2 EPIC numbers: Poll authorities faulting me for their mistake, claims Tejashwi Yadav
Patna, Aug 7 (PTI): RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday charged the election authorities in Patna with faulting him for their "own mistake" by sending him a notice on having two EPIC numbers.
The leader of the opposition in the Bihar Assembly also claimed that "a good reply" was being drafted for the notice which was sent last week.
"I have received a notice not from the Election Commission but from the Patna district administration. A good reply is being drafted, and upon receipt, they would be left with nothing to say. They are trying to fault me for their own mistake. Whose lapse is it if two EPIC numbers have been issued in my name? After all, I have been casting my vote from only one place," said Yadav, the former deputy chief minister.
Notably, he had conducted an online search of his EPIC number in the draft electoral rolls last week, which yielded the result: "No records found".
Claiming that many other well-heeled persons, including senior bureaucrats, had their names struck off in the draft rolls published as part of the special intensive revision (SIR), Yadav had cast doubts on the efficacy of the exercise which, he has been alleging, was "an attempt to help the ruling BJP-led NDA in the upcoming assembly elections in the state".
The district administration in Patna had come out with a rebuttal of Yadav's allegation, sharing a screenshot of a portion of the draft electoral rolls in which names and photographs of the RJD leader, as also his father Lalu Prasad, the RJD president, could be seen.
However, Yadav stuck to his guns, charging the election authorities with "changing my EPIC number", even as the ruling NDA demanded that the RJD leader face trial for having two voter ID cards.
The Patna district magistrate clarified that the EPIC number it had in its record was "the same as the one stated by the leader of the opposition in his own affidavit in the 2020 elections".
Subsequently, the sub-divisional magistrate of Patna (Sadar), who is also the Electoral Registration Officer for Digha assembly constituency where Yadav and his family members are registered as voters, issued a letter asking the RJD leader to "hand over for thorough investigation" the voter ID card which was "not issued officially".
The RJD leader spoke to journalists at the airport here, before leaving for Delhi to attend a meeting of the INDIA bloc at the residence of Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Regarding the meeting, he said, "We have many issues to discuss. The country is facing so many crises. The Donald Trump administration has unleashed a tariff offensive against the country, and the Narendra Modi government is maintaining a deafening silence."
Alleging that the Prime Minister has become weak, Yadav claimed there is not even a whimper of protest over tariffs being raised to 50 per cent.
Trump has claimed, at least 28 times, to have intervened and brought to a halt India's recent military conflict with Pakistan, and there is no repudiation, alleged the RJD leader.
He added, "and despite such capitulation, these leaders will have the temerity to come to Bihar with boasts of being the Vishwa Guru".
Yadav, who is the INDIA bloc's de facto chief ministerial candidate for the Bihar assembly polls, rubbished the suggestion that the NDA had stolen a march by holding its parliamentary party meeting a couple of days ago, which was addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Seat-sharing is not something that is finalised inside the Parliament House," the RJD leader said.
The second-term Raghopur MLA also made light of controversial former legislator Anant Singh's claim that he would make Yadav "use his deposit" if the JD(U), headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, fielded him against the RJD leader.
Yadav replied sarcastically: "Our party spokesperson Bantu Singh is the right man to answer such a boast."
Bantu Singh was once a close aide of Anant Singh, a gangster-turned-politician who has represented Mokama several times, on tickets of JD(U) as well as RJD, and also as an Independent.
In 2020, he won the seat on a ticket of the RJD, which fielded his wife Neelam Devi when a conviction in a case led to his disqualification.
However, Neelam Devi defected to NDA last year when Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the RJD and returned to the BJP-led coalition.
Anant Singh, who has been acquitted by the Patna High Court, has declared his intention to contest the upcoming assembly polls, preferably on a JD(U) ticket, though the party has, so far, been non-committal on the issue.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
4 children test HIV positive in MP govt hospital; contaminated blood transfusion suspected
Satna/Bhopal (PTI): Four children suffering from thalassemia have tested HIV positive at Satna District Hospital in Madhya Pradesh allegedly due to contaminated blood transfusions, officials said on Tuesday.
The case is four months old and an investigation is underway into it, an official said.
Officials suspect the use of contaminated needles or blood transfusions for the spread of infection to the children.
ALSO READ: 3 Indian students among those injured in Australia’s Bondi Beach attack
MP Health Minister Rajendra Shukla told reporters in Bhopal that he has ordered a probe into the matter and sought a report.
“It is also being investigated whether the blood transfusion took place in other hospitals also or only in the government hospital,” he said.
The affected children, aged between 12 and 15 years, received blood transfusions from the hospital's blood bank, as per an official.
Devendra Patel, in-charge of the blood bank at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel District Hospital in Satna, said four children have tested HIV positive and an investigation is underway to determine how they got infected.
"Either an infected needle was used or a blood transfusion occurred. These are the two main reasons I believe. Blood transfusion seems to be the most likely cause," he told PTI Videos.
All these children suffer from thalassemia, and some have received 80 or 100 blood transfusions, he said.
A family member of one of the affected children said that their child was found to be HIV positive during a routine checkup about four months back, and he has been receiving medication, but it had proven to be of no use.
After taking the medication for HIV, the child starts vomiting, feels low and becomes ill, he said.
After the four children were detected with HIV infection, their family members were also tested and the results came out negative, he added.
The Opposition Congress targeted the government over the matter and demanded the resignation of Health Minister Shukla.
Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, Congress MLA and former minister Sachin Yadav claimed such incidents were continuously occurring in Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier, a case of toxic cough syrup came to light in Chhindwara, followed by incidents of rat bites at hospitals in Indore and Satna, and now children have been given HIV-infected blood, he said.
"The health minister is unable to manage the department. He should resign. A murder case should be filed against those responsible for the Satna incident," Yadav said.
Senior Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma termed it a failure of the government. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's government has no connection with ground realities, he charged.
"Somewhere rats are roaming in hospitals, somewhere children are being given HIV-infected blood. Instead of preventing HIV, you are spreading it. Mohan Yadav should wake up from his slumber. Children are the nation's heritage and should be taken care of," he added.
