DMK will continue to fight against CAA, says Stalin
Chennai: DMK chief M K Stalin on Sunday said his party would continue to urge the union government to scrap the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and confer citizeship on Sri Lankan Tamils living in refugee camps in India.
In an addendum to the party manifesto unveiled on Saturday, he said DMK had all along opposed the CAA and campaigned against it and he even ran a campaign in Tamil Nadu collecting one crore signatures pressing for scrapping the law.
"The Central government will be urged to withdraw the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019," Stalin said in the addendum.
The DMK in its manifesto has said that the Centre would be requested to include Sri Lanka in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and give citizenship to Lankan Tamil refugees living in camps in India.
Making the addition, Stalin said his party had all along opposed the CAA and campaigned against it and he even ran a signature campaign in Tamil Nadu collecting one crore signatures seeking the scrapping of the legislation.
"I would like to reiterate again that a resolution will be passed in the assembly (if DMK is voted to power) and will raise its voice for scrapping CAA," he said in a statement.
The DMK top leader also added two more points to the manifesto, an assurance that the "anti-farmer" Chennai-Salem expressway project would not be implemented and the Kattupalli port shall not be allowed here and the draft environment assessment report for it would be rejected.
The DMK released its 505-point manifesto featuring a host of highly populist promises. Waiver of crop and jewel loans in cooperative banks and a one-time assistance of Rs 4,000 for COVID-19 hit rice ration card holders were among the assurances.
Protests were held in various parts of the state against the CAA, which expedites citizenship applications from religious minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
DMK had questioned why Muslims and Tamil refugees of Sri Lanka were kept out of the ambit of the act and alleged it 'divided' people on the basis of religion.
The expressway project witnessed several protests by farmers and others over land acquisition and environment concerns.
The greenfield corridor was challenged in the Madras High Court which quashed the land acquisition proceedings and Pattali Makkal Katchi (an ally of the AIADMK now) leader Anbumani Ramadoss was among the petitioners against the project in court.
However, the Supreme Court had in December last year upheld the notification for land acquisition for the Rs 10,000 crore eight lane project.
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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.
