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Haryana Rajya Sabha polling – The 17-hour long dramatic turn of events

Haryana Rajya Sabha polling – The 17-hour long dramatic turn of events

The high-stakes battle for two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana witnessed a 17-hour long dramatic turn of events. Objections were raised on two Congress votes within first hour of polling that eventually resulted in a delay of counting of votes by more than seven hours. Although the counting began post midnight, yet two rounds of counting had to be done as Congress demanded a recounting.

9 am – polling began for the two Rajya Sabha seats. BJP MLAs were the first ones to cast their vote. Congress MLAs were enroute from New Delhi to Chandigarh by that time.

9:30 am – objections were raised on BB Batra’s vote by JJP’s election agent Digvijay Chautala who alleged breach of secrecy of ballot. Polling took its first halt. However, the objection was rejected by the Returning Officer and polling resumed.

10 am – Kuldeep Bishnoi reached Vidhan Sabha and cast his vote. It was apparent that he was not going to follow his party-line because other Congress MLAs had to come to Vidhan Sabha, together in a bus. Kiran Choudhry, too, had cast her vote but objections were raised by Digvijay Chautala and others on her vote, accusing her of breach of secrecy of the ballot. However, Returning Officer RK Nandal rejected the objections and allowed Choudhry to cast her vote. Talking to , Kiran Choudhry said, “there was a disruption created by Digvijay Chautala. These people (EC) had created extremely shoddy and thin cardboard sheets as partitions. I had only shown my vote to our observer. He (Digvijay) was sitting in the next partition and claimed that he saw my vote or I showed it to him. He demanded that my vote needs to be disqualified. But I told the EC that it is ridiculous. What kind of partitions have you made. Unless I sit in the observer’s lap and show him my vote, the person who is sitting in the next cubicle can easily get out of his chair and see the vote. That’s what he (Digvijay) did. He stood out of his chair and started creating ruckus. But I went ahead and polled my vote.”About Batra, whose vote also came under doubt, she said, “I feel that a similar thing was done with B B Batra, too but I am not sure. This is a strategy being played by these people (BJP-JJP) to wrongfully disqualify certain votes and get what they wanted.”

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10:30 am – several BJP and JJP MLAs reached Vidhan Sabha in a bus and started casting their vote

11 am – Congress MLAs from New Delhi had reached Hooda’s residence. They were offered tea, snacks and breakfast after which they all reached Vidhan Sabha. Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s son and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda tweeted – “Ajay Maken will win in this Rajya Sabha election. Kuldeep Bishnoi is a Congress MLA, I believe he has voted for Congress”.

11:30 am – By 1130 am, Congress MLAs led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda reached Vidhan Sabha and held a brief meeting. Till that time a total of 28 out of 90 MLAs from across the party lines had already cast their vote.

12 noon – Independent MLA Randhir Gollen stated that Congress candidate Ajay Maken is an outsider, which is why he won’t win. “Even Congress MLAs feel that the party’s nominee should have been from Haryana and not an outsider. Things will be absolutely clear by 5 pm,” he said. “Kuldeep Bishnoi will not vote for Congress and another Congress vote has been disqualified,” Gollen claimed.

12:15 pm – It was INLD’s Abhay Chautala who first hinted that “there was a bigger plan working”. “I have voted for Kartikeya (Sharma). I have also congratulated him. I wish from my heart that he wins. The manner in which Congress has treated its MLAs clearly show the party doesn’t even trust it’s own MLAs, that’s why all of them were taken to a resort. The kind of game that Congress played last time (2016) when several of its were cancelled; this time there appears to be a bigger game plan working. It’s surprising that Congress doesn’t trust it’s own MLAs and fear that they would indulge in cross voting or succumb to alleged horse trading”, Abhay Chautala said after casting his vote.

12:30 pm – Independent Haryana MLA Balraj Kundu abstains from voting. “I can not vote for the BJP’s candidate because these people have looted the State. I will not vote for Kartikeya Sharma because he is a candidate supported by people who are drenched in corruption. But then does it mean that should I vote for Congress candidate. My inner conscience, however, asked me that why couldn’t Congress find even a single suitable candidate from Haryana. Why did they have to get an outsider (Maken) and nominate him from our State. This is an insult to our Haryana. Thus, I have decided that I’ll not cast my vote and shall stay absent. I will not vote for anybody”, Balraj Kundu said outside Vidhan Sabha premises.

1:30 pm – Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the last one to cast his vote. Till this time, 89 out of 90 MLAs had polled their votes.

From 130 pm till 4 pm – Haryana: MLAs across party lines kept expressing confidence over their respective nominee’s victory. Congress MLA Neeraj Sharma said, “Congress nominee Ajay Maken shall definitely win. We shall get more votes than required”. Congress nominee Ajay Maken said, “I shall win, 200 per cent. There is no doubt on that”. Another Congress MLA Bishan Lal Saini said, “No cross voting took place in Congress. BJP should watch out for its own MLAs. Congress is getting at least 35 votes. If this number turns out to be incorrect, I will get my mustache shaved”. Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi said, “I have voted as per my inner conscience. I showed my vote to the party observer”. On the other hand, JJP’s Ram Kumar Gautam said, “I have voted for Kartikeya Sharma and there is no doubt that Sharma will definitely win. Congress is not able to get the required numbers”. Earlier in the day, BJP’s senior leaders Anil Vij, Kanwarpal Gujjar and Sandeep Singh had claimed that both – BJP’s nominee Krishan Panwar and BJP supporter Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma will win

Two senior BJP leaders Anil Vij and BJP state president Om Prakash Dhankar tried to persuade Balraj Kundu, asking him to come back to Vidhan Sabha and cast his vote, but he did not come.

4 pm – Polling time concluded and counting of votes had to commence at 5 pm. But, before the counting could begin, Kartikeya Sharma filed objection and flagged it to Chief Election Commission accusing Returning Officer RK Nandal of not conducting a “fair” election. BJP backed him and announced that a four-minister delegation shall be meeting CEC at New Delhi.

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5 pm – Counting of votes could not begin since candidates have raised objections.

5:30 pm – BJP’s delegation meets CEC and requested for disqualification of two Congress votes. Meanwhile, Congress nominee Ajay Maken too wrote to CEC countering Kartikeya Sharma’s objections and sought that both the votes be held valid, counting should begin and result be declared. Minutes later, Congress announced that a delegation led by former union minister Pawan Kumar Bansal will also meet CEC.

6:30 pm – Congress delegation also meets CEC and raised its concerns.

From 630 pm (June 10) till 1230 am (June 11) – counting of votes could not take place. During this time CEC summoned the video footage of the polling and it was only after 1230 that a clearance to begin counting of votes was given.

2 am – Result was declared and Congress started celebrating considering that Maken had won. However, the Election Commission officials informed Congress that it was not Maken, but Sharma had won. Congress demanded recounting., which was conducted and final result was announced that Krishan Panwar and Kartikeya Sharma had won and one vote was rejected.

2:30 am – Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar reached Vidhan Sabha and congratulated both the candidates.

3 am – Venod Sharma spoke to the media persons present there and said that he thank all the MLAs for supporting Kartikeya. In response to a query, he also said that he thank Kuldeep Bishnoi, too.

4 am – Winners Krishan Panwar and Kartikeya Sharma came out after completing the legal formalities

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UP BJP to organise series of events to mark PM Modi’s 8-year rule

PM Narendra Modi addresses a gathering after inaugurating a 200-bed multi-specialty hospital at Atkot town in Gujarat


Uttar Pradesh’s BJP unit has planned a slew of programmes from May 30 to June 15 to mark the completion of eight years of the government at the Centre.


The focus of the events will be “service, good governance and welfare of the poor”, party leaders said on Sunday.





Elaborating on the plans, UP BJP’s general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal said under the ‘Report to Nation’ campaign, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, state unit president Swatantra Dev Singh, deputy chief ministers Keshav Maurya and Brajesh Patha, will talk about the achievements of the central government on June 1.


On June 2 and June 3, party MPs, district presidents, district in-charges, ministers and MLAs will release the booklet of achievements of eight years of governance in the districts.


Bansal also said that ’75 ghante booth per’ (75 hours at the booth) campaign will run from June 4 to June 14.


Under this, BJP MPs, MLAs and other public representatives, officials of the state, region and district and divisional level will join the campaign.


Bansal said after June 10, Union ministers will visit various districts of the state and talk about the 8-year rule of Modi.


He also said that on the occasion of World Yoga Day on June 21, yoga sessions will be organised at 25,000 places.


“On May 30, assistance will be given from PM CARES Fund to help the children who have lost their parents to coronavirus infection. On May 31, Modi will release the next installment of Kisan Samman Nidhi to farmers from Shimla. The programme will be broadcast in all the districts,” the UP BJP said in a statement issued here.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Seeing how recent events have panned out, its clear that BJP is behind Jahangirpuri violence, alleges AAP

Seeing how recent events have panned out, its clear that BJP is behind Jahangirpuri violence, alleges AAP

Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP also alleged that Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta recently honoured and felicitated ‘eight goons who were arrested for vandalism and hooliganism’ outside Delhi chief minister’s residence

Seeing how recent events have panned out, its clear that BJP is behind Jahangirpuri violence, alleges AAP

A charred remains of a vehicle at a site where violence broke out between two communities during the Shobha Yatra procession at Jahangirpuri. Delhi – ANI

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was behind the violence during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri.

The reaction of Arvind Kejriwal-led party came on Sunday after Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta alleged that the violence was the result of the AAP government aiding illegal stay of Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants.

The BJP leader also alleged that one of the arrested accused in the violence was an AAP activist.

At least 21 people have been arrested in connection with the stone-pelting and arson in which some vehicles were also torched during the clashes between two communities on Saturday evening.

In a statement, the AAP said it also celebrated Hanuman Janamotsav and took out a Shobha Yatra (procession) in Greater Kailash which saw “heartwarming” interfaith bonding and respect.

The Delhi government also organised recitation of Sundarkand in the Gole Market area later in the day on Saturday, the AAP said.

Delhi Riots: Anatomy of Jahangirpuri attack on Hanuman Jayanti Shobha Yatra

“Why is it that such violence doesn’t take place in AAP’s events and only happens when BJP organises it?” it asked.

The party said that Delhi BJP president Gupta recently honoured and felicitated “eight goons who were arrested for vandalism and hooliganism” outside the residence of Delhi chief minister.

“Seeing how the recent events have panned out, it is clear that the BJP itself is behind the violence,” the AAP alleged.

It said Delhi BJP chief by honouring and felicitating those eight activists of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Mocha (BJYM) sent out a message to the masses that it stands by the violence.

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India Genocide Summit 2022: Dr Gregory Stanton’s 3-day event begins today

The Siasat Daily: Latest Hyderabad News, Telangana, Entertainment, India

Witnessing the increasing hostilities and intolerance towards Muslims in the country, the President of Genocide Watch Dr. Gregory Stanton, who had predicted the Rwandan genocide, has time and again warned that something similar could happen in India if stern action isn’t taken.

Amidst growing communal tensions in the country over the last few months, with elections ongoing in various states including Uttar Pradesh, incidents of hate towards minorities in an attempt to polarise voters have been on the rise. Incidents and reports of hate crimes including speech, acts of violence, etc have been surfacing on social media.

To prevent further atrocities and possible genocide against Muslims in India, The Genocide Watch is organising a summit ‘India on The Brink’ to discuss instances of hate crimes against Muslims.

MS Education Academy

Registration for the summit can be done at no cost through the official website of India On The Brink.

The three-day online summit comprising some of the most prominent names that have been an active part of the movement against a possible Muslim genocide in the country will take place between February 26-28.

Teesta Selvada, Adama Dieng, Ayesha Renaa, Aakar Patel, Safoora Zargar, Alishan Jafri, Kaushik Raj, and Subashri Krishnan, are among the prominent guest speakers of the event.

The summit that begins on February 26 will discuss the Gujarat riots of 2002, which is a reminder of the genocide that took place in Gujarat in 2002, and will discuss the struggles for justice, the impunity of the perpetrators, and the complicity of the state.

The three-day event will commemorate and remember various major atrocities against Muslims the current situation and issues within the country and the way to move forward, to prevent a Muslim Genocide.

The raging hijab row of Karnataka, Hindu response to majoritarian violence, Assam’s Nellie Massacre of 1983, Whatsapp as a weapon of Hate speech and violence, Islamophobia, will also be discussed.

Who is Gregory H. Stanton

Gregory H. Stanton is a former Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention at George Mason University in the US. He is world-renowned for his work in the area of genocide studies. He is the founder and president of Genocide Watch, the founder and director of the Cambodian Genocide Project and the Chair of the Alliance Against Genocide. From 2007 to 2009 he was the President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars.

What is Genocide Watch?

Genocide Watch has been created to predict, prevent, stop, and punish genocide and other forms of mass murder. It seeks to raise awareness and influence public policy concerning potential and actual genocide. They attempt to build an international movement to prevent and stop genocide.

Genocide Watch is the coordinating organization of The Alliance Against Genocide (AAG), an international coalition of organizations. The AAG aims to educate the general public and policymakers about the causes, processes, and warning signs of genocide; to create the institutions and political will to prevent and stop genocide, and to bring perpetrators of genocide to justice.