NCW seeks probe into harassment charges against Youth Congress chief Srinivas BV
New Delhi, Apr 19: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has asked the Assam Police to conduct an inquiry into the harassment allegations levelled against Indian Youth Congress president Srinivas B V by its Assam unit chief Angkita Dutta.
Srinivas on Tuesday issued a legal notice to Dutta, saying she was defaming him.
The NCW, in a statement, said it has come across a Twitter post enclosing screenshots of posts made by Dutta, alleging harassment, use of derogatory language and discrimination against Srinivas.
The NCW claimed that Dutta has posted on her Twitter handle that she even raised her grievance with Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu, but no action was taken on her complaint.
The Commission said it is "appalled and disappointed" and has taken cognizance of the allegations levelled by Dutta against Srinivas.
"Therefore, considering the gravity of the matter, Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to the Director General of Police, Assam to personally look into it and conduct an inquiry into the allegations levelled by Dr Angkita Dutta in a fair and time bound manner. A detailed report must be apprised to the Commission. Meanwhile, the Commission will also be inquiring into the matter," the NCW said.
Dutta on Tuesday accused Srinivas of being "sexist and chauvinistic", and discriminating against her based on gender.
Responding to the allegations with the legal notice that was shared by Srinivas on Twitter, he said, "Whoever is found indulged in propagating/peddling false & defamatory content will be held liable under the relevant laws & will be held accountable for their acts."
Linking Dutta's allegations with the Karnataka polls, he said, "Sorry for not being able to answer BJP and their sponsored stooges earlier because of the marathon election campaign in Karnataka, where BJP is all set to lose badly."
No diversion can save the BJP in the state of Karnataka, Srinivas asserted.
How can a sexist and chauvinistic lead @IYC torture and demean a woman every single time. What happened to @priyankagandhi ladki hoon ladk Shakti hoon https://t.co/opLpmcLLbh
— Dr Angkita Dutta (@angkitadutta) April 18, 2023
*harassed
— Dr Angkita Dutta (@angkitadutta) April 18, 2023
@NCWIndia is taking up the matter. @sharmarekha https://t.co/OdwwQtC5Zy
— NCW (@NCWIndia) April 19, 2023
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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.
