Swamy moves EC on licence to AirAsia
New Delhi: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Thursday moved the Election Commission urging it to put on hold the issuance of Air Operator's Permit (AOP) by aviation regulator DGCA to AirAsia India till the next Government takes over at the Centre. Swamy alleged that the grant of the flying licence was a “violation” and that it had been done disregarding his complaint to the Election Commission. In his memorandum to Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath, Swamy sought injunction against the implementation of the AOP to the new airline and communicate it to the Civil Aviations Ministry.
‘BJP, SP enacting drama in Varanasi’
lucknow: Terming Narendra Modi's rally being denied in the temple town and the ensuing protests from the saffron party leaders in Varanasi as a “new drama”, BSP supremo Mayawati has alleged that BJP in connivance with the SP was “doing” this to influence the elections on the remaining seats in the State. “The elections in 18 seats are left in which BJP and SP stalwarts Narendra Modi and Mulayam Singh are contesting from Varanasi and Azamgarh seats. Despite playing caste and communal cards, the position of these parties were getting worse, and so they have started enacting a new drama and conspiracy in Varanasi from yesterday”, Mayawati told reporters. “They are doing this to give Hindu-Muslim colour to elections in remaining seats to take political mileage”, she alleged.
My Hindutva agenda will not change: Yogi
Gorakhpur: For firebrand BJP leader Yogi Adityanath, Hindutva and development complement each other and the sitting MP from Gorakhpur is harping on this ideology of political Hinduism, which he says is a “symbol of our nationalism”, as he eyes a fifth straight term. Adityanath was the youngest legislator in the 12th lok Sabha in 1998 at the age of 26. Successor to former Hindu Maha Sabha president Mahant Avaidyanath at the Gorakhnath Mutt, he is pitted against Rajmati Nishad (SP), Ram Bhual Nishad (BSP), Astbhuja Prasad Tripathi (Congress) and Radhe Mohan Misra (AAP), among others. “My agenda is Hindutva and development and they complement each other. Hindutva is guarantee of development and security. BJP's slogan also says ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” said the 42-year-old leader.
EC lets off Marandi with warning
New Delhi: The Election Commission on Thursday let off former Jharkhand CM Babulal Marandi with a ‘warning’ for making a ‘deemed appeal’ to pastors and bishops of various churches in Dumka for support in the lok Sabha elections. Not satisfied with his reply to the show cause notice, the Commission asked him to be careful in future.
‘EC unable to tape WB booth capturing’
New Delhi: CPI(M), which has been complaining of large-scale poll irregularities in West Bengal, on Thursday said the Election Commission was not able to capture videos of booth capturing at several polling stations as the cameras were either covered or their direction turned away from voters to prevent recording of the poll process.
Referring to reports of ‘large-scale terror, intimidation and booth capturing’, it said the EC apparatus “did not manage to capture such booth capturing through their video surveillance which was severely lacking in many crucial polling booths, in addition to the fact that no central paramilitary forces were deployed there”. Asking the EC to take action “to correct the consequent distortions”, senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said TV channels and private individuals “have recorded how TMC goons were forcibly voting for individuals who went to vote and such recordings have gone viral on social media networks.”