Delayed start of winter session of Karnataka Legislative Assembly draws flak
Belagavi, Dec 4: The opposition BJP and ruling Congress legislators expressed their strong objection over the delay in the convening of Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Monday, as it met for the winter session at 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha' here, one hour late than the scheduled time.
Soon after 'Vande Mataram' was sung and preamble of the Constitution read after the House met for the day at around noon, instead of the scheduled time of 11 am, senior MLAs -- Suresh Kumar of BJP and Basavaraj Rayareddy of Congress -- expressed their strong objections to Speaker U T Khader over the delay.
They said the unnecessary delay without any intimation to members waiting, was sending a wrong message to the people of the state and was in violation of rules and procedures.
"The House was called to meet at 11 am, it has been an hour, it's noon now. What message are we sending out to the people? On the first day itself without any reason, one hour delay. I would like to say that you have not sent a right message through this House," Suresh Kumar said.
Rayareddy too expressed his strong reservations about the delay.
"There are rules of procedure and conduct of business in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly regarding what time the session has to be convened and how, you should have read it. There are also references in (M N) Kaul and (S L) Shakdher (Compilation on Practice and rocedure of Parliament) as to how the sessions should start and when. There is a feeling outside the House that when the session happens in Belagavi, it doesn't happen properly and such things come in newspapers," he said.
Stating that such a thing brings a bad name to north Karnataka region, Rayareddy referring as to how Lok Sabha is convened on time, urged the Speaker to begin the house proceedings at the time announced. "Whether someone comes or not, start the proceedings on time, if someone doesn't come on time it is a shame on them...you may have delayed due to various reasons, inform the House about it and ensure there is no delay and the house meets on time."
BJP legislator Basangouda Patil Yatnal, on his part urged that the discussion on north Karnataka related issues should begin from today itself; if not he will stage a protest.
"Every year the discussion on north Karnataka is scheduled during the last two days of the Belagavi session when most legislators and Ministers are not there. Please take up issues of north Karnataka and political injustice happening to the region, from today itself," he said.
Speaker Khader in his response said, the House should begin its proceedings on time and there are rules regarding it, but due to certain reasons and circumstances there will be some delay some times, and all legislators should also cooperate with attendance for the House to be convened on time.
He said, the session has been called to discuss issues relating to the entire state and north Karnataka, and let's all work accordingly.
Later, the House paid obituary reference to six former members of the House including former Minister and Speaker D B Chandre Gowda, who passed away recently.
It also paid rich tributes to five soldiers of the Indian army -- including Captain M V Pranjal from Karnataka -- who were killed during an encounter with terrorists in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir last month.
Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka, noting that the state government has already announced compensation to Pranjal's family, requested the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to help the family in whatever way it can, while BJP MLA Umanatha Kotian urged the government to take measures and do whatever possible to immortalise the name of the late soldier and his legacy.
Rayareddy, on his part suggested that the legislature bring out a book on Chandre Gowda and his contributions.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
