Ambulance gets preference over VIP convoy in Karnataka
Bengaluru, July 9 : Ambulances across Karnataka need not wait for a VIP convoy to pass for rushing patients to hospitals for emergency treatment, a top city police official said on Monday.
"As per the orders passed from the state police chief Neelamani N. Raju, the traffic police in the city and across the state will make way for the ambulances to pass through to get the patients to hospitals in time, even if there is VIP movement on the route," Bengaluru Police Commissioner T. Suneel Kumar told IANS here.
The move comes after the state's Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister G. Parameshwara wrote to Raju asking the state's traffic police to give preference to ambulances irrespective of VIP convoy movement.
"I have observed that ambulances are sometimes stopped to make way for my convoy. Nothing is more important than rescuing a person in need of immediate medical help. Going forward, no ambulances will be stopped during movement of VIP convoys," Parameshwara said in a tweet.
According a report in local media, an ambulance was held up for 15 minutes in the city last month for allowing Parameshwara's convoy to pass first.
In June last year, a police officer Nijlingappa was rewarded by the city police department for making way for an ambulance before then President Pranab Mukherjee's convoy passed on the same route.
Instances of vehicular traffic, including ambulance service, being held up for VIP convoys has been receiving flak as precious time would be last during the 'golden hour' (first hour after a traumatic injury) as any delay in rushing a patient to a hospital may endanger a human life
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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.
