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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Road crash in UP leaves 10 dead
Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) (PTI): Ten people were killed when a van collided head-on with a truck on the Sisaiya-Lakhimpur national highway on Monday, police said.
The van was going to Sisaiya from Lakhimpur when the accident took place between Unchgaon and Bharehta villages.
Circle Officer of Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh, said all nine passengers travelling in the van and the driver were killed.
District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri Anjani Kumar Singh told reporters that the van collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, leading to nine casualties on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries at the district hospital.
Circle Officer, Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh told PTI, "Efforts are on to establish the identity of other deceased persons."
The seven of the deceased have been identified as Jaideep Singh (25), Pawan (23), Sohan (21), Ram Goyal (42), Sahajram (35), Pappu (18), all residents of Bahraich district and Adnan Khan (15), a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said.
Condoling the loss of lives in the accident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a post on X, said, "The loss of life in the unfortunate road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply distressing and heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved families."
"I have directed the local administration to provide prompt and adequate assistance to the injured and the victims. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed souls a place at His divine feet and to bestow a speedy recovery upon the injured," Adityanath said on X.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak too condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
"The loss of lives resulting from the road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply tragic and heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences go out to the bereaved families," Maurya said.
