Cong in-charge Surjewala in K'taka to finalise list of appointments to Boards & Corporations
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said discussions are on regarding appointing ruling Congress legislators and workers to key positions in various state-run boards and corporations and the list, once finalised ,will be sent to the party's high command for approval.
Congress General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala is in the city to discuss the exercise with the party's state leadership. Last week too, he had held discussions on the issue here.
"It is our routine work, it's party work...he (Surjewala) was busy. We have held two to three rounds of meetings, today also we will be meeting, the list has to go to Delhi, after that we will inform," Shivakumar, who is also state Congress chief, told reporters here in response to a question on his meeting with Surjewala.
There has been some disgruntlement and growing impatience within a section of the Congress party, with legislators, who could not make it to the Ministry and were keenly aspiring for key posts in boards and corporations, unhappy about the delay in appointments.
Also many partymen are upset over the delay in rewarding loyal workers, noting that the Congress has been in power for more than six months now.
Shivakumar had recently said that both Congress legislators and party workers would be appointed to these positions, and indicated that about 15 to 20 party MLAs and MLCs would be accommodated, and the rest would be distributed among loyal party workers.
Appointments to boards and corporations are said to be among the issues on which Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had certain differences of opinion, according to party sources.
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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.
