Trump again threatens to shut down government
Washington, Sep 6 : US President Donald Trump has once again threatened to shut down the federal government over border security this time.
"If it happens it happens. If it's about border security, I'm willing to do anything," Trump told the media at the White House on Wednesday.
"If we don't protect our borders our country is not going to be a country, so if it's about border security I'm willing to do what has to be done," the president added.
The remark comes ahead of Trump's meeting with congressional leaders over the legislative agenda for the next few months, including extending funding for the federal government past a September 30 deadline, Xinhua news agency reported.
Trump had earlier in late July fired off threats to shut down the government.
However, during an interview with The Daily Caller published earlier on Wednesday, Trump said he did not like the idea of government shutdowns.
"I don't see even myself or anybody else closing down the country right now," he said.
House Speaker Paul Ryan told a press conference earlier in the day that a shutdown was "not in anyone's interest, and he (Trump) knows that".
The US Congress is working on passing a series of funding packages for the new fiscal year, which begins October 1. Trump could force a partial shutdown of the government in October if he vetoes the funding bills.
The US federal government has occasionally been shut down in the past year, mostly when Congress failed to reach a spending bill due to political infighting.
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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.
