Will easily win election if only 'legal votes' are counted: Trump
Washington: US President Donald Trump has claimed that he would easily win the election if only the "legal votes" are counted in the closely-fought presidential polls.
Addressing a news conference at the White House on Thursday, Trump indicated that the election results would finally end up on the doors of the Supreme Court as he plans to file a large number of litigations against alleged electoral malpractices.
Trump, who did not take any questions from reporters, alleged that the Democrats are trying to win and rig the 2020 presidential elections. However, he did not offer any evidence to back his claim.
As of Thursday night, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was on the cusp of an electoral victory with 253 electoral college votes.
The magical number is 270 of the 538 electoral college votes. Trump has 213 electoral votes in his kitty.
"If you count the legal votes I easily win," Trump said, providing no evidence for his claim. "If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us."
His message came as new tallies showed his lead dwindling in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Trump said he was advocating for a halt in counting of "votes that came in late," and went on to tout races that had already been called for him.
"I've already decisively won many critical states, including massive victories," he claimed.
Democratic officials believe that they can never win this election honesty. there is tremendous corruption and fraud going on, Trump said, adding that he has a lot of evidence for this claim.
That's why they mailed out tens of millions of unsolicited ballots without any verification measures whatsoever, he alleged.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have rushed to vote early, already casting nearly 92 million mail-in ballots that could take days or weeks to be counted in some crucial battleground states.
Trump has raised concerns over the use of mail-in ballots, saying there are high chances of the process getting manipulated.
Trump challenged Biden and the Democrats to clarify that they want only legal votes, that they are open and transparent, no secret count rooms, no mystery ballots, no illegal votes being cast after election day.
We want an honest election, We want an honest counting, he said.
The legitimate mail-in ballots are being counted last because that is standard procedure in certain American states. Asserting that the US cannot have an election stolen , Trump said that he thinks he will win the election very soon.
There is going to be a lot of litigation, he said, adding that there is so much evidence of electoral malpractice.
We cannot let that happen to the United States of America. It is not a question of who wins, Republican or Democrat. We cannot let that happen to our country, he said.
The President also decried on the pollsters, media and big tech companies for siding with the Democrats and accused them of suppression of voters.
Commenting on the performance of the Republican Party in the elections, Trump said that the party retained majority in the Senate and won many seats in the House of Representatives.
This was also the year of the Republican women, more Republican women were elected to Congress than ever before, he said.
After the elections, Trump asserted that the Republicans have emerged as a party of American workers.
We grew our party by four million voters, the greatest turnout in Republican Party history. Democrats are the party, the big donors, the big media, the big tech, it seems. Republicans have become the party of the American worker and that's what's happened, he said.
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Siddaramaiah gives push for AI in Karnataka Budget
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said to further strengthen the AI sector, AI and Robotics Technology Park under IISc, will set up a robotics and AI campus called "Bangalore Robotics and AI Innovation Zone" during the current year.
This campus will be set up in collaboration with ISRO and Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS), Siddaramaiah added.
Presenting Karnataka Budget 2026-27, he said, a centre of Excellence for AI will be set up at IIIT Raichur at a cost of Rs 5 crore.
Noting that Karnataka is the first state to introduce the Global Capability Center (GCC) Policy, the CM said, as a result of the progressive policies of the government, more than 550 GCCs are currently operating in the state.
"Under this policy, the target is to establish 500 new GCCs in the state by 2029, which are expected to create employment for 3.5 lakh people and generate an economic output of USD 50 billion. A new IT park will be established in Mangalore to promote GCC by KEONICS," he said.
With the support extended to the IT sector, more than 30,000 employees are working in 100 companies in Mysuru, the CM said.
To ease the congestion in Bengaluru and to strengthen economic activities beyond Bengaluru, Myasuru city will be developed as the second IT city of the state, he added.
To support drone testing and performance appraisal, a drone testing facility will be established in Chikkaballapur district, he said.
"During the current year, Rs 4 crore will be allocated for the development of an advanced surgical-assisted robot (COBOT)" in collaboration with IIIT-Bangalore and NIMHANS. This technology will facilitate improved outcomes in neurosurgical procedures, he added.
The CM said that infrastructure facilities will be developed at the Centre for Human Genetics at a total cost of Rs 20 crore to accommodate the newly established Institute of Advanced Genome Editing and Gene Therapy, along with other biotechnology-based laboratories.
With the objective of establishing a state-of-the-art AI Center of Excellence in Bengaluru, two centres of excellence will be set up in collaboration with the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms and NASSCOM at a total cost of Rs 16 crore, he said.
Rs 10 crore will be allocated to implement the first phase of the Quantum Road Map over five years and this will train and develop high-quality human resources required in the quantum technology sector, he said.
Noting that a detailed project report has been prepared and submitted to the Central Government to establish a state-of-the-art 'Science City at a cost of Rs 233 crore in Adinarayana Hosahalli, Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said, upon its approval, the State will take further steps, including design and development.
To inculcate scientific temper among students, Science centres have been established in all the districts, and planetariums have been set up in 11 districts. In the current year, six new planetariums will be developed in Vijayanagar, Ballari, Chitradurga, Yadgiri, Koppal and Bidar districts at a unit cost of Rs 4 crores and a total cost of Rs.24 crore, he said.
Highlighting that Karnataka is leading in the country's Information Technology sector, the CM said, "Our state has contributed to 43 per cent of India's IT exports. Under the new IT Policy 2025-30, software exports are expected to reach Rs 11.5 lakh crore by 2030."
Karnataka State has moved up from 21st position in the previous year to 14th in the global start-up ecosystem and is home to over 18,000 active Start-ups, he said.
"Bengaluru is also ranked 5th in the world's top 50 AI cities in the field of AI and Big Data," Siddaramaiah said.
The LEAP is a flagship initiative of the Government, launched with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore to promote start-ups and entrepreneurship in cities beyond Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said.
To increase employment opportunities through long-term industry-academia partnerships, a super 100 industry-academia adoption programme will be implemented in collaboration with Karnataka Digital Economy Mission(KDEM).
Karnataka ranks among the leading states in the ESDM and semiconductor sectors, he said.
It is a matter of pride that major global companies like Foxconn, LAM Research, and Applied Materials have recently invested in the state. The state anticipates investments to the tune of Rs 45,000 crore from companies in this sector, Siddaramaiah added.
