Republic Day parade: No tableau from Karnataka, after 13 years
Bengaluru: After 13 years, the tableau from Karnataka, which reflect the art and culture of the state, will not get a chance to shine in the Republic Day parade.
The Central government has turned down the proposal of the state to showcase Karnataka's millet diversity during the Republic Day parade on the Kartavya Path, state government officers have said.
Sources in the Department for Information and Public Relation have said that, while the assessment committee members had appreciated Karnataka's design and music in initial rounds, the state lost out at the final stage of selection, reports Times of India.
An official added that many states complained that they had been neglected for several years, with the committee giving opportunity to only a few states to present their tableaux.
Karnataka has won several awards for its tableaux and some of its themes were appreciated for their creativity and splendour. The state has focused on its rich cultural heritage, including folklore, handicrafts and biodiversity and was the runner-up last year, having presented the theme 'cradle of traditional handicrafts'.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has revised the process of selection and also streamlined the number of tableaux presented during the Republic Day parade, following a strong criticism from Kerala and Telangana in 2022 for ignoring the proposals of many states.
“Unlike picking individual states as per the roster, the Centre categorised the country into several zones and picked two to three tableaux from each zone,” an MOD source has said.
As per the new selection format, Karnataka, along with four other states and three union territories, was a part of the Southern zone.
The MOD officer has said that, in contrast to the selection of 15 tableaux, this year, they selected the three best proposals from each zone that had eight states. Zones that had only four states were to present two tableaux each. The selection was carried out also on a proportionate formula, the officer has added.
The MOD has given priority to states and union territories that had the least opportunity to participate in the parade in the last eight years, the officer has explained.
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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.
