Opposition leaders coming together to save themselves: Modi
Cuttack, May 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday attacked the opposition unity, saying the corrupt leaders were coming together "not to save the country but to save themselves", making an apprent attack on Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi.
"Due to the commitment of this government against the black money and corruption, people those who are out on bail in the Rs 5,000 corruption case and many others also involved in corruption cases have come together on the same platform," Modi said while addressing a rally here on the occasion of four years of completion of his government.
He was apparently referring to Gandhis taking bail in the National Herald case and opposition leaders coming together in Bengaluru during the Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's swearing-in ceremony.
"As we promised four years ago about zero tolerance towards corruption, four former Chief Ministers are behind the bars," Modi said.
The Prime Minister also said that this is a committed government instead of the confused government.
"The way in which our government is committed against corruption, this has made the enemies good friends," he said.
"The people of the country are watching them."
"These leaders have not come together for the country but they have come together to save themselves and their families."
He alleged that the opposition leaders want to destabilise the current government. "But people know everything," Modi said.
The Prime Minister also said that the President (Ram Nath Kovind), Vice President (M. Venkaiah Naidu) and the Pradhan Sewak (Prime Servant) of the country come from a very humble and poor background.
"We have seen the days of poverty. And we were not born with silver spoon. In fact we did not see the spoon in our initial days," Modi said, in an apparent jibe at Rahul Gandhi.
The Prime Minister also said that in last four years, the investigating agencies have carried out searches at over 3,000 locations and unearthed over Rs 53,000 crore of the undisclosed money.
Modi claimed that the government even seized properties over Rs 35,000 crore after the Benami Properties Bill was passed by the government.
"It was the committment of the government that passed the Benami Properties Bill, instead of the confused government which delayed it for over 30 years," he added.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
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.
