Kerala govt denies delay in Wayanad rehabilitation as alleged by UDF
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Kerala government on Tuesday denied in Assembly the allegations of Congress-led UDF that state was delaying the rehabilitation of the Wayanad landslides victims, following which the opposition staged a walkout from the House.
State Revenue Minister K Rajan said it was the Centre which did not provide any financial assistance for the rehabilitation and only in February they provided a long-term loan of around Rs 530 crore.
The minister further said that it was the Centre which delayed designating the landslides as a disaster of severe nature, while the state government right from the start has taken various measures, including waiving loans given by Kerala Bank, to ease the suffering of the victims.
However, instead of blaming the central government, the opposition was accusing the state government of delaying the rehabilitation efforts, he contended and opposed the UDF demand to adjourn the business of the House for the day to discuss the measures taken for the Wayanad disaster victims' rehabilitation and welfare.
In view of the stand taken by Rajan, Speaker A N Shamseer denied permission to the adjournment notice moved by the UDF MLAs, including T Siddique, who alleged that the state government has done nothing for the victims in the eight months since the disaster on July 30 last year which wiped out three villages in the Meppadi panchayat of Wayanad district and claimed over 200 lives.
Siddique, while raising the issue, also accused the Centre of neglecting the needs of the disaster victims.
Speaking against the denial of permission for the adjournment notice, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said the government did not do anything for several months to cover treatment and higher education costs of those affected by the disaster.
He said if the Centre was not doing anything or was delaying the designation of the disaster as one of severe nature, the state government should have found alternative means to help the victims financially.
"The list of the disaster affected victims has not yet been finalised even after eight months since the landslides. Many of those affected are not even mentioned in the draft lists issued by the government," Satheesan alleged.
He contended that the government was citing technical reasons for not doing the needful for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims since the disaster.
"You are getting trapped in your own red tape," he alleged.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLA and deputy LoP in the Assembly P K Kunhalikutty, said the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were to blame for not providing financial assistance for the rehabilitation and relief work.
At the same time he said that the state government was responsible for breaking the momentum to help the victims that was there after the disaster.
"You broke the momentum. All you had to do was coordinate all the help being offered by volunteer organisations and political parties and things would have been much better now," he claimed.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
