Shimla, Nov 25: A woman claiming to be a panchayat official was caught on camera warning two shawl sellers from Kashmir against trading their wares in Himachal Pradesh.
The 2.46-minute video that surfaced on social media showed the woman telling the two Kashmiris not to come to the village and asking them to say "Jai Shri Ram" to prove they are "Hindustani."
Sharing the video on X on Monday, National Convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, Nasir Khuehami, claimed that the video was from a village in Himachal's Hamirpur district.
"No one will purchase their products, buy from our Hindu people," the woman is seen telling others in the video. "Don't come in my area," she told shawl sellers.
Later in a post, Khuehami said that the chief minister's office had assured action against anyone found intimidating Kashmiris.
However, when contacted, the CM's media advisor Naresh Chauhan told the PTI that there was no such complaint. The matter would be looked into if any complaint is registered, he said.
A large number of Kashmiris come to the state to sell shawls and other products, while hundreds of Kashmiris labourers work in the state round the year.
It is highly condemnable that a woman, wife of a Sarpanch, is exhibiting communal behavior toward two Kashmiri men who traveled to Himachal Pradesh for business purposes. Her communal actions, as seen in the video, where she threatens them to leave the state, instructs villagers… pic.twitter.com/IIw2dkZPGt
— Nasir Khuehami (ناصر کہویہامی) (@NasirKhuehami) November 25, 2024
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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.