Mangaluru, August 09: Indian National Trade Union Congress leader Puneeth Shetty alleged that the supporters of youth Congress president Mithun Rai have attacked and threatened him during ‘Quit India’ programme conducted by the district Congress.

There was a high drama at the end of the programme held at town hall here on Thursday. He alleged that he was attacked in front of the party leaders.

When Varthabharati contacted Puneeth Shetty, he said that “After the Quit India programme, the supporters of Mithun Rai attacked me suddenly. More than 15 members attacked me. Mithun Rai has threatened me. Mithun Rai warned of killing me in future as it is just an attack”, he alleged.

“In a recent programme, Mithun Rai followers have tried to attack me. But as it was missed, they have targeted me today. Mithun Rai came to me and threatened that ‘You are an aspirant for Youth Congress president post. If you are not withdrawn, I will kill you’ ”, he alleged.

When he was asked about the rumours that he would be killed like Jaleel Karopady, Shetty said that Mithun Rai used to tell that he had killed Jaleel Karopady. Mithun Rai and his followers Avinash, Chethan and others also warned of killing him like Jaleel, he alleged.  

“He is against me to contest Youth Congress post. I have been participating in Ivon D’Souza’s programmes. He is opposing it. Mithun Rai has been facing many cases of goondaism. Even then he is given gunman protection and a weapon. He is misusing the name of DK Shivakumar. Congress worker is attacking the Congress worker and if the same situation continues, it will be difficult to conduct programmes in the society”, Shetty said.



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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.