Karnataka govt orders closure of accounts with SBI, PNB over non-refund of deposits
Bengaluru, Aug 12: The Karnataka government has ordered all its departments, boards, corporations, public sector units and universities to withdraw all their deposits and investments in the State Bank of India and the Punjab National Bank and stop transacting any business with these institutions.
The order came after the denial to redeem Rs 12 crore deposited by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) following a scam involving bank employees.
A state government circular on August 12 said the meeting with the bank officials did not yield any result and the matter is now sub judice.
Similarly, Rs 10 crore deposited by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) was not returned by the bank owing to a scam by the bank officials, the circular said.
The finance secretary P C Jaffer (budget and resource) said in the circular that the Auditor General too had objected to it.
“In this background, it is informed through this circular that the state government’s departments, public sector units, corporations, boards, local bodies and universities and other institutions should withdraw all the deposits/investments made in all the branches of the State Bank of India and the Punjab National Bank and no deposits/investments should be made in future,” the circular read.
The government also directed the government institutions to close their accounts in these two banks and submit the certified closer report and send details of deposits and investment reports in the prescribed format to the finance department by September 20, 2024.
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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.
