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Amit Shah & Akhilesh Yadav’s lighter exchange in LS over party president

New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) Amid the uproar and heated debate between the ruling party and the Opposition over the Waqf Amendment Bill on Wednesday, the Lok Sabha witnessed some lighter moments between Home Minister Amit Shah and SP President Akhilesh Yadav.

Both leaders took jibes at each other over the respective party presidents, though they kept smiling through the exchange, keeping the moment lighter.

The ‘jibe war’ started when SP supremo stood up in the Lok Sabha to put forth his objections and arguments on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. While slamming the BJP and the Centre over discriminatory amendments in the legislation, he said that the party that projects itself as the world’s largest hasn’t been able to hold elections for party president.

Home Minister Amit Shah was quick to counter the SP supremo over the party president’s dig.

“For family-run parties, it is very easy to pick their presidents. But, the BJP with its over 12 crore party workers, undertakes an extensive exercise to elect its leader,” Union Home Minister remarked.

Further slamming the dynasty and family-run parties in the House, apparently hinting at the grand old party and others, Amit Shah took a pointed jibe at Akhilesh Yadav and stated, “You will remain party president for the next 25 years.”

Amit Shah’s direct dig at SP president left the latter red-faced, following which he resorted to other issues to target the government.

Akhilesh accused the Centre of targeting the Muslim community by bringing contentious amendments in the Waqf Bill and also of depriving them of their ownership rights.

He further stated, “There is a fight within the BJP leaders to prove who is the ‘worst Hindu’ and stated that this was being done to garner support from one community.

–IANS

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Jharkhand: Record 73.88 pc voter turnout in Ghatshila bypoll reflects high public enthusiasm

Ghatsila (Jharkhand), Nov 11 (IANS) The by-election for Jharkhand’s Ghatsila Assembly seat concluded peacefully on Tuesday, recording an impressive 73.88 per cent voter turnout till 5 p.m., according to figures released by the Election Commission.

Officials said the final turnout could rise further after the compilation of data from remote areas.

Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar said the polling was conducted smoothly and monitored through live webcasting from the Election Commission of India, the CEO’s office, the District Election Officer, and the Returning Officer’s office.

To ensure transparency and security, CCTV cameras were installed inside and outside all 300 polling stations, he said.

“All arrangements were made to ensure that the by-election was free, fair, and peaceful,” Kumar said, adding that paramilitary forces, police personnel, and magistrates were deployed at every booth.

A total of 300 polling stations were set up across 231 locations, several of which were developed as model booths equipped with voter assistance facilities.

Voting began at 7 a.m. after a mock poll at 5.30 a.m., with all polling teams reaching their respective booths before dawn. Long queues of voters — including women, youth, and first-time voters — were seen since early morning.

Elderly and differently-abled voters also participated enthusiastically, arriving in wheelchairs and receiving assistance from election volunteers.

By 9 a.m., voter turnout had already reached 17.33 per cent, reflecting a brisk start to polling that continued steadily throughout the day.

No untoward incidents or major complaints were reported from any part of the constituency, officials said.

The by-election was necessitated by the death of sitting JMM MLA Ramdas Soren earlier this year. The contest is mainly between JMM’s Somesh Chandra Soren and BJP’s Babulal Soren among 13 candidates in the fray.

With polling now complete, the fate of all 13 candidates is sealed in the EVMs. Counting of votes will take place later this week, on November 14, along with the Bihar elections.

–IANS

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