New Delhi, Jun 3,2024: A BJP delegation, led by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, including Union Minister Piyush Goyal, met the Election Commissioners in New Delhi, and urged them to take “stringent action” against those who are trying to undermine the electoral process.
In a letter submitted to ECI, BJP alleged that a coordinated attempt is being made by opposition parties, led by the Congress party, and certain motivated civil society groups, to undermine integrity of ongoing electoral process.
“These efforts are a direct attack on our democratic institutions and pose significant risks to public order and trust in the electoral system,” the letter said.
The compliant letter further said, “The decisive mandates given by the Indian electorate in the 2014 and 2019 general elections, which brought BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power, have been repeatedly challenged by the opposition through baseless allegations and actions.”
“Despite clear verdicts from the people, the opposition has resorted to a series of unfounded claims aimed at discrediting the election process,” it said.
BJP also urged EC to ensure safety and security of electoral process during counting and announcement of results, including enhanced monitoring and security measures to prevent any attempts at violence or unrest.
It also demanded that every official engaged in counting process is fully conversant with the minutest details of prescribed process and engages diligently with ECI counting protocols so as there are no deviations therefrom.
New Delhi, June 3,2024: A delegation of INDI alliance met with the Election Commission on Sunday and urged it to count the postal ballots first, as they have been playing an important role in the election results.
Addressing the media after meeting the Election Commission at the Nirvachan Sadan here, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “The vital importance of counting postal ballots first and declaring the results of postal ballots first. This is very clearly stated in Statutory Rule 54 A, which specifically says that you shall take up and deal with the postal ballots first.”
“Our complaint is that this statutory rule of this 2019 guideline has been given the go by. The Election Commission has now repealed this 2019 practice. The net result is that, by a method of practice, EVMs can be counted, and if the EVM counting gets over before the postal ballots, it will still be completed,” he said.
He alleged that the Election Commission has changed the guidelines for 2019, whereas according to rules, the Commission cannot change the rules by issuing guidelines.
The Congress spokesperson said that the multi-party delegation had already met the Commission twice on this issue earlier, and today it has met the Commission for the third time on this issue.
CPI (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury said that on the day of counting, when the counting officers are asked to count the postal ballot paper first, they say that orders should be taken from the Election Commission in this regard, which is not possible on the day of counting. That’s why the delegation met with the Election Commission yesterday and made this request.
Beijing, June 1,2024: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will never allow Taiwan to become independent and “break away,” Chinese Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, said on Saturday.
“The PLA will never allow Taiwan to break away from China, Taiwan’s independence is tantamount to war,” Jing said on the sidelines of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
The PLA will continue to train troops, conduct preparations in case of a war and fight against Taiwan’s independence, as well as promote reunification and resist any external interference, the military official said, adding that the army will resolutely carry out its duties to protect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Earlier in the day, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun held talks with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue. The parties discussed China’s latest activities in the Taiwan Strait, the situation around Ukraine and space.
Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan — a territory with its own elected government — maintains that it is an autonomous country. Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.
New Delhi, May 29,2024: Delhi Government on Wednesday directed CEO Delhi Jal Board to impose fine of Rs 2000 on anyone found misusing water and to disconnect all illegal water connections in order to prevent water shortage in the national capital.
As per the directive issued by Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi, 200 teams of Delhi Jal Board will be deployed in the city from 8 am tomorrow to crack down on wastage of water and illegal water connections.
“There is an acute heatwave in Delhi and a shortage of water supply since Haryana is not releasing Delhi’s share of water. Under these circumstances conservation of water becomes extremely important,” Atishi said in a statement.
“However, it has been seen that there is serious wastage of water in many parts of Delhi. There are also illegal connections taken by construction sites and commercial establishments, from water supply meant for domestic use. There is a need to crack down on this misuse of water,” Atishi added.
Atishi further instructed CEO DJB to immediately deploy 200 teams across Delhi to crackdown upon washing of cars with pipes, overflow of water tanks, use of domestic water supply for construction or commercial purposes. She also directed the imposition of a Rs 2000 fine on anyone found wasting water and the disconnection of any illegal water connections at construction sites or commercial establishments.
Port Moresby [Papua New Guinea], May 27,2024: Around 2000 people are feared to have been buried by the massive landslide that hit Papua New Guinea, reported CNN, citing the country’s National Disaster Centre.
The rescuers have been struggling to find any survivors in the remote region.
The landslide occurred in the mountainous Enga region in northern Papua New Guinea on Friday last week and the latest figure is a sharp rise from earlier estimates.
Soon after the disaster occurred, the United Nations confirmed that as many as 100 people may have died.
However, it was later revised up to 670, according to estimates from the Chief of Mission for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in the country, CNN reported.
But that may now be a major underestimate, according to the latest projection from Papua New Guinea’s disaster agency.
“The landslide buried more than 2000 people alive, caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country,” Lusete Laso Mana, Acting Director of the National Disaster Centre, said in a letter to the UN.
“The situation remains unstable as the landslip continues to shift slowly, posing ongoing danger to both rescue teams and survivors alike,” he said, adding that the main highway to the area had been completely blocked by the landslide.
“Following the inspection conducted by the team, it was determined that the damages are extensive and require immediate and collaborative actions from all players,” Mana said, reported CNN.
The landslide hit the remote village of Kaokalam, about 600 kilometres (372 miles) northwest of the capital Port Moresby, at approximately 3 am local time on Friday, leaving a scar of debris that humanitarian workers said was as big as four football pitches.
Over 150 houses in Yambali village were buried in debris, according to the officials.
The area continues to pose an “extreme risk,” officials added, as rocks continue to fall and the ground soil is exposed to constant increased pressure.
Notably, Papua New Guinea is home to around 10 million people. Its vast mountainous terrain and lack of roads have made it difficult to access the affected area.
Pierre Rognon, an associate professor from the University of Sydney’s School of Civil Engineering, stressed that it’s “particularly challenging” for rescuers to find survivors after a landslide.
“Landslides can bury collapsed structures and people under dozens of metres of geomaterials,” he said.
“To make things worse, they can move structures and trap people over hundreds of metres. No one can predict exactly where potential survivors may be located or where to start looking for them.”
It’s not clear what caused the landslide, but geology professor Alan Collins from the University of Adelaide said it occurred in a region of “considerable rainfall.”
“Although the landslide does not appear to have been directly triggered by an earthquake, frequent earthquakes caused by plates colliding build steep slopes and high mountains that can become very unstable,” Collins said.
Collins added that the rainfall could have altered the minerals, making the bedrock weakening the rock that forms the steep hillsides, as reported by CNN.
“Vegetation mitigates this as tree roots can stabilise the ground and deforestation can make landslides more prevalent by destroying this biological mesh,” he said.
Serampore, May 15,2024: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that PoK is the part of India and will be taken back.
Slamming the Congress-led INDI Alliance for underestimating the prowess of the country’s capability, Shah while addressing an electioneering in Hooghly district in favour of BJP’s Serampore candidate advocate Kabir Shankar Bose lampooned Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and Peoples Conference leader Farooq Abdullah for their utterance that Pakistan has an atom bomb.
” The PoK is a part of India and we will get it back, ” Shah said and added that since Article 370 was abrogated there was no stone throwing incident in the past five years and no strike in the valley.
” Now J&K has been fully integrated and the people are feeling nice about the existing situation, ” he said adding, ” The Opposition raised protests in Parliament against abrogation of Article 370 as they said there will be bloodshed but not a drop of blood spilled since its abrogation. ”
” Now the PoK is having hartals and there is a protest for freedom and we will take it back, ” Shah reiterated.