National Voters' Day: Cong hits out at EC for refusing to meet INDIA bloc leaders on VVPAT issue
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Thursday criticised the Election Commission on the National Voters' Day for refusing to meet INDIA bloc leaders on its demand for greater use of VVPATs in polls, terming it as an "injustice" that strikes at the very foundations of democracy.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also said that the National Voters' Day reaffirms the power of the people to determine their own destiny by exercising the freedom to elect their own representatives.
In a post on X, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said every year January 25 is celebrated as the National Voters' Day by the Election Commission of India.
But sadly, this independent institution has been simply refusing to meet a delegation of leaders belonging to the INDIA bloc who only want to put across their point of view on the greater use of VVPATs when voters cast their vote, he said.
"VVPAT is nothing but Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail. This persistent refusal of the ECI is an ANYAY that strikes at the very foundations of our democracy, the right of the voter to verify that their vote has been recorded accurately," Ramesh said.
Kharge also said, "We are proud that the election process of Universal Adult Suffrage, has deepened to the grassroots, Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies, as our towering founders had imagined."
"India's tryst with Democracy is a story which needs to be told time and again, but any complacency enables authoritarian tendencies to gain ground," he said.
"Today, we are at a juncture where safeguarding the independence of our institutions is paramount, so that Democracy is protected and the Constitution is upheld," Kharge said.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
