Sangma aiming at ‘conscience vote’

July 9, 2012

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Bhopal, July 9: BJP-supported Presidential candidate P.A. Sangma said he hoped to win on the basis of a “conscience vote,” which helped V.V. Giri win against Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, both Congress-backed candidates, in the 1969 elections.

(During the 1969 elections, several Congress stalwarts backed Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy as the official Congress nominee for the post of President. However, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who backed V.V. Giri, asked electors to vote according to their conscience. Mr. Giri won the elections by a margin of 14,650 votes in a run-off, on second preference votes, after the first round failed to return either candidate.

Mr. Sangma was here on Sunday to canvass votes.

Earlier, the former Lok Sabha Speaker met tribals from the State and danced with them. Mr. Sangma enthusiastically beat a drum while Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan gleefully danced to his beat, as State BJP president Prabhat Jha watched.

Mr. Sangma said he did not think his decision to run against UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee could put his daughter, Nationalist Congress Party MP Agatha Sangma, who is a Minister in the UPA government, in a difficult spot.

“Not at all,” he said in reply to a question. “Because Presidential elections are not fought along party lines. That’s why Pranab Mukherjee has resigned from the Congress and I have resigned from the NCP,” he said.

Mr. Sangma interacted with journalists at the State BJP office here, sharing the stage with Mr. Chouhan and other BJP leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, party general secretary Narendra Singh Tomar and Prabhat Jha.

Asked whether he would join the BJP if he failed to win the elections, Mr. Sangma said that remained to be seen.

During the press conference, Mr. Sangma was questioned by some journalists over the “propriety” of using the national emblem on the website supporting his candidature for President. Within minutes, the emblem was reportedly removed.


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News Network
January 30,2020

Mumbai, Jan 30: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Dr Kafeel Khan from Mumbai airport for allegedly making inflammatory statements at AMU during protests against the Citizenship Amendments Act (CAA) last month, officials said.

Khan was arrested on Wednesday night with assistance from Mumbai Police at the airport when he arrived in the city to attend anti-CAA protests, an official said.

"Officials of the UP STF arrested Dr Kafeel Khan in a case which was registered at Civil Lines Police Station under section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) of IPC. Our police team helped our UP counterparts on their request," said an official from Mumbai Police.

He claimed that Khan had made inflammatory statements on December 12 last year during the protest near Bab e Syed Gate outside the Aligarh Muslim University in front of more than 600 students.

The official also alleged that the Gorakhpur doctor had made objectionable comments against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The FIR against Khan mentions that Swaraj India's president Yogendra Yadav was also present during the speech at AMU.

Following the arrest in the case, Khan was taken to the Sahar Police Station and after completing formalities he will be taken to UP on transit remand, the official said.

Khan, a paediatrician, had come to the limelight in 2017 when a controversy broke out after the death of over 60 children in less than a week at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, UP.

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News Network
May 12,2020

Ahmedabad, May 12: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday declared state BJP minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's election in 2017 as void on grounds of malpractice and manipulation.

Justice Paresh Upadhyay cancelled Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's election in an order passed on a petition filed by Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod, challenging the BJP leader's victory from Dholka constituency by a margin of 327 votes in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls.

In his election petition, Ashwin Rathod alleged that Bhupendrasinh Chudasama indulged in "corrupt practice and breach of many of the mandatory instructions of the Election Commission, at various stages of the election process, more particularly at the time of counting of votes".

Bhupendrasinh Chudasama currently holds charge of the education, law and justice, legislative and parliamentary affairs, and some other departments in the Vijay Rupani government.

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News Network
February 1,2020

Feb 1: The Congress on Saturday expressed hope that the Union Budget would provide relief to the salaried class through tax cuts and invest in rural India besides providing a healing touch to the common man and industry facing “hardship” since demonetisation.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the last budget led to crashing consumption levels, soaring unemployment and falling GDP. “Budget 2019= Consumption crashed, Unemployment soared, Farm distress surged, Incomes declined, Investments slumped, Public spending fell, GDP nose dived!,” Surjewala tweeted. “Yet, Modiji gave Corporate Tax Cuts of Rs 1,45,000 crore. Let Budget 2020 give tax cuts to Salaried Class and invest in Rural India,” he said

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot hoped the budget fulfils expectations of the common people. “Budget 2020 is the time for NDA government to provide a healing touch to common people and industries facing hardships since noteban. Hope the budget fulfils expectations of common people and provide relief across sections,” Gehlot said.

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