French President survives no-confidence motions
Paris, Aug 1 : The French parliament rejected on Tuesday a pair of no-confidence motions brought against the government of President Emmanuel Macron in connection with a scandal involving his now-former bodyguard.
The first proposal, put forward by the conservative Republicans, garnered 143 votes in the National Assembly, fewer than half the 289 required to pass, while only 74 lawmakers supported the second motion, submitted by the Socialists, Communists and the leftist France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party, Efe reported.
Though the conservatives and the left abstained on each other's motions, even their combined total - 217 - would have fallen far short of the 289-vote threshhold.
The no-confidence motions were widely viewed as symbolic, given that Macron's centrist La Republique En Marche (The Republic On the Move) has an absolute majority in the assembly.
During the debate ahead of the votes, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe defended the Macron government's response to video footage published by Le Monde that showed presidential bodyguard Alexandre Benalla, 26, beating protesters at a 2018 May Day demonstration.
"The events of May 1 say nothing about the presidency of the republic," Philippe told lawmakers. "Attempts to blame the president serve no interest other than political ones."
Macron dismissed Benalla after Le Monde released the video. The Benalla affair is one of the biggest political challenges to face Macron since he took office in May 2017.
A parliamentary inquiry into Benalla's actions is ongoing.
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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.
