Siddaramaiah defends K'taka govt's decision to revert to old ballot system, asks why BJP fears it
Koppal (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday sought to know why the BJP is afraid of ballot paper, while defending his government's decision to revert to the old system of voting during elections for the local body polls, instead of using the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
The Congress government in Karnataka on Thursday decided to recommend to the State Election Commission (SEC) to hold all the future panchayat and urban local body polls in the state using ballot paper, instead of EVMs.
"Have other countries that are using ballot paper gone back to the stone age? Have America and other advanced countries returned to the stone age? Why are they (BJP) afraid of ballot paper?" Siddaramaiah asked.
He was responding to the BJP comparing his government's decision to use ballot paper, to going back to "stone age".
Addressing reporters here, he said, "Statements that we will go back to the stone age by using ballot paper is not right."
"We are saying from our experience that a lot of injustice is happening (in polls). There are issues with the voters' list, Rahul Gandhi (Congress leader) is fighting against it in Bihar, where assembly elections are scheduled to take place. He (Gandhi) had explained how the Congress lost in Mahadevapura assembly segment (in Bengaluru)," he added.
The government has cited erosion of confidence and credibility among people towards EVMs as the reason for the decision to go back to ballot paper.
The Cabinet has also decided to authorise the state election commission to "prepare, revise and if necessary redo" the electoral rolls for local body polls, citing discrepancies in electoral rolls and allegations of "vote theft".
After its loss in the Assembly polls in Haryana and Maharashtra, the Congress has expressed doubts over the EVM’s infallibility and the election outcome. It has demanded a return to the paper ballot.
Amid the row over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had recently alleged that elections are being "stolen" in India and claimed that his party has figured out the modus operandi of "votes theft" by studying a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, which had resulted in a huge political controversy.
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Budget allocation to AYUSH Ministry sees 20% rise
New Delhi (PTI): Budget allocation for the AYUSH ministry saw 20 per cent increase, from Rs 3,671.82 crore (revised estimates) in FY 2025-26 to Rs 4,408.93 crore in FY 2026-27.
The government has also announced the setting up of three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda to strengthen research in the field.
Presenting the Union Budget 2026-27, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Ancient Indian Yoga, already respected in several parts of the world, was given a mass global recognition when the Prime Minister took it to the United Nations."
Stating that post-Covid Ayurveda has gained similar global acceptance and recognition, Sitharaman said exporting quality Ayurvedic products could help farmers who grow the herbs and the youth who process them.
To meet the global demand, she proposed setting up of three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda, upgrading AYUSH pharmacies and drug-testing labs for higher standards of certification ecosystem, making available more skilled personnel, and upgrading the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar to bolster evidence-based research, training and awareness on traditional medicine.
Among the Centrally sponsored schemes, the allocation for the National AYUSH Mission has been increased from Rs 780.96 crore in FY 2025-26 to Rs 1,300 crore in FY 2026-27, registering 66.5 per cent hike.
The allocation for the All India Institute of Ayurveda has been reduced by 12 per cent.
Funding for the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda has also declined from 279.24 crore to 219.05 crore.
