The Congress Party has taken over Karnataka from the BJP

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May 12, 2023

karnataka, siddaramiah, shivakumar, rahul gandhi, gandhi, karnataka elections, elections 2023, rahul — The Congress Party has taken over Karnataka from the BJP 2

The Congress on Saturday made a stunning comeback in Karnataka ousting the BJP from its lone southern citadel with a comfortable majority in a morale booster win that will be key for reviving its electoral fortunes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress’ decisive victory in the Assembly elections after an aggressive pro-poor campaign spearheaded by mass leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D K Shivakumar also saw Karnataka continuing with a 38-year-old anti-incumbency trend. The state has never voted an incumbent party to power since 1985.

Siddaramaiah, 75, and Shivakumar, the party’s trouble shooter who won from Kanakapura by over one lakh votes and who turns 61 on Sunday, are both front runners for the chief minister’s post. The Congress has returned to power on its own in Karnataka after 10 years. Siddaramaiah was the chief minister from 2013 to 2018.

Congress’ HD Thammaiah defeated BJP’s CT Ravi in Chikmagalur, by a margin of 5,926 votes.Congress leader Suresh Baabu defeated State Minister and BJP candidate JC Madhu Swamy in Chikkanayakanahall by a margin of 10,042 votes. In Chikkaballapur seat, Congress’ Pradeep Eshwar defeated State Minister and BJP candidate K Sudhakar by a margin of 10,642 votes. Congress’ BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan defeated former Bengaluru Police Commissioner and BJP candidate Bhaskar Rao, by a margin of 53,953 votes, in Chamrajpet.

Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai had conceded defeat as trends showed a massive Congress surge. He said BJP will emerge victorious in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost the Karnataka Assembly elections, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday tendered his resignation to Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot.

“I have tendered my resignation and it has been accepted,” Bommai told reporters. Bommai won with a margin of 35,978 votes from Shiggaon constituency but many of his ministerial colleagues lost.

“…I take responsibility for this debacle. There are multiple reasons for this. We will find out all the reasons and strengthen the party once again for Parliament elections..,” he said. With the Congress’ emphatic victory in the Karnataka elections on Saturday, ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power in the only southern state ruled by it, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the election results marked a “BJP-free South India”.

“We are preparing for all the upcoming Lok Sabha elections,” BJP MP Gopal Shetty said. We are working with our party members to address the state’s vote deficit.”

“This is not the first time the Congress has had a majority of seats in Karnataka; previously, it had a majority in the year 2018, after which the BJP did some manipulation and people started voting for substantive issues,” veteran Congress leader Ratnakar Mahajan said. The BJP used its one strong candidate, Prime Minister Modi, in all possible rallies ahead of the elections, but they are still losing votes.

“The BJP gave a lot of money to people during poll campaigning; sarees were distributed to many women; some also denied and threw away that money and sarees given to them,” said Congress leader Hussain Dalwai, “but people are voting for Congress instead of the money offered to people by the BJP.”

Congress leader Charulata Tokas said, “Congress is bringing about the change in democracy because individuals have lost hope as they could witness PM Modi giving false promises from the beginning but could not fulfill any of them, due to which people are moving to vote Congress in the hope of better work.”

Malang The Band from Kashmir mesmerised Mumbai with their performance

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Web Team

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May 12, 2023

malang the band, malang, kashmiri band, kashmiri boys, band from kashmir, balbir singh, balveer singh — Malang The Band from Kashmir mesmerised Mumbai with their performance 4

They came, they sang, and on May 1, 2023, they were awarded the prestigious “Newsmakers Achievers Award.” Kashmiri Malang The Band has been an amazing journey for Kashmir boys.

Suhail Yousuf, Ubaid Ehmad, Master Sakib, Nasir Najar, Sahil Manzoor, Faizan Muzzafar, Aafaq Ahmed, and Tajinder Pal Singh are members of the band, which was founded in 2019 by Balbir Singh, District Officer Dysso, Srinagar, with the goal of reviving devastated Kashmiri youth.

This band was formed in response to the problems that Kashmiri youth were facing. Despite the fact that this was the band’s first performance, their distinct sound and live energy drew everyone’s attention from the start.

The band really showed their potential to make meaningful music with this song, which came as an ode to those sitting in the audience. The tempo, the lyrics, and the visuals complement each other perfectly, and you can close your eyes and listen to the soft vocals reminding you that you aren’t alone. The boys in the band have an extraordinary commitment to Kashmiri music and patriotic songs.

With impactful songs, powerful vocals, and the signature Kashmir style, Malang entered a territory that was everything Kashmir and managed to prove their worth as independent artists.

Uddhav Thackeray slammed BJP

By

Afternoon Voice

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May 12, 2023

uddhav thackeray, devendra fadnavis, fadnavis, thackeray, uddhav, supreme court, sc, shiv sena, sena — Uddhav Thackeray slammed BJP 6

In a press conference, former Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying the apex court verdict has exposed its face. Thackeray also said that the slandering of Maharashtra has to be stopped. Terming the Shinde-Fadnavis government illegal, Thackeray said that they should face the election and let the people decide.

With the SC order allowing CM Eknath Shinde to continue, there is a possibility that the government may expand its cabinet before the monsoon session of the state legislature on July 17. In August 2022, then-governor BS Koshyari administered the oath to 18 MLAs (nine each from the Shinde camp and the BJP). All 18 were cabinet ministers, and no ministers of state (MoS) were sworn-in.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Sunil Shinde said, “Earlier, it was stated by the court that the system was not correctly implemented and the governor was misusing his power in the state, due to which the rift has occurred in the political parties. Though the speaker has appointed some decisions, if they have wrong political intentions favoring the ruling party, then it would be difficult for us to challenge them”.

Devendra Fadnavis said, “This is a victory for democracy and the democratic process. We are satisfied with the verdict given by the Supreme Court. Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) “conspiracy” has been defeated. The present government is completely legal.

While the ruling coalition of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court ruling on Maharashtra’s political crisis as a “victory” for democracy, the rival Uddhav Thackeray camp slammed the government as unconstitutional and immoral. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the then-titular head of the richest state acted as per the situation at the time.

Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar welcomed the Supreme Court verdict and said it is a ‘meritorious’ judgment and is not about the political situation in the state.

UBT Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut told Afternoon Voice, “Our party knows that Uddhav Thackeray is a good candidate for the Chief Minister, but we did not demand that he be again appointed as CM. Instead, we were only asking for a reasonable time frame to be given for the MLAs who were disqualified, but the court has given its verdict.”

Samadhan Sarvankar of the Shiv Sena said, “The Supreme Court has given its decision regarding the Shiv Sena, and the present speaker will be taking its decisions”.

“Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde should resign from his post to see how many people are with his party and also follow the procedure of the floor test,” Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Vaibhav Naik said.

“We challenge the UBT Shiv Sena faction for the upcoming elections and will conduct a floor test because the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance received the most votes.” “The other faction only complains about everything, and if they were correct, why are so many people leaving the Uddhav faction and joining the Shinde faction?” said Krishna Hegde, spokesperson for the Shinde faction.

“There are statements that Uddhav Thackeray resigned before the floor test, but many MLAs moved to the Eknath Shinde faction, and this situation had left him no option but to resign, and we can’t expect Rahul Narvekar (the speaker of the house) to give an unbiased decision, and if he supports justice, then it would be suicidal for him as the decision would be against the ruling government”, said former NCP MP Majeed Memon.

NCP Spokesperson Clyde Crasto said, “If the chief whip’s orders were just unlawful, then how come his directives will be legal? Normally, decisions are made by the party, not the whip, and if the court rules that the speaker’s decision was illegal, how can others regard it as correct?”

“The decision of the Supreme Court is still in our favor because it said the governor had misused the power and the 16 MLA disqualification process, and the decision of the speaker is incorrect, as it says on the court material,” Shiv Sena (UBT) Vilas Potnis said.

Islamabad High Court grants two-week bail to Imran Khan in corruption case

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PTI

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May 12, 2023

pakistan, imran khan, pak, islamabad high court, high court, former pakistan prime minister, pakistan prime minister — Islamabad High Court grants two-week bail to Imran Khan in corruption case 8

A special bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday granted bail to former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan for two weeks in a corruption case.

A division bench comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz heard the Al-Qadir trust corruption case, a day after the Supreme Court termed Khan’s arrest from the IHC premises on Tuesday as “invalid and unlawful”.

Khan, 70, arrived at the court shortly after 11:30 am local time amid tight security and underwent the biometric identification process and other formalities.

The hearing was delayed for nearly two hours due to security reasons.

Earlier, the two judges left the courtroom amid pro-Khan slogan shouting by a lawyer. The upset judges later announced that the hearing will resume after Friday prayers.

Dawn News reported that Khan’s lawyers had filed four additional requests which urged the IHC to club all the cases against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and to direct authorities to provide details of the cases registered against him.

Khan was arrested from the premises of the IHC on Tuesday in the Al-Qadir Trust case after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) issued an arrest warrant against him.

His arrest by paramilitary Rangers sparked widespread protests across Pakistan, prompting the deployment of the Army here as well as in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. The IHC upheld his arrest but a three-member Supreme Court bench on Thursday declared his detention “illegal” and ordered his immediate release. The apex court directed police to keep him in the Supreme Court’s protection and produce him before the high court at 11 am.

Ban on ‘The Kerala Story’: SC seeks response of Tamil Nadu, Bengal govts

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PTI

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May 12, 2023

the kerala story, supreme court, sc, tamil nadu, west bengal, bengal — Ban on 'The Kerala Story': SC seeks response of Tamil Nadu, Bengal govts 10

The Supreme Court on Friday sought replies of the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu governments on a plea of the producers of ”The Kerala Story” challenging the ban in the two states.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha questioned the West Bengal government saying the film is being screened in the rest of the country without any problem and there appears to be no reason for the ban.

”Movie is running in the rest of the country including in states having similar demographic composition and nothing has happened. This has nothing to do with the artistic value of the film. If people do not like the movie, they will not watch the movie,” the bench told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the West Bengal government.

Singhvi said according to intelligence inputs, there may be a situation of law-and-order problem and peace among different communities may be breached. The bench also asked the Tamil Nadu government to specify measures taken to provide adequate security to theatres screening ”The Kerala Story”.

”The state government cannot say that it will look the other way when theatres are attacked and chairs are being burnt,” the bench told advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, appearing for Tamil Nadu government, after he submitted that there is no ban on the movie.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for producers of the movie, said there is de facto ban in Tamil Nadu as theatres screening the movie are being threatened and they have dropped the screenings.

”For West Bengal, we are seeking quashing of the ban order,” he said.

”We are issuing notices to both the states and they may file their response by Wednesday. We will take up the matter on Thursday,” the bench said.

”The Kerala Story”, starring Adah Sharma, was released in cinemas on May 5. Directed by Sudipto Sen, the film claims women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terror group Islamic State (IS).

Day after victory in fight for control over services, AAP govt moves SC alleging Centre blocking transfer of top babu

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PTI

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May 12, 2023

supreme court of india, supreme court, sc, uapa, uapa offence, 2011 verdict — Day after victory in fight for control over services, AAP govt moves SC alleging Centre blocking transfer of top babu 12

A day after the Supreme Court held it has legislative and executive powers over all but three services, the Delhi government moved the apex court on Friday alleging the Centre was not implementing the decision to transfer its services secretary, a potential flashpoint in the running feud between the two. The city’s AAP government said the Centre may be held liable for contempt of court.

In a major victory for the AAP dispensation in its protracted battle with the Centre, the the apex court had ruled on Thursday the Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over the administration of all services, except for public order, police and land.

Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government, mentioned the matter before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, saying the top court delivered the judgment just yesterday and now there can be contempt.

Under Article 141 of the Constitution, there can be contempt of this court’s order and a bench needs to hear this urgently, Singhvi said.

”They are saying we will not transfer anybody. I can file contempt in view of judgement passed yesterday. But it will take time. So kindly list the matter,” he said.

Chief Justice Chandrachud said he will constitute a bench to hear the matter next week.

Ashish More, Secretary of the Delhi government’s Services Department, was removed from his post on Thursday, hours after the Supreme Court gave the AAP dispensation control over the transfer and posting of officers in the city.

Former Delhi Jal Board CEO A K Singh, a 1995-batch (AGMUT cadre) IAS officer, will replace More.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by the CJI Thursday gave a unanimous verdict about control over the services in the national capital, seeking to putting an end to the eight-year dispute between the Centre and the Delhi government.

Against the backdrop of frequent run-ins between the AAP government and the Centre’s point person, the lieutenant governor, the apex court had said an elected government needs to have control over bureaucrats, failing which the principle of collective responsibility will be adversely affected.

Elaborating on the Delhi government’s powers, the SC said in its Thursday verdict legislative and executive power over services such as Indian Administrative Service, or Joint Cadre services, which are relevant for the implementation of policies and vision of the Delhi government in terms of day-to-day administration of the region, shall lie with it.

The Arvind Kejriwal government has been alleging that bureaucrats belonging to All India Services and joint UT cadres like DANICS (Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (Civil Services) are not following the administrative directions of the elected government.

Referring to the triple chain of command to ensure democratic accountability, the SC said civil servants are accountable to the ministers and they, in turn, are accountable to Parliament or the state legislatures.

Hours after the SC pronounced the verdict, the city government’s services secretary was transferred and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a comprehensive administrative reshuffle will follow.

“We know he will not resign even in his dreams”: Ajit Pawar on demand by MVA leaders for Maharashtra CM Shinde’s resignation

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ANI

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May 12, 2023

ajit pawar, ncp, nationalist congress party, eknath shinde, shinde, maharashtra, maha vikas aghadi, mva govt, mva — "We know he will not resign even in his dreams": Ajit Pawar on demand by MVA leaders for Maharashtra CM Shinde's resignation 14

NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Monday took a dig at Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde saying that he will not resign as Maharashtra Chief Minister on moral grounds following the Supreme Court verdict on last year’s political crisis in the state and said the opposition MVA alliance will see what it can do on the issue of disqualification of 16 MLAs during the assembly session in July. He also took a swipe at the BJP’s central leadership.

“There is no need of demanding resignation from the current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on moral grounds. We know he will not resign even in his dreams. There is a huge difference between former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the current people,” Pawar told reporters. “The next Assembly session will be held in the month of July. We will use our rights to see what we can do about this issue,” he added.

He also said that Congress leader Nana Patole resigned as Speaker without consulting then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and if a new Speaker had been elected immediately, the 16 MLA belonging to the Shinde camp would have been disqualified. “Our Speaker had resigned then without asking our CM Uddhav Thackeray, that should not have happened. Even if he resigned, we could have elected a new Speaker immediately. If we had our Speaker, then those 16 MLAs would have been disqualified then,” he said.

The constituents of Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance have said that the Shinde government should resign on moral grounds following the Supreme Court verdict. Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had said on Thursday that the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra “is illegal and formed against the Constitution”.

Chief Minister Shinde on Thursday said that former Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had acted as per the situation at the time. “I won’t talk about what Supreme Court said about the then Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, but I would say that he acted as per the situation at the time,” he said at a press briefing.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis described the Supreme Court verdict as “victory of democracy and the democratic process”. “This is a victory for democracy and the democratic process. We are satisfied with the verdict given by the Supreme Court,” Fadnavis said.

The Supreme Court on Thursday held that former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was “not justified” to call for a floor test based on the request of Eknath Shinde faction since he did not have enough objective material before him to conclude that the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had lost the confidence of the House. A five-judge Constitution bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices MR Shah, Justice Krishna Murari, Justice Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha said it could not disqualify the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government and reinstate Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minster because the latter had chosen to resign instead of facing a test of strength in the Assembly.

The court said the political imbroglio in Maharashtra arose as a result of party differences within the Shiv Sena. “However, the floor test cannot be used as a medium to resolve internal party disputes or intra-party disputes. Dissent and disagreement within a political party must be resolved in accordance with the remedies prescribed under the party constitution, or through any other methods that the party chooses to opt for,” the bench held.

“There is a marked difference between a party not supporting a government, and individuals within a party expressing their discontent with their party leadership and functioning.” It further said that the Governor is the “titular head of the State government” and he is a constitutional functionary who derives his authority from the Constitution.”This being the case, the Governor must be cognisant of the constitutional bounds of the power vested in him. He cannot exercise a power that is not conferred on him by the Constitution or a law made under it,” the top court said.

The judgement of the apex court came on a batch of petitions filed by rival groups of the Shiv Sena in relation to the Maharashtra political crisis.The Whip has to be appointed by a political party, the top court said. The apex court held that the Speaker’s decision to appoint Bharat Gogawale (Eknath Shinde) as the whip of the Shiv Sena party was illegal.

“The political party and not the legislature party appoints the Whip and the Leader of the party in the House. Further, the direction to vote in a particular manner or to abstain from voting is issued by the political party and not the legislature party. The decision of the Speaker as communicated by the Deputy Secretary to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly dated July 3, 2022, is contrary to law. The Speaker shall recognise the Whip and the Leader who are duly authorised by the Shiv Sena political party with reference to the provisions of the party constitution, after conducting an enquiry in this regard and in keeping with the principles discussed in this judgement,” it held.

The apex court further said that the Speaker must decide on disqualification petitions within a reasonable time. It also said that MLA has the right to participate in the proceedings of the House regardless of the pendency of any petitions for their disqualification.

“The validity of the proceedings of the House in the interregnum is not “subject to” the outcome of the disqualification petitions,” it added.

Supreme Court judgment indirectly hinted that the Maharashtra government is unconstitutional

By

Vaidehi Taman

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May 11, 2023

eknath shinde, shinde, devendra, fadnavis, devendra fadnavis, koshyari, bhagat singh koshyari, supreme court, cji, chandrachud, dy chandrachud, shiv sena, sena — Supreme Court judgment indirectly hinted that the Maharashtra government is unconstitutional 16

Today, the tussle between two Shiv Sena settled a bit, but the court hinted that the errors made by former Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari have done a lot of damage to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Bhagat Singh created a lot of chaos time and again, and to maintain his loyalties towards the BJP, he never gave a fair chance to the Uddhav Thackeray government.

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the Maharashtra Governor was not justified in calling upon then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove a majority in the Assembly on June 30 last year but refused to order status quo ante, saying he did not face the floor test and resigned. In a unanimous verdict on a batch of pleas related to the political crisis that led to the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray following a revolt by the Eknath Shinde faction, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud held that the House speaker’s decision to appoint Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde faction as the whip of the Shiv Sena was “illegal.”

The court said, “The opposition parties did not issue any no-confidence motion. The governor had no objective material to doubt the confidence of the Government. The floor test cannot be used as a medium to resolve inter-party disputes or intra party disputes. Even if it is assumed that the MLAs wanted to exit the government, they constituted only a faction”. It went on to add, “Nothing in any of the communications relied on by the Governor indicated that the dissatisfied MLAs wanted to withdraw support to the Government. The Governor erred in relying on the resolution of a faction of MLAs of Shiv Sena to conclude that Uddhav Thackeray had lost support of the majority of MLAs.”

The court held that the security concerns expressed by MLAs (from the Shinde faction) have no bearing on the support of the government. “This was an extraneous consideration on which the governor placed reliance. The governor ought not to have relied on the said letter… It did not indicate that Mr.Thackeray lost support. “The governor did not have any objective material to indicate the government had lost confidence in the house,” it said.

The Supreme Court has been hearing from June 2022 onward a batch of petitions filed by leaders from the Thackeray and Shinde factions. The Shinde camp challenged the June 21 decision of Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal (of the NCP) to recognize Ajay Choudhari as leader of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party (SSLP) in place of Shinde, who had rebelled against Thackeray and gone to Surat with some MLAs, calling it “illegal, unconstitutional”, and taken with bias.” The plea also challenged the disqualification notices that Zirwal had served on Shinde and 15 MLAs supporting him on June 25 for not attending a party meeting convened by then Chief Minister Thackeray. The rebels had been given 48 hours (until June 27) to respond.

Relying on Nabam Rebia, the Shinde camp argued that Zirwal could not act on the disqualification petition against the 16 MLAs while a notice for a resolution seeking his own removal was pending. In response, Zirwal told the court that the no-confidence motion against him was rejected because the genuineness or veracity of the notice could not be ascertained.

On June 27, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and J. B. Pardiwala extended until July 12 the deadline given by Zirwal to the 16 Shinde camp MLAs to reply to the disqualification notices. However, the court refused to restrain the holding of the floor test in the Assembly until then.

A five-judge Constitution Bench, which ruled on petitions filed by the Uddhav Thackeray and Shinde camps. The Supreme Court also said that while it cannot interfere in the proceedings, the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly must decide on the issue of the disqualification of the 16 MLAs, including Shinde. As the apex court did not intervene in the disqualification proceedings, their outcome will be subject to the decision of the Maharashtra Speaker.

The SC held that since Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the chief minister and did not face the floor test, his government cannot be reinstated. It said that had Thackeray refrained from resigning from his post, the court could have restored his government.

The court held that by calling the floor test, the then Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari did not act in accordance with the law as he had no objective material to doubt the confidence of the Thackeray government in the House. It added that the governor had erred in relying on the resolution of a faction of MLAs of the Shiv Sena to conclude that Uddhav Thackeray had lost the support of the majority of the legislators in the Assembly. At this point in time, there is no other option left for Uddahv Thackeray and his Shiv Sena to fight the upcoming elections and win with a majority if they want to regain power in the state. Somehow Shinde got some relief in retaining power, but the challenge ahead is to maintain the same status.

Karnataka Elections – Exit polls do not always get it right; the BJP will emerge as the single largest party

By

Afternoon Voice

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May 11, 2023

karnataka elections, karnataka, bjp, bharatiya janata party, narendra modi, modi, bommai, modi rally, exit polls — Karnataka Elections - Exit polls do not always get it right; the BJP will emerge as the single largest party 18

There can be differences in various exit polls, but the reality is that somehow the BJP will manage to come to power in Karnataka.

Senior journalist Pramesh Jain said, “The ground reality is very much different than the exit poll predictions.” “It can be hung in the assembly, and we have witnessed in the past how the BJP manages to win power.”

Seven of 10 exit polls have predicted a win for the hung assembly. Two have predicted an absolute triumph for the Congress and one for the BJP. Those expecting a hung house also indicated that HD Kumaraswamy’s Janata Dal Secular is likely to play the kingmaker. The majority mark in the 224-seat assembly stands at 113 seats.

Five exit polls are counting on a Congress win or a pole position as the single largest party.

• India Today-Axis My India is expecting the Congress to win 122 to 140 seats and the BJP to get 62-80 seats.

• Times Now-ETG is predicting the Congress will touch the majority mark — barely. It predicts the party will win 113 seats and the BJP will get 85. Twenty-three seats will go to the Janata Dal Secular, it has predicted.

• News 24-Today’s Chanakya has predicted 120 seats (Plus/Minus 11 seats) for the Congress and 92 seats (Plus/Minus 11 seats) for the BJP. The JD (S), it said, will get 12 (Plus/Minus 7) seats.

• The Republic TV-P MARQ has predicted that the BJP will win 85-100 of the 224 assembly seats; the Congress will win 94-108 and the JD(S) 24-32 seats.

• The TV 9-Bharatvansh-Polstrat predicted 88-98 seats for the BJP, 99-109 seats for the Congress, and 21-26 seats for the JD(S).

A veteran Congress leader told Afternoon Voice, “The BJP, as usual, is trying to steal the people’s mandate by using their favorite media and false propaganda. The people of Karnataka have voted against the BJP. The Contractors Association has sent a letter to all their respective members to vote cautiously as they don’t want the 40% commission taken by the BJP government back because some contractors have committed suicide and many have faced business losses because of the 40% commission taken by the BJP.”

T. Radhika, a housewife from Chikkaballapur district, told Afternoon Voice that the common man and housewives are angry with the BJP for the rise in essential commodities like petrol, diesel, and cooking gas. Even the poor have exposed the gifts given to them by BJP candidates before the elections. The common man has exposed many BJP candidates with EVMS machines in their cars. But still, who cares about people’s mandates? “The one who has money wins the game.”

Supreme Court refers Sena vs Sena to larger 7-member Constitution bench

By

ANI

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May 11, 2023

sc, supreme court, shiv sena, sena, eknath shinde, shinde, uddhav thackeray, thackeray, dy chandrachud, chandrachud — Supreme Court refers Sena vs Sena to larger 7-member Constitution bench 20

The Supreme Court on Thursday referred its 2016 judgment in the Nabam Rebia case to a larger bench. The apex court was delivering its judgment in the case of the defection of 16 MLAs in June 2022 from the then Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena. The Thackeray faction had sought disqualification of the MLAs under the anti-defection law of the country.

The Nabam Rebia judgment had held that Speakers cannot issue disqualification notices when a notice seeking their removal are pending. The Supreme Court also said the Speaker if he finds that the motion for his removal is not as per procedure, then he could proceed with the petitions seeking disqualification of the MLAs.

The apex court held that the Speaker’s decision to appoint Bharat Gogawale (Eknath Shinde) as the whip of the Shiv Sena party was illegal. The top court said that the Speaker should recognize only the whip appointed by the political party.

The verdict was delivered by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and comprised of Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha. The five-judge bench delivered the judgment on a batch of cross-petitions filed by Uddhav Thackeray and chief minister M Eknath Shinde factions on the Maharashtra political crisis.

The then-governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s decision to invite Shinde to form the government along with the Bharatiya Janata Party after Thackeray chose to resign. The court had earlier reserved the order after all the parties concluded their arguments.

The lawyer appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray camp had said that the illegal act of the Maharashtra Governor is a prior pending sub judice challenge before the trust vote. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Uddhav Thackeray’s camp had said that the Governor cannot call for a trust vote based on a faction as calling for a trust vote is based on alliances.

During the hearing, the Court had observed that Governor should not enter into any area which precipitates the fall of a government and called Maharashtra’s political crisis a “serious issue for democracy”. The hearing that went on for almost nine days had witnesses and arguments made by various senior lawyers including Kapil Sibal and AM Singhvi for the Uddhav camp and Harish Salve, NK Kaul and Mahesh Jethmalani for the Shinde camp.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the Maharashtra Governor and explained to the Court about the Governor’s decision to call for a floor test after a rival camp wrote that they were withdrawing support from Uddhav Thackeray-led government as they did not want to continue. Uddhav Thackeray camp had submitted before the Supreme Court that if a crisis like in Maharastra was permitted then it will have far-reaching consequences for the country as any government can be toppled.

The hearing that went on for almost nine days had witnesses and arguments made by various senior lawyers including Kapil Sibal and AM Singhvi for the Uddhav camp and Harish Salve, NK Kaul and Mahesh Jethmalani for the Shinde camp. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the Maharashtra Governor and explained to the Court about the Governor’s decision to call for a floor test after a rival camp wrote that they were withdrawing support from Uddhav Thackeray-led government as they did not want to continue.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, arguing on behalf of the Maharashtra Governor, apprised the Court of the fact that the rival legislators had written to the Governor about their unwillingness to continue with the then government and the Governor invited Thackeray to prove his majority.