"Lived my life with honesty; I have nothing to hide": CM Kejriwal responds to fresh ED summons 2
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday responded to the fresh summons issued by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, saying it was ‘politically motivated’ and ‘illegal’ like the previous one.
“I am ready to accept every legal summons. This summons of ED is also illegal like the previous ones. ED’s summons are politically motivated. They should be withdrawn. I lived my life with honesty and transparency. I have nothing to hide,” CM Kejriwal said in a statement on Thursday.
The ED, on December 18, issued fresh summons to CM Kejriwal, asking him to appear before the central agency for questioning on December 21 in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. Fellow AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atishi launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Centre over the summons issued to the CM, saying that the saffron party uses central probe agencies to intimidate and silence leaders of the opposition.
She asserted that the AAP won’t bow down to such threats by the ED and the CBI. Hitting out at the BJP-led Centre, Atishi said it fears Kejriwal’s model of governance, which is why leaders of the ruling AAP were being hounded by the central agencies and put in jail.
“It is clear the BJP are scared of the Aam Aadmi Party and the model of governance of our leader, Arvind Kejriwal, which is why the leaders of our party are being thrown in jail one by one. The BJP are using agencies at their disposal to scare us,” Atishi told ANI. The Delhi CM was first called by the federal agency to appear for questioning on November 2, but he skipped the summons, claiming it to be “vague, motivated, and unsustainable in law.”.
“The said summons is not clear as to the capacity in which I am being summoned, i.e., as a witness or a suspect in the above-mentioned case. Please recall the said summons, which is to say the least is vague and motivated, and I am advised, unsustainable in law,” Kejriwal stated in his letter to Jogendar, assistant director, ED, after being summoned earlier. Kejriwal was earlier summoned by the CBI in April this year in connection with the same case.
However, the CM was not named as an accused in the FIR filed by the CBI on August 17 last year. In February 2023, Kejriwal’s Deputy Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of Delhi’s new excise policy.
The policy was withdrawn amid allegations of foul play by the opposition.
"We envision a system where everyone around the world feels at home in India," says PM Modi as he pushes India as an investment destination 4
In an interview with the Financial Times, a UK-based newspaper, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke candidly about India’s economic trajectory, pushing back against concerns raised by opponents and shedding light on his vision for the nation’s future. PM Modi emphasized India’s commitment to building a robust USD 5 trillion economy, positioning the nation as a destination for investment and progress.
“You have done a comparison with China but it might be more apt to compare India with other democracies. It’s important to recognise that India wouldn’t have achieved the status of the world’s fastest-growing economy if the issues you have highlighted were as pervasive as they suggest. Often, these concerns stem from perception and altering perceptions takes time,” the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister said that his government’s mission was to propel India into developed status by 2047, marking its 100th anniversary and showcasing the nation’s significant progress from the “Fragile Five” to the world’s fifth-largest economy.
“Today, the people of India have different aspirations from the ones they had ten years back. The realise our nation is on the cusp of takeoff. They want this fight to be expedited and they know the best party to ensure this is the one whic brought them this far,” the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister also pointed out the need to create an environment that would encourage more people to build in India. The Prime Minister, when asked about an attempt to bring back some of the many Indian-origin CEOs in global companies, said India was creating an environment to encourage talent in India.
“It is not the matter of bringing them back; rather, our goal is to create an environment in India that it naturally gets people to have a stake in India. We aspire to create conditions where everyone sees value in being in India to invest and expand their operations here,” PM Modi said. “We envision a system where anyone from around the world feels at home in India, where our processes and standards are familiar and welcoming. That is the kind of inclusive global standard system that we aspire to build,” the Prime Minister further added.
Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came up with a ringing endorsement of India’s growth story, commending the nation’s robust economic growth, resilient financial sector, and notable progress in formalisation and digital infrastructure. According to the IMF, India’s economy has exhibited robust growth over the past year, showcasing resilience in the informal sector. The financial sector experienced its strongest performance in years. The IMF projected a continued strong growth trajectory for India, with real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expected to grow at 6.3 per cent in FY2023/24 and FY2024/25.
Unemployment, which has been a cause of concern, has also seen a substantial decline. The Periodic Labour Force Survey 2023 showed a decline in unemployment from 9.6% in 2011 to a notable low of 3.2% in 2023. This shift indicates improved economic conditions and underscores the entrance of millions into the workforce, propelling India’s growth. “A consistent decline in unemployment rates. When evaluating different performance parameters like productivity and infrastructure expansion, it becomes evident that employment generation in India, a vast and youthful nation, has indeed accelerated.” PM Modi said in his interview to Financial Times.
As India positions itself amidst geopolitical shifts and economic aspirations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision seeks to establish the nation as a key player in the unfolding global landscape.
21 cases of Covid sub-variant JN.1 found in three states, says NITI Aayog member V K Paul 6
As many as 21 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected across the country till now, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul said on Wednesday, but asserted that there was no need to panic.
He said that the scientific community in India was closely investigating the new variant, as he emphasised on the need for states to ramp up testing and strengthen their surveillance systems.
Paul highlighted that about 91 to 92 per cent of those infected are opting for home-based treatment.
According to official sources, 19 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been traced in Goa and one each in Kerala and Maharashtra. Over the past two weeks, 16 deaths related to COVID-19 were recorded, with the victims having serious comorbidities.
The Centre has asked states and union territories to maintain a constant vigil amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases and the detection of the new JN.1 variant in the country. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the preparedness of health facilities across the country on Wednesday and stressed the importance of being alert against emerging strains of coronavirus.
Union Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant said that even though cases are increasing, 92.8 per cent of the cases are in home isolation, indicating mild illness.
”No increase in hospitalization rates has been witnessed due to COVID-19. The cases that have been hospitalized were due to other medical conditions and COVID was an incidental finding,” he said. A rise in the daily positivity rate has been observed in a few states, like Kerala, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Karnataka.
About the new JN.1 variant, Pant said the variant was currently under intense scientific scrutiny but not a cause for immediate concern.
Officials said that no clustering of cases due to the JN.1 variant has been observed in India. All the cases were found to be mild and the patients recovered without any complications, they said. India recorded 614 new coronavirus infections in a day, the highest since May 21, while the active cases have increased to 2,311, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
The World Health Organisation has classified JN.1 as a separate ”variant of interest” given its rapidly increasing spread but said that it poses a ”low” global public health risk.
The JN.1 variant was previously classified as a variant of interest (VOI) as part of the BA.2.86 sublineages, the parent lineage that is classified as a VOI, the world body said on Tuesday. However, in recent weeks, JN.1 cases have continued to be reported in multiple countries and its prevalence has rapidly increased globally.
Travesty of parliamentary democracy: Shashi Tharoor on suspension of MPs 8
Slamming the government over the suspension of over 140 MPs, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor claimed on Wednesday that a ”dubious record” had been created as in no country had so many lawmakers been suspended together and alleged that parliamentary democracy has been ”betrayed and reduced to a travesty”.
Speaking with reporters after participating in the opposition protest over the suspension of MPs, Tharoor, who was himself suspended on Tuesday, said that with the suspension of so many opposition MPs, the history of parliamentary democracy has been ”besmirched” in our country.
What has been seen in the country in the last few days is a ”travesty of parliamentary democracy”, he said.
”I did a bit of research, never in the entire history of Parliamentary democracy has any Parliament in any country in the world ever suspended or expelled 150 people. That is the dubious record being set in our Parliament this week,” he said.
Everyone understands that the basic principle of parliamentary democracy is the accountability of the council of ministers to Parliament, Tharoor said.
”When Parliament is in session, on anything that happens, the government’s duty is to come to Parliament and discuss it with them before going out,” he said.
”When the opposition called for a discussion on the security breach and requested that the home minister should come and speak to Parliament, as you all know, the home minister did not come. He was giving statements outside to the media and giving press interviews, but he was not prepared to speak inside Parliament. This is why the opposition protested and I must say that the reaction has been disproportionate to the actual offense of protesting,” Tharoor asserted.
The protest was for a very democratic parliamentary reason, which was to have the home minister come and initiate a discussion, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.
As many as 49 more opposition lawmakers were suspended from Lok Sabha on Tuesday for unruly behaviour, taking the total number of MPs facing action in both Houses of Parliament to 141 and prompting the INDIA coalition to announce nationwide anti-government protests on Friday Tharoor stressed that the opposition had come to this Winter Session determined to cooperate fully with the functioning of Parliament.
The opposition wanted to participate in major debates on matters of national importance, he said.
But what has been seen sadly is that the government has no interest in letting the opposition function responsibly in Parliament, he alleged.
”We have seen when we were in power how important it was to accommodate the opposition’s interests. If we had been in this position, we would have had the home minister come for 10 minutes; we would have had a discussion for half an hour or 45 minutes, which would have defused the situation. Instead, time has been wasted; the history of parliamentary democracy has been besmirched in our country,” he said.
”Today we are leaving this House in the feeling that our entire parliamentary democracy has been betrayed and reduced to a travesty,” Tharoor added.
RS Chairman mimicry row: Activist Vineet Jindal files complaint with Ethics Committee; seeks expulsion of Kalyan Banerjee 10
Following the mimicry incident of Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar by suspended TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee outside the Parliament, Advocate and Social Activist Vineet Jindal filed a complaint with the Ethics Committees of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. Jindal filed the complaint, seeking the expulsion of the suspended TMC MP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other MPs involved.
Banerjee had mimicked Vice President Dhankhar during the opposition’s protest on the stairs of Parliament on Tuesday against the suspension of MPs, drawing strong condemnation from the ruling BJP. In his complaint, Jindal claimed that this event falls under the extreme case of misconduct by the members of the house, upon which the Ethics Committee should take action against this misconduct.
Banerjee had mimicked Vice President Dhankhar during the opposition’s protest on the stairs of Parliament on Tuesday against the suspension of MPs, drawing strong condemnation from the ruling BJP. In his complaint, Jindal claimed that this event falls under the extreme case of misconduct by the members of the house upon which the Ethics Committee should take action against this misconduct.
“This is a complaint against TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi MP (leader of Congress), and other MPs for making defamatory remarks, mocking and mimicking the style of the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar while presiding over the house,” Jindal said in his complaint. “Recently, a video went viral on Twitter and other social networking sites in which the TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee could be seen mimicking Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, which is followed by hooting, mocking and cheering by other members of Parliament of the Opposition party and one of the senior leaders of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi is making the video of this shameful mockery. Such actions and behaviour by the opposition party leaders are highly derogatory and offensive to the dignity of the House and its members and are inconsistent with the standards which the House expects from its members,” he added.
Activist Jindal said that such misconduct is a dishonour and disregard of the rules of the conduct and Parliamentary Etiquette. “Such misconduct is also a dishonour and disregard of the rules of conduct and Parliamentary Etiquette. It is a matter of great shame that the members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have been so disrespectful and loud-mouthed to a person who holds one of the highest positions in the Indian Parliament and Vice President of India. It is a disgrace that these opposition leaders have failed to abide by the principles of conduct laid by the Ethics Committee. Indulging in such misconduct of mocking the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha has brought disrepute to the parliament and also questions their credibility,” he said.
“As per the Rules of Conduct and Parliamentary Etiquette, the House has the right to punish its members for their misconduct in the House or outside. In an extreme case of misconduct, if the conduct of members/members of the house is found to be derogatory to the dignity of the house and its members and inconsistent with the standards the House expects from its members then the House may expel a member,” Jindal added. He further noted that these members have not done something like this for the first time.
“This is not the first time that these members have been found indulging in acts of misconduct, a few of them have already been suspended for their inappropriate behaviour and disruption in the parliamentary proceedings in both houses, which shows that these members havebecome habitual offenders and do not give any heed to the punishment of suspension from the houses,” he said. “Therefore, the present matter is grave in nature as the acts of the suspended and some other members are intentionally to lower the dignity of the constitutional post of the Vice president of India and the chairman of Rajya Sabha. This event comes under the extreme case of misconduct by the members of the house upon which the Ethics Committee should take action against this misconduct, potentially including expulsion of the members involved,” Jindal added in his complaint.
“By the present complaint, I am requesting the ethics committee of both the Houses to take action against the members of Parliament involved in the present case and seek their expulsion from the Houses,” the complaint read further. Earlier, under fire from the members in the Treasury and the BJP-led Centre over his mock impersonation of Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on the Parliament complex, suspended TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee on Wednesday clarified his conduct saying he wasn’t intending to hurt anyone.
“I have never had any intention to hurt anyone…Does he really behave like this in Rajya Sabha? Mimicry was done by the PM in Lok Sabha between 2014-2019…” Kalyan Banerjee said.
In India, every hour, numerous girls get abused, molested, and raped, but hardly any of these cases are reported. Even if they are reported, getting justice is also a big hoax. Assault is the fourth most common crime against women in India. There are several forms of violence against women. Violence against women related to modesty encompasses assaults intended to outrage a woman’s modesty and insult her. The recurrent abuses and usurpations of women throughout human history have been done with the intention of establishing their dictatorship over them.
Women were usually thought to be weak and susceptible to exploitation. Violence against women has long been regarded as a fact. Slapping, hitting, and harassment by men in their lives have become common phenomena. Although there is no gender-specific profile of domestic violence victims, it is commonly found that women make up the majority of the victims. For a variety of reasons, women from almost every level—from the upper class to the lower class, from the educated to the uneducated—are victims of abuse.
The Indian Constitution provides numerous guarantees to shield women from discrimination as well as to uphold their dignity and strengthen their sense of empowerment. These include providing women with protection through the adoption of laws like the Domestic Violence Act, which was adopted in 2005 and became effective on October 26, 2006. But these laws are of no use. No doubt Indian societies have committed atrocities towards women but there is another side to such stories too. Men need justice and sometimes they too get bullied by women.
Recently in Mumbai, Thane, a young model was subjected to nastiness by her boyfriend. When I saw her pictures of her swollen lips, ravaged limbs, and gaping wounds on social media, I was really disturbed. While the girl is now recovering at a hospital, her boyfriend was arrested and released the next day. According to the woman’s social media posts, her lover, who is the son of Anilkumar Gaikwad, the joint MD of MSRDC, tried to mow her down with his car after a fight in Thane city. Two of his friends were also involved in the crime to support their friend. Whereas, Priya Singh was constantly abusing Ashwajit, his wife, and friends because she was frustrated.
Priya Singh, a social media influencer and a beautician from Thane, shared a post on her Instagram page stating that on December 11, her boyfriend Ashwajit Gaikwad had invited her to meet him and allegedly ordered his driver to run her over with his car. She claimed that when she tried to take her belongings from the accused’s car, the driver tried to mow her down, leaving her with serious injuries. Three bones of her right leg are broken; they have been operated on. From her left shoulder to her hips, I’ve got deep injuries.
Following her complaint, the Thane Police registered a case under relevant sections of the law and formed an SIT to probe the case. An offence has been registered under sections 279, 338, 323, 504, and 34 of the IPC. A primary investigation has been done by the local police officers. No doubt the accused person is not only rich but also influential due to his father’s big position.
Priya met Ashwajit through a common friend and after meeting frequently, they developed a bond. Their friendship continued for years, while Ashwajit Gaikwad is a married man and a father of lovely kids. In a post on her Instagram page, Priya wrote: “I had a four-and-a-half-year relationship with my boyfriend. We were completely in love with each other. I did not know earlier that he was married. Later, when I came to know, he told me that they (his wife and him) were not together anymore; they had separated. He said that he wanted to marry me. I was staying with him for a long time.”
Ashwajit Gaikwad is married to a very elegant and reputed woman who is known to the entire Thane. He and his wife are very well together and are parenting their lovely kids. On December 11, Ashwajit Gaikwad took his wife to a party, where they had a good time. One of the friends posted all the party pictures and videos on social media and that is how Priya got to know that Ashwajit is still with his wife. Priya lost her mind and she had gone to meet Gaikwad at the hotel but the two ended up having an argument. Ashwajit was leaving the place to avoid further confrontations. Priya clung to his driver’s car, and the driver, too, wanted to leave as his boss had already left. But then, as soon as the driver sped, she fell off, and in the process, she hurt herself badly as it was a moving car that she clung on to. Because Ashwajit is a senior bureaucrat, the news became big. On the same day, there was an accident on the same route, but the media felt the necessity of reporting it.
Soon after this episode, Ashwajit Gaikwad’s family issued an official statement refuting allegations by Priya Singh. As per the statement, when the incident happened, Singh was allegedly intoxicated, and Ashwajit was at a family get-together with his wife, kids, and friends. The family stated that the incident occurred between 1:30 AM and 2 AM. On the other hand, Singh claimed the incident occurred around 4 am. The statement reads that Singh was continuously messaging Ashwajit, wanting to meet him. She reached the Courtyard Hotel, where the family was having a party, and barged into it.
This accident could have been avoided if Priya had called Ashwajit the next morning and confronted him. Probably they both could have ended up giving better shape to their relationship.
"We'll not be scared by threats...": AAP leader Atishi on ED's fresh summon to CM Kejriwal 14
Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Minister Atishi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the fresh summons of ED to CM Arvind Kejriwal and said that the saffron party uses these agencies to scare and that they will not be scared by the threats of ED and CBI. Hitting out at the BJP, Atishi said that the party fears Arvind Kejriwal’s model of governance; that’s the reason why the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party are being sent to jail.
“It is clear the BJP is scared of the Aam Aadmi Party and the model of governance of Arvind Kejriwal, which is why the leaders of our party are being sent to jail one by one. The BJP uses these agencies to scare us,” she told ANI. “If Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia join the BJP, all cases against them will be dropped, like in the cases of Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal. I want to tell the BJP that we will not be scared by threats from the ED and CBI,” the AAP leader added.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday issued fresh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for questioning on December 21 in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. The Delhi CM was first called by the federal agency to appear on November 2, but he did not depose, alleging that the notice was “vague, motivated, and unsustainable in law.” “The said summons is not clear as to the capacity in which I am being summoned, i.e. as a witness or a suspect in the above-mentioned case. Please recall the said summons, which is to say the least is vague and motivated, and I am advised, unsustainable in law,” Kejriwal stated in his letter to Jogendar, Assistant Director, ED.
When asked about the INDIA bloc meeting scheduled for today, Atishi said that in the meeting, important points like seat-sharing and others would be discussed. “In the meeting today, important points like seat sharing and others will be discussed. AAP and Arvind Kejriwal will make every possible effort to make INDIA alliance a success,” she said.
The combined opposition INDIA alliance will hold its fourth meeting in Delhi today. Alliance leaders like Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Samajwadi Pary chief Akhilesh Yadav have arrived in the capital for the critical meeting. Ahead of the meeting there is a question mark on who will lead the alliance should they decide on contesting the 2024 election as a unified force.
In its editorial, Saamna, the mouthpiece of UBT Sena in Maharashtra, said, “Who is the face of the INDIA alliance in 2024? Who is the one infront of Narendra Modi? These questions will have to be answered. The ‘India’ alliance needs a coordinator and a face. The Congress should understand that ‘a hundred cooks spoil the taste of food’. If the Congress party has to defeat the BJP, then it will have to discuss these two issues with its friends and take a decision.” In a sarcastic post on its official social media account, the BJP wrote, “What will happen in the INDI Alliance meeting today? Watch this trailer.”
Lashing out at the Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Admi Party National Convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, the BJP further wrote in its post, “Watch the dark exploits of the arrogant Alliance in episode 3, How Arvind Kejriwal made the country’s capital a gas chamber and how the people of Delhi are paying the price for Kejriwal’s false promises.” The party took pot shots at the opposition by sharing a clip of a Hindi movie and a video featuring key leaders of the ruling AAP.
Seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls, which are just a few months away, is likely to be at the top of the agenda for the next INDIA bloc meeting and will be crucial for Congress, particularly as the party lost the recent Assembly elections in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. The first meeting of the joint opposition convened in Patna on June 23 and the second meeting was held in Bengaluru on July 17–18. The third meeting happened in Mumbai on August 31–September 1.
Gyanvapi case: Allahabad HC rejects suits filed by Masjid Committee 16
The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed all five suits challenging the maintainability of a civil suit pending before a Varanasi court seeking restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque exists.
Pronouncing the judgement, Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said the suit filed in 1991 before a Varanasi court is maintainable and not barred by the Places of Religious Worship Act, 1991.
The court directed a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque site.
The petitions filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board had also challenged a Varanasi court order of April 8, 2021 to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque.
The AIMC, which looks after the management of Gyanvapi mosque located adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple at Varanasi, has challenged the maintainability of a suit filed before a Varanasi court, wherein the Hindu petitioners have sought restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque presently exists.
According to the Hindu side plaintiff, the Gyanvapi mosque is a part of the temple.
The primary contention of the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board was that the suit is prohibited by the Places of Worship Act (Special Provisions) Act of 1991, which restricts altering the character of a religious places as it existed on August 15, 1947.
The way Dharavi is being redeveloped is bad for Mumbai and Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray said on Monday.
He also slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for calling Saturday’s protest march by Shiv Sena (UBT) against the project as a ”settlement morcha” (agitation to extort money).
The Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and other opposition parties like the Congress and the NCP have alleged the Maharashtra government is bestowing favours on the Adani Group, which was chosen through a tender to undertake the ambitious project.
”Decisions like Dharavi redevelopment are bad for Mumbai and Maharashtra. Our protest march was not a settlement morcha because the BJP was not part of it. Only the BJP indulges in settlement,” Thackeray said.
On Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ claim that Saturday’s morcha comprised people from other areas and not Dharavi, Thackeray hit back saying the participants were brought from the moon on board Chandrayaan that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent.
He also hit out at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray’s criticism of Saturday’s morcha by stating ”we are not getting to know who are the chamchas of Adani”.
On the Maratha quota issue, Thackeray said the community must get reservation without it affecting benefits of other groups.
Without naming Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief those who had taken oath to give reservation by touching the feet of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj must now go ahead and fulfil the demand.
He also said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) should be formed to probe the links between Salim Kutta, a 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict and aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, and minister and senior BJP leader Girish Mahajan.
”The pictures of Mahajan and Kutta are with us. Mahajan attended the marriage of Kutta’s kin in 2017. But Fadnavis has given him a clean chit. It is the height of hypocrisy. The BJP attacked Praful Patel over links with Iqbal Mirchi and is now working with Patel,” Thackeray alleged.
Queried about the inauguration of the Surat Diamond Bourse by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, Thackeray wanted to know if the former was PM of India or CM of Gujarat.
”You are taking away businesses from Mumbai to Gujarat. Is mother India so weak that she will be strong only when Gujarat gets strong,” Thackeray asked.
"Beta Padhao, Beti Bachao," says HC on Belagavi stripping and assault case 19
While continuing to hear the suo-moto petition on the stripping and assault case in Belagavi district, the High Court of Karnataka on Monday called for fixing collective responsibility on the society. “It is not ‘beti bachao, beti padhao’. It is ‘beta padhao’, to save the girl child. Unless you tell the boy child, you will not be achieving it. The girl will naturally be respectful to the other lady. It is for the boy to be told to respect and protect the lady,” the HC division bench headed by Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale said.
The HC on December 12 took suo motu cognisance of news reports of the incident of 42-year-old woman in Hukkeri Taluk allegedly tied to an electric pole, stripped and assaulted after her son eloped with a girl from the same village and ST community.
The HC in its hearing called for the need for fixing collective responsibility in such cases. “Some collective responsibility measures have to be taken, which Lord William Bentinck took in history. It is not the action of offenders, but the inaction of those standing at the spot that is more dangerous. These people standing mute spectators will make the assailant a hero,” the HC said. The HC orally observed that Lord William Bentinck imposed collective fines on villages that harbored criminals.
The HC noted that only one person in the village came to the rescue of the woman. The village has a population of 8,000 and during the incident there were “around 50 to 60 in addition to 13 assailants. And to the misfortune of the victim, only one person namely Mr Jehangir showed the courage to assist the victim and made an attempt to save the victim from assailants. In that process, he was subjected to physical assault. In this situation, out of 50 to 60 people only one person could gather the courage and rush to the rescue of the victim whereas others were just mute or silent spectators of the incident,” the HC noted.
Referring to a book on the Roman Empire, the HC said, “’Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire’, read it. Unless you build a good society you cannot build a nation. Unless we instill these values in the next generation nothing will happen. There will be other judges and advocates and other spectators but things will go on,” the HC said.
During the arguments, the HC asked why the villagers remained mute spectators and whether they were ”afraid of the police?” The HC said that it may be because the police did not treat witnesses properly. “Sometimes witnesses are picked up and not treated friendly. It makes them apprehensive. Police stations, subject to exceptions, don’t differentiate between witness and accused,” the HC said.
Suggesting new laws for collective responsibility, the HC said, “So many bystanders. But nobody did anything. It is collective cowardice. That is to be addressed. Police are not of British Raj. Something needs to be done. Some factors should be collected and provided to the Law Commission and they may come out with the law. This is how law marches. The law should have pace with people’s lives. How will you ensure that such incidents are not repeated? This also needs to be addressed.” In its order on Monday, the HC noted that the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) had awarded an interim compensation of Rs.50,000 for the rehabilitation of the victim of which 50 per cent was allowed to be withdrawn and another 50 per cent kept in fixed deposit. After consulting with the medical officer, the HC noted that the women needed treatment for six to eight months and modified the DLSA order and ordered the release of the entire compensation amount unconditionally. The HC also noted that Rs.5 lakh has been deposited in the woman’s account by the Chief Minister relief fund and the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Schedule Tribes Development Corporation had allotted 2 acres 3 guntas (40 guntas are one acre) of land to the victim at Chulki village, Belagavi. “We appreciate these steps taken by the State of Karnataka as a solace to the victim,” the HC said.
The HC also recorded that the Police Inspector Vijay Kumar Sinnur was suspended for lapses. Noting that the investigation has been handed over to the CID, the HC said, “We have observed that the state government has handed over the investigation to CID. We are of the opinion that it will be necessary to give time to carry out further investigation.” Recording that all except two offenders were arrested, the HC listed the matter for next hearing in the third week of January when the authorities were directed to file a further status report.
