by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
Tejashwi Yadav
The mandate favoured Mahagathbandhan, but the Election Commission’s result was in NDA’s favour, says RJD leader
NEW DELHI – RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has made serious allegations of fraud in the counting of postal ballots saying polling officials had acted like a “prakoshth” (cell) of the BJP. “The mandate favoured Mahagathbandhan, but the Election Commission’s result was in NDA’s favour,” he alleged in Patna during a press conference soon after being elected leaders of the Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance of his own party as well Congress and Left parties.
He said 20 candidates of Grand alliance have been defeated by narrow margin of 10 to 50 votes. This was done through indiscriminate invalidation of postal ballots. “In so many constituencies, postal ballots were counted in the end and not at the beginning of counting which is the norm. Moreover, there were seats where as many as 900 postal ballots were invalidated,” he alleged.
He said the option of postal ballots is used by educated people, mostly government employees. “Invalidation of one, two, ten or even 50 postal ballots is understandable. But how come how come bulk of votes, from 700 to 900 be declared invalid, that too without explaining to the candidates,” he asked.
“We demand recounting of postal ballots in all such constituencies and the process be videographed,” Yadav asserted.
He said his alliance will write to the Election Commission and point out the “discrepancies”.
Yadav mocked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose JD-U has been relegated to the third position in terms of seat tally, and wondered whether the latter would “heed his conscience and give up his attachment to the chair”.
Asked whether the Mahagathbandhan would try to muster numbers to form its own government, he said, “We will go to the people who gave the mandate. If they express such a wish we will act accordingly.” Quoting election data, he claimed the NDA got only 12,270 votes more than the Grand Alliance.
“We got support of the people but NDA achieved poll victory through dhan, chhal and bal (money, deceit and muscle),” alleged Yadav.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Nitish Kumar could not stop this 31-year-old. They could not stop the RJD from becoming the single-largest party,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Grand Alliance is reported to be in touch with at least two of its former allies who are now in the NDA camp. The RJD has ended up with 110 seats and needs 12 more to get to the winning number in the Assembly, which, sources said, it can get if it gets the AIMIM (with five seats) and two NDA partners, the Mukesh Sahani-led Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), on its side.
Though Sahani himself lost from Simri Bakhtiarpur, his party VIP and Manjhi’s HAM(S) have four seats each. The two parties were with the Mahagathbandhan and had switched over to the NDA just before the elections.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, News
Patna: The leader of opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Friday took a dig at Bihar government as another bridge collapsed, this time in Kishanganj. The bridge was scheduled to be inaugurated shortly as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is on an inauguration spree in view of the coming Assembly election.
“Under construction or just inaugurated bridges costing crores are crumbling in the state one after another. This is the model of development of Nitish Kumar,” Tejashwi said.
“Has action been taken against any contractor, or officer; did the minister concerned, chief minister or any one else take the responsibilities, or accountability has been fixed; even the investigations has not been initiated. Nitish Kumar is fully embroiled in the corruption,” Tejashwi alleged.
“Sushil Kumar Modi is mocking the poor. The farmer, workers, students who are going out of the state for various compulsions such as for employment, education, treatment; but the deputy chief minister is terming it a matter of choice,” he added.
Tejashwi listed newly built bridges which have collapsed in the last couple of months. They are: Sattarghat bridge built at the cost of Rs. 263 crore was washed away on the 29th day of opening.
The approach road of Bangra Ghat bridge built at a cost of Rs. 506 crore was collapsed a day before inauguration.
The embankment built in Bhagalpur at the cost of Rs.1000 crore had developed a breach before inauguration. Rats were blamed for it.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : The CBI on Tuesday issued fresh summons to RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav in the ongoing probe into alleged irregularities in an IRCTC hotels’ contract case.
“The Central Bureau of Investigation has summoned both for questioning on Thursday and Friday,” agency spokesperson Abhishek Dayal told IANS.
The CBI’s latest move comes after Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi skipped three earlier summons.
On September 26, summons were issued to the father and son for October 3 and 4.
Earlier, the agency had summoned them on September 22 to appear before it on 25 and 26 respectively. But, they sought two weeks’ time.
The CBI had summoned the former Bihar Chief Minister and son Tejashwi, who is a former Deputy Chief Minister, on September 7 as well for questioning on September 11 and 12.
The CBI had, on July 5, filed a corruption case against Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav for alleged irregularities in the allotment of contracts for Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels at Ranchi and Puri in 2006 to a private company when Lalu Prasad was the Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009.
The contracts were allegedly handed over to Sujata Hotels company owned by Vijay and Vinay Kochhar in lieu of a bribe in the form of a plot of prime land in Bihar, the CBI said.
According to the CBI, Lalu Prasad allegedly granted illegal favours to Sujata Hotels.
The CBI, which registered the case under charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and the Prevention of Corruption Act, claimed that the kickbacks were paid through a ‘benami’ company owned by Sarla Gupta, wife of RJD MP Prem Chand Gupta.
The CBI preliminary inquiry allegedly found that the said land was sold by the Kochhars to Delight Marketing, and payment was arranged through Ahluwalia Contractors and its promoter Bikramjeet Singh Ahluwalia.
The Enforcement Directorate, which is also probing the financial irregularities in the case, has questioned Ahluwalia and also summoned Sujata Hotels owners for questioning.
The ED had, on July 27, registered a separate case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act following the CBI FIR and was probing allegations against Lalu Prasad and others for alleged transaction of money through shell companies.
—IANS
