Will urge President to ensure 'full-fledged Goa CM': Congress
Panaji, May 29: The Congress's Goa unit on Tuesday said that it will petition President Ram Nath Kovind to appoint a "full-fledged Chief Minister" in the absence of Manohar Parrikar, who is in the US for treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the Congress legislative party, state Congress President Girish Chodankar said that law and order and the state administration had come to a standstill in the absence of a fully functional Chief Minister.
He said Parrikar had completed a "century" of days he has been absent from Goa.
"We have repeatedly petitioned the government and the Governor that Goa needs a functioning Chief Minister. There has been no response. We have no option now but to meet the President of India and brief him about the unconstitutionality of the Goa government without the CM," Chodankar told reporters here.
"Parrikar has completed a century as far as his absenteeism is concerned. And now the ruling BJP has the audacity to tell us that a state is functioning well without the Chief Minister. Even when a regular government officer goes on leave, he delegates his charge to another officer. Parrikar should have delegated responsibility before leaving for treatment," the Congress leader said.
Before leaving for the US, Parrikar appointed a Cabinet Advisory Committee comprising of three ministers, which the Congress claimed is "unconstitutional".
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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.
