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RS polls: EC stops counting of votes in Jharkhand
The Election Commission on Friday ordered stopping of counting of votes for Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand, following the seizure of over Rs 2 crore from the car of a candidate`s kin.
Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi/Ranchi: The Election Commission on Friday ordered stopping of counting of votes for Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand, following the seizure of over Rs 2 crore from the car of a candidate’s kin.
The EC also stopped counting of votes in Uttarakhand.
The counting of votes will not be taken up until the EC investigates the matter thoroughly.
In its communication to the returning officers of the Assemblies of Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, the EC asked them to submit detailed and comprehensive reports of the conduct of polls Friday with special reference to any untoward incident immediately after voting was over.
The recovery of cash came on a day when polls for the Upper House are being held in Jharkhand. The cash was seized allegedly from a car owned by the younger brother of an independent Rajya Sabha candidate, RK Agarwal.
"The cash was seized near Rampur haat under Namkum police station between 6.30 am and 7.00 am from the car," Income Tax department`s Jharkhand Director Ajay Kumar said.
"The car belongs to Suresh Agarwal, the younger brother of (independent RS candidate) R K Agarwal, while the cash came from his relative Praskash Khemani`s place at Jamshedpur," he added. R K Agarwal is one of the independent candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections for two seats from Jharkhand which are scheduled today.
Following interrogation of Suresh Agarwal and another person, Kumar said it was allegedly revealed that the cash had come from Khemani`s place.
"Prakash Khemani is related to R K Agarwal. We have launched raids in his place," Kumar said.
He said some names of legislators were also found in the vehicle`s car.
Jharkhand Assembly was today adjourned twice following din over seizure of cash that got linked to the Rajya Sabha elections.
As soon as the House convened, the Opposition led Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantric) Pradip Yadav, Samresh Singh and Congress MLAs Sourav Narayan Singh and others demanded a reply from the government over the news.
Senior BJP MLA Raghuvar Das said the Congress had "no right" to raise the issue of corruption after the cash-for-vote scandal erupted in 2009.
Speaker C P Singh adjourned the House for 15 minutes after the Opposition trooped to the well and raised anti-horse-trading slogans.
Similar scenes were witnessed even after the House reconvened, prompting the speaker to adjourn the house till 2 pm.
The RS polls for two seats from Jharkhand are going on today.
(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi/Ranchi: The Election Commission on Friday ordered stopping of counting of votes for Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand, following the seizure of over Rs 2 crore from the car of a candidate’s kin.
The EC also stopped counting of votes in Uttarakhand.
The counting of votes will not be taken up until the EC investigates the matter thoroughly.
In its communication to the returning officers of the Assemblies of Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, the EC asked them to submit detailed and comprehensive reports of the conduct of polls Friday with special reference to any untoward incident immediately after voting was over.
The recovery of cash came on a day when polls for the Upper House are being held in Jharkhand. The cash was seized allegedly from a car owned by the younger brother of an independent Rajya Sabha candidate, RK Agarwal.
"The cash was seized near Rampur haat under Namkum police station between 6.30 am and 7.00 am from the car," Income Tax department`s Jharkhand Director Ajay Kumar said.
"The car belongs to Suresh Agarwal, the younger brother of (independent RS candidate) R K Agarwal, while the cash came from his relative Praskash Khemani`s place at Jamshedpur," he added. R K Agarwal is one of the independent candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections for two seats from Jharkhand which are scheduled today.
Following interrogation of Suresh Agarwal and another person, Kumar said it was allegedly revealed that the cash had come from Khemani`s place.
"Prakash Khemani is related to R K Agarwal. We have launched raids in his place," Kumar said.
He said some names of legislators were also found in the vehicle`s car.
Jharkhand Assembly was today adjourned twice following din over seizure of cash that got linked to the Rajya Sabha elections.
As soon as the House convened, the Opposition led Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantric) Pradip Yadav, Samresh Singh and Congress MLAs Sourav Narayan Singh and others demanded a reply from the government over the news.
Senior BJP MLA Raghuvar Das said the Congress had "no right" to raise the issue of corruption after the cash-for-vote scandal erupted in 2009.
Speaker C P Singh adjourned the House for 15 minutes after the Opposition trooped to the well and raised anti-horse-trading slogans.
Similar scenes were witnessed even after the House reconvened, prompting the speaker to adjourn the house till 2 pm.
The RS polls for two seats from Jharkhand are going on today.
(With PTI inputs)