Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar made the announcement in a press conference. As per the schedule, the counting of votes for Himachal Pradesh elections will be held on December 8. The CEC said that elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure maximum participation of voters in the festival of democracy. The weather in Himachal Pradesh was also cited as one of the reasons for the early announcement of elections in the hill state.
More than 55 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise for 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh. 1.86 lakh are first time voters, 1.22 lakh are above 80 years of age and 1,184 are voters who are above 100 years of age.
Giving details about the measures taken by the Election Commission to facilitate voters, the CEC said that several technological interventions have been taken to encourage voter participation. Each polling station will have ramps, volunteers, drinking water, waiting rooms, toilets with water facilities and adequate lighting and all polling stations will be on the ground floor.
The CEC said that there will also be women-only polling stations, where the security personnel will also be women. The Election Commission is planning to have at least one such polling station in each assembly constituency. He said that the Election Commission also plans to employ persons with disabilities as polling staff.
Himachal Pradesh has a 68-member assembly and the BJP secured a clear majority in the 2017 elections by winning 44 seats. Congress managed to win 21 seats, Independents won two seats and CPI(M) won one seat. In percentage terms, the BJP won 48.79% of the total valid votes, followed by Congress (41.68%) and independents (6.34%).
Gyanvapi case | Varanasi court dismisses plea seeking carbon dating of ‘Shivling’
Varanasi district court on Friday Some Hindu rejected an application filed by the plaintiff Demand for scientific investigation of disputed structure found inside Gyanvapi mosque
District Judge AK Vishvesh concluded that as per the Supreme Court’s May order, the area around the structure had to be kept sealed, which was one of the arguments of the Masjid Committee before the court. The Hindu side has claimed that the disputed structure was a Shivalinga and the Anjuman Intezamiya Masjid Committee has insisted that it is part of the fountain of Wuzu Khana.
The mosque panel has challenged the order in the Supreme Court under which the video survey was conducted and the disputed structure was found.
Vishnu Jain, representing the Hindu side, said, “The Muslim side said that the Shivalinga suit is not part of the property and its carbon dating cannot be done. We have given our explanation on both these points. The court will give its verdict. 14 october.
Earlier on September 29, the Hindu side had demanded a scientific investigation of the ‘Shivalinga’ and carbon dating of ‘Argha’ and its surrounding area by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The court had reserved the verdict after hearing the arguments of both the parties in the Gyanvapi Masjid-Sringar Gauri case.
Akhlaq Ahmed, representing the Muslim side, had said that the plea of the Hindu side was not maintainable as it was against the Supreme Court’s order that it protected the structure.
Bombay High Court acquits former DU professor GN Saibaba in Maoist links case
a 90% physically disabled, wheelchair bound offender, Pro. GN Saibaba was acquitted by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court.
A division bench of Justice Rohit Dev and Justice Anil Pansare acquitted the accused Mahesh Tirkey, Pandu Pora Narote, Hem Keshavdutt Mishra, Prashant Rahi, Vijay Nan Tirkey and GN Saibaba. Pandu Narote, 33, lodged in Nagpur Central Jail, died of swine flu on August 26.
GN Saibaba, former Professor of Delhi University. file. , photo credit: PTI
The judgment treats the order of the Sessions Court as null and void and sets it aside in the absence of a valid sanction under the UAPA.
“Empirical evidence suggests that departure from due process of law fosters an ecosystem in which terrorism thrives and provides fodder to vested interests whose sole agenda is to propagate false narratives,” the judgment said.
The National Investigation Agency immediately moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the acquittal; However, it was rejected. The top court, however, allowed the central agency to file an application before the registry, requesting for immediate listing.
A special meeting of a bench of Justices MR Shah and Bela Trivedi is scheduled to hear Maharashtra’s appeal against the acquittal on October 15.
Pro. Saibaba’s left hand is on the verge of failure And severe pain is spreading in both hands. He suffers from pancreatitis, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, chronic back pain, immobility and sleeplessness.
Does the electoral bond system provide where the money comes from, the Supreme Court asked the Center
Supreme Court asked the government Does the electoral bond system reveal the source of the money? to fund political parties, while the Center has repeatedly said that the scheme is “absolutely transparent”.
“Is it transparent? Does the system provide where the money comes from?” The head of a bench of Justice BV Nagarathna, Justice BR Gavai, questioned the government.
“The method of getting money is absolutely transparent… It is impossible to get any black or unaccounted money… To say that this (electoral bond scheme) affects democracy cannot be water. We are at this stage- Will take your dominion through step by step.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta replied for Sarkar.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the scheme influenced the idea of free and fair elections provided under Article 324 of the Constitution.
Urging to refer the matter before a larger bench, Sibal said the court should consider the main issue of effect of electoral bonds on Article 324.
Justice Gavai indicated that the court should first hear whether the matter should be referred to a larger bench. He said that it is the prerogative of the Chief Justice of India to constitute a larger bench if necessary.
Bhushan flagged three important and interlinked issues in the petitions challenging the scheme. He said that apart from the question of validity of electoral bonds, separate petitions have questioned whether political parties come under the purview of the Right to Information Act or not.
The third issue, he said, is a challenge to the retrospective amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, under which subsidiaries of foreign companies will not be treated as foreign sources.
Attorney General R. Venkataramani said there should be a “threshold hearing” on the question of reference to a larger bench. He and Mehta urged the court to list the matter in January. He said that several constitution benches were appointed in the interim.
But Sibal and Bhushan pressed for an earlier date. “Or there will be elections in the meantime… that is the problem,” Sibal said. “Anyway it’s been pending for seven years… can we get it in January?” Justice Gavai made the suggestion, but the petitioners requested a first hearing considering the importance of the issue. The court finally scheduled a hearing on December 6.
UK Prime Minister Truss sacrifices Finance Minister Quarteng in fight for survival
British Prime Minister Liz Truss fired his finance minister Quasi QuartengShortly before it was expected to scrap parts of its economic package in a desperate bid to escape the market and political turmoil in the country.
Quarteng said he had resigned at Truss’s request after coming back to London overnight from IMF meetings in Washington. The truce, in power for only 37 days, would hold a news conference later, Downing Street confirmed.
“You asked me to stand aside as your Chancellor. I have accepted,” Quarteng said in his resignation letter, which he published on Twitter. Truss replied, “A longtime friend and as an ally. I am deeply saddened to lose you from the government. Former Secretary of State and Health Jeremy Hunt has replaced Quarteng.
Quarteng is the country’s youngest chancellor since 1970, and his successor will be the fourth finance minister in as many months in Britain, where millions of people are facing a living crisis.
In Washington, Quarteng was briefed by the head of the International Monetary Fund about the importance of “policy coherence”. His return flight to London was broadcast live by television news channels. He was fired minutes after he returned to Downing Street.
Short:
UN envoy Pramila Patton said in an interview that rape and sexual assaults attributed to Moscow’s military in Ukraine are part of a Russian “military strategy” and “a deliberate strategy to dehumanize victims”. Asked whether rape is being used as a weapon of war in Ukraine, “all indications are there,” the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence said. “When women are kept and raped for days, when you start raping little boys and men, when you see a series of genitals, when you hear that women are Russian soldiers armed with Viagra. If you testify about it, it’s clearly a military strategy,” she said. , “And when victims report what was said during the rape, it is clearly a deliberate strategy to dehumanize the victims.” Patton said the United Nations had confirmed “more than a hundred cases” of rape or sexual assault since the start of the war.
Evening Wrap will be back tomorrow.