After being held responsible for covid mayhem, EC bans poll victory processions

News Network

April 27, 2021

New Delhi, Apr 27: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has banned all victory processions on or after the counting of votes for the assembly elections in five states that will be declared on May 2.

In its detailed order, Election Commission has said not more than two people will be allowed to accompany the winning candidate to receive their victory certificate for the May 2 election result.

The Election Commission ban on victory processions comes as the country witnesses a severe second wave of Covid-19 that has been claiming over 2,000 lives on a daily basis for the past several days.

India on Tuesday recorded over 3.23 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases while it saw the highest tally in the world with 3.5 lakh fresh cases on Monday. Over 2,771 people have died in the past 24 hours over the Covid surge.

Last week, the Election Commission had banned all roadshows, padyatras and vehicle rallies in Bengal which is in the middle of an 8-phase assembly election and massive spike in Covid-19 cases.

Using its constitutional powers, the Election Commission issued an order placing to restrict all physical campaigning in Bengal. The state voted in the seventh phase on Monday and will see the final round of polling on April 29.

The Madras High Court on Monday slammed the Election Commission over the Covid-19 second wave in the country, holding it 'singularly' responsible for the spread, called it the "the most irresponsible institution" and even said its officials may be booked under murder charges.

The EC allowing political parties to take out rallies and meetings had led to the spread of the pandemic, the court said.

The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the stinging observation on a public interest writ from Karur AIADMK candidate and Transport Minister M R Vijayabaskar for the April 6 Assembly polls, seeking a direction to authorities to ensure fair counting of votes on May 2 in Karur by taking effective steps and proper arrangements with Covid-19 protocols.

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Hezbollah’s media relations chief killed in Israeli strike on Beirut

News Network

November 17,2024

An Israeli airstrike on the office of Syria’s Baath party in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has killed the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, reports say.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli raid struck the Ba'ath party’s building in central Beirut district of Ras Al-Naba'a on Sunday, adding that the strike was an attempt to assassinate the leader of the resistance media front.

According to Baath Secretary-General Ali Hijazi, Afif was having a meeting in the Baath Party headquarters when Israel carried out the attack.

"Afif did not fight with weapons and did not lead a military unit in Hezbollah. Rather, he led a media unit," he said.

Reuters, Sky News, Al Jazeera and a number of Henrew-language media reported that Afif was killed in the Israeli strike.

However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Afif’s death or whether he was present at the site or not.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and three others injured after an Israeli strike targeted a central district in Beirut.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network reported that five people were killed in the attack.

The latest development came after Afif said Hezbollah was behind the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home during a speech at the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on October 22.

This was the second assassination attempt on Afif in the last two months, after he survived an attack on the Hezbollah media relations office several weeks ago.

Israel launched a ground assault and massive air campaign against Lebanon in late September after a year of exchanging fire across the Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war.

At least 3,287 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past year, with the vast majority in the past seven weeks. Another 14,222 have been wounded, mostly women and children.

In response to the ongoing aggression, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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