Coalition government's budget: Countdown begins
Farm loan waiver expected
Bengaluru: The countdown has begun for the presentation of the most expected coalition government's budget which can bring in the farm loan waiver, free bus pass for all students, and increase in aid of pregnant women and widows.
Chief Minister Kumaraswamy, who is also the Finance Minister of the state, will be presenting the budget at 11: 30 am on Thursday. Since this is the first budget of the coalition government, the expectation of the common man and farmers are high.
Kumaraswamy is expected to reveal the fact about the criteria of Rs 53,000 crore of farm loan waiver along with the clear picture of the alliance government's future and popular schemes in tomorrow's budget session. Along with the common minimum programme, the budget would also reveal how much budget has been allocated for the continuation of the Siddaramaiah-led government's projects.
The budget would also throw light on how Rs 1.25 lakh crore aid for irrigation sector in the next five years, completion of pending irrigation projects, implementation of Israel-model schemes, housing schemes for poor, one crore job creations along with training scheme for employment generation skills would take place. It is interesting to know that which all areas will be preferred including the continuation of 'Health Karnataka' scheme without the discrimination of BPL-APL, education, SC and ST, the welfare of backward classes, industrial development, etc.
All are eying at the budget session to see what would be the plan of the Congress-JDS coalition government which has decided to set up the state of Karnataka as a model state in the country. People also may find the answer to what steps Kumaraswamy would take to reduce the gap between the urban and rural areas.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
