EC sources say inquiries on to verify authenticity of Tejashwi's second voter card; suspect forgery
New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI): The Election Commission on Saturday dubbed as "baseless" claims of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls of Bihar as poll body sources said inquiries were on to understand the "reality" behind the second voter card.
To prove that his name was not on the draft rolls, Yadav had entered a voter identity card number, which showed no records.
While asserting that his name figures in the draft at serial number 416, officials said even if he still had any grievance, he should have followed the legal procedure laid down.
Meanwhile, the EC sources said that the RJD leader used the electoral roll with EPIC no. RAB0456228 for filling his nomination papers on affidavit in 2020.
"He was having this voter ID card number even in the electoral roll in 2015. His name with this voter card number exists in the draft electoral rolls too," an official pointed out.
The other voter card with the number -- RAB2916120 -- has been found to be non-existent, and records from the last more than 10 years have been checked, the sources said.
They said no records have been found for the second card number "yet".
"It is highly likely that the second card was never made through an official channel. Further inquiries are on to understand the reality of the second voter card number... whether it is a forged document," the official cited above said.
Yadav on Saturday claimed his name was missing in the draft electoral rolls published by the EC as part of the special intensive revision in Bihar, ahead of the assembly polls.
At a press conference, Yadav, a former deputy chief minister, connected his phone to a big screen and tried to search his own EPIC number, which threw up the result 'no records found'.
The RJD leader claimed he was not provided with any receipt by the booth-level officer who came to his house with an enumeration form.
Hitting back, the poll authority said pure electoral rolls are the foundation of any democracy.
Under the special intensive revision, the period of claims and objections is for a full month, from August 1 to September 1.
"He should ask the 47,506 booth-level agents of his party to file claims and objections if they find that the name of any eligible is left out or if the name of any ineligible voter has been included," the EC said.
It pointed out that no booth-level agent (BLA) of any political party, including the RJD, has submitted a single case to the booth-level officers for inclusion or deletion during the past 24 hours.
"All BLAs have agreed to go through the booth-wise draft lists given to them on August 1 carefully. The EC is not able to understand why he is continuing to make baseless allegations that his name is not there," the EC said.
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Hospital wall collapse: CM orders suspension of executive engineer; kin of victims get solatium
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the immediate suspension of an executive engineer for the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital wall collapse that claimed the lives of seven people, during a high-level review meeting at Vidhana Soudha.
A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, as announced by the CM Siddaramaiah, was distributed to the families of seven victims who lost their lives in the tragedy on Wednesday evening, which occurred due to heavy downpour with gusty winds and hailstorm.
The meeting of municipal commissioners of the five corporations, chaired by the chief minister and attended by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, focused on fixing accountability and examining lapses that led to the tragedy.
"Why was soil dumped in a way that damaged the wall? Why did you not monitor this?" Siddaramaiah asked, pulling up hospital authorities during the meeting.
A statement from the chief minister's office said that the CM ordered the immediate suspension of the executive engineer of the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP).
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He also questioned the hospital authorities, asking why they failed to monitor the dumping of soil that weakened the structure.
The chief minister directed that a notice be issued to the head of the Hospital.
During the meeting, Siddaramaiah said the rains had caused extensive damage in the city, with over 250 trees uprooted.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to take necessary measures before the onset of the monsoon to avoid untoward incidents.
Commissioners of all five municipal zones in Bengaluru have been asked to take precautionary steps, including trimming dry and dangerous tree branches, the CMO said.
Siddaramaiah also directed them to get the silt cleared from stormwater drains to prevent flooding, and that immediate action be taken to remove debris and fallen branches from roads.
Further, he instructed that barricades be placed at underpasses where water stagnates and restricts public movement.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said in a statement that Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad distributed compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased on Thursday.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed amid heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
Police said the victims, comprising three from Bengaluru, two from Kerala on a study tour and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Assam, had taken shelter near the wall when it suddenly gave way, trapping them under the debris.
The chief minister questioned officials over the dumping of soil near the wall despite knowing it could weaken the structure, and directed that a notice be issued to the head of Bowring Hospital.
Siddaramaiah, who had visited the spot soon after the incident along with senior officials, reviewed the situation and ordered a detailed probe into the collapse.
