It is a tragedy that educated people are increasingly becoming casteist: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Warning that inequality will increase as society is being divided in the name of religion and caste, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said it is a tragedy that educated people are increasingly becoming casteist.
The Chief Minister was speaking after inaugurating an international symposium "Mahatma Gandhi for the 21st Century" organised at Gandhi Bhavan to commemorate the 75th year of the Gandhi Memorial Fund.
"Due to the caste system, many people were deprived of education, leading to increased inequality. It is a tragedy that educated people are increasingly becoming casteist," Siddaramaiah said.
He alleged that "the nurturers of caste inequality killed Mahatma Gandhi."
"Gandhi's ideas and guidance given to society are not limited to the 20th century, they remain relevant even today. Gandhiji celebrated peace, truth, justice, and brotherhood throughout his life. He believed that if the whole world adopts the quality of loving each other, the whole society can be at ease," the CM was quoted as saying by his office in a release.
Pointing out that Gandhi believed that nature fulfills our needs but not our greed, Siddaramaiah said as he attributed human "greed" as the reason for environmental disasters happening in Kerala's Wayanad and other parts of the state.
Noting that many educated people follow superstition and "Karma Siddhanta" due to lack of proper scientific education, he said, 850 years ago Basavanna (12th century spiritual leader and also a social reformer) and his followers outrightly rejected the theory of "Karma" (fate).
The CM lamented that today's educated people still believe in the theory of "Karma".
Jawaharlal Nehru led the country by preparing society in a scientific and rational way, while inclusiveness and non-violence were Gandhi's ways, Siddaramaiah further said and added that work needs to be done to take this to the youth.
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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.
