As promised, Imran Khan govt sells 70 luxury cars including Mercedes, BMW
ISLAMABAD SEP 17 :The cash-strapped Pakistan government on Monday sold 70 cars “above their market price” as it started the process of auctioning of 102 luxury vehicles of the PM House under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s austerity drive, a media report said.
Apart from luxury cars, the government, facing huge debts and liabilities, plans to auction eight buffaloes kept by deposed and jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at the PM House for his “gastronomic requirements”, a senior aide to Khan said last week.
It will also sell the four surplus helicopters lying unused with the Cabinet Division, Naeem-ul-Haq, the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant for Political Affairs, said.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, information minister Fawad Chaudhry said the first batch of 70 vehicles have been sold.
“These cars were sold above their market price,” Chaudhry claimed.
He added that vehicles which are classified as protected (bomb and bullet-proof) would be sold next.
The cars that are being auctioned include four recent models of Mercedes Benz, eight bullet-proof BMWs, three 5000cc SUVs and two 3000cc SUVs of 2016 model.
Twenty-four 24 Mercedes Benz of 2016 model are also being auctioned. Two of the 28 cars are 4,000cc bullet-proof vehicles, the report said.
Further, 40 Toyota cars, a Lexus SUV, and two Land Cruisers are also up for auction.
Other vehicles that are being auctioned include eight Suzuki cars, five Mitsubishi vehicles, nine Hondas and two jeeps.
The cars will be sold to those who have the highest bid, the report said.
In his first address to the nation, Prime Minister Khan had emphasised on cutting government expenditure. As part of the cost-cutting initiative, he had announced the auction of surplus PM House vehicles.
Pakistan’s debt and liabilities rose sharply to nearly Rs 30 trillion or 87% of total size of the economy at the end of previous fiscal year, according to media reports.
Statistics released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) last month showed that in the last five years, Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities increased Rs 13.5 trillion or 82.8% to stand at Rs 29.9 trillion. Five years ago, Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities were Rs 16.4 trillion, the Express Tribune reported.
Courtesy : hindustantimes.com
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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.
