Act of “political vendetta” by Narendra Modi govt: Surjewala on MUDA 'scam'
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday dubbed the permission granted by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the MUDA alternative site scam as an act of “political vendetta” by the PM Narendra Modi-led government. He said the Congress party would fight the battle legally.
Surjewala alleged that the decision is an "act of shameless unconstitutionality" by the Governor, who is hell-bent on bulldozing the law and the Constitution to carry further BJP’s conspiracy.
"In a brazen political conspiracy hatched in the corridors of PMO and the Home Ministry, in Delhi, against the people of Karnataka and its elected government, the ‘puppet Governor of Karnataka’ has proceeded to grant prosecution sanction against the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, by dancing to the tune of his political masters," he said in a statement.
He emphasised that Congress was blessed by crores of Kannadigas and won a decisive mandate in the 2023 Assembly elections to serve the people. PM Modi and the BJP are unable to fathom their loss in the state and have tried every trick in the book to defame and destabilise the Congress government.
"Every single attempt failed miserably, and they are now using their ‘Puppet Governor’ to hatch a conspiracy of destabilization. The Governor is now colluding with a complainant, who is a known blackmailer, to attack the elected Government and the Chief Minister. The Governor has brought huge disregard and infamy to his own Constitutional position in the process," he alleged.
He further alleged that the ‘Machiavellian’ conspiracy of the PMO/Home Ministry/BJP Leaders has three facets -- Try to steal the vote and the mandate of the people of Karnataka, decisively given in favour of the Congress party, by using the office of a ragdoll Governor.
The second is to attack the Congress government in order to accomplish the BJP’s evil design to stop the five Congress Guarantees, benefitting over five crore Kannadigas.
The third is "attack the Backward Class/SC/ST and marginalised sections by a fabricated design to tarnish the image of India’s senior most Backward Class Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Such fabricated and manufactured conspiracies will get shredded to pieces in the people's court."
Surjewala affirmed that the Congress party and its government will never permit the BJP to succeed in its evil design to stop the Congress' guarantees.
"We shall fight the battle legally as also in the court of the people of Karnataka and the Country. Truth shall prevail. Satyamev Jayate!," he added.
Grant of prosecution sanction against CM, Sh. @siddaramaiah is An Act of “Political Vendetta” &“Personal Revenge Seeking” by the Modi Govt. - BJP leadership & their “Puppet Governor”!
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 17, 2024
Sinister Assault on the People of Karnataka by BJP in order to Abolish the five Congress… pic.twitter.com/C7lE7tnInM
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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.
