Congress in ICU, says Modi
New Delhi, Sep 13 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hit out at opposition parties, saying the Congress, which has been trying to forge a "mahagathbandhan" for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and those part of the grand alliance form its "support system".
Modi's attack came during a video interaction with booth level workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Jaipur (Rural), Nawada, Ghaziabad, Hazaribagh and Arunachal West parliamentary constituencies.
Responding to a query of a BJP worker from Arunachal Pradesh about the opposition's efforts to forge a grand alliance, Modi said it was not a matter of opposition unity but an attempt was being made to do branding for some political parties in the name of "mahagathbandhan".
"This 'mahagathbandhan' is not a bond of knot but is an alliance of some opportunistic political parties to hide their weaknesses," he said.
"They are trying to stitch an alliance of parties while we are stitching people's hearts. This is their compulsion. Our work is to stitch relations which is our national duty," he said.
The Prime Minister said there was confusion in the "mahagathbandhan" over leadership and policy. Their intention was corrupt.
"Their only motto is 'Modi hatao', 'Modi hatao' and 'Modi hatao' (Remove Modi) while our determination is to accelerate the path of development."
Dubbing the idea of "mahagathbandhan" as an example of the BJP's rising power, he sought to know why the Congress, which had once passed a resolution against alliances, was now backtracking.
"Some years back, the Congress passed a resolution in Madhya Pradesh saying it will never go for any alliance. What is the reason today they are ready to have alliance with any political party? Today they are saying ...save me," he said.
"When a patient remains in the ICU, he is given a different kind of support system so that he can survive. The Congress is installing a support system of political parties to save itself. For the Congress, all those part of 'mahagathbandhan' are only a support system so that they rescue it from ICU."
The Prime Minister asserted that Congress efforts to form a grand coalition were not going to make any difference to the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
"If the BJP government had made some mistakes or its popularity graph had gone down or the Prime Minister had made some mistakes, would they have gone for an alliance?" Modi asked.
The opposition parties were so scared of the BJP that they felt they can never defeat it alone. "They can't stand before the BJP. This is the reason they are doing this to get together ('mel milap')," he said.
"They are 'naamdar' and we are 'kaamdar'. Their purpose is welfare of a family and ours is country's welfare. The country is going to judge them on these issues... Being a BJP worker it does not make any difference to us what our opponents are doing."
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
