Three women cast bogus votes in Kasaragod constituency: Kerala CEO
Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 29: Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena Monday said three women, including a panchayat member, cast bogus votes in Kasaragod constituency in the April 23 Lok Sabha polls and said an enquiry would be held into the role of the polling officials.
Rejecting the bogus voting charge, the ruling CPI(M) has justified the presence of the three women, saying they were doing "open voting" and 'assisting' certain voters who were unable to exercise their franchise independently and had welcomed any probe into the charge.
"We will conduct a detailed investigation into the role of the poll officials at the booth. The web-casting was arranged to capture those engaged in bogus voting. It helped us to prima facie conclude that bogus voting took place.
We have seen that two-three persons were engaged in bogus voting," Meena said.
"Since one of the three women, seen engaged in bogus voting, is a serving panchayat member, she should step down from the post," he said.
Asked about the term "open voting" used by the Left to defend the presence of its party workers in the video, Meena said he was hearing the term for the first time.
"As per our law, there is no open vote. When I asked the Collector about this, he told me the term might have been used in colloquial parlance for assisted or companion vote.Maybe there is a local reference like that.
Even companion vote, the voter must be present inside the booth. They could have brought the voter in wheelchair," Meena told reporters.
He said his office would send the report to the Election Commission.
The CEO said all options are open and parties could file an election petition in court after the declaration of the results.
The CEO also said the incidents involving the women come under the provision of impersonation under Indian Penal Code.
CCTV visuals of the polling booth, aired by a TV channel, showed the three women voting more than twice at polling booth number 17 and 19 at an AUP School Pilathara in Kannur district, which is part of Kasaragod constituency.
The video also showed some local leaders inside the polling booth while the voting took place.
Kasaragod is considered the stronghold of CPI(M), which last tasted defeat here in 1984.
The party has fielded former MLA KP Satheesh Chandran from Kasaragod, thrice represented by veteran A K Gopalan.
Congress has fielded senior leader Rajmohan Unnithan to wrest the seat from the Left.
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Statewide ban on IV Ringer Lactate usage: Dinesh Gundu Rao
Bengaluru: In response to the deaths of postnatal women at Ballari District Hospital, the Karnataka government has temporarily suspended the use of IV Ringer Lactate solution across the state as a precautionary measure, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao announced on Saturday.
Speaking to the media in Bengaluru, the minister explained that doubts about the quality of the IV solution had arisen, prompting the decision. He clarified that Ringer Lactate, along with glucose solutions, has been routinely used in hospitals for years. However, out of the 192 batches supplied by the Karnataka State Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society, concerns were raised regarding two specific batches.
"In light of these concerns, we stopped the use of all 192 batches as a precaution. Following this, the supplying company obtained a High Court order for testing, and the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) conducted an analysis. The CDL report confirmed the usability of the solution, allowing the state to form a technical committee to review and permit the use of certain batches that met quality standards. Despite this, doubts have surfaced specifically at Ballari District Hospital," the minister stated.
To address these concerns, the batches supplied to Ballari Hospital have been sent for anaerobic testing to determine whether the IV solution contributed to the deaths. The test results are expected within a week, after which a final decision on the use of IV Ringer Lactate will be made.
"Until then, we have issued directives to hospitals statewide to suspend the use of IV Ringer Lactate. Every life is important to us, and precautionary measures are essential when suspicions arise," Gundu Rao emphasised.
