The Bombay High Court asked BEST — the civic bus service — not to implement the new computerised schedule for drivers and conductors at the depots other than the one at the suburban Malad where it has been implemented on an experimental basis.
The BEST management and employees have been embroiled in a dispute over the new schedule. While employees claim that under the new schedule they have to work for more than 12 hours a day, the management says it will optimise the use of the workforce, ensure better frequency of buses and save Rs 32 crore for the undertaking annually.
The two sides had signed a Memorandum of Understanding by which it was decided that the new scheduling system would be implemented on an experimental basis at the New Malad depot from April, and after considering the shortfalls it would be implemented elsewhere from June 1.
However, on April 11, BEST Workers’ Union approached the High Court claiming that schedules were changed at Goregaon and Malwani depot too. BEST contended that the implementation of the new schedule at Malad would affect the depots in nearby areas to some extent.
“What is the extent of impact in other depots because of this experiment? Experiment by all means but don’t change the schedule of staff of other depots. If you are doing that then it means that you are starting the new schedule in other depots too. That is violative of the memorandum. Is it necessary to touch the schedule of staff from other depots too?” Justice N M Jamdar asked.
The court added that the BEST should conduct its experiment with minimum impact on other depots.
The court was also critical of the conduct of the union and chided it for resorting to strikes frequently. “Now that you have approached the court have some faith in it. Or else I will not entertain this petition,” Justice Jamdar said, adjourning the hearing to April 23.
Seeking to scotch speculation about any change of plan after the elections, BJP president Rajnath Singh today said “only Narendra Modi will be the PM” and expressed confidence that the NDA will reach the 300-seat mark.
“Let me clarify that under any circumstances, it will be Modi who will be the prime minister. A moral authority is needed for the post besides administrative acumen. We have been projecting Modi for the PM’s post,” he told reporters.
The BJP chief was responding to a query about speculation of his (Singh’s) being in the reckoning for the top job to rope in new allies, considering Modi’s divisive image, should NDA fail to get a clear majority.
“Atalji had 24 allies, Modi has 25,” the BJP leader said, adding “We are not a divisive party but an inclusive party.”
“The NDA is marching towards a clear majority,” he asserted and added “We can even achieve the 300 mark.” To a query on RSS’ growing influence on BJP, Singh said, “that tradition of a remote control is someone else’s.
You must have read in Sanjaya Baru’s book.” Asked about Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram dubbing Modi as “encounter CM”, he said, “The maximum number of encounters have been under Congress regime.” “Congress has been the most divisive and communal party,” Singh said.
They did not pay heed to Gandhiji’s suggestion to wind up Congress after independence. Now the people will ensure a Congress-free India, he said.
The BJP chief also ridiculed the allegation that his party had spent Rs 10000 crore on its poll campaign.
“We have not appointed Congress as our auditor. They should first bother about the Rs 5.50 lakh crore scams exposed by the CAG,” he said.
Stepping up his attack on Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Prime Ministerial nominee Narendra Modi, Union Agriculture Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar today said never before he had seen a person in the race for the country’s top job seeking votes for himself or herself.
“We have seen Prime Ministers like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and now Dr Manmohan Singh. But they never asked people to vote for themselves but for the country. But here is a person who is seeking votes for himself,” Pawar said, addressing an election rally for NCP candidate from North-East Mumbai, Sanjay Dina Patil.
Patil, the sitting MP, is pitted against BJP’s Kirit Somaiya and AAP’s Medha Patkar, among others.
Attributing Gujarat’s development to the previous Chief Ministers of Congress and the “hardworking” people, Pawar claimed the state’s growth rate had declined during Narendra Modi’s tenure.
“Previous Congress Chief Ministers such as Madhavsingh Solanki, Amarsinh Chaudhary and Chimanbhai Patel had done better work than Narendra Modi,” he said.
Narendra Modi was taking the credit for the hard work of ordinary Gujaratis, he said.
“He (Narendra Modi) in his rally in Wardha said that Mahatma Gandhi gave the call of `Quit India’ from there….Luckily, Modi did not say that the call was given at Ahmedabad,” Pawar quipped.
This is really a turning point for the democracy and it is another important move in favour of Citizen’s Rights. We must all laud and hail the decision of SC in transgender’s support. We must recognise and respect people of all backgrounds in our day to day lives. Congratulations to all the transgenders. Here again, we should not forget that Tamil Nadu had first initiated this in its state. Recommending that ‘transgender’ be used as an inclusive term to cover all gender identities and expressions, the report has called for a compilation of all known transgender socio-cultural groups to be prepared and circulated among all for guidance. The terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ should not be used interchangeably, and only the term ‘gender’ should be used in official documents, such as identity documents, application forms, returns and reports.
Even before the Supreme Court recognised them as a third gender, the state of Tamil Nadu, under Karunanidhi started giving full recognition to them as the third gender and the government even gave them a name called “Thirunangai”. Even in the government school and college applications, they introduced this third gender in Tamil Nadu. A very forward thinking and bit of official work, indeed!
Small changes have been made in public places to accommodate the physically challenged, after Scientist Hawking’s visit to India. New schools started programs to address slow learner children separately, and now, transgenders-inclusivity will develop a social thinking, adding-up to REAL social development. These steps define the new paradigm in thinking. Importantly, it has asked the National Crime Records Bureau to collect and compile statistics of crimes against transgenders and cases registered against them. The committee, set up by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment last year and chaired by the Additional Secretary of the Ministry, has said action must be taken against parents who neglect or abuse their gender non-conforming children and doctors who practice electro-shock or other kinds of unethical “conversion” therapy. Criminal and disciplinary action must be taken against delinquent police officers for violation of human rights of transgender persons. Its report, submitted a few weeks after the Supreme Court criminalised same gender consensual sex, wanted laws against sexual assault and harassment and domestic violence made transgender-inclusive. Now Section 375 of the IPC, as amended, does not cover the transgender persons as victims of sexual assault. Section 375 should be included to cover sexual assault on them.
The Medical Council of India, along with leading mental health institutions and organisations working on transgender issues, should develop practice protocols for the care of adolescent trangenders. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will prepare a policy statement on providing essential gender-transition services in public hospitals, and a national clinical guidance document in keeping with international guidelines. Harassment and discrimination are the evils in the society. The judgement and directions should be well adopted. Apart from academics education should impart the importance of the respect for humanity in family institutions and in society.
Nepal and Bangladesh have already recognised transgenders as the third gender. And ours is a very progressive nation as the EC in 2009 allowed “Other” in gender type on ballot forms heralding a new era back then. We are human and its sub categorisation cannot be something where we exclude a part of the race. This decision establishes the independence of Indian judiciary and its efforts to change according to the socio, economic, political cultural, psychological factors of the country. Even if no country has a concept of third gender, it marks the peak of Indian judicial creativity to recognise them which is found nowhere else.
This is a significant win for transgender communities who had fought a long battle for their identity and rights. Hopefully, now the government will stop dragging its feet in introducing the “others” in gender column. Their issues and troubles are unique, the community demands the setting up of central and state third gender welfare board to address their specific problems on the lines of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Commissions respectively. States like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra already have such bodies. Now, India became sensitive to the existence, trials and tribulations of this minority community.
Basically, it is a human life, whether it is male, female or transgender. I hope, there won’t be any reservation for this category.
Launching a stinging attack on Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday called the Gujarat Chief Minister a ‘compulsive liar’.
Commenting on the “recounting minister” description given by Modi in reference to him, Chidambaram said: “Mr. Modi is a compulsive liar. There was no re-count in Sivaganga. He knows that. Yet he lies….If he insists on calling me ‘Recounting Minister’, I can call him ‘Encounter Chief Minister’,” he told.
The minister was obviously referring to the spate of alleged fake encounters that occurred in Gujarat under Modi rule.
Addressing a rally in Chennai earlier this year, the Gujarat CM, in an apparent reference to Chidambaram’s 2009 victory in Lok Sabha polls from Sivaganga after a recounting of votes, said: “UPA government has a recounting minister. He lost (the election) but won in recounting. He is from Tamil Nadu. He thinks he was the first in the queue when God was distributing knowledge.”
In a sensational claim, Aam Aadmi Party candidate Dr. Kumar Vishwas on Thursday alleged that a close aide of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has threatened to kill him.
He also posted a video to back his claim. The video shows a man running after Priyanka’s car, saying that he will shoot Kumar Vishwas. To this, Priyanka says that he shouldn’t say things like that and invites him to come to the guest house to discuss.
The AAP leader has filed his nomination from Amethi to fight the Lok Sabha election in the constituency held by Rahul Gandhi.
The poet-turned-politician has been in Amethi for weeks now to woo voters to cast their ballots in his party’s favour.
Besides Rahul Gandhi, the 44-year-old Kumar Vishwas’ main opponent is BJP’s Smriti Irani.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has described the BJP as the party of Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.
Addressing a rally in Unnao, Gandhi said the Congress Party was Mahatma Gandhi’s party.
“The Congress Party is the party which takes everyone together, talks about brotherhood and connecting all religions, castes and regions, and is Mahatma Gandhi’s party. On the other hand, there is the BJP, which divides people. On the one hand, it is Gandhi and on the other, it is Godse,” said Gandhi.
The rally in Unnao District took place on Wednesday and Gandhi’s address was essentially anti-Modi in content.
“From their language, it appears as if no one ever did anything for Gujarat. Only one person knows everything and his name is Narendra Modi. What do they know? What did they do? As if only one person knows everything about Gujarat, Unnao, India and the world. And, you are just not needed,” said Gandhi.
The election has turned into a face-off between Rahul Gandhi, best known for his famous last name, and Modi, who has been lauded by Indian corporate leaders and foreign companies for his business-friendly policies and his Gujarat model.
Gandhi boasted of Congress’s plan of building an industrial corridor and other infrastructural projects that were underway.
“We readied industrial corridor, built big roads, established facilities for electricity and water and trains to carry goods. The Japanese government is helping us. We will connect the industrial corridor with thousands of factories. We will build them in Uttar Pradesh also. And, five years from now, when you will look at your watch, you will find labels like ‘Made in Unnao’, ‘Made in Uttar Pradesh’ on them.”
A court in Ahmedabad has ordered the city police to submit a report explaining the status of an application against BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on the charge of hiding facts under oath.
“Submit a report before the court within three weeks on the status of the investigation of the case,” Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate MM Sheikh ordered the police while acting upon a plea moved by an Aam Aadmi Party activist.
AAP activist Nishant Verma had earlier approached the Ranip police station, seeking to file an FIR against Modi for allegedly hiding information about his marital status in his affidavit during the 2012 Gujarat Assembly Elections.
Verma had also sought action against PK Jadeja, the returning officer of the Maninagar Vidhan Sabha seat for the 2012 Assembly Election, while naming him in the FIR.
For the first time, Modi revealed in an affidavit filed along with his nomination for Vadodara Lok Sabha seat that he is a married man and his wife’s name is Jashodaben.
However, during earlier Assembly Elections, Modi had left the column meant to name his spouse blank. Since the city police did not seem keen to entertain the AAP activist’s application against Modi, he approached the court.
Verma had also written a letter to Chief electoral Officer of Gujarat Anita Karwal seeking action against Modi.
In the application before the police, charges have been included under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, which stands for giving false statements, false evidence under oath, abetting a false statement or evidence and cheating or dishonestly inducing delivery of property, respectively.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday alleged that “affection” for Muslims of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was merely a show off and the people should not believe the BJP leader.
“Modi was remembering Muslims at the time of Lok Sabha elections, but in reality his love for Muslims was merely a show off,” Yadav said while addressing an election rally here.
Modi yesterday had said that Muslims would start liking him when they meet him.
The UP Chief Minister said the people should not believe such BJP leaders.
Alleging that BJP’s existence continues due to the wrong policies of Congress, he said this election was a different kind of election. Singh Yadav would be the Country’s Prime Minister after the Lok Sabha polls.
While on one side there were communal forces, on the other side there were people of socialist thinking and now it was upto the people to decide, he said, and claimed that only SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav can ensure welfare of the country.
His wife and MP Dimple Yadav said Gujarat was being projected as a model state, which was a wrong notion and the reality was totally opposite.
A member of the DMK has earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first law-maker from Tamil Nadu to be disqualified from Parliament because he has been found guilty of corruption charges.
TM Selvaganapathy has been found guilty by a court in Chennai for a financial scam embedded in the construction of sheds used at crematoriums across Tamil Nadu in 1995. He has been sentenced to two years in prison. At the time, the politician was the Rural Development minister in Jayalalithaa’s government and a member of her AIADMK. He was expelled in 2008 after the graft charges surfaced and then joined the DMK.
In 2010, he became a member of the Rajya Sabha.
In July last year, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgement ordering that any law-maker convicted in a criminal case that carries a sentence of two years or more loses office immediately.
That ruling meant that Bihar leader Lalu Yadav was evicted from Parliament in September when he was convicted of corruption during his earlier term as chief minister. The Supreme Court’s judgement means that Lalu cannot contest an election for at least six years. He has appealed against his conviction.
The DMK is trawling this election with several of its top leaders tagged to serious charges of corruption. A Raja, former Telecom Minister, has been accused of conferring out-of-turn licenses for mobile networks upon ineligible companies. M Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, is being tried for helping Mr. Raja to receive a kickback from a telecom company through a TV channel that she co-owns. Both leaders have denied any wrongdoing.
Launching a stinging attack on Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday called the Gujarat Chief Minister a ‘compulsive liar’.