Working towards long-term solution to petrol price hike: Minister
Kolkata, June 2: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday said the Centre is looking at a 'long term' fix to the issue of the rise in petrol and diesel prices, adding that the solution lies with state governments also as they too levy their taxes.
He said petrol prices were de-regulated during the rule of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
"Government is working on a long-term solution with states. They are also equal stakeholders. They also levy their taxes and therefore all have to work together to come out with a solution," HRD Minister Javadekar told reporters here.
The Central government regulated fuel prices in the country till 2010, when they were de-regulated.
Now, the prices are revised by oil companies mostly under the free-market system.
On June 16 last year, oil companies decided to revise prices on a daily basis, instead of every fortnight, as per international practice.
On Saturday, prices of petrol and diesel fell around nine paise in four metro cities.
"The issue is petrol and diesel prices. It is an international phenomenon and during Congress regime, they de-regulated petrol," Javadekar 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.
