No unfairness in selecting ministers: Amarinder
Chandigarh, April 21: With accusations being made by his own party legislators that he picked up only his loyalists as ministers in his government, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Saturday that the selections were made to give representation to all categories.
Denying any "unfairness" in the selection of the new cabinet ministers, he claimed that adequate representation had been given to all sections and regions, with seniority being the key criteria.
"There were no swollen faces in the party, as the media chose to call them," a visibly agitated Amarinder Singh told media after the swearing in of nine new cabinet ministers and elevation of two sitting women ministers took place at the Raj Bhawan here on Saturday evening.
"The focus had been on striking a regional and caste balance, in order to ensure holistic development of the state," he said, replying to a question regarding dissatisfaction among some Congress MLAs.
To a question about certain MLAs having quit party posts after failing to find a berth in the cabinet, the Chief Minister said all issues would be "amicably resolved".
"With four Dalit ministers already in the cabinet, another member of the community could not have been accommodated. Nearly 25 percent of the state cabinet was currently being represented by Dalits," he pointed out.
The Chief Minister assured that all the Congress MLAs, who had not found place in the Council of Ministers, would be inducted into the various boards and corporations.
"The state has 7,000 jobs, ranging from the market committees to the planning boards, that can be given to party workers," he added.
Three Congress legislators had on Friday announced their resignation from party posts after their names did not figure in the list of new ministers.
At least 10 other legislators, six of them being senior and strong contenders for being ministers, were not considered.
At the same time, the list of new ministers was full of those seen as loyalists of the Chief Minister.
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Sambhal violence orchestrated by BJP, govt to divert attention from poll rigging: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district over the survey of a mosque was "orchestrated" by the BJP, the government and the administration "to divert attention from electoral malpractice".
Police used tear gas and "minor force" in the face of stone pelting by locals in Sambhal on Sunday as tension escalated during a second survey of the Mughal-era mosque, claimed to be originally the site of an ancient Hindu temple.
Ten people have been detained and a probe was launched into the violence, an official said.
Tension has been brewing in Sambhal over the past few days after the Jama Masjid was surveyed last Tuesday on the orders of a local court following a petition that claimed that a Harihar temple stood at the site.
A day after the Uttar Pradesh bypoll results were declared and the Samajwadi Party managed to win just two seats while the BJP and its ally RLD bagged the other seven, Yadav levelled serious allegations against the police and administration.
"A serious incident occurred in Sambhal. A survey team was deliberately sent in the morning to disrupt discussions about the elections. The intention was to create chaos so that no debate on election issues could happen," the Samajwadi Party chief claimed.
Citing reports, he said several people were injured in the violence in Sambhal and asked when a survey of the mosque was already done, why was a new survey conducted again and "that too in the morning and without preparation?"
"I don't want to go into the legal or procedural aspects, but the other side was not even heard. This was intentionally done to provoke emotions and avoid discussions on election rigging," Yadav said.
"What happened in Sambhal was orchestrated by the BJP, the government and the administration to divert attention from electoral malpractices," the former UP chief minister alleged.
Asserting that in democracy, true victory comes from the people, not the system, he said, "The new democracy created by the BJP ensures that people cannot vote while the system dominates."
He added that whenever an impartial investigation takes place, and the truth comes out through booth recordings and CCTV footage, it will be evident that "voters did not cast their votes and someone else became the voter inside the booth".
Yadav claimed that on the polling day, the police and the administration removed the Samajwadi Party's almost all booth agents and many supporters who wanted to vote.
"If voters were prevented from voting, then who cast the votes? If Samajwadi Party votes didn't reach those booths and our candidate didn't get support, then who voted there? This is a serious issue," he said.
"Additionally, there were two types of slips, -- one with a red mark and another regular slip. We raised this issue on the voting day itself, stating that the administration had created such arrangements, leading to discrimination," Yadav alleged.
The Samajwadi Party's candidate for the Kundarki assembly bypoll Haji Rizwan too has alleged that his supporters were prevented from voting.
The BJP's Ramveer Singh won the bypoll in the Kundarki seat by a margin of over 1.45 lakh votes.
