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Iraq’s PM: Burning of election warehouse, a plot against democracy

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Iraq’s PM: Burning of election warehouse, a plot against democracy

The controversy over Iraq’s parliamentary election results has deepened further after burning of a warehouse where ballot boxes were kept in Baghdad on Sunday. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose coalition stood third in the recent elections,hassaid that burning of the warehouse was part of a plot to sabotage the country’s democratic process.

According to Al-Jazeera, Prime Minister’s comments were the most high-profile indication that the fire in the Iraqi capital was deliberate.”Burning election warehouses … is a plot to harm the nation and its democracy. We will take all necessary measures and strike with an iron fist all who undermine the security of the nation and its citizens,” he added.

Prior to his remarks, Salim al-Jabouri, the outgoing parliament speaker said that the fire was intentional and called for a repeat of the election.

Read More: Iraq: Muqtada Sadr wins highest Parliament seats

The statement issued by Jabouri said, “The crime of burning ballot box storage warehouses in the Rusafa area is a deliberate act, a planned crime, aimed at hiding instances of fraud and manipulation of votes, lying to the Iraqi people and changing their will and choices.  We call for the election to be repeated.”

Iraq’s PM: Burning of election warehouse, a plot against democracy

He also called for those responsible to be brought to justice by the security forces.Jabouri has lost his seat in the recent elections.

Moreover, Kazem al-Shammari, a spokesman for the Sunni Wataniya alliance, which won 21 seats in the recent elections, was quoted  by London based al-Araby al-Jadeed, as saying that “there was no such incident in all previous election cycles, and the fire coincides with the decision to manually re-count the ballot boxes.This indicates a lot of manipulation and forgery, so the forgers sought to hide the crime by burning the boxes.”

Read More: Iraq audits EVMs, orders manual vote count

Adel Nouri, a member of the Iraqi Parliamentary Integrity Commission has also alleged that the ballot boxes were deliberately set on fire. He was quoted saying, “The criminals manipulated the results of the elections because they know that the results that were announced are not true, so they burned the ballot boxes.This crime is not an ordinary crime and not a passing incident, but a major crime and a great betrayal of the country.”

He called on al-Abadi and the responsible authorities to “open an urgent investigation to catch the perpetrators and determine the cause, so as to know who had committed this crime”.

After allegations of fraud during the May 12 elections parliament has passed a resolution for a recount of 11 million votes last week. The outgoing parliament also called for the Independent High Elections Commission’s leadership to be replaced by nine judges.

The cause of dubious fire accident was not immediately known but a local official said that boxes, part of a manual recount of votes from the al-Rusafa district in eastern Baghdad, had all been scorched.

Read More: Iraq votes for Parliament in first elections after IS defeat

Mohammed al-Rabeei, a Baghdad province council member, said,”I can tell you all the boxes and papers have burned,”

However, an interior ministry spokesman Major General SaadMaansaid that the fire had destroyed some documents and equipment but first responders on the site were trying to prevent it from spreading to ballot boxes.The warehouse is one of four at the site and contained documents and electronic equipment.

He further said, “It is possible there were also some ballot boxes in the warehouse that caught fire, but most of the important boxes are in the three warehouses where the fire has been controlled.”

Everybody was surprised when Muqtada Sadr ledSairoon coalition came first in last month’s vote, winning 54 out of 328 seats.The Conquest Alliance, led by former transport minister and secretary general of BadrOrganisationHadi al-Ameri, came in second with 47 seats while Victory Alliance, headed by incumbent Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi, could achieve the third place with 42 seats.

Former PM Nouri al-Maliki headed State of Law Coalition has won 26 seats, Nechervanbarezani led Kurdistan Democratic Party-25, Ammar al-Hakim led National wisdom Movement, also known as Al-Muwatin- 19, AyadAllawi led Iraqi National Accord (Al-Wataniya)- 22, KosratRasul Ali, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan got 18 and Usama al-Nujayfi could get 14 seats in the Iraqi parliament.

According to intelligence services, however, tests of electronic voting machines – used for the first time in Iraqi elections – produced varied results, appearing to give credence to the fraud claims.

Negotiations over the formation of a new government are expected to drag on for months as no alliance won the 165 seats required for an outright majority. In the past, similar talks lasted up to nine months.Until a new prime minister is elected, incumbent PM Haider al-Abadi will remain in office.

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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink

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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly election, PM Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the incumbent Hemant Soren government, accusing it to put appeasement at the top of its agenda.

While addressing a rally in Jharkhand’s Garhwa, the Prime Minister said the coalition government of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and RJD are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators. He said that the JMM-RJD-Congress government has taken appeasement to its peak, and that these parties are destroying the state’s social harmony. He alleged that the parties are supporters of infiltrators, and to get votes of Bangladesh infiltrators, they are getting them settled across Jharkhand.

The Prime Minister stated that when schools disallow Saraswati Vandana, one can imagine how big the danger is. When there is stone-pelting during festivals, Maa Durga is stopped and curfew is imposed, one knows how dangerous it is, he continued. The Prime Minister also added that when the issue of infiltration goes to court and the administration denies, it becomes clear that the government machinery has been infiltrated. PM Modi was referring to allegations that a Muslim teacher stopped prayers to Goddess Saraswati at a school in Jharkhand’s Giridih.

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink, and advised people to use their vote to uproot this infiltrator coalition. He maintained that Jharkhand’s swift development is possible only if it has a government that expedites the implementation of central schemes.

Referring to the JMM’s decision to replace Champai Soren as Chief Minister after Hemant Soren was granted bail in a money laundering case, PM Modi said that the party has left no stones unturned in humiliating an adivasi son. He asked how the party will take care of the people of the state when nothing matters to them more than family. He added that he does not have a family, and the people are his family. He also mentioned that Champai Soren, once a trusted lieutenant of Hemant Soren, is now with the BJP.

Slamming the ruling coalition of corruption, he said that corruption hollows out the country like termites, and destroys the poor, Dalits, people from backward classes and tribals. He claimed that Jharkhand has seen for five years the corruption of the JMM-Congress-RJD government.

He also referred to the massive cash haul from the home of Congress’s former Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu last year. Mentioning that mountains of cash are recovered from the home of Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP, he questioned if this money didn’t belong to Jharkhand.

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Ruckus in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly over resolution against Article 370 abrogation

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addressing the session, said that the resolution has no importance and it is only for the cameras.

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Ruckus in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly over resolution against Article 370 abrogation

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Monday witnessed chaos after People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed Para moved a resolution opposing the abrogation of Article 370 and called for restoring the union territory’s special status.

Waheed Para, the PDP MLA from the Pulwama Assembly seat, submitted the resolution to newly elected Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather and requested for a discussion on the matter during the five-day session, despite not being a part of the agenda.

It was submitted that although the agenda of the House has been finalised, they believe that the authority as the Speaker allows the inclusion of the resolution, as it reflects the sentiment of the people at large. After the resolution was submitted, all 28 Jammu and Kashmir BJP MLAs stood up to oppose the move, leading to noisy scenes inside the Assembly.

As the members protested, BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma demanded Para’s suspension for bringing the resolution in violation of Assembly rules. The agitation continued even after the Speaker repeatedly requested the protesting members to take their seats. He asserted the resolution has not come to him yet and when it does, he would examine it.

While the BJP members refused to call off their protest, National Conference MLAs slammed them for interrupting the proceedings of the House. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addressing the session, said that the resolution has no importance and it is only for the cameras.

The Chief Minister added that how the House will reflect and discuss this matter will not be decided by any one member. If there was a purpose behind the resolution, then they would have discussed this with the government before, he continued.

Nonetheless, CM Abdullah also admitted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir do not approve of the decision taken on August 5, 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also said that his government will make all efforts for the restoration of full statehood. He mentioned that restoration of full statehood would be a reciprocation of the faith reposed by the people of Jammu and Kashmir in democratic institutions.

Meanwhile, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti expressed that she was proud of Waheed Para for submitting the resolution.

Notably, Article 370 was a provision in the Constitution that granted special autonomy to the region of Jammu and Kashmir. It also allowed the state to have its own constitution, flag, and autonomy over internal matters except defense, communications, and foreign affairs.

However, the Centre on August 5, 2019 revoked Article 370, effectively removing the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and reorganising it into two Union Territories namely, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

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20 killed after bus falls into gorge near Uttarakhand’s Pauri-Almora border, CM Dhami expresses grief

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each for the injured.

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20 killed after bus falls into gorge near Uttarakhand’s Pauri-Almora border, CM Dhami expresses grief

In a tragic incident, nearly 20 people were killed after a Garwal Motors Users bus fell into a 200-metre deep gorge near Uttarakhand’s Kupi in Ramnagar at Pauri-Almora border on Monday. The injured are being hurried to the hospital and a search operation is currently underway. At least 35 people were inside the bus when the accident occured.

The fatal accident was reported to authorities at around 9 am by passengers who had fallen from the bus during the accident. Police and teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are at the accident site in Marchula’s Salt area. 

Speaking to the media, District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey said that the bus was going from Garhwal to Kumaon where the accident took place at Marchula in Almora. Sanjay Kumar, Salt Sub-District Magistrate stated that some of the passengers have been rescued and admitted to hospital. 

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each for the injured. The Chief Minister also directed the Commissioner of the Kumaon division to carry out a magisterial inquiry into the incident. 

Taking to social media platform X, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief, and said that a very sad news has been received about the casualties of passengers in the unfortunate bus accident that took place in Marchula of Almora district. He added that the district administration has been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations swiftly. 

Furthermore, CM Dhami stated that the local administration and SDRF teams at the accident site are working rapidly to evacuate the injured and take them to the nearest health centre for treatment. He mentioned that instruction have also been given to airlift seriously injured passengers if required. 

In a tweet, the Prime Minister’s office also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap in Almora, adding that the injured would be given Rs 50,000.

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