Modi got ex-BSF jawan's nomination 'cancelled': Kejriwal
New Delhi, May 1: AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi got former BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav's nomination "cancelled" as he was "afraid" to contest against him from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat.
Yadav's nomination as the Samajwadi Party candidate from the seat was rejected Wednesday over "discrepancies" in the two sets of nomination papers submitted by him.
Notices in this regard were sent to him on Tuesday.
"There will be fewer occasions in history when the jawans of a country are compelled to challenge their PM, but this is the first time in history that a PM has been so afraid of a jawan that instead of competing with him, he got his nomination cancelled on technical grounds.
"Modi ji, you are very weak and the country's jawan won," Kejriwal tweeted.
Yadav was dismissed from the Border Security Force (BSF) after he triggered a controversy by uploading a video in which he alleged that poor quality food was being served to jawans.
In the first set of papers on April 24, he had mentioned that he was dismissed from the Border Security Force.
On April 29 he submitted a second set of papers - this time as the Samajwadi Party nominee for the Lok Sabha seat - but did not give out this information.
He was also required to submit a no-objection certificate from the BSF, giving reasons for his dismissal.
Modi is seeking reelection from Varanasi.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Modi, who contested from two seats Varanasi in UP and Vadodara in Gujarat-- had defeated Kejriwal from here. Congress' Ajay Rai finished third.
इतिहास में ऐसे कम मौक़े होंगे जब उस देश का जवान अपने PM को चुनौती देने को मजबूर हो
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 1, 2019
पर इतिहास में ये पहला मौक़ा है कि एक PM एक जवान से इस क़द्र डर जाए कि उसका मुक़ाबला करने की बजाए तकनीकी ग़लतियाँ निकाल कर नामांकन रद्द करा दे
मोदी जी, आप तो बहुत कमज़ोर निकले। देश का जवान जीत गया https://t.co/Bwb9qJEmyf
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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.
