Congress stages 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' against alleged misuse of Karnataka Guv's office
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday said the 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' was organised by the Congress party to protest against the alleged misuse of the office of the Governor.
Shivakumar, who is the Congress Karnataka unit president, said the march is mainly to ensure that Raj Bhavan should not become the office of a political party.
"I want to clarify that we organised 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' not on behalf of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The matter is in the court of law..." the Deputy CM said.
"This 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' is to make sure that the Governor's office should not become an office of a party. We are going there (Raj Bhavan) with a demand to protect the sanctity of this constitutional post," he said.
Shivakumar lamented that there were many pending petitions, seeking permission to prosecute some individuals, with the Governor.
Holding placards, banners, posters and raising slogans condemning Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, the Congress leaders led by Shivakumar took out a march, which saw the participation of several ministers, Congress MLAs and MPs.
Later, they handed over a memorandum to Gehlot.
Earlier, Siddaramaiah, his cabinet colleagues, Congress MLAs and MPs staged a sit-in demonstration near the Gandhi statue on the Vidhana Soudha premises here.
The Congress government is at loggerheads with Gehlot after he granted permission to investigate and prosecute the CM in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scam.
Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi is accused of getting compensatory sites in the Mysuru upmarket against the 'illegal acquisition' of 3 Acres and 16 guntas of her agricultural land in Kesare village in Mysuru by the MUDA.
The Chief Minister has been alleging that the Governor's office was misused to 'destabilise' the Congress government in the state.
Siddaramaiah has also accused Gehlot of discriminating against him while granting permission for prosecution.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on August 16 accorded sanction for prosecution of the CM under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences as mentioned in the petitions of three social activists.
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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.
