Transport workers to hold nationwide stir on August 7
Opposition to Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill-2017
Bengaluru, July 30: The Federation of Workers and Owners Associations of road transport has decided to hold a nationwide strike on August 7, urging the central government to withdraw Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill-2017, protect the transport industry and implement Social Security Act for the unorganized workers.
Speaking to reporters at the Press Club here on Monday, Federation leader K Prakash said that autos, taxi, private bus, trucks, state road transport corporations, workshops, spare parts shops and others were under critical situation. They have been facing the harassment from the officials and the police. At this situation, the central government has planned to amend the existing Motor Vehicle Act to destabilize the owners and workers of the industry and handover the entire industry to Indian and corporate companies. They would not allow the government to pass this Bill which aimed at harassing the workers and owners of the transport vehicles, he said.
This Bill would snatch the power of the state government. The power giving inter-state permits would go to the centre and it was a conspiracy to snatch the special right given to the state governments. If the Bill was passed, it would pave way for private operators to run their vehicles without permits, he said.
If the Bill was passed, then the drivers and conductors would be held responsible for accidents and slapped hefty fine. The central government was claiming that the Bill was amended to check the accidents, which is a lie, he said.
KSRTC Employees Federation president HD Revappa, OUT Drivers and Owners Association president Tanvir Pasha, Rudramurthy of Auto Drivers Association, Siddaiah of Taxi Drivers Association, Commercial Vehicles Drivers Association president Puttalingaiah and others were present.
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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.
