Sunak wins 2nd ballot in Conservative leadership race with 101 votes as 5 left in British PM race
London, Jul 14: Rishi Sunak on Thursday won the second round of ballot in the Conservative leadership race with 101 votes - the most by any contestant so far - tightening his grip on the race to replace Boris Johnson as party leader and British Prime Minister.
There are now five candidates left in the Tory leadership contest after Suella Braverman, the Indian-origin Attorney General in the fray, was knocked off the shortlist with the least votes at 27.
Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt (83 votes), Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (64 votes), former minister Kemi Badenoch (49 votes) and Tory backbencher Tom Tugendhat (32 votes) remain on the ballot in the narrowing race after the second round of votes were cast by lawmakers.
Soon after 1922 Committee chair Graham Brady read out the results of the latest tally after 356 votes were cast by Tory MPs in a House of Commons committee room, 42-year-old Sunak said he was "incredibly grateful" to the colleagues who backed him.
"I am prepared to give everything I have in service to our nation. Together we can restore trust, rebuild our economy and reunite the country," he said.
The next few rounds of voting among Conservative Party members of Parliament to whittle this list down to just two by next Thursday is scheduled for early next week.
All eyes will now be on which way Braverman and her backers will swing, handing those 27 votes to shore up one of the remaining five.
"I'm convinced that I'm the best person to beat [Opposition Labour leader] Keir Starmer and secure that election victory, Sunak said in an interview earlier.
The British Indian former Chancellor and son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy looks set to be among the final two candidates to hit the campaign trail around the UK for hustings to convince the wider Conservative Party membership ahead of a postal ballot to decide the winner.
At the end of next week, the Conservative Party headquarters will take over to oversee a one member, one vote process among Tories countrywide who have been registered with the party for at least three months.
While Penny Mordaunt has been in the lead in opinion polls among the party electorate base, some of her controversial views on LGBTQ+ rights have come under the scanner among her colleagues. A former Brexit minister, Lord David Frost, also expressed his doubts over her ability as a former minister in his team.
Liz Truss, who made a key policy speech just before Thursday's vote, claims to be the only one who has been "ready to be Prime Minister from day one".
The former Remainer, who campaigned for the UK to remain in the European Union (EU) in the 2016 referendum, has since taken a hardline stance and found the backing of many in the Brexit wing of the Tory party. It is believed that Braverman's votes are likely to be divided between her and Mordaunt.
The race is now narrowing down into a three-way fight between Sunak, Mordaunt and Truss with the others expected to throw their weight behind one of these three campaigns in the hope of securing a good Cabinet post under a new leader.
Johnson's successor will be known by September 5 and go on to address the first Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in Parliament on September 7.
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Campaign Against Hate Speech calls for action against Chandrashekar Swamiji for hate speech
Bengaluru: Campaign Against Hate Speech, a collective of lawyers, activists, and concerned citizens, has urged Karnataka’s Home Minister, Shri Parameshwara G, and Director General of Police, Dr. Alok Mohan, to take legal action against Chandrashekar Swamiji, the seer of Vishwa Vokkaligara Mahasamsthana Mutt. The demand follows an alleged hate speech made by the seer during a protest organized by the Bharatiya Kisan Union at Freedom Park on November 26, 2024.
The organization claimed that the speech was divisive and aimed at spreading communal hatred and enmity between communities. Chandrashekar Swamiji allegedly made inflammatory remarks, including false claims about the authority of the Waqf Board and a controversial suggestion that Muslims in India should be stripped of their voting rights. The speech, delivered to a large audience, has since been uploaded to YouTube by TV9 Kannada, amassing over 6,900 views.
The organization provided excerpts of the speech, which they say falsely accused the Waqf Board of arbitrarily taking over properties, including farmland, and asserted that minorities in Pakistan do not have voting rights. These remarks, they argued, not only mislead the public but also incite hostility against the Muslim community and misrepresent the functioning of the Waqf Board. The statement suggesting that Muslims should be denied voting rights was described as unconstitutional and harmful to the secular and democratic values of the country.
In their letter, the collective highlighted specific sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (formerly the IPC) that they believe the speech violates. These include provisions against promoting enmity between communities, making assertions prejudicial to national integration, and spreading false or alarming information intended to incite hatred. They also pointed out that comments on the video supported the seer’s views, reflecting the potential for real-world consequences stemming from the speech.
While Chandrashekar Swamiji has since issued a written apology, Campaign Against Hate Speech argued that it is insufficient. The apology has not been widely circulated, while the original speech continues to be shared online, further amplifying its divisive message.
The organization has requested legal action against the seer and restrictions on the offensive video. They have also called for a broader public awareness campaign to educate people about the legal and social consequences of hate speech. Additionally, they suggested that the upcoming winter session of the Karnataka Assembly address the growing issue of hate speech comprehensively.
The letter underscored the importance of preserving Karnataka’s identity as a “garden of peace for all communities,” as envisioned by Rashtrakavi Kuvempu. Citing Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s vision of democracy as a mode of “associated living,” they stressed that such remarks not only threaten a specific community but also undermine the foundational values of the nation.
