Modi, Rahul greet Karunanidhi on his birthday
New Delhi, June 3 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday greeted DMK chief M. Karunanidhi on his 95th birthday.
Modi tweeted that Karunanidhi, a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, was a prolific writer, poet, thinker and orator.
"Best wishes to Kalaignar M. Karunanidhij... A prolific writer, poet, thinker and orator, Karunanidhiji is one of India's senior-most political leaders. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life," Modi said. Rahul Gandhi prayed for the health and happiness of the DMK leader.
"I would like to wish Karunanidhiji a very happy birthday! I pray for his good health and happiness, always," Gandhi tweeted.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also conveyed her good wishes. "Warmest birthday greetings to M. Karunanidhiji. I pray for your good health and happiness."
Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924, at Thirukuvalai, now in Nagapattinam district. He has never lost an election, having been elected to the state assembly 13 times since 1957. He was Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu five times.
He was elected from Tiruvarur in the 2016 Assembly polls.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
