Mangaluru, Sept 01: With the launch of India Post Payments Bank across the nation today, Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda launched the Mangaluru branch at the Kudmul Rangarao Town Hall in the city.

Speaking at the occasion, Gowda said, "This is a century programme that will add the last man to the country’s economic system.” The dream of Prime Minister's Digital India is now being fulfilled through this program, he added.

The program is aimed at expanding the service to 1.55 lakh access points by December 2018, which will enable Modi to open a new chapter of development and good governance. Today, 650 branches of the country and 3,250 access points have been commissioned, Minister Sadananda Gowda said.

MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, MLA Vedavasya Kamath, senior officials of postal department Rajendra Kumar, Jagadish and others were present.

This facility has been started at Mangaluru’s Balmatta Branch. Access points have been opened at Balmatta, Katipalla, Kuttetturu, and Surinjae. In the second phase, it will be launched at Puttur subdivision. The postal department has an extensive network in the city, town and rural areas. With that, a home-based banking facility will be arranged through postman and other staff. Consumers can efficiently transact through biometric technology and OTP Using Aadhaar Card and Mobile.

Meantime, the event of Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching the nation-wide India Post Payments Bank was broadcasted on a big screen.

 

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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.