National News
Will the changed rules of the Election Commission affect transparency? Understand every point
New Delhi: On the recommendation of the Election Commission, the rules have been clarified regarding the electronic records sought by the Law Ministry in the form of documents. The amended rules say that common people will not be able to take the footage of CCTV cameras installed in polling booths and webcasting. The opposition, including the Congress, is strongly opposing these amendments.
Amidst the commotion in the matter, spoke to the Election Commission. An attempt was made to find out whether the new amended rules will have any effect on the transparency of elections? Can there be any possibility of malpractice due to this? Or any other kind of manipulation? In this entire matter, a senior official of the Election Commission clarified about the amended rules.
Question: Congress has strongly opposed the amended rules and has questioned the transparency of the amendment.
Answer: Election Commission official says that this is completely baseless. There will be no reduction in transparency in the new amended rules. We are not hiding anything from anyone nor are we trying to hide anything, through amendment, Rule 93 (2) (A) of the old rule Conduct of Election Rule, 1961 has been amended to make it clear and unambiguous that there is no mention of CCTV cameras and webcasting footage in seeking records.
For those who ask for this record, it should not be construed as giving the footage of CCTV cameras and webcasting installed inside the polling booths. The new amended rules make it clear that these electronic records will not be given to the general public. This includes footage from CCTV cameras, webcasting and videography.
Question: Where did the case start?
Answer: It started with the case of Advocate Mehmood Pracha, in which on his petition, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on December 9 ordered the Election Commission to give a copy of the videography, CCTV footage and documents related to votes of a polling booth during the Haryana Assembly elections to Advocate Pracha. Only after this, on the recommendation of the Election Commission, the Law Ministry made these changes in the rules. Officials say that in the old rules, electronic data was also being sought under 17 (C) by citing Rule 93 (2) (A). There is no clear mention of this in the old rules, because at that time there was no provision for CCTV cameras, webcasting and videography at polling stations.
Question: So will the candidate also not be able to get CCTV footage?
Answer: This is not so, if the candidate wants, he will still be able to get electronic records like CCTV cameras through the court as before. This restriction will be only on common people. But here it would be right to clarify that the candidate will also be able to get electronic data of only that assembly or Lok Sabha constituency from where he has contested the election. It is not that he will be able to get CCTV records of any electoral area. In this too, this electronic record will be available only to the candidate, not to his political party.
Question: What is the problem in providing electronic records?
Answer: The Commission official says that there are major problems on two fronts. First, the safety of voters and second, its misuse by mischievous elements through AI. The Commission said that if such CCTV footage records in Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Chhattisgarh and many other states including Naxal-affected states fall into wrong hands, it can pose a threat to the safety of voters. Secondly, it can be misused through AI. Especially during elections.
People can misuse this on social media by creating polling booths of different states through AI on the day of voting and can make fake news viral by giving wrong messages to voters as per their wish. If this is stopped, the voting will be over and the wrong people can succeed in their nefarious intentions. Electronic data can also be sold outside the country.
National News
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Hands Over 8.5 Lakh Govt Appointment Letters At 14th Rozgar Mela In Gandhinagar
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday distributed job appointment letters for government positions during the 14th edition of Rozgar Mela held at the BSF campus in Gandhinagar.
The Union Minister said, “Under the leadership of PM Modi, a new India is emerging, with new employment opportunities being created in both the government and private sectors and job placements being done. I am happy that in the 14th edition of Rozgar Mela, 8.5 lakh job appointment letters have been given.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed more than 71,000 appointment letters to newly appointed recruits through video conferencing. Addressing the occasion, PM Modi extended wishes to the new recruits.”I have had many professional discussions with the youth of India in Kuwait.
After coming here, my first program is with the youth of the country. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the youth and their families,” he said.He emphasized that the government’s top priority is to make full use of the potential and talent of India’s youth.”Through Rozgar Mela, we are continuously working in this direction.
“For the past 10 years, there has been a campaign in various government ministries, departments, and institutions to provide government jobs. Even today, over 71,000 youth have been appointed. In the last 1.5 years, our government has provided permanent government jobs to nearly 10 lakh youth. This is a massive record in itself,” PM Modi said.
“In previous governments, no such initiative to provide permanent government jobs to youth in mission mode existed, but today, not only are millions of youth getting jobs in the country but these jobs are being provided with complete honesty and transparency,” he highlighted.
The Prime Minister also mentioned that the development of any country happens through the strength and leadership of its youth.
“Everyone has taken a pledge to build a developed India by 2047. We believe in this pledge because at the heart of every policy and decision in India is the talented youth of the country. Look at the policies of the past decade–Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Startup India, Standup India, Digital India–each of these programs was designed with the youth at the centre. India has changed its policies in the space sector, boosted manufacturing in the defence sector, and the biggest beneficiaries of these changes are the youth,” PM Modi said.
Rozgar Mela is a step to provide meaningful opportunities to the youth for their participation in nation-building and self-empowerment.
National News
Delhi BJP releases ‘chargesheet’ against Kejriwal, AAP govt
New Delhi, Dec 23: The Delhi BJP on Monday released a political “chargesheet” against AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and his party, enlisting alleged failures of the Delhi government over the last 10 years and instances of corruption involving ministers.
Releasing the “chargesheet” or “Aarop Patra” ahead of Assembly elections, former Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, “About Rs 52 crore of public money was wasted on Kejriwal’s luxurious Sheeshmahal (official residence). The AAP promised to clean Yamuna by 2025, but it turned into a toxic sewer filled with poisonous foam.”
He said that during the 10 years of “misgovernance,” Delhi turned into a “corruption capital.”
“Eight AAP ministers, 15 legislators and an MP have been jailed in these years,” he said, pointing to the liquor policy scam and slamming Kejriwal’s promise of ridding the city of corruption.
The BJP MP also targeted the AAP government for ignoring women’s safety, alleging that it failed to utilise the Nirbhaya Fund or build promised fast-track courts.
Kejriwal’s promises of fighting pollution, improving the quality of education and ending the tanker mafia have not been fulfilled in 10 years, said Thakur.
“The AQI once crossed 1,200, and even today it is over 500,” he said, adding that Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, who took a dip in the Yamuna, would be able to give a first-hand account of how polluted the river was despite tall claims by the AAP government.
“Delhi’s air pollution equals smoking 50 cigarettes a day. AAP failed to take action. The city is now home to the world’s tallest garbage mountain due to the AAP government’s mismanagement,” he said.
The BJP “chargesheet” also alleged that fake medicines distributed in Mohalla Clinics claimed lives, exposing AAP’s “world-class health model.” Thakur alleged that Rs 1,125 crore were wasted on incomplete ICU hospitals.
Delhi’s youth were betrayed by the AAP government as 29 Pratibha schools were shut under it, depriving students of quality education, he said.
Referring to the tanker mafia, Thakur said Rs 28,400 crore was allocated to the Delhi Jal Board, yet residents rely on tankers for water.
While the AAP promised free water, it has supplied only dirty, toxic water, risking public health, he said.
The former Union Minister said the AAP government’s promises of giving a “world-class drainage system” have been exposed by water-logging and monsoon deaths.
He added that the cost of water is the highest in the city.
Later, speaking to the reporters, Thakur said, “Arvind Kejriwal is the culprit behind the problems of Delhi residents. The infection of lungs in 22 lakh children is due to Delhi’s pollution and dirty water, which is the result of the failures of Kejriwal’s government.”
“They couldn’t utilise the Nirbhaya Fund, and the initiative to provide Rs 6,000 each to pregnant women was left incomplete. Now, after 10 years, they talk of distributing money. Where was Kejriwal’s government all this time? Where was the respect for women?” he questioned.
Criticising the management of the national capital’s finances, Thakur said, “Despite thousands of crores in Delhi’s treasury, the government is under debt. They talk about good education, yet one-and-a-half lakh students in classes 9 and 11 failed. Crores are spent on advertisements, but their sports university exists only on paper, and their skill and entrepreneurship universities remain under-utilised.”
He also accused the AAP government of doing disservice to the poor by denying them access to healthcare by not implementing the Central government’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
“By refusing to implement the scheme, they have taken away the right of the poor to avail medical insurance for treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh. Whether it’s clean water, free treatment, good education, better roads, or a pollution-free environment, the common citizen of Delhi feels betrayed,” Thakur said, calling Kejriwal the “biggest cheater.”
National News
‘Congress Remembers Dalits Only In Bad Times,’ Says BSP Chief Mayawati, Slamming Rahul Gandhi’s Parbhani Visit
Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Monday took a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his visit to violence-hit Parbhani in Maharashtra. She said he was going there only to shed crocodile tears and accused the Congress of historically adopting a casteist and contemptuous attitude toward Dalits and backward classes.
Taking to X on Monday, Mayawati wrote, “Unfortunate incidents like Parbhani happened as a result of disrespect/insult towards the original architect of the Indian Constitution, the most revered Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and the feeling of inferiority towards his crores of followers. It is proved that Congress and BJP are not their true well-wishers, everyone’s intentions and policies are flawed.”
BSP Chief Mayawati On Rahul Gandhi’s Visit
Referring to Gandhi’s visit, Mayawati said, “The Congress leader’s visit today to Parbhani is nothing more than shedding crocodile tears because the Congress’ attitude towards the interests and welfare of Babasaheb and his followers has always been casteist and contemptuous, both during his lifetime and after his death. They remember the Dalits and backward classes only in their bad times.”
About Rahul Gandhi’s Visit To Parbhani
Rahul Gandhi, during his brief visit to Parbhani, will meet the bereaved families of Somnath Vyankat Suryawanshi, 35, who was studying his LlB, and another Dalit social worker Vijay Wakode, who suffered a heart attack and succumbed while attempting to control the rampaging mobs on December 11-12.
BSP Chief Calls For A Peacefl Nationwide Demonstration
The BSP chief also called for a peaceful nationwide demonstration at district headquarters to demand the withdrawal of alleged anti-Ambedkar remarks made in Parliament. “The entire society should unite and make these protests successful,” she urged, cautioning against “deceptive politics” carried out in the name of Ambedkar.
Mayawati reiterated her party’s commitment to its Ambedkarite mission, stating, “The BSP’s self-respect movement aims to empower the ‘Bahujan Samaj’ politically, while other parties merely pretend to champion Ambedkar’s legacy for political gains. Their actions are duplicitous — Ram on their lips, but a knife under their arm.”
The BSP has announced a nationwide agitation on December 24 to protest against Home Minister Amit Shah’s controversial remarks about Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar in Parliament, which they claim disrespected the architect of India’s Constitution.
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