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SC defers hearing on Congress leaders’ plea on duplicate voters

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New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday deferred to September 27 the hearing on pleas of Congress leaders alleging the existence of a large number of duplicate voters in electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath approached the apex court seeking draft voter list of Madhya Pradesh in Word format.

A bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan said the matter requires substantive hearing and listed the matter for September 27.

Kamal Nath said that Election Commission of India (ECI) had provided voter lists in Word format during Karnataka and Rajasthan elections as also during Madhya Pradesh assembly polls in 2013.

However, the Election Commission has said it received complaints of voter profiling and to prevent the misuse of data, a conscious decision has been taken to provide it in PDF format (which can’t be edited).

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Nath, contended before the apex court that when the Commission can provide the draft voter list in Word format in other states, then why not in Madhya Pradesh.

On the other hand, senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the poll panel, argued a decision was taken to provide the draft list in PDF format to thwart any attempt of misuse of voter data.

On September 18, the Commission in its affidavit had justified providing the draft electoral rolls in PDF format in Madhya Pradesh without any pictures of voters and said that it was done to prevent manipulation of the electors data.

On allegations about the presence of large-scale duplicate votes in electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the poll panel has said the allegations are “misleading and misconceived”.

The poll panel asserted that it had always upheld the integrity and purity of the electoral process and was committed to holding “free and fair elections”.

Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot had moved the apex court about a large number of duplicate votes in the electoral rolls of the two states which will go to polls this year.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress leaders claimed, there are about 60 lakh duplicate votes.

Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot are President of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan units of the Congress respectively.

Seeking dismissal of the two petitions with costs, the Election Commission, however, had admitted that during updation of the electoral rolls between January 19 and July 31, “there was a net deletion of around 24 lakh entries from electoral rolls and it is also correct that more than two lakh photo entries were flagged as unclear/blank/repeated photos”.

It said that out of these two lakh photo entries, as many as 104,284 were found to be valid. Only 97,687 entries had to be corrected during the updation of the electoral rolls.

The Commission denied malfunctioning of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails wherein votes were recorded in favour of one party.

–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma

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World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.

Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.

During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.

On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”

Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.

It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.

Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.

Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”

On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”

The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.

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