.
Another decision pertained to ways and means to keep the rebuilding cost to the minimim. Efforts will be made to get in touch with companies to procure material from manufacturers.
"We will begin talks with such companies to supply at the lowest possible rates," Vijayan said.
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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.
