Himachal Speaker disqualifies 6 Congress MLAs

SHIMLA, Feb 29: Six Congress MLAs from Himachal Pradesh who cross-voted for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha election have been disqualified from the assembly, the Speaker announced today.

The BJP had clapped for and congratulated the six MLAs for their 'bravery' yesterday when they came to the assembly, after staying the previous night in BJP-ruled Haryana. Their kick, however, has gone wide.

The disqualified MLAs are Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur, and Chetanya Sharma.

Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania today said they have been disqualified for defying the party whip to vote in favour of the government on the Finance Bill in the house yesterday. The assembly passed the state Budget after the Speaker suspended 15 BJP MLAs.

The actions of the six MLAs violated the anti-defection law, the Speaker said.

For now, the MLAs' disqualification has closed the chapter for the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh after a two-day scare over the BJP returning to power with a no-trust vote, since the six MLAs had voted for the state's Opposition party in the Rajya Sabha election.

The BJP had deduced the six Congress MLAs no longer trusted the ruling party.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra yesterday questioned whether the BJP, with just 25 MLAs, was working overtime to overthrow the Himachal Pradesh government.

Minus the six disqualified MLAs, the Congress now has 34 MLAs in the 62-member house. Three independent MLAs who supported the Congress also cross-voted for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha election.

"In democracy, the public has the right to choose the government of their choice. The people of Himachal Pradesh used this right and formed the Congress government with a clear majority. But BJP wants to crush this right of the people by misusing money power, power of agencies and power of the Centre," Priyanka Gandhi said in a post on the microblogging platform X in Hindi.

No More Parole For Rape Convict Ram Rahim Without Court Approval

CHANDIGARH, Feb 29: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has raised questions over repeated paroles granted to Dera Sacha Sauda chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, a rape convict who is supposed to be serving 20 years in prison.

The rape convict was given a 50-day parole in January, it was his seventh parole in almost 10 months and ninth in the last four years.

The high court has directed the Haryana government to ensure the surrender of Ram Rahim on March 10, the day his parole is supposed to end and has ordered the state government to request the court's permission to grant parole to Ram Rahim the next time.

Besides the setback, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the state government to provide information as to how many people have been given payroll in this manner. The court was hearing a petition filed by SGPC.

Ram Rahim was given parole on three occasions and was out of jail for 91 days. He was released for 21 days in November, 30 days in July, and 40 days in January - to attend former Dera chief Shah Satnam's birth anniversary. The frequent paroles/furloughs were questioned by the court and the state government has been asked to provide information on how many prisoners applied for parole and how many applications were accepted by them.

The high court also sought answers from the Haryana government over benefits given to the rape convict and how many prisoners received similar treatment.

Ram Rahim Singh was convicted by a special CBI court in Haryana's Panchkula in August 2017 for raping two women.

There's a pattern behind granting paroles to him and it usually happens during state elections or local body polls. Dera followers, and particularly those of Ram Rahim Singh, are influential in Punjab's Malwa region, with their votes seen as key in deciding parliamentary and legislative elections. The Malwa region has 69 constituencies - over half of the Punjab Assembly's 117 seats.

Dera followers - who number in the crores and have been relatively subdued since Rahim Singh was jailed - are widely seen as voting per diktats from sect leaders.

In February 2022, the Dera chief was given a 21-day parole just days ahead of the Punjab Assembly election. The furlough was challenged in the Punjab and High Court. The petitioner said the order of furlough is "unwarranted, illegal, untenable".

A few months later in June 2022, he was out of jail for 30 days in the middle of the Haryana Municipal elections. Four months later in October, he was out again for 40 days before a by-election to Haryana's Adampur seat.

Congress Retains Power In Himachal; State Budget Passed Amid Coup Fears

SHIMLA, Feb 28: The Congress began Wednesday with its government in Himachal Pradesh - one of only three states it controls on its own - teetering on the edge, thanks to a shock (although not entirely unpredictable) defeat in yesterday's Rajya Sabha election that, it was claimed, had eroded its House majority.

The Congress finished Wednesday with an unlikely stay of execution; it retains power for now, at least till after the general election which will span two-three months - thanks to the strategic expulsion today of 15 MLAs from the opposition BJP, including LoP Jairam Thakur, and passing of the state budget.

The 15 were expelled immediately after the Assembly's budget session began, ostensibly for sloganeering and misconduct, including rushing into the Speaker's chambers, charges for which the BJP, in power at the centre, has regularly expelled or suspended opposition parliamentarians.

"The BJP members were not in their seats... they raised slogans and were trying to create an atmosphere where they could attack me. I asked them to sit but they didn't listen," the Speaker said.

It handed the beleaguered ruling party a working majority in the Assembly and allowed it to pass the state budget without contest, since the BJP's 10 remaining MLAs walked out in protest.

"The budget was passed today, and the conspiracy to topple our government has been foiled. Our government will complete five years..." a grim-faced Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu said.

By passing the budget, the Chief Minister has protected his government from any immediate test, particularly since the BJP must now file a legal challenge to counter Speaker Kuldeep Pathania's expulsion of its lawmakers, and that, one can be sure, will be drawn out by the Congress.

Sukhu also underlined his determination to ride out this turbulence.

"Neither (has) anyone asked for my resignation nor have I presented my resignation to anyone. We will prove our majority. We will win..." he said, accusing the BJP of "spreading rumours" to break the party.

The passing of the budget sans opposition as a tactical move was underlined by Thakur.

"BJP has 25 MLAs. That number increased to 34 after Rajya Sabha voting (Mr Thakur here counts on the six Congress MLAs who have yet to officially join the BJP and three independent lawmakers). This created a danger. They had to pass the budget somehow, or the government would fall," he said.

"For this, they had to decrease the number of BJP MLAs. 15, including me, have been suspended. We were suspended to save the Congress government. After our suspension, they passed the budget."

Expelling the BJP MLAs was also a pre-emptive strike on its plan to force the Congress into a floor test. Removing 15 lawmakers from the 68-member House drops the majority mark to just 27.

The Congress, even after the likely loss of six MLAs - those who cross-voted in Tuesday's Rajya Sabha election, triggering all of this furore - would have had enough to sail through a no-trust motion.

The party won 40 seats in the 2022 election.

That, of course, was assuming it does not lose any more of its strength.

In any event, that possibility was never put to a test, since the uncharacteristically decisive move by the Congress' state unit caught the BJP by surprise, and allowed it to buy crucial time to regroup.

The party has responded by rushing three senior leaders - Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and its former Haryana and Chhattisgarh Chief Ministers, Bhupinder Hooda and Bhupesh Baghel - to defuse the situation.

The priority, senior leader Jairam Ramesh said, is to ensure the party's government remains intact.

Hours After Quitting As Himachal Minister, Virbhadra Singh's Son Hits Pause

SHIMLA, Feb 28: In signs of a thaw in the infighting-riddled Himachal Pradesh unit of the Congress, state minister Vikramaditya Singh has decided not to "press his resignation" hours after tendering it. He pointed out, however, that there is a difference between taking back his resignation and deciding not to press for it being accepted.

Six Congress MLAs had cross-voted in favour of the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha election on Tuesday, leading to the party suffering a stunning defeat.

Amid a possible threat to the survival of the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government, Singh had announced his resignation as the Public Works minister on Wednesday morning. The minister had accused Sukhu of "negligence" towards MLAs and disrespecting his late father and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh.

After a day of high drama, Singh said in the evening, "I have spoken to the observers that were sent by the party high command. The organisation is more important than one individual. Keeping the organisation strong is every individual's responsibility. In the larger interest of the party and the unity of the party, I will not press my resignation that was rejected by the chief minister earlier today."

When reporters asked him whether this meant the threat to the government was over, the minister said, "There was no crisis to begin with. It was a creation. A solution can be found to everything if people work together and take a positive approach. We are here to serve the people of the state and governing is the way to do that. Strengthening the government and serving the people by doing so is everyone's responsibility."

Sounding a cautionary note while speaking to a news agency, the minister said there is a difference between taking back his resignation and deciding not to press it. "I have said I have spoken to the observers and I will not be pressing my resignation until a final decision is taken.

Rajiv Shukla, Congress' Himachal in-charge, however, said that the government has a majority and there is no threat to it.

Earlier in the day, Singh had asserted that the 2022 Assembly polls in Himachal were fought and won in the name of his father and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, who was the tallest Congress leader in the state. After the Congress won 40 out of the 68 Seats, Vikramaditya Singh and his mother Pratibha SIngh, who is the state party chief, were among the frontrunners for the chief minister's post, but lost out to Sukhu.

"In the past year, I have not said a word on the government's functioning. But it is my responsibility to the people to speak out now... The way the government has functioned, the negligence towards MLAs, the drowning of their voices has led us to this point," the minister had said.

An emotional Singh had also accused the government of disrespecting Virbhadra Singh, alleging that it failed to find land to erect his statue.

The Sukhu government faced a major test on Wednesday, a day after six Congress MLAs cross-voted for the BJP Rajya Sabha candidate, Harsh Mahajan. Three Independents who were backing the government also voted for Mr Mahajan, leading to a tie of 34 votes each between him and the Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

This spelled trouble for the government, which needed to get the Budget passed on Wednesday and knew that not being able to do so would prove that it lacked a majority in the House. It managed to stave off that threat, however, after 15 BJP MLAs were expelled from the Assembly for "sloganeering and misconduct", allowing the Congress to have a working majority.

The Assembly was also then adjourned sine die, foiling a reported plan by the BJP to move a no-confidence motion.

SC issues contempt notice to Patanjali over 'misleading advertisements'

NEW DELHI, Feb 27: In a big setback for Patanjali Ayurved, co-owned by yoga guru Ramdev, the Supreme Court has issued a contempt notice to the company for issuing misleading advertisements. It has also pulled up the Centre for not taking action.

Patanjali Ayurved is restrained from advertising or branding the products (specified as a disease under the Act and Rule) manufactured and marketed by it. The respondent is also cautioned from making any statements against any system of medicine in the media (both print and electronic) in any form as undertaken by him on the last date.

You ( Patanjali Ayurved) had the courage to come up with this advertisement after the order of this court! Permanent relief... what do you mean by permanent relief? Is it a cure? You can't say your medicines/drugs cure a particular disease.

How can Patanjali claim to completely cure blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, asthma and obesity?

Allopathy cannot be degraded/defamed in the eyes of the public like this. You (Patanjali) cannot criticise any other method of treatment like allopathy.

The entire country is being taken for a ride! You (Union government) wait for two years when the Act says this is prohibited. The government is sitting with its eyes closed.

Amid cross-voting, BJP wins 8 UP seats, SP gets 2; Congress loses Himachal seat, Wins 3 seats in Karnataka

NEW DELHI, Feb 27: Amid cross-voting by Samajwadi Party legislators and the resignation of party’s chief whip Manoj Kumar Pandey, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won eight seats out of 10 in Uttar Pradesh. SP, which was expected to win three, managed to secure victory in two seats.

SP chief and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav earlier said, ““Those looking to profit from situation will leave”. Before casting his vote, Yadav alleged that the ruling BJP would resort to any means to win elections, adding that action will be taken against “such MLAs”.

Congress senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi conceded defeat on Tuesday evening, after losing to BJP's Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha elections conducted earlier today.

Singhvi and Mahajan had both gotten 34 votes each, however Mahajan won in the draw of lots round.

Conceding defeat, Singhvi said, "I would also like to thank the nine persons (MLAs) because they have taught me a lot about human nature, its fickleness or its resoluteness. They supped with us...So, I think we are bad judges of human character, they are obviously better judges of human character."

Addressing the media after all three Congress candidates-- former Union Minister Ajay Maken, and current Rajya Sabha MPs Syed Nasir Hussain and G C Chandrashekar-- won Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka, party senior leader Randeep Surjewala said it was a decisive victory for the Opposition's INDIA bloc.

"This is a decisive defeat of those who want to corrupt the democratic process through the sale and purchase of legislators... This victory of principles, ideals, morality and numbers," he said.

He also said, "Karnataka has spoken clearly that money and muscle power will not work, only democratic power will work."

In May 2023, Congress had defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections.

Haryana INLD Chief Nafe Singh Rathi Shot Dead

CHANDIGARH, Feb 25: Nafe Singh Rathi, Haryana Indian National Lok Dal president and former MLA, was shot dead this evening by unidentified gunmen who ambushed the SUV he was travelling by in Jhajjar district. Another party leader who was travelling with him have also died while two others are critically injured.

Rathi and his associates were inside the vehicle when the men, who came in a car, opened fire. The attackers fled the scene after the assault.

The injured were immediately rushed to closeby Brahm Shakti Sanjivani Hospital for medical treatment but the former MLA was declared dead on arrival.

Rakesh Sihag, the head of the INLD's media cell, confirmed Nafe Singh Rathi's death in the shootout.

Nafe Singh Rathi served as an MLA of the INLD from Bahadurgarh where the attack took place. The state police is on alert after the shocking attack. Several teams have been swiftly mobilised to the scene of the crime and are collecting evidence to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage from various locations in the vicinity to determine the route of the attacker's arrival and their subsequent escape route.

"Not a single culprit involved in this case will be spared. Police have been instructed to arrest the accused as soon as possible and take strictest action," Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said while condoling Nafe Singh Rathi's death.

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij has instructed the officials to take immediate action in the case.

Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his close associate Kala Jathedi are suspected to be behind the attack. Initial inquiries suggest that the attack was due to a property dispute.

The incident has drawn sharp response from the opposition which alleged a breakdown in law and order in the BJP-ruled state. INLD leader Abhay Chautala claimed that Nafe Singh Rathi wasn't provided security even though he "asked for it in writing" months ago.

The opposition Congress and Aam Aadmi Party also hit out at the Manohar Lal Khattar government over the incident.

Nafe Singh Rathi served twice as a legislator in the Haryana Legislative Assembly. He was also the state president of the Haryana Former Legislators Association. Rathi once contested Lok Sabha elections from Rohtak constituency and had been actively involved in political affairs.

He also served twice as the Chairman of the Bahadurgarh Municipal Council.

His name hit headlines last year when former Haryana minister Mange Ram Rathi's son Jagdish Rathi died by suicide and a case was filed against Nafe Singh Rathi under the charges of abetment. Allegations of harassment were subsequently leveled against Rathi and his nephew Sonu in connection with the suicide case. Rathi was granted anticipatory bail by the High Court on January 24, 2023.

After Delhi, AAP-Congress Seal Seat Deal For Goa, Haryana, Gujarat: Sources

NEW DELHI, Feb 22: The Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress are closing in on a seat-sharing deal for Delhi, Gujarat, Goa, Chandigarh, and possibly Haryana, ahead of the Lok Sabha election, sources said, in signs the INDIA bloc - formed last year to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party - may finally be getting its act together.

A formal statement is pending because some details still need to be worked out, Congress sources said. An agreement, though, is almost certain since the party knows alliances are crucial if it, and the INDIA bloc, are going to stop the BJP from claiming a third consecutive term.

Earlier today sources said an agreement for Delhi - where the AAP is in power - had been completed, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's party to contest four seats and the Congress three. The division of constituencies may take some time, though, since the Congress wants the North West Delhi seat.

Now deals for three other states and Chandigarh - all ruled by the BJP - have reportedly been done.

In Gujarat - Prime Minister Modi's home state - the AAP will contest two seats.

The buzz was that it will fight the Bharuch and Bhavnagar seats, which are held by the BJP's Mansukhbhai Vasava and Bharti Shiyal, respectively. The AAP has already named its candidates.

Bharuch, however, seems to be a sticking point because late Congress veteran Ahmed Patel's daughter, Mumtaz, wants to contest the seat elected her father thrice between 1977 and 1984.

Bharuch has been with the BJP since; the party has not lost after Chandubhai Deshmukh's 1989 win.

The AAP did not field candidates in the last Lok Sabha election but its has improved since, with strong results in the 2022 Surat civic polls and an impressive five-seat haul in the Assembly election.

The Congress, by comparison, performed dismally; the party dropped 60 Assembly seats between 2017 and 2022, and has failed to win a Lok Sabha seat since 2009, when it claimed 11 of 26.

The BJP swept the state in the 2014 and 2019 general elections.

In return, the Congress will fight Chandigarh's sole Lok Sabha seat, which is held by the BJP. Kirron Kher won in 2014 and 2019, but the Congress' Pawan Kumar Bansal won it for three terms previously.

Sources had earlier said the AAP might insist on contesting this seat.

In Haryana, the AAP is expected to fight one seat. There are, though, some questions marks here, with the Congress' state leaders reluctant to surrender space to their ally.

Like Gujarat, the BJP dominated this state in the last general election, winning all 10 seats with nearly 60 per cent of votes. The Congress returned with less than 29 per cent of the votes.

And, like Gujarat, the AAP did not contest this election. It did not contest the last state poll either, which was in 2019, and saw the BJP score a comfortable win, claiming 40 of 90 seats. The Congress won 31.

The AAP had earlier said Venzy Viegas would fight from South Goa seat, will now withdraw the Benaulim MLA and hand the seat to the Congress, for whom Francisco Sardinha won in 2019.

It is unclear which of the two parties will contest the North Goa seat, which is held by the BJP.

These accords have not, for now, changed the equation in Punjab, where the AAP is set to contest all 13 seats. That was confirmed by Kejriwal last week, who took a swipe at the Congress as he did so.

In the last Lok Sabha election the Congress won eight seats here and the AAP just one.

Since then, though, fortunes have been completely reversed, with the AAP dominating the 2022 Assembly election; it won 92 of 117 seats.

On Wednesday the Congress struck a deal with the Samajwadi Party for 17 of Uttar Pradesh's 80 seats. That was INDIA's first major deal, and came 24 hours after the AAP-Congress recorded INDIA's first electoral win - the Chandigarh mayoral election, which was settled by the Supreme Court.

An agreement with the Samajwadi Party also seemed unlikely, as recently as 48 hours ago. That, however, was turned around after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stepped in. She reached out personally to SP boss Akhilesh Yadav to work out the minutiae of a deal.

Set up in June, the bloc has already lost a key member - Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) and, potentially Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtra Lok Dal.

Bengal's ruling Trinamool has pulled back to the fringes of the bloc, snubbing seat-share talks after incessant attacks on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by the Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

The Chandigarh mayoral win is increasingly looking like the jumpstart INDIA needed to prove it can stay together and defeat Modi and his BJP. The UP deal added to that feel-good wave, and the raft of AAP-Congress seat-sharing announcements is set to cap what has been a good week for INDIA.

Manipur High Court Modifies 2023 Order On Meiteis In Scheduled Tribe List

GUWAHATI, Feb 22: The Manipur High Court has tweaked its last year's order about the inclusion of Meiteis in the list of Scheduled Tribes that was followed massive ethnic violence in the northeastern state. The detailed order that came today, deleted the direction to the state government to consider addition of the Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe list 'expeditiously, preferably within four weeks," which had incensed the Kuki community.

Over 200 people had died in the state since May last year and the state is yet to come back to normal.

In its order today, the High Court cited a previous order of a constitution bench of the Supreme Court that laid down the process for inclusion and exclusion of tribes in the Scheduled list. The responsibility belongs to the Central government and the courts have no role in it. The top court had also observed that courts cannot modify, amend or alter the ST list.

In its earlier judgment, the High Court had said, "The first respondent (meaning the state) shall consider the case of the petitioners for inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, expeditiously, preferably within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order."

The order by Justice Golmei Gaiphulshillu today said the direction was contrary to the Supreme Court's decision in State of Maharashtra v. Milind & Ors, in which the top court had observed that courts cannot modify, amend or alter the ST list. "Accordingly, the direction given at Para No. 17(iii) needs to be deleted and is ordered accordingly for deletion," the judgment read.

The direction of the former Acting Chief Justice MV Muralidaran, given on March 27, 2023, was questioned by the Supreme Court when the Kuki community had approached it.

In a hearing held in May last year, A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had taken strong exception to the order and termed it "obnoxious".

"I will tell you (lawyers) one thing that the high court order was incorrect... I think we have to stay the order of the high court. The high court order is absolutely wrong," the bench had said.

"We gave time to Justice Muralidharan to remedy his error and he did not. We have to take a strong view against it now. It is clear if High Court judges do not follow Constitution Bench judgments, what we should do," the bench had said. It, however, did not scrap the order since a case on it was pending in a division bench.

The tweaking of the court order, however, does not mean the end of the road for the Meiteis for inclusion in the Scheduled list.

The matter is now being discussed between the state and the Centre, which is expected to proceed independently. On May 29 last year, the Centre had asked the state to send its recommendations and the points based on which the Centre will take a call on the issue. The state is yet to send this recommendation.

Farmers' protest turns violent with 1 death

CHANDIGARH, Feb 22: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said there will be a thorough investigation into the death of the 24-year-old farmer Shubh Karan Singh by the Haryana Police during a clash at the Khanauri border.

Mann said his government will stand by the farmers and won't bow down even if there are 100 threats of President's Rule in Punjab. Following the death, the protesters announced that the 'Delhi Chalo' march will be paused for two days as the leaders need to chart out the future course of action.

Several farmers and cops were injured as the protest turned violent at the Shambhu and Khanauri border on Wednesday. The farmers who started their Chalo Delhi march on February 13 have been camping at Punjab borders after being thwarted by the Haryana Police. They decided to start their march on Wednesday after the talks with the central team did not find any breakthrough.

The Haryana Police dropped tear gas shells as the farmers on Wednesday announced that they would break the barricades put up by the Haryana Police to stop them from entering the state.

Police said farmers pelted stones, set stubble adding chilli powder. Several cops were injured because of the farmers' aggression, the Haryana Police said.

The deceased farmer, Shubh Karan Singh, was a resident of Bathinda, son of Charanjit Singh. He was taken to the hospital with a severe head injury where he succumbed. Haryana Police, however, neither confirmed the death nor any firing by the cops at the protesters. They said they used tear gas to disperse the protesters. Farmers said the Haryana Police fired rubber bullets apart from tear gas.

The violence became a Punjab versus Haryana issue once again as Bhagwant Mann questioned why the Haryana government was attacking farmers in the territory of Punjab.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condoled the death of Shubh Karan Singh and said one day history will demand an account of 'killing of farmers' from the BJP hiding behind 'friendly media'.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that they will decide the next course of action on Friday evening and till then the march will be halted.

The farmers gathered earth movers, excavators and tractors at the two border points and were ready to demolish the police's defence. The farmers were armed with masks against tear gas but the death of a protester put a temporary pause to the march.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) will block major roads in every district of Haryana for two hours on Thursday from 12 noon to 2pm protesting against the death of the young farmer.

In the last meeting, the Central team proposed buying five crops -- moong dal, urad dal, tur dal, maize and cotton -- from farmers at MSP for five years through central agencies. The farmers rejected the proposal.

SP, CONG agree on seat sharing in UP

LUCKNOW: All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi spoke to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday morning to facilitate a breakthrough between the two parties and to finalise the seat-sharing agreement. The Samajwadi Party has agreed to allocate 17 Lok Sabha seats to the grand old party in Uttar Pradesh.

Those aware of the development said both Priyanka Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav held a long discussion on seat-sharing over phone and the AICC general secretary persuaded the SP chief to leave 17 seats that the Congress wanted to contest from.

“Yes, initially the SP offered seats where the Congress did not have a strong base. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra persuaded the SP chief to leave Amroha and Barabanki in exchange for Jalaun and Baghpat Lok Sabha seats that the SP was allocating to the grand old party. The Congress has emphasised that it’s not about having more seats to contest, but rather about the winnability of seats,” said a senior Congress leader, requesting anonymity.

After Samajwadi Party’s categorical message to the Congress to accept the party’s final offer of 17 seats things began moving in Congress that otherwise was busy with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Besides discussions within the seat-sharing committee, leaders from both parties engaged in dialogue at various levels.

Senior Congress leaders including members of the committee got in touch with their Samajwadi Party, including chief general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav and MLC Udaivir Singh, to find a feasible solution.

“We presented the committee’s recommendations to the party leadership, and all the finer points were thoroughly discussed at the highest level,” said former Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Salman Khursheed.

Speaking to media persons, AICC general secretary Avinash Pandey expressed his gratitude to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for playing an important role in shaping the alliance. “We are grateful to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for working with dedication and resolve to bring all the forces together to defeat the BJP,” he said.

The Congress is also making its case for Lakhimpur Kheri and Shravasti seats and leaders of both the parties may soon take a call on the issue. “A decision on this will be taken not in respect to sharing of seats but in the interest of alliance in Lok Sabha elections,” said Pandey.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, initially considering joining Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Rae Bareli or Amethi, refrained from doing so due to the lack of progress in seat-sharing talks. However, Yadav is now expected to join the yatra in Agra when it resumes its journey from Moradabad.

It’s worth mentioning that both the SP and the Congress formed an alliance in the 2017 UP assembly elections as well. They jointly campaigned with the slogan ‘UP ko ye saath pasand hai’ (UP likes this alliance). However, the alliance was unsuccessful, and the Congress only secured seven legislative assembly seats, while the Samajwadi Party won 47 seats.

AAP Candidate Declared Chandigarh Mayor, Top Court Cancels Earlier Resolution

NEW DELHI, Feb 20: The Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the results of the Chandigarh mayoral polls, declaring the AAP-Congress candidate as the winner instead of the previously declared BJP candidate. The top court held that the presiding officer intentionally defaced eight votes, that were for the alliance candidate, to invalidate them.

The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition on allegations of vote tampering in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, said that the eight 'defaced' votes should be considered valid.

"The Supreme Court has given this verdict after examining the votes polled. It stated that the eight votes that were declared invalid during the election is wrong. The Supreme Court declared those votes valid and Kuldeep Kumar as the Mayor of Chandigarh," said advocate Gurminder Singh.

The Supreme Court also ordered the prosecution of the returning officer for the poll, Anil Masih, a BJP leader, for his "misdemeanour" after finding serious faults in the conduct of the January 30 election.

The apex court made it clear that it was not quashing the entire electoral exercise and restricting itself to dealing with the wrongdoings in the counting process, which led to the invalidation of eight votes cast in Kumar's favour.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said it was evident that Masih made a deliberate attempt to deface eight ballot papers.

Farmers Reject Centre's Proposal, To Continue Delhi March From Wednesday

CHANDIGARH, Feb 19: The borders around Delhi are likely to witness a showdown again from Wednesday as protesting farmers have rejected the government's proposal of a five-year contract to buy maize, cotton and three types of pulses at the old minimum support price.

The announcement by the protesting farmers came hours after the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella organisation of farmer unions which is not part of the current protests, also criticised the MSP proposal.

Addressing a press conference at the Shambhu border, between Punjab and Haryana, on Monday, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher declared that the proposal is not acceptable to them and the protesting farmers will resume their march towards Delhi in a peaceful manner from Wednesday.

Laying out the reasons for rejecting the proposal, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said in Hindi, "The government made the proposal (on Sunday night) and we have studied it. It doesn't make sense for the MSP to apply to only two or three crops and for the other farmers to be left to fend for themselves."

"The honourable minister said yesterday that if the government guarantees MSP on daals (split pulses), it will put an additional burden of ₹ 1.5 lakh crore. A study by (former Agricultural Price Commission chairman) Prakash Kammardi has, however, revealed that the total cost will be ₹ 1.75 lakh crore for all crops," he added.

Pointing out that the government spends ₹ 1.75 lakh crore to import palm oil into the country, which he claimed is harmful to the health of the people, Dallewal said the same amount could be spent on helping farmers grow oilseeds, for which MSP could be declared.

Dallewal claimed that the government is planning to give the support price only to farmers that opt for crop diversification and move towards growing those that will be under the MSP umbrella. This, he claimed, would not apply to the farmers who are already growing the crops.

“This will not help farmers. We have demanded MSP on 23 crops. The amount that is given is a ‘minimum' support price, that helps with subsistence, not income. If they are not agreeing to a legal guarantee, it means that the farmers will continue to suffer. We have, thus, decided to reject the proposal,” he said.

Speaking after the meeting on Sunday, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal had said government agencies would sign a contract with the farmers for the next five years for the procurement of pulses, maize, and cotton crops and there would be no limit on the buying quantity.

Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda and Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai, were also part of the fourth meeting between the government and the farmers, which was joined by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

The demand for a law on MSP, which is meant to protect farmers from the vagaries of the market, is the core issue for the protesting farmers. They are also demanding a loan waiver, the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, withdrawal of police cases filed against them during the earlier protest and justice for farmers killed in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri.

Nearly 1 lakh farmers, backed by about 200 unions, had started their march on Delhi on February 13. Tear gas was fired and water cannons were used against the protesters, who had gathered at the Shambhu border, and smoke canisters were also dropped from drones. Videos had showed farmers jumping across concrete barriers erected to prevent their passage and shoving barricades aside.

Traffic had been completely disrupted at key entry points in Delhi as police prepared for protesters trying to enter the national capital undetected in cars or other vehicles.

The farmers, who had been stopped at the Shambhu border, had said they wouldn't push forward until a meeting between the Centre and their representatives on February 15, but had complained that tear gas shells were still being used against them. No major confrontation has been reported since then.

Apart from the march by the main group, further trouble could be on the way for residents in Delhi-NCR as farmer groups in Noida and Greater Noida also announced on Monday that they will march to the capital on Friday to press their demands. These groups are protesting for developed plots and increased compensation for their land acquired in the past.

Supreme Court Pulls Up Chandigarh Poll Officer

NEW DELHI, Feb 19: Taking a strict view of the alleged defacement of ballot papers during the Chandigarh mayoral election, the Supreme Court has said that the returning officer, Anil Masih, should be prosecuted for "interfering with the election process".

The court said this after seeking answers from Masih, marking the first time in the history of independent India that a returning officer has been cross-examined by the country's Chief Justice.

Conducting a hearing on a petition over the alleged irregularities in the election on Monday, a day after three AAP councillors switched over to the BJP, the Supreme Court also said that the "horsetrading" that is going on is a serious matter.

The court has asked for the ballot papers to be brought to it for examination on Tuesday. After initially proposing that, instead of carrying out a fresh election, the votes must be counted afresh by a new returning officer, the court said that it will decide on the issue after examining the ballot papers.

During the counting of the mayoral election on January 30, eight votes had been declared invalid by returning officer Anil Masih and the AAP's mayoral candidate, Kuldeep Kumar, had been defeated by Manoj Sonkar of the BJP with a margin of four votes. The AAP had claimed that Masih - a member of the BJP's minority cell - had deliberately invalidated the votes.

A video had emerged of Masih writing on the ballot papers of some AAP councillors while looking at the camera, and the Supreme Court had called his action a "mockery of democracy" during a hearing on February 5.

During Monday's hearing, the bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the fact that the BJP's Manoj Sonkar had resigned as mayor the previous evening. It then asked Masih to come forward and answer a few questions.

Chief Justice Chandrachud said, “Mr Masih, I am asking you questions. If you don't give truthful answers, you will be prosecuted. This is a serious matter. We have seen the video. What were you doing looking at the camera and putting cross marks on the ballot papers? Why were you putting the marks?”

Admitting that he had put cross (X) marks on eight ballot papers, Masih responded that he had done so because the ballot papers that were defaced had to be segregated.

"Why did you (Mr Masih) deface the ballot papers? You only had to sign the papers. Where is it provided in the rules that you can put other marks on the ballot papers," the Chief Justice asked.

Chief Justice Chandrachud then turned to Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, who was representing the Chandigarh Administration, and said, “ Solicitor, he (Masih) has to be prosecuted. He is interfering with the election process.”

Laying out the next steps, the Chief Justice said, "What we propose to do is this. We will direct the Deputy Commissioner to appoint a fresh returning officer, who is not aligned to any political party. The process shall be taken to the logical conclusion from the stage it stopped before the declaration of results. Let the results be declared disregarding any mark put by the returning officer. Let the process be overseen judicially by the high court."

Solicitor General Mehta said he had been told that some of the ballot papers were torn or defaced and that the high court should see them. Responding to this, the lawyer for the petitioner in the case - AAP's Kuldeep Kumar - claimed only eight ballot papers needed to be seen and that they were not torn.

The Supreme Court bench then said it would examine the ballot papers and asked for them to be presented before it, with adequate security, on Tuesday. It also asked Masih to be present.

When a request was made that the matter be heard on Wednesday, the Chief Justice said, "The process of horsetrading which is going on is a serious matter."

The court said it would decide on whether fresh elections would be conducted or the earlier votes would be counted after examining the ballot papers on Tuesday.

Chandigarh Mayor Resigns Ahead Of Supreme Court Hearing In Vote-Count Row

CHANDIGARH, Feb 18: BJP leader Manoj Sonkar resigned as Chandigarh mayor this evening, a day ahead of the Supreme Court hearing in the alleged tampering in the mayoral election. He won the poll - seen as the first election battle against the INDIA bloc by defeating the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Kuldeep Kumar - on January 30.

BJP secured 16 votes and Kuldeep Singh, the joint candidate of the Congress and AAP was able to manage 12 votes. 8 votes - that became a flashpoint between the BJP and opposition - were declared invalid.

The troubles for the AAP, however, are far from over as three of its councillors - Poonam Devi, Neha and Gurcharan Kala - joined the BJP today. The BJP had 14 councillors in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and after today's additions, the tally is at 17. They also have the support of one Shiromani Akali Dal councillor and BJP's Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher also has voting rights as an ex-officio member which brings BJP to the magic number of 19.

The AAP now has 10 councillors while its ally Congress has seven.

Soon after the results were declared on January 30, chaos broke out in the House with Congress and AAP councillors accusing the BJP of cheating and not following the due electoral process. They also alleged that presiding officer Anil Masih was caught "tampering" with ballot papers in a video that they later submitted to the Supreme Court. The charge was rubbished by the BJP.

Appalled by the alleged defacing of ballot papers, the Supreme Court had said it amounted to a mockery of democracy and ordered that the ballots and the video of the electoral proceedings be preserved.

"Is this the behaviour of a returning officer? He looks at the camera, and defaces the ballot obviously," Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said after viewing a video of the counting.

The court had asked Masih, the designated council member, must appear before it on February 19.

The AAP and Congress described the court's observations as a "tight slap" for the BJP.

The mayoral poll, originally scheduled for January 18, was deferred to February 6 by the Chandigarh administration after the presiding officer fell ill.

The High Court on January 24 directed the administration to hold the mayoral polls at 10 am on January 30. While dismissing the order postponing the elections, the court called it "unreasonable, unjustified and arbitrary".

The AAP had first approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court and sought fresh elections under the supervision of a retired judge but the court refused to grant any interim relief. Kuldeep Kumar, who lost the Chandigarh mayoral election, then went to the Supreme Court against the High Court's order.

Police Use Tear Gas On Farmers At Punjab-Haryana Border

CHANDIGARH, Feb 16: The Haryana Police on Friday fired tear gas shells to disperse protesting farmers when they moved towards the barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala, a day after talks between Union ministers and farmer leaders remained inconclusive.

The fresh confrontation comes on the fourth day of the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' march, called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, to press the government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Amid the impasse, the Union ministers and farmer leaders will meet on Sunday for the fourth round of talks. The two sides met on February 8, 12 and 15 as well, but those talks remained inconclusive.

The Haryana Police on Friday released a series of video clips of several farmers purportedly throwing stones and attempting to provoke the security personnel at the Shambhu border.

In its post on X, the police force asserted that "ruckus" cannot be allowed under the guise of the farmers' movement. It said that 25 security personnel -- 18 of Haryana Police and seven paramilitary force jawans -- were injured in these clashes.

In one of the videos shared by the Haryana Police on X, many young protesters with faces covered could be seen hurling stones at the security personnel. In another video, protesters could be seen collecting stones to throw at the security personnel.

Meanwhile, farmer leaders spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' call claimed that the Haryana security personnel used "force" against protesters by firing tear gas shells and rubber bullets at them, leaving many injured.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher accused the Centre of trying to "suppress" the voices of the protesters, claiming social media accounts of farmers and YouTubers have been suspended.

The farmers from Punjab began their march to Delhi on Tuesday but were stopped by security personnel at Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjab's border with Haryana. The protesters have stayed put at the two border points since then.

On the fourth day of the protest, a 63-year-old farmer, who was among the protesters at the Shambhu border, died of a heart attack on Friday.

According to officials, Gian Singh, from Punjab's Gurdaspur district, complained of chest pain in the morning and was taken to the Civil Hospital in Punjab's Rajpura. From there, he was rushed to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala where doctors declared him brought dead.

Talking to reporters on Friday, Pandher said that, during the meeting with Union ministers a day ago, "we raised the issue of the suspension of Internet and Twitter (now X) handles of farmer leaders".

Also alleging that the government has suspended the accounts of around 70 YouTubers who were showing the farmers' protest, he said it appears "the government wants to suppress our voice." Pandher said that during the talks, they raised the issue of the use of "force" against farmers by the paramilitary personnel who fired tear gas shells at the protesters. He claimed that around 70 farmers have sustained serious injuries.

The farmer leader said the talks with the Union ministers were held in a positive atmosphere and various demands of the protesters, including a law on MSP and debt waiver, were discussed.

The government said they wanted to continue talks, Pandher said, adding that their 'Delhi Chalo' call still stands and the protesters were staying put at the Punjab-Haryana border so that a solution emerges through talks.

On Thursday, Pandher said during the meeting with ministers they raised the issue of tear gas shelling by the paramilitary forces on farmers at the Shambhu and Khanuri border points. He said they showed the shells to the ministers during the meeting.

Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal demanded the release of farmers who were either arrested or detained by the Haryana police.

Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai represented the Centre at Thursday's meeting. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema also joined the meeting.

After the five-hour-long talks on Thursday night, Munda said, "We will find a solution by sitting together."

Meanwhile, farmers owing allegiance to different factions held demonstrations at several places in Punjab and Haryana in response to a call for a 'Bharat Bandh' by a farmers' body, causing inconvenience to commuters.

Though there was a partial response to the bandh in Haryana, markets and commercial establishments at several places in Punjab remained shut. Protesters blocked national highways in Punjab's Pathankot, Tarn Taran, Bathinda and Jalandhar. They also laid siege to several toll plazas in both the states.

In Haryana's Hisar, bus services of the state roadways remained paralysed as the Haryana Roadways staff supported the call for 'Bharat Bandh'. Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC Contract Workers' Union also supported the bandh call while private operators did not ply buses.

Besides a legal guarantee of MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.

India’s Supreme Court scraps electoral bonds, calls them ‘unconstitutional’

NEW DELHI, Feb 15: India’s Supreme Court has scrapped a seven-year-old election funding system, called “electoral bonds”, that allows individuals and companies to donate money to political parties anonymously and without any limits.

Coming nearly two months before the general election, Thursday’s decision is being seen as a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been the largest beneficiary of the system it introduced in 2017.

The secretive election funding system was challenged by the opposition parties and a civil society group on the grounds that it hindered the public’s right to know who had given money to political parties.

A five-judge top court bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on Thursday said the system is “unconstitutional” and directed the state-run State Bank of India (SBI) to not issue any more of these bonds, to furnish identity details of those who bought them, and to provide information about bonds redeemed by each political party.

“Political contributions give a seat at the table to the contributor … this access also translates into influence over policy-making,” Chandrachud said.

For years, critics condemned India’s election campaign financing method as an opaque way to funnel “black money” to parties.

But Modi’s government defended the policy, saying it mitigates the use of cash or “black money” in political funding, allowing donors a confidential channel to contribute to any party’s funds.

Undeclared individuals and companies bought such bonds worth 165.18 billion rupees ($1.99bn) up to November 2023, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-government transparency watchdog working on election funding in India.

ADR calculates that more than half of all donations received by political parties used the scheme. It said between 2018 and March 2022, nearly 57 percent of these donations went to the BJP. In comparison, the opposition Indian National Congress party received only 10 percent.

Jagdeep Chhokar from the ADR, which had challenged the scheme in the top court, said the ruling would help end political “mischief”.

Election Bonds Worth ₹ 16,000 Crore Sold Till 2022

NEW DELHI, Feb 15: The Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to be hit the hardest with the Supreme Court scrapping the electoral bonds scheme, as the party received over 60% of the donations made under the scheme between 2016-2022.

Just months ahead of the Lok Sabha 2024 polls, a five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, declared the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional. The court said that the scheme infringes upon the citizens' fundamental right to information.

Electoral bonds are a financial instrument that allows individuals and businesses to make anonymous donations to political parties. They were introduced by the BJP government in 2018 as an alternative to cash donations. They were pitched as an initiative to bring transparency in political funding.

According to Election Commission data, 28,030 electoral bonds worth ₹ 16,437.63 crore were sold between 2016 and 2022.

The BJP was the primary beneficiary of these donations and received ₹ 10,122 crore, nearly 60% of the total donations. The main opposition Congress party came a distant second, receiving ₹ 1,547 crore or 10 per cent in the same period, while West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress got ₹ 823 crore or 8 per cent of all electoral bonds.

Donations made to the BJP through electoral bonds were three times more than that of all other 30 parties combined on the list.

The donations received by seven national parties, according to the report are as follows:

BJP: ₹ 10,122 crore
Congress: ₹ 1,547 crore
TMC: ₹ 823 crore
CPI(M): ₹ 367 crore
NCP: ₹ 231 crore
BSP: ₹ 85 crore
CPI: ₹ 13 crore

EC data also shows that from 2017 to 2022, the BJP received over five times the donations through electoral bonds than the Congress did.

While the electoral bonds had been brought to curb black money and bring transparency into political donations, the Supreme Court today said that the objectives do not justify the scheme. Additionally, it highlighted that alternative methods could effectively achieve these goals.

Minor Student Gang-Raped In Rajasthan's Kota, 4 Arrested

KOTA, Feb 15: A minor student in Rajasthan's coaching hub Kota was allegedly gang-raped by fellow students who have now been arrested, said the police.

Police investigation has revealed that this incident took place on February 10.

Additional Superintendent of Police Uma Sharma said that the minor student was fraudulently called to a flat and then gang-raped.

The victim student got acquainted with the main accused through social media, said police.

It is reported that the student was suffering from depression and was undergoing counselling. It was during one of these sessions that the victim revealed what happened with her, said police.

The Kota Police has formed a special team which is interrogating the arrested accused.

Ajit Pawar's Faction Real NCP, Can't Disqualify Its MLAs: Maharashtra Speaker

MUMBAI, Feb 15: Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday cited last week's Election Commission order - recognising Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as the leader of the 'real Nationalist Congress Party' - to reject petitions seeking disqualification of 41 MLAs who rebelled against Sharad Pawar in June last year, triggering a split and a battle for control of the NCP.

Narwekar said the MLAs who joined Ajit Pawar in rebelling against his uncle - and allied with the BJP and a similar breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena - to form a new state government, could not be disqualified as they constituted the "will of the party".

"I hold that (the) Ajit Pawar-led NCP is the real political party. Ajit Pawar has the legislative majority with 41 MLAs. This is undisputed," he said, "All petitions seeking disqualification of are rejected."

The Supreme Court last month gave Mr Narwekar till February 15 to decide on disqualification petitions against MLAs affiliated to Ajit Pawar's group.

Before the split the NCP had 53 MLAs.

After the dust settled, 41 of them sided with Ajit Pawar, leaving only 12 with Sharad Pawar as he tried to re-assert control over the party he helped found in 1999, and has since led.

Last week the Election Commission said the Ajit Pawar faction would be recognised as the 'real NCP', thereby giving it control over the party name and symbol (a clock) weeks before the Lok Sabha election and polls to fill six to-be-vacant Rajya Sabha seats in the state.

The poll panel gave Sharad Pawar mere hours to decide on a new name, and his faction was eventually renamed as the Nationalist Congress Party Sharadchandra Pawar.

Sources said the Commission's decision was based on the numerical strength of the two factions, something Narwekar referred to, and relied on, in this instance too.

A furious NCP called the Election Commission's actions "murder of democracy".

"The whole world knows who founded the NCP. So what the Election Commission did, despite that, is the murder of democracy..." Anil Desmukh, a former Minister, said.

Sharad Pawar's camp has approached the Supreme Court over the EC order.

The decision played out like the Sena Vs Sena fight, in which the faction led by Eknath Shinde (made Chief Minister after rebelling and allying with the BJP) was called the 'real Sena', leaving Uddhav Thackeray racing, weeks before an election, to find a new identity for the party his father founded.

'Meeting With Centre Tomorrow, Won't Push Forward Until Then': Farmers

CHANDIGARH, Feb 14: The Union government will hold a meeting with farmers in Chandigarh on Thursday and the protestors will remain peaceful and not try and push their way through the barricades and other barriers at various borders until then, a farmer leader has said.

Speaking after a meeting with senior police officers in Chandigarh on Wednesday, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda and two other Union Ministers, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai, will meet representatives of the protesting farmers in the city at 5 pm on Thursday. Goyal holds the Food and Public Distribution portfolio and Rai is the Minister of State for Home.

"Based on a message we got last night and Union Minister Anurag Thakur's call for dialogue, we spoke to everyone in the movement and decided that we would remain peaceful today and not try and push further from where we were. A meeting has been called for 5 pm tomorrow and we will continue our peaceful protest. No action will be taken from our side until then," said Mr Pandher.

The farmer leader alleged, however, that even though they held a peaceful protest on Wednesday, drones were used and tear gas shells and rubber pellets were fired at them. "It wasn't the police, but paramilitary forces that were attacking us. Despite all this, we are ready to speak to the Union government."

Earlier on Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda had called for dialogue and urged the farmers not to do anything that inconveniences common people.

"We should keep in mind all aspects and discuss this. The farmers need to ensure that normal life is not disrupted. I think no solution can be found by doing anything that causes inconvenience to the common man. Such actions only create hurdles in finding a solution. I urge them to maintain a conducive atmosphere for dialogue," the minister said.

A six-hour meeting had been held between the farmers' representatives and Union Ministers Munda and Goyal on Monday, and while the government had agreed to some of the farmers' demands, a consensus could not be reached on three key issues - a legal guarantee for minimum support price, loan waivers, and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, according to sources.

Nearly 1 lakh farmers, who have the support of about 200 farmer unions, began marching towards Delhi the next day. Tear gas was fired and water cannons were used against farmers who gathered at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana, shortly after they began their march at noon. Tear gas canisters were also dropped from drones, and videos showed farmers jumping across concrete barriers and shoving barricades aside.

The protest was relatively peaceful on Wednesday. Farmers opted for a creative method to counter the use of drones by flying kites, hoping that the string would get entangled in the rotors. A video showed a protestor successfully downing a drone using this method.

Sonia Gandhi Shifts To Rajya Sabha. End Of Era, Big Change For Congress

NEW DELHI, Feb 14: Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi will stand down from the Lok Sabha this year - 25 years after her first term - leaving behind an impeccable electoral record that is all the more remarkable given her non-Indian origin and the circumstances of her entry to the country's volatile political landscape.

Ms Gandhi, 77, will not, however, withdraw from public life just yet; this is not a retirement but a repositioning, of sorts. She will move to the Rajya Sabha.

She filed her nomination papers from Rajasthan today and will take over - the Congress has the numbers to guarantee her election - the seat now held by former Prime Minister and party stalwart Manmohan Singh, who may retire after a celebrated five-decade career.

Sonia Gandhi contested her first election from the party stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and from Karnataka's Bellary. She won both. That was in 1999, eight years after her husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, and she was persuaded to help rescue the party.

In 2004 she shifted to the Congress' second UP stronghold - Raebareli.

The Congress leader has been ever-present since 1999, serving as a steadying and guiding force for her party, particularly through the political and parliamentary turbulence of the past decade.

In parliament and outside she often let her colleagues take centre-stage, but the normally soft-spoken Ms Gandhi was capable of sharp attacks, including in September and December last year, when she took the BJP head-on over the Women's Reservation Bill, and the mass suspension of opposition MPs,

In 2018 she ripped into the government, declaring, "... PM is very good at lectures... but lectures cannot fill stomachs. You need dal chawal. Lectures don't heal the sick... you need health centres."

And in 2015 too she threw down against Modi, this time arguing against his "many fraudulent promises about transparency" in a debate over key posts, like Chief Information Commissioner.

Ms Gandhi's position as, perhaps, the foremost opposition politician, also meant she was frequently the target of attacks, particularly given her Italian heritage, with many, including now-ally Sharad Pawar, questioning her political credentials. That line of attack was often employed by the BJP too.

She was, though, rarely fazed, even when she was accused of "lying" by a union minister in 2018.

Ms Gandhi has held Raebareli since 2004, never polling below 55 per cent. She won the seat even in 2014 and 2019, when the Congress was routed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP, and held it even when Rahul Gandhi lost Amethi. And leaves (very) big shoes to fill for whomever the Congress fields from here in the April/May election.

Who that will be is unclear but there is buzz one Gandhi will be replaced by another, and that it will not be Rahul. There is talk Priyanka Gandhi Vadra - whose resemblance to grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi has been noted - is being readied for her long-awaited electoral debut.

Indeed, Singh's anticipated exit and Ms Gandhi's predicted transfer are only two-thirds of this story, which, if completed to script, will signal a generational change in the Congress' top leadership.

There has always been a 'will she, won't she' air about Ms Gandhi Vadra's political career. And that has gathered pace over the past months, particularly since her mother stepped into the Rajya Sabha.

Five years ago - before the 2019 election - Ms Gandhi Vadra, said she was ready to make her electoral debut at any time, and set tongues wagging after quipping "why not" when asked if she would contest from UP's Varanasi, a contest that could pitch her into a head-to-head with Mr Modi.

That will be a step too far (for anyone) on their electoral debut. An easier one could be the chance to contest from a Congress stronghold, with the weight of sentiment added to the voting draw.

'Will Try Again Tomorrow': Farmers, Marching To Delhi, Declare 'Ceasefire'

NEW DELHI, Feb 13: Protesting farmers called it a day after hours of clash with police on their way to Delhi today, declaring "ceasefire" and promising to "try again tomorrow".

For Delhi and its neighbouring states, it was a flashback to 2020-21 as thousands of farmers tried to make their way towards the national capital, facing off with the police at practically every state border.

The Haryana police went all out to stop them from entering the state, throwing all they had at the protesters -- drones carrying tear gas canisters, water cannons, cement barriers, sandbags and tyre deflators.

The farmers say they are ready for a long haul and come armed with six months' worth of rations and diesel. "We didn't budge through the 13 months last time. We were promised our demands will be met, but the government didn't keep its promise. This time, we will leave only after all our demands are met," a farmer said.

"It is ceasefire for today and we will try again tomorrow morning," said a farmer leader.

The farmers started the "Delhi Chalo" march this morning after a last-ditch meeting with a team of Union ministers yesterday remained inconclusive. The Centre, they said, is not ready to meet the demands they had promised to meet two years ago in writing.

Among the farmers' demands is a law that guarantees them a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops, farm loan waiver and the implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations.

All three remained sticking points in yesterday's talks. The farmers alleged that the government is just wasting time and have no intention of meeting their demands.

Delhi has turned into a fortress, with the police putting in place prohibitory orders banning large gatherings at the border, putting up concrete roadblocks and carpeting the road with nails. The Centre and Arvind Kejriwal government, meanwhile are at odds again over a "holding area" for the farmers in case they manage to cross into Delhi.

The Arvind Kejriwal government has declined the centre's proposal to convert a stadium into a "holding area".

The prohibitory orders will stay on for a month and the Delhi Police have also placed restrictions on vehicles movement across the border.

Ashok Chavan Latest To Quit Congress After Milind Deora, Baba Siddique

MUMBAI, Feb 12: In a big blow to the Congress in Maharashtra months ahead of the general election and state polls, former chief minister and former MP Ashok Chavan resigned from the party's primary membership amid reports that he was in talks with the BJP. The senior leader may get a ticket to the Rajya Sabha, according to sources.

Speaking to reporters, Chavan said he has not taken any decision yet on joining another party. "I will take a decision in the next couple of days. I have not spoken to any party yet." The senior leader, however, suggested that he was upset over the delay in finalising seat-sharing within the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with just months left for the polls.

Chavan, who represents Bhokar in the Assembly, met Speaker Rahul Narvekar and handed in his resignation. If he joins the BJP, it will be the second big switchover in Maharashtra after Congress leader Milind Deora quit the party last month and joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

Son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan, Ashok Chavan wields significant influence in the Nanded region and this switch may hurt the Congress in the upcoming polls. This also plays out against the backdrop of the tall poll challenge facing the Maha Vikas Aghadi -- comprising the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, the Sharad Pawar camp of NCP and the Congress.

Ashok Chavan has had an eventful political journey so far. Starting out as a student leader during his college days, he went on to hold key posts in the Congress, including Maharashtra Congress chief and a member of the Congress Working Committee. He has served as an MP from Nanded on two occasions and been a member of both Houses of the state legislature.

After serving as state minister, he was chosen for the Chief Minister post after Vilasrao Deshmukh stepped down in the aftermath of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai. The Congress retained him on the top post after the 2009 state polls. The stint was, however, short as Mr Chavan was forced to step down amid corruption allegations related to the Adarsh Housing Society scam.

Responding to Chavan's decision, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a "washing machine" jab -- washing machine is an oft-repeated reference the Congress uses to accuse the BJP of stalling criminal investigations against Opposition leaders who switch to their side.

"When friends and colleagues leave a political party that has given them much — perhaps much more they deserved—it is always a matter of anguish. But to those who are vulnerable THAT Washing Machine will always prove more attractive than ideological commitment or personal loyalties," Ramesh said. "These betrayers don't realise that their exit opens up vast new opportunities to those whose growth they have always stunted," he added.

6 killed, 100 Injured In Haldwani Violence, Police To Invoke NSA Against Rioters

DEHRADUN, Feb 9: Uttarakhand's Haldwani city witnessed a violent clash between the police and a mob on Thursday over the demolition of an illegal structure, which some claimed to be a madrasa. Six people died and 100 others were injured in the incident, which also saw the police station in Banbhoolpura being torched and vandalised by the rioters.

Six people lost their lives in the violence and eleven others, including a journalist, are undergoing treatment at various hospitals. Most of the injured were given first aid and discharged.

Uttarakhand DGP Abhinav Kumar said on Friday that the police will take strict action against those who attacked the police personnel and damaged public property.

He said the police will invoke the National Security Act (NSA) against the unruly elements who indulged in arson and vandalism. He assured that the situation is under control and normalcy will be restored in the city soon.

The violence in Haldwani sparked a political blame game, with several BJP MPs accusing the rioters of being part of a conspiracy. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Harnath Yadav said that the mob used bombs, country pistols, and other weapons to attack the government officials and the police. He demanded that the rioters should be shot at sight and no leniency should be shown to them.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, on the other hand, blamed the BJP for creating a polarised atmosphere in the state and the country. She said that the BJP’s intention is to divide people for votes and that is why such incidents are happening. She said that the attack on the police is shameful and shows the prevalence of hooliganism in BJP-ruled states.

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited Haldwani on Friday and met the police personnel who were injured in the violence. He condemned the incident and said that it was an attempt to spoil the atmosphere of ‘Dev Bhoomi’ Uttarakhand. He said that the anti-encroachment drive was being carried out as per the court’s direction and the administration had notified the people beforehand.

He said that some people took the law into their own hands and attacked the police, journalists, and public properties. He said that the law will take its own course and those who caused damage will have to pay for it.

Earlier in the day, Nainital District Magistrate Vandana Singh clarified that the incident was not communal and appealed to everyone to not make it sensitive. She said that the structure that was being demolished was not a madrasa, but an empty property with two unregistered buildings.

She said that the attack on the police was unprovoked and pre-planned, and that the mob used petrol bombs to set fire to the police station. She said that the demolition drive was peaceful and the police did not use any force.

The city was under curfew and shoot-at-sight orders on Thursday after the violence broke out. The orders were lifted on Friday evening after the situation improved.

Narasimha Rao, Charan Singh, MS Swaminathan to get Bharat Ratna

NEW DELHI, Feb 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced that former prime ministers Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh and activist MS Swaminathan will get Bharat Ratna.

'UPA Made Economy Non-Performing In 10 Years': Modi Government's White Paper

NEW DELHI, Feb 8: The UPA government had "inherited a healthy economy but made it non-performing in 10 years," the Centre said in its comparative White Paper on the 10 years of the UPA and the decade under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In an all-out attack on the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Centre accused the UPA government, which went out of office in 2014, of leaving behind "an unenviable legacy of a structurally weaker economy and a pervasive atmosphere of despondency".

Calling it a "lost decade", the White Paper tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in parliament this evening, said the UPA had left a trail of economic mismanagement and "short-sighted handling of the public finances... and undermining the macroeconomic foundations".

The government abandoned the principles that brought about the economic liberalisation. There was economic mismanagement and financial indiscipline, and there was widespread corruption, the Centre has said, slamming the Manmohan Singh government on a day he finishes his Rajya Sabha tenure.

"In 2004, when the UPA government began its term, the economy was growing at 8 per cent (with industry and services sector growth above 7 per cent each and a resuscitating agriculture sector growth above 9 per cent in FY04) amidst a benign world economic environment," read the 50-page White Paper.

But instead of taking the reforms further and consolidating the gains, the UPA only "took credit" for the high growth brought about by the "lagged effects of the reforms of the NDA government and favourable global conditions".

The White Paper said the average annual inflation rate between 2004 and 2014 was around 8.2% and accused the UPA of doing nothing to contain the high inflation.

After pursuing policies that created a huge fiscal deficit, the UPA government borrowed heavily from outside but used the funds in an unproductive manner. Infrastructure was neglected, development programnmes were mis-managed. Even the social sector schemes – which the UPA prided itself on -- were laden with unspent funds, the Centre said on an issue that's likely to draw a strong reaction from the Congress.

"Across the 14 major social and rural sector ministries, a cumulative ₹ 94,060 crore of budgeted expenditure was left unspent" over the 10 years. This, the Centre said, amounted to 6.4 per cent of the cumulative budget, compared to the 1 per cent left unspent by the NDA government over the last decade.

The UPA government, it added, had also ignored defence preparedness and health expenditure, leaving it a "pain point" for Indian households.

A chunk of the White Paper was devoted to the mismanagement and scams that plagued the defence sector. "By 2012, shortage of combat-ready equipment and ammunition was a chronic issue plaguing our forces. One would also recall the long-drawn process of procurement of fighter aircraft that never reached any conclusion. Even the decision to provide bullet-proof jackets and night vision goggles to Indian Army soldiers was kept hanging for years," the White Paper read.

The UPA had also crash-landed when it came to drawing investment and creating ease of ding business -- the issues that have become the watchword of the NDA government. "The UPA government's policy inaction and missteps put off valuable private investment, which could have generated growth and jobs, at its own peril," the White Paper read.

A section of the White Paper was devoted to scams the UPA government was accused of – the 2G scam and Aircel-Maxis cases in the telecom sector, coal block allocations, Commonwealth Games, Saradha chit fund, INX Media Case, the irregularities during the Commonweath games and Augusta Westland Helicopter Scam and the Hawk Aircraft Purchase in the Defence sector.

When it took over in 2014, the Narendra Modi government "recognized
the urgent need to revamp and overhaul systems and processes". The reforms undertaken has pushed back the country from the league of the "Fragile Five" to the 'Top Five".

The Paper, however, added that there are "miles to go and mountains to scale before we sleep" as the destination is to make India a developed nation by 2047.

Sources said every state unit of the party will raise awareness on the white paper. From efficient tax collection to reforms such as solvency code, emphasis on self reliance will be talked about at length.

The White Paper will be discussed in parliament tomorrow, when the Congress is expected to come up with a strong rebuttal. Ahead of the White Paper, the party had presented a "Black Paper" targeting the Centre.

"The government will never say how many people got jobs. They are releasing MNREGA funds. They are discriminating against states," Kharge said, slamming the government for perpetually targeting the Congress.

"Despite being in power for 10 years, instead of talking about himself, he only criticises the Congress party. Even today he did not talk about price rise, unemployment and economic inequality?" Kharge said. "'Modi Ki Guarantee' is only to spread LIES!" he added, citing the huge campaign undertaken by the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due in summer.

'Price Rise, Unemployment, Subversion Of Institutions Are Modi's 10 Years of Unjust Rule': Congress' Black Paper

NEW DELHI, Feb 8: The Congress on Thursday presented a 'Black Paper' titled '10 saal anyay kaal', or '10 years of an unjust rule' of Narendra Modi and the BJP - in which it flagged issues such as the cost of living crisis, rising unemployment, and the subversion of institutions, including the judiciary and the press.

The document also pointed to protests by farmers - which made headlines in 2020/21 after violent clashes with security personnel, and again this morning - that have "plagued" the country.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, releasing the 54-page 'black paper', indicated opposition had released it because "when we speak about failures of the government it is not given importance".

"Whenever PM presents his views in Parliament, he hides his failures. Therefore, we thought of bringing out a 'black paper' (to) tell the public about the failures of the government," he said.

"The Modi government is silent on price rise... prices of petrol, diesel and daily essentials has reached record levels," Kharge told reporters. He also pointed to the "disastrous" demonetisation of 2016, the caste census row, and crimes against women.

The Congress boss also said the "failures" of the Modi government over the past 10 years reflected a period of "injustice" and "discrimination" against states not ruled by the PM's BJP.

"Modiji, when you were Chief Minister of Gujarat (when the UPA was in power at the centre), you used to talk about tax rights of Gujaratis... then you said states should get 50 per cent tax. You also said people of Gujarat pay ₹ 48,600 crore tax and get only 2.5 per cent back."

That jab comes amid a fight between over allocation of funds, including devolution of taxes. The Congress government in Karnataka and the ruling Left Front in Kerala both protested this today.

He also attacked the BJP for toppling elected governments - the reference was to Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress was ousted after MLAs switched sides amid pay-out rumours.

"They are using money to finish democracy. They made 411 MLAs cross over to their side. We had elected governments in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh... You know what happened," he said.

Uddhav Sena leader shot dead

MUMBAI, Feb 8: Abhishek Ghosalkar, former Shiv Sena corporator and the son of an ex-MLA, was shot over a personal dispute in the Dahisar area in Mumbai on Thursday. Abhishek was taken to Karuna Hospital in Borivali in a serious condition where he died.

The incident took place days after a BJP MLA was caught on camera firing at an Eknath Shinde faction leader inside a police station at Ulhasnagar raising questions over Maharashtra's law and order situation.

Uddhav Sena leader Sanjay Raut demanded deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's resignation over the Mumbai firing incident. Former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray said there has been a total collapse of law and order in Maharashtra. Before meeting Mauris at his office, Abhishek met Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday.

Abhishek was the son of Vinod Goshalkar, an old-timer of Uddhav's party. He was the chairman of the Mumbai Buildings Repairs and Reconstruction Board. Abhishek's wife too served as a corporator when the ward became reserved for women.

Migrant Worker Shot Dead By Terrorists In Srinagar, 1 Injured

SRINAGAR, Feb 7: A migrant worker was shot dead and another was injured by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's capital city Srinagar today. The victim, Amritpal Singh, was a resident of Amritsar in Punjab. Amritpal Singh was reportedly a hawker, sources said. The injured person was identified as Rohit.

The police said the incident took place at Shaheed Gunj in Srinagar and the area has been cordoned off and a search is on to find the attackers. The injured man has been evacuated and medical attention is being provided.

Earlier, in October, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. It was the second terror attack in the region in just 24 hours. Inspector Masroor Ahmad Wani was shot thrice while he was playing cricket in the Eidgah area.

In the past, several attacks on migrant workers have taken place in the Union Territory. Jammu and Kashmir has been rattled by such attacks and since October 2019, non-local workers have often been targeted by terrorists in the region.

The attack in Srinagar today comes after a month when terrorists fired on army vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch, prompting soldiers to fire back. Reports indicated that the terrorists may have escaped after the initial exchange of gunfire, which included bullets fired from a nearby hill in the Krishna Ghati area.

'Krishna Is Adamant': Yogi Adityanath Drops Hint On Mathura Dispute

LUCKNOW, Feb 7: In a speech replete with fiery poetry, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today welcomed the consecration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya and made it clear that the Krishna Janmabhoomi land dispute comes next on the BJP's priority list.

"When Nandi Baba saw the celebrations in Ayodhya, he was adamant and threw the barricades open at night. Now our Krishna Kanhaiya is adamant," Adityanath told the Assembly.

"Nandi Baba" here refers to Nandi the celestial bull, believed to be Lord Shiva's vehicle. The reference is clear - the case involving the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi.

Last week, Hindu prayers resumed in one of the mosque's cellars after a gap of 30 years following a district court order. The prayers were held at 3 am, hours after the court order. The cellar where the prayers were held faces the Nandi idol in the adjoining Kashi Vishwanath temple. The Varanasi mosque is at the centre of a drawn out legal battle after Hindu petitioners approached courts for permission to pray in different parts of the temple.

Adityanath's "Krishna" mention is an apparent reference to the Krishna Janmabhoomi case. Hindu petitioners have claimed that Shahi Idgah, a 17th century mosque in Mathura, stands on the place where Lord Krishna was born. The Allahabad High Court recently permitted an archaeological survey of the site.

The firebrand BJP leader's remarks here are a clear indication that after Ayodhya, the Kashi (Varanasi) and Mathura matters are high on their agenda. Significantly, the remarks come shortly after the Ayodhya temple treasurer Govind Dev Giri Maharaj said that Hindus "will forget" issues related to temples "once Kashi and Mathura are freed".

Adityanath said Ayodhya suffered "injustice" for over 5,000 years. The Ram temple in Ayodhya is coming up at the site where Babri Masjid, a 16th century mosque, stood before it was demolished in 1992 by right-wing activists who believed it was built on the ruins of a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram. A Supreme Court order in 2019 handed over the disputed land to a trust for the construction of a temple.

Expressing his joy on the day of the grand consecration ceremony at the temple, Adityanath said, "I was happy that our Lord has taken his place in the temple. I was happy that the consecration has been done. But I was also happy that we fulfilled our promise, 'mandir' wahin banaya' (built the temple there)," he said.

The 'mandir wahin banaya' phrase was a play on the 'mandir wahin banayenge' slogan of right-wing activists when the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation gained steam in the 1990s.

Adityanath quoted extensively from Rashmirathi, a fiery epic by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar in which he narrates the story of Karna, a key character in Mahabharata.

A section in Rashmirathi, titled Krishna ki Chetavani (Krishna's warning), narrates Lord Krishna's last-ditch attempt to avoid war between the Kauravas and Pandavas.

"Krishna had gone to the Kauravas and offered a negotiation deal. But Duryodhana refused. This is what has happened with Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura. Krishna had asked for five villages, we are asking for three centres of our faith," he said, adding that the Hindu majority has "pleaded" for its beliefs for years.

Adityanath blamed votebank politics for the situation. "When politics kicks in and votes are looked at, dispute begins," he said.

Uttarakhand First To Clear Uniform Civil Code Bill

DEHRADUN, Feb 7: BJP-ruled Uttarakhand has become the first state to pass the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill, a move that could encourage other BJP-ruled states to follow suit. Rajasthan has already said it wants to introduce a UCC bill in the next assembly session.

UCC refers to a common set of laws that are applicable to all Indian citizens, and is not based on religion in dealing with marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption, among other personal matters.

"Today is an important day for Uttarakhand. We have passed a bill that people across the country have been demanding for a long time, and Uttarakhand is the first to pass it. I want to thank all the MLAs, and the people of Uttarakhand who gave us a chance to come to power and eventually pass the bill," Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami told reporters outside the assembly.

Dhami thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his strong support and encouragement.

The Chief Minister said the bill was not against anyone, but for the benefit of everyone, especially women.

"This bill was not passed against anyone. It will give the right to equality to everyone without any discrimination on matters like marriage, maintenance, inheritance, and divorce... It will mainly remove discrimination against women," the Chief Minister said.

After the bill was introduced in the house today, the Opposition had demanded that it should be sent to a select committee of the assembly first.

Once the bill gets the Governor's consent, Uttarakhand will become the first state after Independence to get a common law on marriage, divorce, land, property, and inheritance for all citizens, irrespective of their religion.

Dhami said the UCC can be amended in future if the need to add a specific clause arises.

The bill excludes population control measures and the Scheduled Tribes, constituting 3 per cent of Uttarakhand's population.

Coming just two months away from the Lok Sabha election, the Uttarakhand UCC bill ticks off an important item on the BJP's plan of action.

BR Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar, who heads the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, today said parliament cannot "impose" the UCC on citizens as the Constitution gives a person religious freedom. He said Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution give a person the freedom to adopt a religious life as long as it doesn't conflict with any fundamental rights. Besides, the government cannot "impose" UCC unless it changes the Constitution completely, he said.

Delhi PWD Issues Notice To L&T Over 'Design Flaws' In Pragati Maidan Tunnel

NEW DELHI, Feb 7: The Delhi government's PWD has issued a notice to Larsen and Toubro over alleged "glaring infirmities" in the Pragati Maidan tunnel project while demanding a "token amount" of ₹ 500 crore from the firm and directing it to immediately initiate repair work.

Larsen and Toubro said that they have made a counterclaim of ₹ 500 crore against the Public Works Department (PWD).

The notice was issued on February 3, asking the company to respond within 15 days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on June 19, 2022 inaugurated the 1.3-km-long tunnel and five underpasses as part of the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor Project that aims to ease connectivity between central Delhi with the eastern parts of the city and the satellite towns of Noida and Ghaziabad.

The tunnel has witnessed multiple closures due to waterlogging during the Delhi floods last year.

The notice alleged that the project with time revealed "glaring infirmities that were not only technical in nature but were also design flaws".

"The most glaring as well as alarming issue was the accumulation of water across various locations in the tunnel/underpass.

"This issue, especially during the monsoon season, rendered the entire project non-operational for the general public and ultimately ended up causing far more blockages and congestion along the arterial roads of the entire New Delhi area which defeated the very purpose of this ambitious project," the notice stated.

The notice also underlined the fact that the entire design and execution of the project was under the control of L&T and no government agency had any role in it.

The PWD in the notice said the company's "failure to act on the issues being faced by the general public and the resultant public safety hazard, is not only a dereliction of your duty/obligations towards the general public but also contravenes the terms of the agreement.

"Given the documentary records and urgency involved in the redressal process, you are put on notice to respond as to why action should not be instituted against your company within 15 days from the date of receipt of this notice." In the interim, it directed the company to immediately deposit a "minimum token amount of ₹ 500 crore" and initiate repair and rectification work on the locations already identified in the project site.

The PWD in the notice also stated that despite detailed communications and requests from the government agencies, including but not limited to the PWD, seeking urgent and immediate redressal of the issues being faced by the engineers as well as the general public, all the issues have now remained unaddressed for over two months.

"While the contractual terms are clear on the aspect of the maintenance of the project, what has come to light is the fact that the technical and final project design is at variance from the schematics of the intended construction expressly agreed by your company," it said.

The "notable variation" in the actual construction is likely to cause an "irreparable and unprecedented impact" on the underpasses and tunnels which are intended to be utilised by the public for years, the notice stated.

An L&T spokesperson said his company has filed a counter-claim of ₹ 500 crore.

"PWD, Delhi, is an esteemed client and we value the long years of association we have enjoyed with them. However, L&T would like to state that a counter-claim of ₹ 500 crore has been made by the company against PWD, Delhi," the spokesperson said.

India to fence entire 1,643 km-long Myanmar border, to build patrol track: Amit Shah

NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Union home minister Amit Shah announced on Tuesday that the central government has decided to build a fence along the entire 1643-kilometre Indo-Myanmar border. Additionally, a patrol track will be constructed along the border to enhance surveillance.

“The Modi government is committed to building impenetrable borders. It has decided to construct a fence along the entire 1643-kilometer-long Indo-Myanmar border. To facilitate better surveillance, a patrol track along the border will also be paved,” Shah said in an X post.

He added that the government has already fenced a 10 km stretch in Moreh, Manipur, out of the total border length. Additionally, there are two ongoing pilot projects involving fencing through a Hybrid Surveillance System (HSS). These projects will cover a stretch of 1 km each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, Shah said.

Moreover, approvals for fence works covering approximately 20 km in Manipur have been granted, and the work is set to commence soon, the home minister said.

Ajit Pawar's Faction Named Real NCP In Setback For Sharad Pawar

NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Veteran political leader Sharad Pawar, embroiled in a battle with his nephew Ajit Pawar for the name and symbol of the party he founded, has lost. Much like the way the Sena versus Sena battle played out, the Election Commission has awarded both to the faction of the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar.

It also means the Ajit Pawar faction will have control of the party's assets and ban accounts, which might put the other faction under heavy financial constraints.

Sources said the Commission's decision was based on numerical strength of the factions. The faction led by Ajit Pawar had the bigger chunk of NCP's 53 MLAs in the Maharashtra Assembly.

Sharad Pawar has been asked to choose a name for his faction in view of the coming Rajya Sabha elections. They have been asked to convey the name and symbol of their faction to the poll body by 3 pm on February 7.

Only 12 of the party's 53 MLAs have been supporting Sharad Pawar since the battle for control of the party broke out last year.

Forty-one MLAs are with Ajit Pawar, who joined hands with the BJP-Eknath Shinde alliance in July last year in a very public split that came as a huge loss of face for his 83-year-old uncle.

The junior Pawar's move came after multiple attempts at acquiring power, which had not paid off earlier. In 2019, he along with a handful of MLAs had supported the aborted bid of the BJP led by Devendra Fadnavis, to form government. Since the split, Ajit Pawar has made multiple remarks about how his uncle should have stepped down from the party's top post in time.

"The whole world knows who founded the NCP... So what the Election Commission did despite that is the murder of democracy by the election commission," said Anil Desmukh, a senior leader of the Sharad Pawar faction.

In February last year, the Election Commission had awarded the name and party symbol of Shiv Sena – the party founded by Uddhav Thackeray's father Bal Thackeray – to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Desmukh cited yesterday's Supreme Court observation that called the Mayoral election in Chandigarh the "murder of democracy". "The very same thing is happening in Maharashtra today," he added.

Sharad Pawar ally Shiv Sena brushed off the Election Commission decision, saying it has opened the door of the Supreme Court".

The Sena's own petition about the name and party symbol is pending at the top court.

Ajit Pawar said he accepts this decision "with humility".

Chandigarh mayor polls: AAP releases new CCTV clip of ‘ballot paper tampering’ by Anil Masih, attacks BJP

NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Hours after the Supreme Court called the cancellation of votes during the Chandigarh mayoral elections a mockery of democracy, the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday released a new purported video of the presiding officer allegedly tampering with the ballot papers before declaring them invalid. The party said the video is the living proof of BJP's dictatorship.

"Now accept it, BJP. What can be a greater proof than this? See how the Presiding Officer of BJP openly destroyed the flag of democracy by cancelling the votes himself. This is living proof of BJP's dictatorship."

The BJP's candidate won the Chandigarh mayoral elections despite the Congress-AAP alliance having more numbers in the Chandigarh municipal council, after the presiding officer, Anil Masih, declared 8 votes invalid.

The AAP had moved the Supreme Court against the presiding officer's move.

On Monday, the court observed that the returning officer had defaced the ballot papers. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said it was a mockery of democracy.

"Is this the way he conducts the elections? This is a mockery of democracy. This is a murder of democracy. We are appalled. This man should be prosecuted. Is this the behaviour of the Returning Officer?" Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.

The Supreme Court later asked the authorities to preserve the entire record of the election process including ballot papers, videography and other material through the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Hearing the plea by the AAP candidate Kuldeep Dhalor who lost to his BJP rival Manoj Sonkar on January 30, the court said the presiding officer must be prosecuted. The court added that it was appalled by his conduct.

"The only stabilising thing in a democracy is the purity of our election process. And what is happening here? We will not allow democracy to be murdered," said CJI Chandrachud, as the bench issued a notice directing the returning officer Anil Masih to be personally present in court on February 19.

The Congress-AAP alliance had 20 votes. However, after Masih declared eight votes invalid, Dhalor's effective vote count became 12 against Sonkar's 16.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on February 2 staged a protest against the BJP over the election.

"This election in Chandigarh shows that they are the pot of sin. How did it get filled? When the pot of sin gets filled too much, then nature moves its broom, and God moves its broom and corrects things. The Chandigarh election was a small one. The world's biggest party was caught stealing votes in the Chandigarh elections; it was caught red-handed," Kejriwal had said.

UP ATS arrests India's Russian embassy employee Satyendra Siwal in Meerut, says he is a Pakistani ISI agent

LUCKNOW, Feb 4: The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested a man, identified as Satyendra Siwal, working in the Indian embassy in Russia for his alleged involvement in anti-national activities with the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. Satyendra Siwal was arrested from Meerut.

According to officials, Satyendra Siwal was providing the ISI with important confidential information regarding the strategic activities of the ministry of defence, the ministry of external affairs, and the Indian military establishments.

Satyendra Siwal has been working as an India-based security assistant in the Indian embassy in Moscow since 2021.

The incident came to light after the UP ATS received intelligence from several sources suggesting that ISI handlers were luring employees of the ministry of external affairs with money to obtain confidential information. According to the police, the information is likely to pose a big threat to the internal and external security of India.

Upon the inputs, the police began a probe through electronic and physical surveillance. During the investigation, the police found that Siwal, a resident of Shahmahiuddinpur village, was involved in the anti-India network. Following this, the UP ATS summoned Satyendra Siwal for interrogation.

During questioning, Siwal failed to give “satisfactory” answers and confessed to the crime.

The police have registered an FIR against Siwal under section 121A of the IPC (waging war against the country) and Official Secrets Act 1923.

Further investigation is underway.

LK Advani To Be Honoured With Bharat Ratna

NEW DELHI, Feb 3: BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani will be honoured with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning, calling it an "emotional moment" for him.

LK Advani is one the most respected statesmen of our times, the Prime Minister said, adding that his contribution to the India's development was monumental.

"I am very happy to share that Shri LK Advani Ji will be conferred the Bharat Ratna. I also spoke to him and congratulated him on being conferred this honour," Modi said on X.

Advani has served as the Deputy Prime Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, besides heading several ministries. He has been a member of both Houses of the Parliament between 1970 and 2019.

"His is a life that started from working at the grassroots to serving the nation as our Deputy Prime Minister. He distinguished himself as our Home Minister and I&B Minister as well. His Parliamentary interventions have always been exemplary, full of rich insights," said Modi.

He also praised the former BJP president for settling "an exemplary standard" in political ethics.

"Advani Ji's decades-long service in public life has been marked by an unwavering commitment to transparency and integrity, setting an exemplary standard in political ethics. He has made unparalleled efforts towards furthering national unity and cultural resurgence," he said.

Former Chief Minister of Bihar Karpoori Thakur - dubbed "Jan Nayak" by many in his state - was conferred the Bharat Ratna last month, 35 years after his death.

'I Shot Him Myself, No Regrets': BJP MLA Who Opened Fire At Ally Leader

MUMBAI, Feb 3: Maharashtra BJP legislator Ganpat Gaikwad has alleged that he fired at an ally Shiv Sena leader in self-defence and he has "no regrets" since they were beating his son inside the police station. He has been arrested.

Mahesh Gaikwad, who belongs to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction, and another supporter were injured in the firing after an argument over a land dispute. The incident occurred last night in Ulhasnagar, which comes under Kalyan parliamentary segment.

"Yes, I shot (him) myself. I have no regrets. If my son is being beaten in front of the police inside the police station, what will I do," he told a news channel.

Ganpat Gaikwad, whose party is in alliance with Shinde's Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, also came down heavily on the Chief Minister and said he is "trying to create a kingdom of criminals in Maharashtra".

"Shinde saheb betrayed Uddhav (Thackeray) saheb, he will also betray BJP. He owes me crores of rupees. Shinde should resign if Maharashtra is to be well-managed. This is my humble request to Devendra Fadnavis (Deputy Chief Minister) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi," reports quoted him as saying.

The Kalyan East MLA was referring to the revolt by Shinde that brought down the Thackeray government in 2022.

He also accused the Chief Minister's son and MP Shrikant Shinde of putting up boards to grab credit for his works. "If Eknath Shinde is the Chief Minister, only criminals will be born in Maharashtra. He has made a good person like me a criminal today," he said.

The MLA said his son had gone to lodge a complaint at the police station, but the Sena leader's men started manhandling him, which prompted him to shoot at them. He claimed he fired five rounds in the police station.

The land dispute at the centre of the incident pertains to a plot that the MLA had bought 10 years ago. He claimed there were some legal issues but he won the case in the court, after which Mahesh Gaikward occupied it by force.

The police said Ganpat Gaikwad and two others have been arrested under attempt to murder charges. The injured Sena leader remains critical and on ventilator.

The incident has provided the Uddhav Thackeray faction with fresh ammunition to target the Maharashtra government over law and order.

"A BJP MLA opened fire inside the police station and the person who was shot is close to the Chief Minister and a former corporator. Both their parties are in power, so should we understand that these people have no fear of the law? Both engines of the state government have failed," said Uddhav faction spokesperson Anand Dubey.

Champai Soren To Take Oath As Jharkhand Chief Minister

RANCHI, Feb 1: Champai Soren, veteran leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, will take oath today as the next Chief Minister of Jharkhand. The 67-year-old was invited by the Governor to take oath late this evening -- more than 24 hours after the arrest of his predecessor Hemant Soren in an alleged money laundering case.

The Governor CP Radhakrishnan's move came hours after Champai Soren met him earlier on Thursday, pleading that he be called to take oath.

"There is no government for 18 hours. There is a situation of confusion. Being the constitutional head, we expect you will soon take steps for the formation of a popular government," read his letter to the Governor.

The delay in the Governor's decision -- coupled with the slim margin in numbers -- pushed the ruling alliance to move their MLAs, fearing an Operation Lotus by the opposition BJP.

But the weather played spoilsport. The plane -- bound for Congress-ruled Telangana -- could not take off and late in the evening, the MLAs were taken to a government guest house in the city.

Shortly after, Champai Soren got a call from the Governor.

The ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance of Jharkhand has 47 MLAs in the 81-member house, where the majority mark is 41. Currently 43 MLAs are backing Champai Soren.

The BJP has 25 MLAs and the AJSU, or All Jharkhand Students Union, has three. The remaining seats are divided between the NCP and a Left party (one each) and there are three independent MLAs.

The slim majority has given rise to concern in the ruling alliance. Since before Hemant Soren's arrest on Wednesday, the leaders have been insisting they have the numbers to form government.

Today, Champai Soren said, "We have submitted the report with 43 MLAs in our support. We expect the number will reach 46-47... so there is no problem. Our 'gathbandhan' (alliance), is very strong".

The Governor was also shown a 49-second roll-call video of the MLAs backing Mr Soren, sources said.

Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday evening after meeting the Governor and submitting his resignation from the top post. The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that he is involved in a ₹ 600-crore land scam and laundering of the proceeds.

‘Given shocks to confess to Opposition links’: Parliament breach accused to court

NEW DELHI, Feb 1: The accused individuals arrested in connection with the Parliament security breach incident in December have levelled serious allegations against the Delhi Police Special Cell. They have alleged that they were subjected to torture and coercion to confess to crimes and to take the name of political parties.

The six accused, Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D, Amol Shinde, Neelam Azad, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat, were arrested in December. Two of them, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D, had jumped from the public gallery of Lok Sabha into the area where MPs sit. While chaos ensued in Lok Sbaha, two others, Neelam Azad and Amol Shinde, sprayed coloured gas fron cannisters and shouted slogans outside Parliament premises.

During a hearing at Delhi’s Patiala House Court on Wednesday, all accused except Neelam Azam filed an application alleging coercion by the police. The court has subsequently sought a response from the Delhi Police Special Cell and scheduled a hearing for February 17.

All the accused were in the custody of the Delhi Police Special Cell until they were sent to judicial custody earlier this month.

Here’s what the accused have alleged in the application:

Each accused was allegedly coerced into signing approximately 70 blank pages at various intervals.

The accused individuals claim they were subjected to torture and electric shocks to extract confessions, particularly under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and to claim association with political parties.

Two accused were allegedly pressured to name political parties or leaders during polygraph, narco, or brain mapping tests

Accused individuals were reportedly made to disclose their current and previous mobile numbers and were compelled to visit telecom offices “for issuance of SIM cards of old mobile numbers and current SIM card numbers for the reasons best known to the prosecution”

The accused were allegedly forced to provide biometric data and passwords for their online social media accounts, email accounts, and phones for this.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s Patiala House Court on Wednesday remanded six accused, namely Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Lalit Jha, Amol Shinde, Mahesh Kumawat, and Neelam Azad, to judicial custody until March 1. Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur oversaw the proceedings, extending their custody following the expiration of their previous judicial custody.

Haryana govt begins work on Global City project phase 1

GURGAON, Feb 1: The Haryana government has started work on Phase 1 of the Global City project in Gurugram, which will include residential and commercial spaces with modern infrastructure. The first phase will be completed by December 2026 and will cost ₹940 crore.

The project will cover 1,000 acres and will feature commercial towers, offices, retail spaces, hospitals, schools, and a transportation system.

HSIIDC will operate and maintain the Global City until 2033, with maintenance charges to be recovered from allottees after that. The government has also increased HSIIDC's working capital limit by ₹1,500 crore.

The Haryana government has begun work on Phase 1 of the Global City project, a mixed land use project in Gurugram on 1,000 acres along the Dwarka Expressway that will comprise residential and commercial spaces with modern infrastructure and utilities, officials familiar with the development said on Wednesday.

The project’s first phase comprises building roads, electricity, water supply, and other infrastructure on 587 acres by December 2026, HSIIDC (Haryana state industrial and infrastructure development corporation) officials said, adding that the contractor has taken over the project site. Phase 1 will be built at a cost of ₹940 crore, they said.

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The Global City project is being developed across parts of Sectors 36, 36B, 37, and 37B. When finished, it will have commercial towers, offices, residential towers, retail spaces, hospitals, schools, a centre for innovation, start-ups, an incubation zone, hospitality and cultural zones comprising 12 million square metres of built-up area, along with green spaces and water bodies, and its own internal mass rapid transportation system.

The state government had organised several programmes across the country and abroad to launch and market this project in the last three years. The project was conceived in 2019 and tender for the first phase was awarded last September.

“The trunk infrastructure in the first phase is being developed on 587 acres. The work will include building 13km of internal roads, landscape across 82 acres, a 26-km-long storm water drain network, 11.96km potable water network, a 12km recycled water pipeline, and a 10km utility tunnel. The work is expected to be completed by December 2026,” said Yash Garg, managing director of HSIIDC.

He added that three high-tension power lines that pass through the project site will be shifted and that a tender has been awarded for shifting one by August 31 of next year.

“HSIIDC will operate and maintain the Global City until December 31, 2033, at no additional cost to the allottees. From 2034 onwards, maintenance charges will be recovered from allottees on actual operation and maintenance cost incurred in proportion to the actual built-up area,” he said.

In a related development, the state government increased HSIIDC’s working capital limit for developing infrastructure in the Global City and IMT Sohna by ₹1,500 crore, a government spokesperson said.

Hemant Soren Arrested, Champai Soren To Take Over As Jharkhand Chief Minister

RANCHI, Feb 1: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday evening, minutes after quitting the post. Transport minister Champai Soren, one of the veteran leaders of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, will step into his shoes.

Later in the evening, Soren was formally arrested after being taken to the ED office.

Hemant Soren was taken into custody in connection with an alleged land scam, minutes after meeting the governor and handing in his resignation.

Sources said he had discussed the matter with the officials, declaring that he would sign the arrest memo only after stepping down. The ED Officials then took him to meet the Governor. A Chief Minister can be arrested under the anti-money laundering rules if he evades summons thrice.

Soren, after evading the Enforcement Directorate over the weekend, had agreed to be questioned by the Central agency this afternoon. His statement was recorded during the questioning.

Soren, who had evaded seven summons for questioning in an alleged money laundering case linked to the ₹ 600 crore land scam, was anticipating arrest for a while. Yesterday, he held a meeting with MLAs of the ruling alliance where the question of his successor was discussed.

Initially, it was expected to be his wife, Kalpana Soren. But given the proximity of the state elections -- due in November -- the party had to drop the idea.

By-elections cannot be held in the last year of any state assembly's term and so, Kalpana Soren could not have been elected an MLA even if she was named the Chief Minister.

The land scam involves a "huge racket" to change of ownership of government land and selling it to builders, the agency has alleged. So far, 14 people have been arrested in the case, including 2011-batch IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan who served as the director of the state Social Welfare Department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi.

Soren has claimed that he is the target of a huge conspiracy.
"The BJP conspiracy against him has succeeded for a while. But our government has majority and will continue," said state minster Mithilesh Thakur.

Global Corruption Index 2023: India Ranks 93rd Out of 180 Countries, Was 85th in 2022

NEW DELHI, Feb 1: An annual global index on corruption for 2023 has placed India at a much worse position than it was a year ago.

The index comes at a time when the Union government run by the Bharatiya Janata Party is targeting only opposition leaders through its investigating agencies – ostensibly to weaken their public appeal before the crucial 2024 general elections and project the INDIA alliance as corrupt.

Significantly, of India’s 28 states, BJP and its allies were in power in 17 in 2023.

As per the country-wise corruption perception index (CPI) of the report put together by Transparency International (TI), a noted platform that works in over a hundred countries to fight corruption and promote transparency in public life, India has slipped from 85th position in 2022 to 93rd in 2023.

In all, TI ranks 180 countries in terms of their perceived levels of public sector corruption in a scale of 0 to 100; the perceived levels are drawn from consultations with experts and people in business in the respective countries. Those closer to the scale of 100 are perceived to be highly corrupt. While India stands at 93, the country’s overall score for 2023 stands at 39, one point lower than 2022.

About India, the TI report states, “India (39) shows score fluctuations small enough that no firm conclusions can be drawn on any significant change. However, ahead of the elections, India sees further narrowing of civic space, including through the passage of a bill that could be a ‘grave threat to fundamental rights’.”