Uncertainty looms over Madhya Pradesh trust vote on Monday
Bhopal: Uncertainty looms over holding of a floor test in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Monday with sources in the Jyotiraditya Scindia camp claiming that the 22 MLAs of the Congress who had resigned last week might not be coming to Bhopal.
Governor Lalji Tandon had on Saturday night directed Chief Minister Kamal Nath to seek a trust vote in the House immediately after he delivers his customary address on the first day of the Budget session beginning Monday.
Nath, who met the Governor on Sunday late night, said that the decision on a floor test will be taken by the Speaker.
The 22 MLAs of the Congress who had resigned might not return to Bhopal on Monday from Bengaluru where they are camping, sources close to BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose rebellion from the Congress had triggered a political crisis in the state, said on Monday morning.
These MLAs, including six ministers, have already resigned from the membership of the Assembly and there is no point in coming back at this point, they said.
Of the 22 MLAs, at least 19 MLAs had e-mailed their resignation letters to the governor from Bengaluru on March 10. Speaker NP Prajapati had accepted resignations of six of the 22 MLAs. He, however, remained non-committal on holding a floor test.
Interestingly, holding of a floor test found no mention in the List of Business (LoB) issued by the state Assembly secretariat on Sunday night.
The LoB mentioned only about the Governor's customary address on the first day of the Budget session and the motion of thanks.
Referring to this, BJP national vice president Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "Kamal Nath has very innocently said that it is the job of the speaker to conduct floor test, while the fact is that it is the government which decides the business of the House".
"The governor had ordered the chief minister to seek the trust vote after his customary address. Tandon has written the letter to you (Nath) and not to the Speaker," he told reporters on Sunday late night.
Chouhan said that with the resignations of 22 MLAs, the Nath government was reduced to a minority.
"The government must table a proposal for holding a floor test in the House and the speaker should ensure that it will be conducted," the former chief minister demanded.
On Sunday late night, MLAs of the BJP returned to Bhopal from Manesar in Haryana. The MLAs of the Congress had also returned from Jaipur.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
