Former CM H D Kumaraswamy demands transparency in Sangh Parivar's Ram temple fund collection drive
Bengaluru, Feb 17: Days after alleging RSS was marking houses of those who did not donate for Ram Temple in Ayodhya, former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday said he was not opposed to the construction of the shrine, but only wanted more transparency in the fund mobilisation.
The government has a responsibility to check who was collecting funds for the Ram Temple, he told a press conference here.
"I am neither opposed to the Ram Temple nor did I speak ill of any organisation or the collection of funds for Ram Temple. Even my party members have given money, but I want to know who has authorised those collecting money door-to-door? What's their background? Who gave them licences," he said.
He said his objection was only to collection of funds for the temple construction without transparency and "loot and misuse" of funds in the name of Ram.
Kumarswamy had on Monday accused the RSS of marking houses of those who gave donations for Ram Temple in Ayodhya and those who did not and alleged it was similar to what the Nazis did in Germany.
The RSS dismissed the allegations, saying they do not qualify for any response while the state unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which is among the organisations collecting funds for the temple, condemned Kumaraswamy for the charges.
The JDS leader said the donations could be done through online transactions.
"We have opened so many Jan Dhan accounts, then why cannot we collect money online? Why collect on the street and mark the houses?" the JD(S) leader asked.
He further alleged no one gave any account of the money collected in 1990 for the Ram Temple from across the country.
Kumaraswamy said he came from a family which has faith in God, but never misused the name of God.
"We have commitment to the 130 crore people but we dont believe in breaking the society," the former Chief Minister said.
The VHP Organising Secretary in Karnataka Basavaraj on Tuesday condemned Kumaraswamy's earlier statement against RSS.
"It happens to be a highly irresponsible tweet coming in from former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sri Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpana Abhiyan," (fund mobilisation), Basavaraj said in a statement.
Volunteers of various organisations, including the VHP, were reaching out to all sections of society. The latter were responding positively and contributing towards the construction of the grand temple at Ayodhya, he added.
They did not even demand money from people and the outreach was merely to enable the whole country take part in the effort as "everyone believes strongly that Lord Ram is the identity of Bharat," he added.
"VHP takes serious note of baseless allegations made by an individual who held the highest office of the state.The VHP also condemns Kumaraswamy's statement for making unwarranted remarks on the patriotic organization RSS," Basavaraj said.
The fund collection drive for the Ram Temple started from January 14 on the occasion of Makar Sankranti and will go on till February 27.
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Bengal awaits May 4 results; TMC looks to retain power, BJP aims historic win after record turnout
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal heads into verdict day on Monday after over a month of frenzied campaigning, as it waits with bated breath to see whether the TMC manages to hold on to power or the BJP makes a historic breakthrough and claims the state for the first time.
As the EVMs open at 8 am, the CPI(M) and the Congress will be watching with equal keenness, hoping to reclaim a foothold in the state's electoral map after five years in the wilderness, following their wipeout in the 2021 polls.
Counting of votes will take place across 77 centres in the state, with elaborate security arrangements and a charged political atmosphere setting the stage for the declaration of results in 293 of the 294-seat House.
The Election Commission countermanded polls in the entire Falta constituency in South 24 Parganas district, citing “severe electoral offences and subversion of democratic process during polling in a large number of polling stations”.
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The fresh poll in that seat and the counting will take place on May 21 and May 24, respectively.
The two-phase polls in the state ended on April 29, with what the election watchdog said was the state's highest-ever voter turnout of 92.47 per cent since Independence.
Repolling in 15 booths in South 24 Parganas concluded on Saturday, with around 87 per cent turnout recorded, officials said.
The state’s political climate bordered on the vicious, even after the conclusion of polls, leading to fervent anticipation ahead of the announcement of results, with both primary contenders TMC and BJP, claiming they were dead certain about their victory prospects.
Courtesy the tight security arrangements – with over 2.5 lakh central paramilitary personnel on the ground, besides the presence of a thoroughly reshuffled state police force – electoral violence remained at a minimum, and no deaths were reported for the first time in the state’s election history of recent decades.
This was also the first election held in the state in twenty years, conducted after an extensive, albeit controversial, SIR exercise that revised the electoral rolls, removing over 9 million voters.
The jury is out on the impact of the exercise on the electoral fortunes of all parties across the board, prompting pollsters to burn the midnight oil to make sense of the likely choice of voters and keeping the public greatly enthused about what verdict the result day would deliver.
The campaigns recorded the BJP unleashing its full might, with top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launching all-out attacks on the TMC over corruption, law and order, infiltration, women’s safety and unemployment, while promising welfare measures.
The TMC’s retaliation, with the CM and party MP Abhishek Banerjee leading the charge, focused on SIR harassment, Bengali persecution and ‘outsider’ plank, accusing the BJP of failing to deliver on its national commitments and upholding TMC’s development report card.
Polling for the elections was held on April 23 and April 29, with a total electorate of over 3.21 crores.
The poll body has scaled down the number of counting centres this year to 77 from 87 announced earlier, and 108 in 2021, while putting in place a multi-layered security grid.
“Comprehensive security arrangements have been made to ensure that counting is conducted in a peaceful, transparent and orderly manner,” a senior EC official said.
The run-up to counting, however, has been marked by high political drama, with TMC leaders, helmed by CM Mamata Banerjee, rushing to strongrooms in Kolkata, apprehending counting malpractice and alleging attempts to tamper with the sealed EVMs.
The EC rejected those allegations, maintaining that all electronic voting machines are kept under strict surveillance with round-the-clock security and CCTV monitoring.
“Strongrooms are secured under a three-tier security system, and candidates or their representatives are allowed to keep watch as per protocol. There is no scope for any tampering,” another poll panel official said.
Closer to the counting date, security outside strongrooms has been further tightened, with the EC deploying 165 additional counting observers and 77 police observers to oversee the process and ensure adherence to norms.
In Kolkata, counting for 11 assembly constituencies will be conducted across five locations - Ballygunge Government High School, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Education University, Shakhawat Memorial School, Netaji Indoor Stadium and St Thomas Boys’ School.
Counting for the Bhabanipur seat, arguably carrying the highest symbolic weight where Mamata Banerjee is taking on senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in a prestige fight on her home turf, will be held at the Sakhawat Memorial centre.
The EC has introduced stringent access control measures, mandating entry only through QR code-based photo identity cards issued via its ECINet system. Mobile phones have been barred inside counting halls, except for returning officers and observers.
The counting exercise will be conducted under a framework upheld by the Supreme Court, which on Saturday declined to pass further directions on a TMC plea challenging the deployment of central government personnel.
The elections saw the TMC contesting in 291 seats and its ally Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), led by Anit Thapa, fielding candidates in three seats in the Darjeeling hills.
The BJP, Congress and the Left Front are gunning for all 294 segments, with parties like Humayun Kabir’s AJUP and Asaduddin Owasi’s AIMIM also trying their luck in some crucial pockets.
BJP leaders like Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Roopa Ganguly and Nishit Pramanik are in the fray, while prominent TMC candidates include Firhad Hakim, Kunal Ghosh, Madan Mitra and Udayan Guha.
