EC: Probe fake news on online voting rights to NRIs

New Delhi: The Election Commission filed a complaint with the Delhi Police on Friday, asking it to track down those spreading “fake news” that NRIs can cast their vote online in the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May. Asking the police to investigate the matter, the EC said its logo was used on social media to “mislead” people. The EC said the “fake news” was violative of Section 505 of the IPC dealing with rumour-mongering and attempts to spread alarm among people. On Thursday, an EC spokesperson had said no such facility has been extended to NRIs. “If it happens, it needs amendment to the Representation of the People Act. No such amendment has taken place,” the spokesperson had said. tns

PPI (D) to contest 150 seats countrywide     

New Delhi: A fledgling party named Peoples Party of India (Democratic) has announced that it will contest, among others, all the seats in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi and some seats in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the upcoming General Election. Party president BD Borkar said the PPI (D) would contest on a total of 150 seats across the country. “We will not enter into an alliance with any political outfit. They all have become discredited,” Borkar said and criticised the BJP, Congress and BSP for misleading the downtrodden. The other states that the party will focus on include Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The party was registered with the Election Commission in December 2018, following which it plunged into electoral politics. TNS