BJP Minister Babanrao Lonikar in spot over 'money' remark; Congress seeks action
Maharashtra Minister Babanrao Lonikar has landed in a spot after being caught on camera purportedly saying he faces no problem in winning the upcoming Assembly polls since he has “distributed money”.
While his party, the BJP, on October 16 said the veracity of the audio-video clip featuring Mr. Lonikar should be established first, the Congress has petitioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking cancellation of his candidature.
Mr. Lonikar, who holds the water supply portfolio, is the BJP candidate from Partur in Jalna district of central Maharashtra.
The Congress accused Mr. Lonikar of violating the model code of conduct in force for the October 21 Assembly polls.
State Congress vice-president Ratnakar Mahajan, in a letter to the ECI, said Mr. Lonikar is heard on camera saying at an election rally in Jalna that he has no problem in winning since he has “distributed money”.
“This proves that the Minister is using corrupt means to get elected. The ECI should file a case of violation of the model code of conduct against the minister and cancel his candidature immediately,” Mr. Mahajan said.
He also attached a link of the Minister’s speech in his letter to the Chief Electoral Officer.
However, State BJP chief spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said instead of just levelling allegations against a candidate, proper procedure should be followed in the matter.
“The Congress party can file a complaint with the Election Commission which will first verify the alleged clip,” Mr. Bhandari said.
“Proper procedure should be followed rather than levelling allegations against a candidate. We will welcome the outcome,” he added.
Will support JJP: Ashok Tanwar
Erstwhile Congress leader and party’s former Haryana president Ashok Tanwar on Wednesday said he will support Dushyant Chautala-led Jananayak Janta Party.
Mr. Tanwar grabbed headlines earlier this month after he protested outside Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s residence over alleged irregularities in ticket distribution. Later, he resigned from the party.
“I left the Congress with pain and now my workers want to support Dushyant. So I am doing so,” he said at a press conference where Mr. Chautala was also present.
Haryana will go to the polls on October 21.
Mr. Tanwar announced his resignation on Twitter and posted a four-page letter addressed to Ms Gandhi.
He said the reasons to quit the party were “well known” to all Congressmen and he took the decision after long deliberations with party workers and his supporters.
Adityanath asks officials to launch campaign to further improve U.P.’s image
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials and police to run a three-month special campaign to further improve the image of the State.
“In the past two-and-a-half years, the image of the State has improved. To improve it further, a three-month special campaign should be run,” Mr. Adityanath said while addressing a meeting of administrative and police nodal officers appointed for each of the 75 districts in the State.
“There is a perception in the country that corruption has minimised at higher and government level but people are not getting benefited. With a view to ensure benefits of government schemes reach common man, nodal officers have been appointed. And for the first time, police officers have also been made nodal officers,” he said.
He said the nodal officers will have to send their ground report to the government in the first week of November and ensure action to maintain dignity of the police uniform.
While administrative officers will have to see whether benefits of government are reaching the citizens, police nodal officers will work on law and order front and visit their respective areas and review the situation there.
Senior officials of the government were also present in the meeting, which was held at the Chief Minister’s residence in Lucknow.
ECI advises M.P. BJP leader Gopal Bhargava to be ‘more careful’
Acting on a complaint filed by the Congress against Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava saying the Congress candidate for the Jhabua by-election represented Pakistan, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has advised Mr. Bhargav to be “more careful in future”, according to the order dated on Monday and published on Wednesday.
Congress loses one more seat in Rajya Sabha
The Congress lost one more seat in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, with the resignation of K.C. Ramamurthy, who represented Karnataka. According to sources, he is headed to the BJP.
Mr. Ramamurthy joined the Congress after retiring as the IG, Bangalore Police. He runs several education institutes in the State and was considered close to Congress leader D.K. Shiva Kumar, who is in judicial custody after his arrest in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate..
Opposition must be ashamed for saying Article 370 has no relation with Maharashtra polls, says Modi
Continuing his diatribe against the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP for opposing the BJP-led government’s move on Article 370, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the two Opposition parties ought to be ashamed for stating that the issue had no relation with the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly election. “Look at their shamelessness… they [Congress-NCP] are saying that Article 370 has no relation with Maharashtra’s polls. That Jammu and Kashmir has no relation with Maharashtra. To such people [Opposition parties], I want to say that the entire country stands with the people of Kashmir in combating cross-border terrorism,” he said.
LDF looking to breach UDF fort
Can a political novice upset the political ambitions of a Congress leader to re-script the electoral history of Ernakulam?
As the Ernakulam Assembly segment goes to bypolls on October 21, political circles are abuzz with the question whether the LDF will be able to win back the trust of the voters in the constituency, which had long been considered as the citadel of the UDF.
The LDF, which has been trying to realign itself in the constituency after being decimated in the Parliament election, has fielded Manu Roy, a practising lawyer and a late entrant into the political arena, to take on T.J. Vinod, the Deputy Mayor of Kochi, who had been active in the electoral politics of Ernakulam for nearly a quarter century.
Prove DMK leaders have Swiss bank accounts, Stalin dares Tamil Nadu CM
DMK president M.K. Stalin has challenged Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to prove the allegation he made while campaigning in Nanguneri a couple of days ago that a Swiss bank account-holders’ list, accessed by the Union government, had the names of DMK bigwigs.
“If the Chief Minister can prove his allegation that I and our party leaders have accounts in the Swiss bank, I will resign [from] my post. If not, he should resign and move out of Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Stalin said while canvassing for Congress candidate ‘Ruby’ R. Manoharan on Tuesday.
Tree felling ahead of Modi’s Pune rally annoys Opposition, activists
Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), along with other outfits and activists have alleged that a number of trees were felled on the campus of Sir Parshurambhau (S.P.) College in Pune ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election rally on Thursday.
While local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders refuted allegations that the cutting of trees had any connection with the PM’s event, college authorities claimed that only dangerously dangling branches that could cause a mishap during rain or inclement weather were pruned for the safety of the students.
EC seeks report on Seeman’s speech hailing Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination
The Election Commission has sought a report from the Villupuram Collector on Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman’s controversial remarks hailing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Acting on a complaint from the Congress party, the EC sought a report from the Villupuram Collector, based on which it will decide the future course of action, an official said.
The Vikravandi police have filed a case against Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) leader Seeman for delivering a provocative speech hailing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at an election meeting in the Assembly constituency on October 11.
While addressing a meeting meant to canvas for the party’s candidate, K. Kandasamy, in Vikravandi, where a byelection is due on October 21, Mr. Seeman hailed the assassination of the former Prime Minister, holding him responsible for the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Nadda questions India’s democratic system
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national working president J.P. Nadda on Tuesday said the efficacy of democracy as a system of politics and governance is under a cloud the world over, and only the BJP could provide the grass roots reach expected of a national party in such a set-up.
Without directly referring to the failures of the multi-party parliamentary democratic system in India, the BJP leader said when democracy as a system does not give the desired results, it raises concerns for society and the polity in general. Even in a country like Russia, democracy is in retreat and people have in recent polls suggested they would have preferred a different system from the past, Mr. Nadda said in conversation with thought leaders and members of industry.
(With inputs from our Correspondents and agencies)