Lunar Eclipse on Karnataka Politics: Almost Every Minister, Politician Skip Work to Ward Off 'Evil'
Bengaluru, July 27: That politicians in India often go a little overboard with their superstitions is no surprise. Sticking to the tradition, almost all political leaders in Karnataka skipped work on Friday because lunar eclipse is all about “negative vibes”.
Karnataka politicians across political lines took the day off fearing the red moon day. Leaders from all parties, including Congress, BJP, JDS and other smaller parties, refused to come out of their houses on this day.
Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his sons Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Public Works Department Minister HD Revanna visited the Tirupati Temple and returned to Bengaluru on Friday morning.
The troika did not attend any political meet and Revanna and Deve Gowda stayed at the house while Kumaraswamy attended Deputy CM G Parameshwara’s elder brother’s funeral rites in Tumkur.
Not just that, special pujas were conducted at Deve Gowda’s residence to ward off the “evil effect”. The Gowda family believes these rituals will protect them from all negative vibes of the lunar eclipse that will start at 10:44 pm in India and end at 4:58 am.
On the other hand, former Chief Minister of Karnataka, BS Yeddyurappa shifted to Jindal Hospital a day before the eclipse. Before admitting himself to the hospital, he had given clear instructions to his party members not to indulge in any kind of political activities as he believes it will have adverse effect on the party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The Gowdas and Yeddyurappa are known for their beliefs in Hindu ritual practices, astrology and vaastu.
The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Samiti (KPCC) office on Queen’s Road in Bengaluru was shut on Friday and the entire area wore a deserted look. Even the state power house, the Vidhana Soudha had a similar look as not a single MLA could be seen on Friday.
The Vidhana Soudha car parking was completely empty, which on weekdays is usually flooded by political leaders, their followers, party workers and officers.
Speaking to News18, JDS leader and cabinet minister GT Deve Gowda said that he doesn’t indulge in blind beliefs. “I don’t believe in astrology. I will not sit back at home just because it’s lunar eclipse. If I work on these days, which are considered dangerous in astronomy, I don’t think I will be harmed. It’s up to individual perceptions,” GT Deve Gowda said.
Siddaramaiah is known to be a believer of the ‘Basava Tatva’ and had expressed his disapproval of such beliefs. During his tenure as the chief minister, he had openly said that he won’t support blind beliefs and science is all that he has faith in.
Courtesy: www.news18.com
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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.
