Special prayers for ailing Parrikar in Hindu convention
Panaji, June 1: The All India Hindu Convention to be held in Goa on June 4 will offer special prayers for Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is currently undergoing advanced treatment for pancreatic cancer in a US hospital.
"Goa Chief Minister is of clean character and principled. Unfortunately, he is grappling with some health issues. So we will offer special prayers and good wishes for his health," one of the convenors of the event Charudatta Pingale told reporters on Friday at a press conference in Panaji.
"A lot of respectable personalities are attending the convention," Pingale added.
Parrikar has been undergoing treatment at a New York-based health facility since March 2018.
The Goa event is expected to see the attendance of 650 participants from 180 Hindu organisations coming from 19 states, as well as from Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
The convention will discuss what is termed the failure of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in resolving issues related to Hindus, including enacting a law to ban cow slaughter, said Pingale.
The event had hit the headlines in 2017 after Madhya Pradesh-based Sadhvi Saraswati in her speech at the Goa convention said that those who eat beef should be hung in public.
Ramesh Shinde, national spokesperson of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, which is organising the event distanced himself from the comments. Saraswati will not be attending this edition of the event.
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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.
