Valedictory of ‘Reading for Harmony’ campaign on August 11
Mangaluru, August 9: The Kosha Odu Desha Nodu Balaga, as part of its ‘Reading for Harmony’ campaign to enhance the horizon of knowledge through reading, has organized a two day workshop and valedictory programme here on August 11 and 12.
This time, the Balaga has selected the literature published during the partition of the country for the campaign, for which Train to Pakistan, Tamas, Manto Stories, India as seen by Bourke White and other books were selected. The people have read those books for one month across the state and expressed their opinions in social media. To mark the valedictory of the campaign, a two-day workshop is organized.
The workshop would have lectures, discourse, group discussions, drama, poets meet, singing and others. Prof Rahamath Tarikere and Dinesh Amin Mattu would conduct the workshop for two days. Dr Haseen Khadri, Sripad Bhat, Dr Ramamurthy and Dr Kiran Gajanur would continue the discourse.
Rahamath Tarikere and Dinesh Amin Mattu would inaugurate the programme through their speeches at Kalangan at Shaktinagar in the city on August 11. The poets meet would be held from 6 pm and a play on Mantos Short Stories would also be held, a press release from the Balaga said.
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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.
