News Analysis India

Tag: Yashwant Sinha

  • Samajwadi Party signals end of alliance with Omprakash Rajbhar, Shivpal Yadav

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party on Saturday told allies Omprakash Rajbhar and Shivpal Singh Yadav that they are free to go, signalling a break-up after the two supported the BJP presidential candidate in the just concluded polls.

    Rajbhar said he has “accepted the divorce” given by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav too gave similar indication.

    In a letter to Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Omprakash Rajbhar, the SP said while they are fighting the BJP, Rajbhar “has a partnership” with the saffron party and was helping it.

    It said he is free to go if he feels he will get more respect there.

    In a similar letter to Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) President Shivpal Singh Yadav, the SP said that “he can go where he gets more respect”.

    The SP shared the letters on its official Twitter handle.

    Shivpal Yadav replied tersely to the SP’s move.

    pic.twitter.com/qc7T8GJAlr
    — Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) July 23, 2022
    “Although I was always free, I sincerely thank the Samajwadi Party from the heart for giving me formal independence by issuing a letter. Compromising on principles and respect is unacceptable in a political journey,” he tweeted in Hindi.

    Rajbhar hit out at Akhilesh Yadav.

    “It is bad if I meet Yogi (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) but it is very good if Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav meet him,” he said, and warned the SP chief that the effect of his action “will be known by the 2024 elections”.

    Asked about his next step, he said that he will hold talks with the Bahujan Samaj Party.

    He also said that “Shivpal Yadav is our leader and we keep in touch with him”.

    The development came after Rajbhar and Shivpal Yadav supported the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu who defeated Yashwant Sinha, the opposition nominee supported by SP.

    In 2018, Shivpal Singh Yadav formed his new party after he was sidelined by Akhilesh Yadav.

    Akhilesh Yadav had reached out to his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav ahead of the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and the latter had won the election from the Jaswant Nagar constituency on the SP symbol.

    However, the ties remained strained between the two.

    The Samajwadi Party had fought the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly polls together with Jayant Chaudhary’s RLD, Rajbhar’s SBSP, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), Keshav Dev Maurya’s Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party.

    But after the alliance failed to dislodge the BJP, there was much speculation about it falling apart.

    The Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party have already severed ties with the SP.

    The SP is now left with only RLD and Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) as alliance partners.

    In the letter written in Hindi sent to Rajbhar, the SP said, “Shri Omprakash Rajbhar, Samajwadi Party is continuously fighting against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). You have an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and are continuously working to strengthen the BJP. If you think that you will get more respect, then you are free to go there.”

    The letter to Shivpal read: “Honourable Shivpal Singh Yadav, if you feel that you will get more respect somewhere, then you are free to go there.”

    READ HERE | Don’t need anyone’s advice: Akhilesh Yadav on Rajbhar’s advice for SP, BSP to join hands

    Om Prakash Rajbhar’s proximity to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was visible in the presidential election.

    Meanwhile, the UP government has provided ‘Y category’ security to Rajbhar.

    After the SP’s defeat in Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha bypolls, Rajbhar had advised Akhilesh Yadav to go among the people and not do politics from an air-conditioned room.

    Rajbhar’s party won six seats in the recent state assembly elections in alliance with the state’s main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP).

    Rajbhar, a strong backward leader with influence in eastern UP districts, fought the 2017 assembly election in UP with the BJP but later parted ways and joined the SP-led alliance.

    LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party on Saturday told allies Omprakash Rajbhar and Shivpal Singh Yadav that they are free to go, signalling a break-up after the two supported the BJP presidential candidate in the just concluded polls.

    Rajbhar said he has “accepted the divorce” given by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav too gave similar indication.

    In a letter to Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Omprakash Rajbhar, the SP said while they are fighting the BJP, Rajbhar “has a partnership” with the saffron party and was helping it.

    It said he is free to go if he feels he will get more respect there.

    In a similar letter to Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) President Shivpal Singh Yadav, the SP said that “he can go where he gets more respect”.

    The SP shared the letters on its official Twitter handle.

    Shivpal Yadav replied tersely to the SP’s move.

    pic.twitter.com/qc7T8GJAlr
    — Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) July 23, 2022
    “Although I was always free, I sincerely thank the Samajwadi Party from the heart for giving me formal independence by issuing a letter. Compromising on principles and respect is unacceptable in a political journey,” he tweeted in Hindi.

    Rajbhar hit out at Akhilesh Yadav.

    “It is bad if I meet Yogi (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) but it is very good if Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav meet him,” he said, and warned the SP chief that the effect of his action “will be known by the 2024 elections”.

    Asked about his next step, he said that he will hold talks with the Bahujan Samaj Party.

    He also said that “Shivpal Yadav is our leader and we keep in touch with him”.

    The development came after Rajbhar and Shivpal Yadav supported the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu who defeated Yashwant Sinha, the opposition nominee supported by SP.

    In 2018, Shivpal Singh Yadav formed his new party after he was sidelined by Akhilesh Yadav.

    Akhilesh Yadav had reached out to his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav ahead of the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and the latter had won the election from the Jaswant Nagar constituency on the SP symbol.

    However, the ties remained strained between the two.

    The Samajwadi Party had fought the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly polls together with Jayant Chaudhary’s RLD, Rajbhar’s SBSP, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), Keshav Dev Maurya’s Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party.

    But after the alliance failed to dislodge the BJP, there was much speculation about it falling apart.

    The Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party have already severed ties with the SP.

    The SP is now left with only RLD and Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) as alliance partners.

    In the letter written in Hindi sent to Rajbhar, the SP said, “Shri Omprakash Rajbhar, Samajwadi Party is continuously fighting against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). You have an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and are continuously working to strengthen the BJP. If you think that you will get more respect, then you are free to go there.”

    The letter to Shivpal read: “Honourable Shivpal Singh Yadav, if you feel that you will get more respect somewhere, then you are free to go there.”

    READ HERE | Don’t need anyone’s advice: Akhilesh Yadav on Rajbhar’s advice for SP, BSP to join hands

    Om Prakash Rajbhar’s proximity to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was visible in the presidential election.

    Meanwhile, the UP government has provided ‘Y category’ security to Rajbhar.

    After the SP’s defeat in Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha bypolls, Rajbhar had advised Akhilesh Yadav to go among the people and not do politics from an air-conditioned room.

    Rajbhar’s party won six seats in the recent state assembly elections in alliance with the state’s main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP).

    Rajbhar, a strong backward leader with influence in eastern UP districts, fought the 2017 assembly election in UP with the BJP but later parted ways and joined the SP-led alliance.

  • Prez poll: Yashwant Sinha lauds Murmu; says issues he raised during campaign remain pertinent

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Opposition Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha congratulated the 15th president-elect Droupadi Murmu on Thursday stating that as the 15th President of the Republic India hopes she would function as the “Custodian of the Constitution” without fear or favour.

    In a statement issued after Murmu’s victory, Sinha thanked the Opposition political parties for choosing him as their consensus candidate in the presidential election and the members of the Electoral College who voted for him.

    “I accepted the offer of Opposition parties solely guided by the philosophy of Karma Yoga preached by Lord Krishna in the Bhagwat Gita–“Do your duty without expectation of the fruit thereof”.I performed my duty conscientiously out of my love for my country and the issues I raised during my campaign remain pertinent”, Sinha said.

    He further said that his candidature benefited Indian democracy in two important ways. “First, it brought most Opposition parties on a common platform. This is indeed the need of the hour and second I tried to highlight the views, concerns, and commitment of the Opposition parties on major issues before the nation and the common people”, he said.

    He further claimed that during his campaign he voiced strong concern over the blatant and rampant weaponization of ED, CBI, Income tax department, and even the office of Governor against Opposition Parties and their leaders.

    “These institutions are also being misused to engineer defections and topple Opposition-run state governments. India has never seen political corruption of such magnitude”, Sinha remarked in a statement even after being defeated in the presidential election.

    He vented his discontent with the Modi government, and further said that coupled with the poisonous politics of polarization, poses a grave danger to democracy and communal harmony in India.

    “I’m happy that my views found strong resonance among the CMs, leaders, MPs, and MLAs belonging to Opposition parties in all states I visited. I pledge that till the last breath in my body, I shall continue to serve the cause I believe in the very cause that guided me to contest the election for the highest office of the Republic”, he said in the last of his statement.

    NEW DELHI: Opposition Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha congratulated the 15th president-elect Droupadi Murmu on Thursday stating that as the 15th President of the Republic India hopes she would function as the “Custodian of the Constitution” without fear or favour.

    In a statement issued after Murmu’s victory, Sinha thanked the Opposition political parties for choosing him as their consensus candidate in the presidential election and the members of the Electoral College who voted for him.

    “I accepted the offer of Opposition parties solely guided by the philosophy of Karma Yoga preached by Lord Krishna in the Bhagwat Gita–“Do your duty without expectation of the fruit thereof”.I performed my duty conscientiously out of my love for my country and the issues I raised during my campaign remain pertinent”, Sinha said.

    He further said that his candidature benefited Indian democracy in two important ways. “First, it brought most Opposition parties on a common platform. This is indeed the need of the hour and second I tried to highlight the views, concerns, and commitment of the Opposition parties on major issues before the nation and the common people”, he said.

    He further claimed that during his campaign he voiced strong concern over the blatant and rampant weaponization of ED, CBI, Income tax department, and even the office of Governor against Opposition Parties and their leaders.

    “These institutions are also being misused to engineer defections and topple Opposition-run state governments. India has never seen political corruption of such magnitude”, Sinha remarked in a statement even after being defeated in the presidential election.

    He vented his discontent with the Modi government, and further said that coupled with the poisonous politics of polarization, poses a grave danger to democracy and communal harmony in India.

    “I’m happy that my views found strong resonance among the CMs, leaders, MPs, and MLAs belonging to Opposition parties in all states I visited. I pledge that till the last breath in my body, I shall continue to serve the cause I believe in the very cause that guided me to contest the election for the highest office of the Republic”, he said in the last of his statement.

  • Who will be India’s 15th President? Country to know on Thursday as counting begins at 11 am

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India on Thursday will know who will succeed incumbent Ram Nath Kovind to become the country’s 15th President, as counting of votes for the presidential election begins at 11 am at the Parliament House here.

    Ruling NDA’s Droupadi Murmu and Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha are pitted against each other in the contest, with votes clearly stacked in favour of Murmu, who, if elected, will be the first tribal woman to occupy the top constitutional post in the country.

    Kovind’s tenure is ending on July 24 and the new president will take oath on July 25.

    With ballot boxes from all states had reached the Parliament House, poll officials are ready for the counting in room number 63, the strongroom of Parliament where the boxes are guarded behind round-the-clock security.

    Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody, who is the Chief Returning Officer for the poll, will oversee the counting Thursday, the result of which is likely to be declared by the evening.

    Mody will first brief on the poll trends after all votes of MPs have been counted, and then again after votes of 10 states in alphabetical order have been counted.

    Sources said he will brief once more on the poll trends after votes of 20 states have been counted, and then finally declare the result after the total counting.

    All ballot boxes from state assemblies had reached the Parliament’s strongroom on Tuesday evening and have been locked there since.

    The ballot boxes had been flown into the national capital as ‘Mr Ballot Box’ from across the states.

    ‘Mr Ballot Box’ came seated in the front row of aircraft under the watchful gaze of the Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) of their respective states.

    The Election Commission had on Monday posted photographs of the sealed ballot boxes onboard flights accompanied by AROs.

    According to the EC, each ballot box was issued an e-ticket under the name ‘Mr Ballot Box’.

    Polling for the presidential election was held between 10 am to 5 pm Monday at 31 locations including the Parliament House and 30 centres within state legislative assemblies.

    There are also reports of cross-voting in favour of Murmu in a number of states.

    There is no whip issued to members in the presidential poll.

    MPs of both, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, except nominated MPs, and all MLAs in the legislative assembly in all states act as electors in the presidential poll.

    A total of 4,809 electors, comprising 776 MPs and 4,033 elected MLAs, are entitled to vote in the election, but nominated MPs and MLAs, and Members of the Legislative Council are not.

    Over 99 per cent of the total electors had cast their ballot in the poll that took place Monday, according to the Election Commission.

    Eight MPs, including BJP MPs Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dhotre, were among those who missed casting their votes.

    Actor-politician Deol missed voting since he is abroad for medical treatment, while Dhotre gave it a pass since he was in the ICU.

    Two MPs each from BJP and Shiv Sena, and one from the BSP, Congress, SP, and AIMIM missed voting in the Monday polls.

    Kovind had become the President after polling 7,02,044 votes out of a total of 10,69,358 votes, while his rival Meira Kumar polled only 3,67,314 votes.

    NEW DELHI: India on Thursday will know who will succeed incumbent Ram Nath Kovind to become the country’s 15th President, as counting of votes for the presidential election begins at 11 am at the Parliament House here.

    Ruling NDA’s Droupadi Murmu and Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha are pitted against each other in the contest, with votes clearly stacked in favour of Murmu, who, if elected, will be the first tribal woman to occupy the top constitutional post in the country.

    Kovind’s tenure is ending on July 24 and the new president will take oath on July 25.

    With ballot boxes from all states had reached the Parliament House, poll officials are ready for the counting in room number 63, the strongroom of Parliament where the boxes are guarded behind round-the-clock security.

    Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody, who is the Chief Returning Officer for the poll, will oversee the counting Thursday, the result of which is likely to be declared by the evening.

    Mody will first brief on the poll trends after all votes of MPs have been counted, and then again after votes of 10 states in alphabetical order have been counted.

    Sources said he will brief once more on the poll trends after votes of 20 states have been counted, and then finally declare the result after the total counting.

    All ballot boxes from state assemblies had reached the Parliament’s strongroom on Tuesday evening and have been locked there since.

    The ballot boxes had been flown into the national capital as ‘Mr Ballot Box’ from across the states.

    ‘Mr Ballot Box’ came seated in the front row of aircraft under the watchful gaze of the Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) of their respective states.

    The Election Commission had on Monday posted photographs of the sealed ballot boxes onboard flights accompanied by AROs.

    According to the EC, each ballot box was issued an e-ticket under the name ‘Mr Ballot Box’.

    Polling for the presidential election was held between 10 am to 5 pm Monday at 31 locations including the Parliament House and 30 centres within state legislative assemblies.

    There are also reports of cross-voting in favour of Murmu in a number of states.

    There is no whip issued to members in the presidential poll.

    MPs of both, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, except nominated MPs, and all MLAs in the legislative assembly in all states act as electors in the presidential poll.

    A total of 4,809 electors, comprising 776 MPs and 4,033 elected MLAs, are entitled to vote in the election, but nominated MPs and MLAs, and Members of the Legislative Council are not.

    Over 99 per cent of the total electors had cast their ballot in the poll that took place Monday, according to the Election Commission.

    Eight MPs, including BJP MPs Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dhotre, were among those who missed casting their votes.

    Actor-politician Deol missed voting since he is abroad for medical treatment, while Dhotre gave it a pass since he was in the ICU.

    Two MPs each from BJP and Shiv Sena, and one from the BSP, Congress, SP, and AIMIM missed voting in the Monday polls.

    Kovind had become the President after polling 7,02,044 votes out of a total of 10,69,358 votes, while his rival Meira Kumar polled only 3,67,314 votes.

  • Presidential polls: Voted according to my conscience, says rebel Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: Haryana Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who cross-voted in last month’s Rajya Sabha polls, on Monday said he has voted according to his conscience in the presidential election too.

    Indicating that he supported NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu rather than the opposition’s Yashwant Sinha, Bishnoi said in Delhi, “Like in Rajya Sabha, I have cast my vote in this election too as per my conscience”.

    When reporters asked about his future course of action, he said, “I will reveal that soon.”

    “The Congress is no longer the party as it was during Indira ji or Rajiv ji’s time,” he said, claiming that common workers and even senior “don’t get that respect in the Congress now”.

    He said Congress leaders, with whom he has personal relations, keep telling him that he should not leave the party.

    Before the Rajya Sabha polls too, Bishnoi, the younger son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, had said he would go by his conscience.

    The system of secret ballot is followed in the presidential election, and parties cannot issue whips to their MPs and MLAs.

    While other Haryana MLAs were exercising their franchise at the Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh, Bishnoi had sought permission to cast his vote at Parliament House.

    The 53-year-old legislator from Adampur had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda in New Delhi recently and later heaped praises on them.

    Bishnoi, a four-time MLA and a two-time MP, has been sulking ever since the Congress ignored him for the post of its Haryana unit chief during a revamp earlier this year.

    The party appointed Udai Bhan, a loyalist of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as its Haryana president.

    Bishnoi was expelled from all party positions on June 11 for not following the party line in the Rajya Sabha elections.

    “The Congress also has rules for some leaders and exceptions for others. Rules are applied selectively. Indiscipline has been repeatedly ignored in the past. In my case, I listened to my soul and acted on my morals,” he had then tweeted in response.

    Last month, Bishnoi said he was consulting his supporters to decide his next course of action.

    Earlier, the Adampur MLA and a prominent non-Jat face in Haryana, Bishnoi had batted for promoting young faces with a “mass base” to strengthen the party.

    He had earlier described Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit from the party as a big blow and said there are many devoted leaders across the country who feel “alienated, wasted and discontented”.

    In the recent Rajya Sabha election, the Congress, which is the main opposition party in Haryana, was assured of one seat by virtue of the number of MLAs it has in the 90-member assembly.

    However, Congress candidate Ajay Maken failed to secure the berth after Bishnoi cross-voted, while another MLA’s vote was declared invalid.

    BJP’s Krishan Lal Panwar and the saffron party-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma were elected to the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana for which the election was held last month.

    CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: Haryana Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who cross-voted in last month’s Rajya Sabha polls, on Monday said he has voted according to his conscience in the presidential election too.

    Indicating that he supported NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu rather than the opposition’s Yashwant Sinha, Bishnoi said in Delhi, “Like in Rajya Sabha, I have cast my vote in this election too as per my conscience”.

    When reporters asked about his future course of action, he said, “I will reveal that soon.”

    “The Congress is no longer the party as it was during Indira ji or Rajiv ji’s time,” he said, claiming that common workers and even senior “don’t get that respect in the Congress now”.

    He said Congress leaders, with whom he has personal relations, keep telling him that he should not leave the party.

    Before the Rajya Sabha polls too, Bishnoi, the younger son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, had said he would go by his conscience.

    The system of secret ballot is followed in the presidential election, and parties cannot issue whips to their MPs and MLAs.

    While other Haryana MLAs were exercising their franchise at the Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh, Bishnoi had sought permission to cast his vote at Parliament House.

    The 53-year-old legislator from Adampur had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda in New Delhi recently and later heaped praises on them.

    Bishnoi, a four-time MLA and a two-time MP, has been sulking ever since the Congress ignored him for the post of its Haryana unit chief during a revamp earlier this year.

    The party appointed Udai Bhan, a loyalist of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as its Haryana president.

    Bishnoi was expelled from all party positions on June 11 for not following the party line in the Rajya Sabha elections.

    “The Congress also has rules for some leaders and exceptions for others. Rules are applied selectively. Indiscipline has been repeatedly ignored in the past. In my case, I listened to my soul and acted on my morals,” he had then tweeted in response.

    Last month, Bishnoi said he was consulting his supporters to decide his next course of action.

    Earlier, the Adampur MLA and a prominent non-Jat face in Haryana, Bishnoi had batted for promoting young faces with a “mass base” to strengthen the party.

    He had earlier described Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit from the party as a big blow and said there are many devoted leaders across the country who feel “alienated, wasted and discontented”.

    In the recent Rajya Sabha election, the Congress, which is the main opposition party in Haryana, was assured of one seat by virtue of the number of MLAs it has in the 90-member assembly.

    However, Congress candidate Ajay Maken failed to secure the berth after Bishnoi cross-voted, while another MLA’s vote was declared invalid.

    BJP’s Krishan Lal Panwar and the saffron party-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma were elected to the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana for which the election was held last month.

  • Presidential polls: Electoral fate of Murmu, Sinha to be stored in ballot boxes, not EVMs

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Ever wondered why electronic voting machines, used in four Lok Sabha elections and 127 assembly polls since 2004, are not deployed in polls to elect the President and Vice President of India, members of Rajya Sabha, and members of state legislative councils? The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregators of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

    Voters press the button against the name of the candidate of their choice and the one who bags the maximum number of votes is declared elected.

    But the election of the President is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

    In accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences, as there are candidates contesting the election.

    These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1,2,3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper.

    In Monday’s election Droupadi Murmu of the NDA and Yashwant Sinha, backed by the opposition are the two candidates.

    The EVMs, officials explained, are not designed to register this system of voting.

    The EVM is an aggregator of votes and under the system of proportional representation, the machine will have to compute votes based on preference and it requires an altogether different technology.

    In other words, a different type of EVM would be needed.

    According to the August, 2021 issue of ‘My Vote Matters’, a quarterly magazine of the Election Commission, since 2004, EVMs have been used in four Lok Sabha and 127 assembly elections.

    According to the EC website, first conceived in 1977 in the Election Commission, the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), Hyderabad was assigned the task to design and develop EVMs.

    In 1979 a prototype was developed, which was demonstrated by the Election Commission before the representatives of political parties on August 6, 1980.

    The Bharat Electronic Ltd (BEL), Bengaluru, another public-sector undertaking, was co-opted along with ECIL to manufacture EVMs once a broad consensus was reached on its introduction.

    The machines were first used in the assembly election in Kerala in May, 1982.

    However, the absence of a specific law prescribing its use led to the Supreme Court striking down that election.

    Subsequently, in 1989, Parliament amended the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to create a provision for the use of EVMs in elections.

    A general consensus on its introduction could be reached only in 1998 and these were used in 25 legislative assembly constituencies spread across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

    In the assembly elections held in May 2001 in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal, the EVMs were used in all the assembly constituencies.

    Since then, for every state assembly election, the Commission has used the EVMs.

    In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, more than 10 lakh EVMs were used in all 543 parliamentary constituencies of the country.

    NEW DELHI: Ever wondered why electronic voting machines, used in four Lok Sabha elections and 127 assembly polls since 2004, are not deployed in polls to elect the President and Vice President of India, members of Rajya Sabha, and members of state legislative councils? The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregators of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

    Voters press the button against the name of the candidate of their choice and the one who bags the maximum number of votes is declared elected.

    But the election of the President is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

    In accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences, as there are candidates contesting the election.

    These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1,2,3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper.

    In Monday’s election Droupadi Murmu of the NDA and Yashwant Sinha, backed by the opposition are the two candidates.

    The EVMs, officials explained, are not designed to register this system of voting.

    The EVM is an aggregator of votes and under the system of proportional representation, the machine will have to compute votes based on preference and it requires an altogether different technology.

    In other words, a different type of EVM would be needed.

    According to the August, 2021 issue of ‘My Vote Matters’, a quarterly magazine of the Election Commission, since 2004, EVMs have been used in four Lok Sabha and 127 assembly elections.

    According to the EC website, first conceived in 1977 in the Election Commission, the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), Hyderabad was assigned the task to design and develop EVMs.

    In 1979 a prototype was developed, which was demonstrated by the Election Commission before the representatives of political parties on August 6, 1980.

    The Bharat Electronic Ltd (BEL), Bengaluru, another public-sector undertaking, was co-opted along with ECIL to manufacture EVMs once a broad consensus was reached on its introduction.

    The machines were first used in the assembly election in Kerala in May, 1982.

    However, the absence of a specific law prescribing its use led to the Supreme Court striking down that election.

    Subsequently, in 1989, Parliament amended the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to create a provision for the use of EVMs in elections.

    A general consensus on its introduction could be reached only in 1998 and these were used in 25 legislative assembly constituencies spread across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

    In the assembly elections held in May 2001 in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal, the EVMs were used in all the assembly constituencies.

    Since then, for every state assembly election, the Commission has used the EVMs.

    In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, more than 10 lakh EVMs were used in all 543 parliamentary constituencies of the country.

  • Presidential polls: Political parties in Maharashtra take precautions to ensure votes do not become invalid

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Various political parties in Maharashtra are taking extra efforts to ensure none of the votes cast by their MLAs and MPs turn invalid in Monday’s presidential election.

    MLAs and MPs form the electoral college to elect the President of India.

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded Droupadi Murmu for the Presidential election.

    Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha is the candidate of the Opposition.

    A Maharashtra BJP leader said on Sunday that the party has taken extra efforts to educate each of its MLAs and MPs on voting for the Presidential polls to avoid their ballots getting invalidated for any lacunae.

    The BJP had conducted mock voting sessions for the MLAs and MPs.

    “In 2017 (Presidential election), of the total votes cast, 77 were invalidated at the national level. We do not know how many invalidated votes were from Maharashtra but we want to avoid any such embarrassment this time,” said the BJP leader.

    The BJP has 106 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly along with 40 MLAs belonging to the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena besides ten independents who support the BJP.

    The Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray with 15 MLAs has supported Murmu.

    The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress have 53 and 44 MLAs, respectively.

    Of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, 23 MPs belong to the BJP, 18 to Shiv Sena, four to NCP, and one to Congress.

    Of the rest two MPs, one belongs to the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and another is Independent.

    The Congress and the NCP had organised meetings with their MLAs and MPs to ensure that they vote for the Opposition candidate Sinha and that cross-voting is avoided.

    MUMBAI: Various political parties in Maharashtra are taking extra efforts to ensure none of the votes cast by their MLAs and MPs turn invalid in Monday’s presidential election.

    MLAs and MPs form the electoral college to elect the President of India.

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded Droupadi Murmu for the Presidential election.

    Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha is the candidate of the Opposition.

    A Maharashtra BJP leader said on Sunday that the party has taken extra efforts to educate each of its MLAs and MPs on voting for the Presidential polls to avoid their ballots getting invalidated for any lacunae.

    The BJP had conducted mock voting sessions for the MLAs and MPs.

    “In 2017 (Presidential election), of the total votes cast, 77 were invalidated at the national level. We do not know how many invalidated votes were from Maharashtra but we want to avoid any such embarrassment this time,” said the BJP leader.

    The BJP has 106 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly along with 40 MLAs belonging to the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena besides ten independents who support the BJP.

    The Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray with 15 MLAs has supported Murmu.

    The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress have 53 and 44 MLAs, respectively.

    Of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, 23 MPs belong to the BJP, 18 to Shiv Sena, four to NCP, and one to Congress.

    Of the rest two MPs, one belongs to the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and another is Independent.

    The Congress and the NCP had organised meetings with their MLAs and MPs to ensure that they vote for the Opposition candidate Sinha and that cross-voting is avoided.

  • Presidential elections on July 18: NDA’s Droupadi Murmu has edge over Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote on Monday to elect the 15th President of India, with NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha as over 60 per cent votes are expected to be cast in her favour.

    The polling will take place in Parliament House and state legislative assemblies between 10 am and 5 pm for which ballot boxes have already reached their destinations.

    The counting of votes will take place at Parliament House on July 21 and the next President will take oath on July 25.

    With the support of regional parties such as BJD, YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK, TDP, JD(S), Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and now JMM, Murmu’s vote share is likely to reach nearly two-thirds and she is set to become the first woman from the tribal community to occupy the top constitutional post.

    The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee now has over 6.67 lakh votes after the support of various regional parties, out of a total of 10,86,431 votes.

    The electoral college which elects the President through the system of proportional representation comprises elected MPs and members of state legislative assemblies.

    Nominated MPs and MLAs, and members of legislative councils are not entitled to vote in this election.

    The system of secret ballot is followed and parties cannot issue whip to their MPs and MLAs with regard to voting.

    The value of the vote of a member of Parliament has gone down to 700 from 708 in this presidential poll due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.

    The value of vote of an MLA varies in different states.

    In Uttar Pradesh, the value of vote of each MLA stands at 208, followed by 176 in Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu.

    In Maharashtra, it is 175.

    In Sikkim, the value of vote per MLA is seven, while it is nine in Nagaland and eight in Mizoram.

    Before naming Sinha, a former Union minister and a BJP leader, the opposition camp had approached Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and a former governor of West Bengal, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah to contest the poll.

    After their refusal to be part of the electoral battle, Sinha, then the Trinamool Congress vice president, was named as the Opposition’s candidate.

    ALSO READ | Presidential election: Uttar Pradesh MLAs’ vote value highest, Sikkim’s lowest

    The election of the President is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

    In accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences, as there are candidates contesting the election.

    These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper.

    This is the reason why electronic voting machines are not used in this as well as vice presidential, Rajya Sabha and legislative council polls.

    The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregator of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

    According to Election Commission’s directions, while MPs will get a green-coloured ballot paper, the MLAs will get a pink ballot paper to cast vote.

    Separate colours help the returning officer ascertain the value of vote of each MLA and MP.

    Seeking to maintain secrecy of voting, the EC has issued a specially designed pen with violet ink to enable voters mark their ballot papers in the presidential poll.

    NEW DELHI: Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote on Monday to elect the 15th President of India, with NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha as over 60 per cent votes are expected to be cast in her favour.

    The polling will take place in Parliament House and state legislative assemblies between 10 am and 5 pm for which ballot boxes have already reached their destinations.

    The counting of votes will take place at Parliament House on July 21 and the next President will take oath on July 25.

    With the support of regional parties such as BJD, YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK, TDP, JD(S), Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and now JMM, Murmu’s vote share is likely to reach nearly two-thirds and she is set to become the first woman from the tribal community to occupy the top constitutional post.

    The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee now has over 6.67 lakh votes after the support of various regional parties, out of a total of 10,86,431 votes.

    The electoral college which elects the President through the system of proportional representation comprises elected MPs and members of state legislative assemblies.

    Nominated MPs and MLAs, and members of legislative councils are not entitled to vote in this election.

    The system of secret ballot is followed and parties cannot issue whip to their MPs and MLAs with regard to voting.

    The value of the vote of a member of Parliament has gone down to 700 from 708 in this presidential poll due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.

    The value of vote of an MLA varies in different states.

    In Uttar Pradesh, the value of vote of each MLA stands at 208, followed by 176 in Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu.

    In Maharashtra, it is 175.

    In Sikkim, the value of vote per MLA is seven, while it is nine in Nagaland and eight in Mizoram.

    Before naming Sinha, a former Union minister and a BJP leader, the opposition camp had approached Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and a former governor of West Bengal, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah to contest the poll.

    After their refusal to be part of the electoral battle, Sinha, then the Trinamool Congress vice president, was named as the Opposition’s candidate.

    ALSO READ | Presidential election: Uttar Pradesh MLAs’ vote value highest, Sikkim’s lowest

    The election of the President is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

    In accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences, as there are candidates contesting the election.

    These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper.

    This is the reason why electronic voting machines are not used in this as well as vice presidential, Rajya Sabha and legislative council polls.

    The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregator of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

    According to Election Commission’s directions, while MPs will get a green-coloured ballot paper, the MLAs will get a pink ballot paper to cast vote.

    Separate colours help the returning officer ascertain the value of vote of each MLA and MP.

    Seeking to maintain secrecy of voting, the EC has issued a specially designed pen with violet ink to enable voters mark their ballot papers in the presidential poll.

  • Presidential election on July 18: NDA’s Droupadi Murmu has edge over Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote on Monday to elect the 15th President of India, with NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha as over 60 per cent votes are expected to be cast in her favour.

    The polling will take place in Parliament House and state legislative assemblies between 10 am and 5 pm for which ballot boxes have already reached their destinations.

    The counting of votes will take place at Parliament House on July 21 and the next President will take oath on July 25.

    With the support of regional parties such as BJD, YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK, TDP, JD(S), Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and now JMM, Murmu’s vote share is likely to reach nearly two-thirds and she is set to become the first woman from the tribal community to occupy the top constitutional post.

    The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee now has over 6.67 lakh votes after the support of various regional parties, out of a total of 10,86,431 votes.

    The electoral college which elects the President through the system of proportional representation comprises elected MPs and members of state legislative assemblies.

    Nominated MPs and MLAs, and members of legislative councils are not entitled to vote in this election.

    The system of secret ballot is followed and parties cannot issue whip to their MPs and MLAs with regard to voting.

    The value of the vote of a member of Parliament has gone down to 700 from 708 in this presidential poll due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.

    The value of vote of an MLA varies in different states.

    In Uttar Pradesh, the value of vote of each MLA stands at 208, followed by 176 in Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu. In Maharashtra, it is 175. In Sikkim, the value of vote per MLA is seven, while it is nine in Nagaland and eight in Mizoram.

    Before naming Sinha, a former Union minister and a BJP leader, the opposition camp had approached Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and a former governor of West Bengal, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah to contest the poll.

    After their refusal to be part of the electoral battle, Sinha, then the Trinamool Congress vice president, was named as the Opposition’s candidate.

    ALSO READ | Presidential election: Uttar Pradesh MLAs’ vote value highest, Sikkim’s lowest

    The election of the President is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

    In accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences, as there are candidates contesting the election.

    These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper.

    This is the reason why electronic voting machines are not used in this as well as vice presidential, Rajya Sabha and legislative council polls.

    READ HERE | ‘Nitish refused to pick up my calls when I sought support’: Yashwant Sinha attacks JDU supremo

    The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregator of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

    According to Election Commission’s directions, while MPs will get a green-coloured ballot paper, the MLAs will get a pink ballot paper to cast vote.

    Separate colours help the returning officer ascertain the value of vote of each MLA and MP.

    Seeking to maintain secrecy of voting, the EC has issued a specially designed pen with violet ink to enable voters mark their ballot papers in the presidential poll.

    WATCH VIDEO

    NEW DELHI: Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote on Monday to elect the 15th President of India, with NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha as over 60 per cent votes are expected to be cast in her favour.

    The polling will take place in Parliament House and state legislative assemblies between 10 am and 5 pm for which ballot boxes have already reached their destinations.

    The counting of votes will take place at Parliament House on July 21 and the next President will take oath on July 25.

    With the support of regional parties such as BJD, YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK, TDP, JD(S), Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and now JMM, Murmu’s vote share is likely to reach nearly two-thirds and she is set to become the first woman from the tribal community to occupy the top constitutional post.

    The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee now has over 6.67 lakh votes after the support of various regional parties, out of a total of 10,86,431 votes.

    The electoral college which elects the President through the system of proportional representation comprises elected MPs and members of state legislative assemblies.

    Nominated MPs and MLAs, and members of legislative councils are not entitled to vote in this election.

    The system of secret ballot is followed and parties cannot issue whip to their MPs and MLAs with regard to voting.

    The value of the vote of a member of Parliament has gone down to 700 from 708 in this presidential poll due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.

    The value of vote of an MLA varies in different states.

    In Uttar Pradesh, the value of vote of each MLA stands at 208, followed by 176 in Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu. In Maharashtra, it is 175. In Sikkim, the value of vote per MLA is seven, while it is nine in Nagaland and eight in Mizoram.

    Before naming Sinha, a former Union minister and a BJP leader, the opposition camp had approached Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and a former governor of West Bengal, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah to contest the poll.

    After their refusal to be part of the electoral battle, Sinha, then the Trinamool Congress vice president, was named as the Opposition’s candidate.

    ALSO READ | Presidential election: Uttar Pradesh MLAs’ vote value highest, Sikkim’s lowest

    The election of the President is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

    In accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences, as there are candidates contesting the election.

    These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper.

    This is the reason why electronic voting machines are not used in this as well as vice presidential, Rajya Sabha and legislative council polls.

    READ HERE | ‘Nitish refused to pick up my calls when I sought support’: Yashwant Sinha attacks JDU supremo

    The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregator of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

    According to Election Commission’s directions, while MPs will get a green-coloured ballot paper, the MLAs will get a pink ballot paper to cast vote.

    Separate colours help the returning officer ascertain the value of vote of each MLA and MP.

    Seeking to maintain secrecy of voting, the EC has issued a specially designed pen with violet ink to enable voters mark their ballot papers in the presidential poll.

    WATCH VIDEO

  • Presidential polls: Respect Droupadi Murmu, but will back Yashwanth Sinha, says AAP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The AAP will support opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the Presidential Poll, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said after a political advisory committee (PAC) meeting of the party on Saturday.

    Sinha is in fray for the top constitutional post of the country with Droupadi Murmu, the candidate chosen by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

    “We respect Droupadi Murmu but the AAP will support the opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha,” Singh said.

    WATCH | 

    The meeting was attended by AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Punjab MP Raghav Chadha, MLA Atishi, and other members of the PAC.

    Voting for the Presidential poll will take place on Monday.

    ALSO READ | Prez polls: Oppn candidate Yashwant Sinha cancels Mumbai visit after Shiv Sena backs Droupadi Murmu

    The AAP is the only non-BJP, non-Congress outfit having governments in two states — Delhi and Punjab. It has 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from the two states including three from Delhi.

    Also, the party has a total 156 MLAs including 92 in Punjab, 62 in Delhi and two in Goa.

    NEW DELHI: The AAP will support opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the Presidential Poll, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said after a political advisory committee (PAC) meeting of the party on Saturday.

    Sinha is in fray for the top constitutional post of the country with Droupadi Murmu, the candidate chosen by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

    “We respect Droupadi Murmu but the AAP will support the opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha,” Singh said.

    WATCH | 

    The meeting was attended by AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Punjab MP Raghav Chadha, MLA Atishi, and other members of the PAC.

    Voting for the Presidential poll will take place on Monday.

    ALSO READ | Prez polls: Oppn candidate Yashwant Sinha cancels Mumbai visit after Shiv Sena backs Droupadi Murmu

    The AAP is the only non-BJP, non-Congress outfit having governments in two states — Delhi and Punjab. It has 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from the two states including three from Delhi.

    Also, the party has a total 156 MLAs including 92 in Punjab, 62 in Delhi and two in Goa.

  • ‘Nitish refused to pick up my calls when I sought support’: Yashwant Sinha attacks JDU supremo

    By PTI

    PATNA: The opposition’s Presidential poll candidate Yashwant Sinha on Friday revealed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar refused to take his calls when he tried to seek the latter’s support for his candidature.

    Sinha, who had been a cabinet colleague of Kumar during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure, also expressed surprise at the lack of support from Bihar’s chief minister given that he had roots in the state and that Odisha’s CM Naveen Patnaik has rooted for Draupadi Murmu as she is a daughter of the state.

    “After I was declared the Presidential candidate by the opposition, I tried to call up Nitish Kumar a number of times. He never answered, perhaps thinking I do not enjoy the status to be worthy of his time”, said Sinha, betraying a sense of insult and bitterness.

    He was talking to reporters after canvassing for the July 18 polls.

    Leader of the opposition in Bihar assembly Tejashwi Yadav, Bollywood actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha and former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani’s close aide Sudheendra Kulkarni were among those present on the occasion.

    Sinha said “it will be good for Bihar if, after a gap of 60 years, another son of the soil occupies the top post which was held by Dr Rajendra Prasad. This is the city where I was born, received my education, taught at the Patna University and served in my capacity as a Bihar cadre IAS officer”.

    The former BJP leader said he “failed to understand” why Nitish Kumar, who had refused to support another Bihari Meira Kumar in the last Presidential polls, was still not ready to take a leaf out of Patnaik’s book or that of the Shiv Sena which had supported Pratibha Patil because she was a Maharashtrian though fielded by the Congress-led UPA to which it was opposed at that time.

    The outspoken bureaucrat-turned-politician, who has been alleging that Murmu will be a “rubber stamp” asked people to recall the photograph of filing of nomination papers by the NDA candidate in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    “People talk of Pratibha Patil as having been a rubber stamp but even when she was in the fray she handed over her own papers. The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh looked on. In the case of Murmu, it was the current Prime Minister who handed over the papers. That image is a screaming sign of the shape of things to come”, said Sinha.

    He was also full of praise for Tejashwi Yadav, with whose father Lalu Prasad he has had many slanging matches on the floor of the Parliament.

    “Tejashwi Yadav has done a wonderful job in rallying along different parties in the opposition. The state, like the country, has fallen in wrong hands. I hope people will repose their trust in him”, said Sinha.

    Speaking on the sidelines of the press conference, Shatrughan Sinha, who wears his love for his home state on his sleeves, thereby earning the epithet “Bihari babu”, hoped that Yashwant Sinha will get wholehearted support from the state.

    “It is an election in which no whip is issued. It is a historic opportunity to heed one’s conscience and act in national interest. The game is not over till votes are cast”, said the Asansol MP.

    Sinha on Friday termed a new list of words deemed “unparliamentary” and a circular forbidding demonstrations inside the Sansad Bhavan premises were the latest in a series of “unprecedented assaults” on democracy in the country.

    Addressing a press conference here as part of his campaign, the former Union minister claimed the parliamentary system of democracy, under the current regime, looked “pangu” (crippled) and urged the public to “wake up” before it was too late.

    “In every democratic system, the House of directly elected representatives allows for free debate. This is a reason why words uttered inside Parliament fall outside the ambit of judicial review. With all types of words which can be used to criticize the government deemed unparliamentary now, we are witnessing yet another assault on the country’s lokshahi (democracy)”, said Sinha, who has served as a Member of Parliament for several terms.

    The bureaucrat turned politician who had held important portfolios such as Minister for External Affairs and Finance in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, also expressed outrage over the circular that forbids MPs from staging a demonstration in front of a imposing statue of Mahatma Gandhi within the Parliament complex.

    “Parliamentary system of democracy is all about debates and discussions, on the floor as well as outside and at various committees. But the country and the Constitution seems to have gone into wrong hands. Democracy is under attack on an unprecedented scale, on a daily basis. It has never looked so crippled (pangu)”, he added.

    Sinha, who was a Bihar cadre IAS officer until he took the political plunge four decades ago, also referred to the Agnipath controversy which had left the state in throes of a violent protest.

    “In every country, there is a military service and there is a national service which provides the youth with an opportunity to serve on an ad hoc basis. Agnipath falls in neither category. The Agniveers will be on streets (sadak veer) after completing four years of service and we cannot imagine the social unrest it will lead to,” he noted grimly.

    Sinha acknowledged that as per the Constitution, the President did not enjoy many powers but asserted that a right person for the job “could summon the Prime Minister and advise him on various issues”.

    “The problem is that there is no mechanism in place which can put a check on the current regime’s recklessness”, said the former BJP leader.

    PATNA: The opposition’s Presidential poll candidate Yashwant Sinha on Friday revealed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar refused to take his calls when he tried to seek the latter’s support for his candidature.

    Sinha, who had been a cabinet colleague of Kumar during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure, also expressed surprise at the lack of support from Bihar’s chief minister given that he had roots in the state and that Odisha’s CM Naveen Patnaik has rooted for Draupadi Murmu as she is a daughter of the state.

    “After I was declared the Presidential candidate by the opposition, I tried to call up Nitish Kumar a number of times. He never answered, perhaps thinking I do not enjoy the status to be worthy of his time”, said Sinha, betraying a sense of insult and bitterness.

    He was talking to reporters after canvassing for the July 18 polls.

    Leader of the opposition in Bihar assembly Tejashwi Yadav, Bollywood actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha and former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani’s close aide Sudheendra Kulkarni were among those present on the occasion.

    Sinha said “it will be good for Bihar if, after a gap of 60 years, another son of the soil occupies the top post which was held by Dr Rajendra Prasad. This is the city where I was born, received my education, taught at the Patna University and served in my capacity as a Bihar cadre IAS officer”.

    The former BJP leader said he “failed to understand” why Nitish Kumar, who had refused to support another Bihari Meira Kumar in the last Presidential polls, was still not ready to take a leaf out of Patnaik’s book or that of the Shiv Sena which had supported Pratibha Patil because she was a Maharashtrian though fielded by the Congress-led UPA to which it was opposed at that time.

    The outspoken bureaucrat-turned-politician, who has been alleging that Murmu will be a “rubber stamp” asked people to recall the photograph of filing of nomination papers by the NDA candidate in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    “People talk of Pratibha Patil as having been a rubber stamp but even when she was in the fray she handed over her own papers. The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh looked on. In the case of Murmu, it was the current Prime Minister who handed over the papers. That image is a screaming sign of the shape of things to come”, said Sinha.

    He was also full of praise for Tejashwi Yadav, with whose father Lalu Prasad he has had many slanging matches on the floor of the Parliament.

    “Tejashwi Yadav has done a wonderful job in rallying along different parties in the opposition. The state, like the country, has fallen in wrong hands. I hope people will repose their trust in him”, said Sinha.

    Speaking on the sidelines of the press conference, Shatrughan Sinha, who wears his love for his home state on his sleeves, thereby earning the epithet “Bihari babu”, hoped that Yashwant Sinha will get wholehearted support from the state.

    “It is an election in which no whip is issued. It is a historic opportunity to heed one’s conscience and act in national interest. The game is not over till votes are cast”, said the Asansol MP.

    Sinha on Friday termed a new list of words deemed “unparliamentary” and a circular forbidding demonstrations inside the Sansad Bhavan premises were the latest in a series of “unprecedented assaults” on democracy in the country.

    Addressing a press conference here as part of his campaign, the former Union minister claimed the parliamentary system of democracy, under the current regime, looked “pangu” (crippled) and urged the public to “wake up” before it was too late.

    “In every democratic system, the House of directly elected representatives allows for free debate. This is a reason why words uttered inside Parliament fall outside the ambit of judicial review. With all types of words which can be used to criticize the government deemed unparliamentary now, we are witnessing yet another assault on the country’s lokshahi (democracy)”, said Sinha, who has served as a Member of Parliament for several terms.

    The bureaucrat turned politician who had held important portfolios such as Minister for External Affairs and Finance in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, also expressed outrage over the circular that forbids MPs from staging a demonstration in front of a imposing statue of Mahatma Gandhi within the Parliament complex.

    “Parliamentary system of democracy is all about debates and discussions, on the floor as well as outside and at various committees. But the country and the Constitution seems to have gone into wrong hands. Democracy is under attack on an unprecedented scale, on a daily basis. It has never looked so crippled (pangu)”, he added.

    Sinha, who was a Bihar cadre IAS officer until he took the political plunge four decades ago, also referred to the Agnipath controversy which had left the state in throes of a violent protest.

    “In every country, there is a military service and there is a national service which provides the youth with an opportunity to serve on an ad hoc basis. Agnipath falls in neither category. The Agniveers will be on streets (sadak veer) after completing four years of service and we cannot imagine the social unrest it will lead to,” he noted grimly.

    Sinha acknowledged that as per the Constitution, the President did not enjoy many powers but asserted that a right person for the job “could summon the Prime Minister and advise him on various issues”.

    “The problem is that there is no mechanism in place which can put a check on the current regime’s recklessness”, said the former BJP leader.