COVID-19: Congress CMs blame Centre for not giving any financial assistance to states
New Delhi: The chief ministers of Congress-ruled states on Thursday hit out at the central government for not providing financial assistance to them, asking how will the country win the battle against COVID-19 in this time of crisis.
The chief ministers of Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry demanded a financial package for the states to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said unless the central government comes forward to financially help states, "fight against COVID-19 will get weakened".
"Unless there is a big financial package for states, how will normalcy return to the states post the lockdown," Gehlot said at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting through video conferencing.
"We emphasised on rapid testing but unfortunately the test kits have failed...There is an urgent need for centralised procurement of kits, ventilators so that availability, quality and quantity can be assured," he added.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh claimed that resources of Rs 4,400 crore of GST have not yet been released by the central government.
"In place of 1 lakh rapid testing kits, we have received only 10,000 China-made testing kits and their authenticity is yet to be tested," he said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said unless the Centre rises to the occasion and provides financial assistance to states, how will the fight against COVID-19 be won.
Baghel said there is a deep concern in the state over return of students and migrant workers stuck in other states.
"There needs to be a policy by the central government for return of migrant workers and students. Unfortunately, the central government is silent on the issue," he said.
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said the Centre did not given any assistance to the state.
"How will the state survive in times of crisis...We are not enemies but have to act, work together," he said at the CWC.
Narayanasamy said the central government has not given them Rs 600 crore of GST and Rs 2,200 crore of the Finance Commission's share.
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.
BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
