No relaxation in curfew in Shillong
Shillong, June 5: Curfew continued on Tuesday in violence-hit areas in the Meghalaya capital Shillong while Internet on mobile telephones was restricted even as the situation was showing steady improvement.
"For today (Tuesday) we have decided not to relax the curfew even as the situation in the area is slowly limping back to normalcy. We are keeping a close watch on the situation," Deputy Commissioner of East Khasi Hills district P.S. Dkhar told IANS.
"The Army is still on standby. Fifteen companies of Central Armed Police Force have been deployed and another 10 companies are on way to Shillong to assist the police in maintaining law and order," a police officer said.
Dkhar said on Monday that night curfew will continue all over the Shillong city from Monday 4 p.m to Tuesday 5 a.m., fearing that the trouble may spread to other parts of the city.
The illegal sale of petrol and diesel has also been banned.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said the government had decided to set up a high-level committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong to find a permanent solution to the long pending issue of relocation of the sweeper colony.
On June 1, the District Magistrate imposed curfew in some areas following violence involving members of the Punjabi and tribal Khasi communities.
Curfew was relaxed for seven hours from 8 a.m. on Sunday but mobs continued to throw stones at security forces, forcing them to fire tear gas.
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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.
