Rahul Gandhi accuses BJP of controlling EC, CBI, ED, claims Constitution 'under attack'
Ranchi, Oct 19: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that the Constitution is "under attack" by the BJP as he accused the saffron party of controlling institutions such as the Election Commission, bureaucracy and central agencies.
He also said no force can stop the caste census and removal of the 50 per cent cap on the reservation.
"The Constitution is under constant attack from all sides, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and it needs to be protected," Gandhi alleged while addressing 'Samvidhan Samman Sammelan' in Ranchi ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly polls.
In a no-hold-bar attack, he accused the BJP of "controlling the Election Commission, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), income tax department, bureaucracy and judiciary".
"The BJP also controls funds and institutions but we possess honesty. The Congress fought the Lok Sabha elections without money," he claimed.
Gandhi said the caste census is a "medium for getting social X-ray but PM Modi is opposed to this".
"However, no force can stop caste census, institutional survey and removal of 50 per cent cap on reservation despite no media, judiciary support," he said.
This was Gandhi’s first visit to Jharkhand after the assembly poll schedule was announced.
The assembly polls will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20 and counting will take place on November 23.
Earlier in the day, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that the INDIA bloc will contest the upcoming assembly polls together and the Congress and the JMM will field candidates in 70 of 81 seats.
Seat-sharing talks are on with alliance partners - the RJD and the Left parties - for the remaining 11 seats, he added.
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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.
