Sushma Swaraj leaves for South Africa
New Delhi, June 2: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday left here for a five-day visit to South Africa during the course of which she will participate in the BRICS and IBSA ministerial meetings and also attend a series of events to commemorate the incident in which Mahatma Gandhi was ousted from a train compartment.
According to a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry, during the visit, Sushma Swaraj is expected to have meetings with the top leadership of South Africa.
She will also participate in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Foreign Ministers Meeting on June 4 and chair the IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) Foreign Ministers Meeting.
On June 6, she will visit the Phoenix Settlement, a South African Heritage site, marking the place that served as Gandhiji's home and where he developed his philosophy of non-violence.
She will also participate in a series of events on June 6-7 at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the historic incident in the train compartment that became a catalyst for Gandhi's Satyagraha movement.
On June 7, 1893, on a train trip to Pretoria, Gandhi was ordered by a white man to move from first class to third class. Gandhi, who had a first class ticket, refused and was thrown off the train in Pietermaritzburg.
The two-day commemoration activities will also include the release of joint commemorative stamps on South African anti-apartheid revolutionary leader Oliver Tambo and one of the founders of India's Bharatiya Jana Sangh Deen Dayal Upadhaya and a youth summit where 20 diaspora youth from Africa and five from India will participate to speak on the relevance of Gandhi's message of peace to the youth of today.
"The year 2018 is an important year for India-South Africa relations as it marks the 25 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the 125th anniversary of the Pietermaritzburg railway station incident and the 100th birth centenary of South African iconic leader, Nelson Mandela," the ministry statement said.
"India and South Africa enjoy close and friendly relations which are rooted in our history and the values of south-south cooperation. The visit of External Affairs Minister will further strengthen our close and long standing ties with South Africa."
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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.
