Rajnath urges Netherlands counterpart to ensure Dutch firms don't provide weapons, tech to Pak
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI): Conveying his concern over cross-border terrorism, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday urged his counterpart from the Netherlands, Ruben Berkelmans, to ensure that Dutch companies do not provide weapons, platforms or technology to Pakistan, sources said.
The two leaders held discussions here on broad range of subjects including Indo-Pacific and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
After the meeting, Singh in a post on X said they looked forward to "further deepen and elevate" the bilateral defence partnership.
During the meeting, Singh conveyed his concern over cross-border terrorism that has emanated from Pakistan over the last several decades due to which India has suffered, the sources said.
He urged Berkelmans to ensure that Dutch companies do not provide weapons, platforms or technology to Pakistan, they said.
It is learnt that Singh also conveyed that providing platforms or technology to Pakistan is potentially detrimental to peace and stability in the region.
The defence ministry here in a statement said the two ministers explored the possibilities of collaboration in shipbuilding, equipment and space sectors, optimising the complementariness in skills, technology and scale of the two countries.
"Delighted to meet the young and dynamic Defence Minister of Netherlands, Mr. Ruben Berkelmans in New Delhi. We reviewed the full range of India-Netherlands defence cooperation. We look forward to further deepen and elevate our defence partnership. The areas of our discussion included defence, cyber security, Indo-Pacific and emerging technologies like AI," Singh said in his post on X.
The two leaders discussed elevating the bilateral cooperation in areas like defence, security, information exchanges, Indo-Pacific and new and emerging technologies, the statement said.
They also discussed working together in domains like AI and related technologies, besides connecting the respective defence technology research institutes and organisations, it said.
Delighted to meet the young and dynamic Defence Minister of Netherlands, Mr. Ruben Berkelmans in New Delhi. We reviewed the full range of India-Netherlands defence cooperation.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) March 18, 2025
We look forward to further deepen and elevate our defence partnership. The areas of our discussion… pic.twitter.com/S4x1bXk81n
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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.
