Karnataka CM flays Centre for not releasing 'even a single paisa' for drought relief to state
Vijayapura (K'taka) (PTI): Targeting the central government, stating that it did not release even a single paisa so far as drought relief to Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said his letters to the union government seeking assistance and enhancement of employment days for those affected have gone unanswered.
The Karnataka government has declared 223 out of the total 236 taluks in the state as drought-hit.
"We have started all the drought relief works, like -- supplying drinking water, providing fodder for livestock, giving employment to people," Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the state has decided to increase the employment days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from 100 days to 150 days a year in view of the severe drought in the State, but the central government has to give permission for this.
"We have written a letter to the Centre, but there is no reply till today," he said.
Noting that it has been more than a month since the state government submitted its drought memorandum seeking relief from the Centre, following which a central team too visited the state for inspection, Siddaramaiah said that till today they have not given even a single paisa as drought relief.
The Karnataka cabinet last Thursday expressed serious concern over the delay by the Central government in the release of drought relief funds to the state.
Siddaramaiah last week too had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to expedite the process of releasing drought relief funds to the state.
The CM also pointed out that he had written to the Centre seeking changes in the norms to declare drought, but there is no reply to that as well. "They (Centre) have neither made any changes, nor have they responded to my letter."
Replying to a question on an alleged remark by BJP state President B Y Vijayendra that Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar was conspiring to make Siddaramaiah step down from CM post, the CM said, "We will look into our party issues."
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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.
