Churu: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday demanded to know where were the 2 crore jobs which the prime minister had "promised" to create.

Some youths wearing t-shirt with BJP's 'main bhi chowkidar' slogan caught Gandhi's attention during his rally in Churu. Acknowledging their presence, Gandhi said, "You are wearing t-shirt of chowkidar. You all are welcome here."

He began with the charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of all Indians and asked whether anyone present in the rally had received the said sum.

"Chowkidar-ji had also promised two crore jobs. Anyone among you got the jobs?" Gandhi asked, pointing at the youths wearing the 'main bhi chowkidar' t-shirt.

He said Modi gave public money to the top 15 rich people but the Congress wants to give money to the poor. Elaborating on the NYAY scheme, Gandhi said if the Congress comes to power it will give Rs 72,000 to 25 crore poor people.

He said no farmer will go to jail if he fails to repay loans. "I want to give message to PM Modi, you want to send to jail those farmers who cannot repay loan of Rs 20,000, but you can also send behind bars those who have taken away Rs 35,000 crore of public money.  If they are not jailed, then farmers will also not go."  He said a special budget will be made for the farmers before the general budget if Congress comes to power.

 

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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.