Bengaluru: The Karnataka Congress has responded sharply to a petition filed by former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, seeking a court order to prevent the media from broadcasting any defamatory news against him. The petition was heard by the judge, Vani A. Shetty in the Bengaluru City Civil Court, where the single-judge bench issued an order restraining the broadcast of any defamatory statements about Bommai.
Reacting to the development, the state Congress raised several questions on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The party questioned the reasons behind Bommai's decision to seek legal protection against the media, speculating whether the move was related to incidents involving Dr. K. Sudhakar or Santro Ravi. The Congress also questioned what specific news reports Bommai felt were threatening enough to warrant such an injunction.
ಮಾಜಿ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ @BSBommai ಅವರು ಕೋರ್ಟಿನಿಂದ ತಡೆಯಾಜ್ಞೆ ತರುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣ ಏನು?
— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) August 28, 2024
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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.