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Category: Politics

  • Don’t create anarchy, instability: BJP to Congress on Hindenburg case

    New Delhi: The BJP on Monday rejected the Congress’ demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into Hindenburg’s allegations and said the Opposition party was conspiring to bring about “economic anarchy and instability” in India. The Congress has been demanding Buch’s resignation and that a JPC investigation be ordered to assess the full extent of what it described as the “Modani Mega Scam”.

    Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad reiterated the party line that the shortselling firm’s charge and the Opposition’s criticism of the Sebi chairperson were part of a wider conspiracy. He claimed that billionaire investor George Soros is an investor in Hindenburg and is known for running a propaganda against the Narendra Modiled government.

    “While India is being seen globally as a safe, stable and promising market, the Congress party wants to project that the Indian investment scenario is not safe,” he alleged, and claimed that the Opposition party was making use of the “chits” provided. by foreign entities to damage the economy.”The Congress wants the stock market, which has given good returns to crores of small investors, to crash,” he said. He, however, asserted that investors have come to realize the “conspiracy” and rejected the attempts to jolt the market.

    “After being rebuffed by the people, the Congress, its allies and its closest ally in the toolkit gang have conspired together to usher in economic anarchy and instability in India,” he told reporters.

    The Congress rule between 2004 and 2014 was marked by several alleged scams, Prasad noted, as he questioned why such critical reports were not brought out then.”In its pathological hatred for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi and his toolkit friends, have developed a hatred for India,” he said.

  • Third eye: Congress’ media club, condition for return gift and Mama Banavla

    Condition for return gift: BJP MP and diamond tycoon Govind Dholakia found himself cornered by the party’s women MPs. After Rajya Sabha was adjourned on Friday, some women MPs led by BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh, Kavita Patidar, spoke to Dholakia and reminded him about the upcoming Raksha Bandhan. Also, each of them demanded one carat diamond for tying him rakhi. A smiling Dholakia assured them a return gift if they could make a trip to Surat on Raksha Bandhan.

    ‘Mama Banavla’: Uddhav Thackeray, in New Delhi recently, used a word play to slam BJP’s central leadership. Claiming that it was insecure of top BJP leaders like UP CM Yogi Adityanath, he said the leadership was trying to cut him down to size. He added former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chouhan has been shunted out to the Center as it doesn’t want him to become big. Thackeray said BJP leadership made a ‘mama’ out of Chouhan. While Chouhan is called ‘mama’ in MP circles, in Marathi ‘mama banavla’ means someone being fooled or duped.

    Congress’ Media Club: At a meeting of Congress Lok Sabha MPs presided over by LoP Rahul Gandhi, many were amused by an advisory from the party’s deputy leader in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi. With Gandhi sitting next to him, Gogoi said the leadership has noticed that many MPs talk to media persons on Parliament premises. He cautioned them against it by saying that “journalists are nobody’s friends” and they “are there only to get news”. After the meeting, some MPs wondered why Gogoi, who misses no opportunity to give soundbites before TV cameras in Parliament complex and who has his own WhatsApp media group, wanted others to shun the media. They concluded that his advice was perhaps aimed at limiting media interaction to, what they call, a “particular club within Congress”.

  • Hindenburg report: Parliament suddenly got adjourned sine die, now we know why, says Congress

    Congress on Saturday used the Latin phrase “Quis Custodiet Ipsos” or “who will guard the guards themselves” to take a dig at SEBI chief Madhabi Buch, after US short seller Hindenburg leveled allegations against her.

    Hindenburg has alleged that Buch and her husband Dhaval had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the Adani moneysiphoning case.

    Tagging the Hindenburg post on the allegations on In another post on the microblogging platform, Ramesh said, “Parliament was notified to sit till the evening of August 12th. Suddenly it got adjourned sine die on the afternoon of Aug 9th itself. Now we know why.”— Jairam_Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) In a blogpost, Hindenburg said 18 months since its damning report on industrialist Gautam Adani, “SEBI has shown a surprising lack of interest in Adani’s alleged undisclosed web of Mauritius and offshore shell entities.”

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    Citing “whistleblower documents”, it alleged: “Madhabi Buch, the current chairperson of SEBI, and her husband had stakes in both obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.” The SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India), which had been investigating the Adani group even before the Hindenburg report, had told a Supreme Courtappointed panel last year that it was probing 13 opaque offshore entities that held between 14 per cent and 20 per cent across five publiclytraded stocks of the conglomerate. It has not stated if the two incomplete probes have since been concluded.

  • Manish Sisodia gets bail, SC says ‘trial hasn’t begun yet’

    Observing that “the right to speedy trial and the right to liberty are sacrosanct rights,” the Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the Delhi excise case.

    A division bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan granted bail to in both cases registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the said scandal. Ordering the release of Sisodia, who has been behind bars for over 17 months, the top court cautioned the trial and high courts against playing safe in matters of grant of bail.

    The bench observed that “over a period of time, the trial courts and the high courts have forgotten a very wellsettled principle of law that bail is not to be withheld as a punishment.” The SC further noted that the trial has not even commenced in the instant case. “In the present case, in the ED matter as well as the CBI matter, 493 witnesses have been named. The case involves thousands of pages of documents and over a lakh pages of digitized documents. It is thus clear that there is not even the remotest possibility of the trial being concluded in the near future,” the judgment reads. Elaborating, the bench added “in our view, keeping the appellant (Sisodia) behind the bars for an unlimited period of time in the hope of speedy completion of trial would deprive his fundamental right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.” The judgment further reads “as observed time and again, the prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offense should not be permitted to become punishment without trial.” The top court further recorded that the instant case “largely depends on documentary evidence which is already seized by the prosecution.” As such, the bench added, “there is no possibility of tampering with the evidence.”The bench disagreed with the trial court’s finding that it was Sisodia who was attempting to delay the commencement of the trial in the case. “In that view of the matter, we find that the finding of the learned trial judge that it is the appellant (Sisodia) who is responsible for delaying the trial is not supported by the record,” the judgment reads.

  • Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar walks out, says don’t ‘politicise’ Phogat issue

    New Delhi: The Opposition’s attempts to raise the issue of disqualification of wrestler Vinesh Phogat at the Olympics in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday were turned down by Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, leading to vociferous protests and a walkout. The manner of protests irked Dhankhar, who announced after the developments that he cannot chair the proceedings and left the House. He later called a meeting of the floor leaders of all parties to discuss the issue.

    At the start of Zero Hour in the Upper House, some members from the Opposition benches tried to speak on the Phogat controversy but the Chairman stated emphatically that the unfortunate turn of events has pained everybody.

    Opposition members shouted slogans and tried to speak on the issue. TMC floor leader Derek O’Brien raised his voice at the Chairman when members were not permitted to speak, leading Dhankhar to reprimand him. “You cannot shout at the Chair,” he said. Several Opposition leaders had given notice under Rule 267 to discuss the Phogat issue.The Opposition staged a walkout even as Dhankhar expressed his unhappiness over their conduct.

    “Emergency started like this in June 1975…. They think only their heart is bleeding (over Phogat being disqualified),” Dhankhar said, adding that he will not permit the Opposition to “monetise and politicise” the issue.

    He mentioned Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini’s announcement on Phogat. “Not just the state but the whole country is proud of Vinesh Phogat. She will get all the privileges and facilities of a silver medal winner (at the Olympics). The Opposition does politics on every issue. They should not do politics in the area. of sports,” Saini said on X.

  • Third Eye: Not 100 gm but 17 kg, preparing for election schedule, and circumspect leader

    Not 100 gm But 17 kg: Union minister JP Nadda is drawing a lot of attention from fellow MPs for his weight loss. Following a strict diet and exercise plan, Nadda has lost 17 kg in six months. He told MPs that he takes only two meals a day. His first meal is between 9 am and 10 am and the second at around 5 pm. Nadda’s blood pressure is now under control and that too without medicines.

    Preparing for Election Schedule

    Before announcing schedules for assembly elections, a full ECI team, headed by CEC Rajiv Kumar, will visit J&K this week to assess poll readiness. They are expected to return by August 11 and head to Haryana on August 1213. A Maharashtra visit is also likely before the declaration of dates. Jharkhand preparation, however, is learned to be a tad slower.Circumspect LeaderParty supporters are known to shout slogans in favor of their leader whenever he/she is on stage. Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar, however, has become circumspect after setback in the recent Lok Sabha polls. When Pawar was attending a meeting in Baramati recently, his supporters shouted ‘ekach vada (promise) Ajit dada’. Pawar, with a sly smile, promptly asked where did the ‘vaada’ go during the Lok Sabha polls. He was referring to the defeat of his wife Sunetra in Baramati.

  • Naga communities protest against illegal taxation by Naga Political Groups

    Thousands of people from various Naga communities gathered in Kohima on Tuesday protesting multiple taxation by Naga Political Groups (NPGs).

    Nagaland has a practice of illegal taxation extorted from various people by different militant groups.

    The public rally organized by the Angami Youth Organization (AYO) at Kohima town. AYO President Kesosul Christopher Ltu pointed to recent death threats to contractors that led to the public outrage.

    LTU demanded that NPGs engaging in such demands be booked under the National Security Act. A memorandum was later submitted to Nagaland Governor La Ganesan. Signed by AYO President Kesosul Christopher Ltu and General Secretary Neidilhoutuo Sechü.

    It referred to recent threats, including a “capital punishment” warning issued to the local contractor by the NSCNK Khango group, which is currently under a ceasefire agreement with the Indian government.The memorandum noted that these contentious issues are to be resolved by the Ceasefire Monitoring Group /Ceasefire Supervisory Board (CFMG/CFSB).The AYO demanded immediate action against the NSCNK Khango group for its violation of ceasefire norms. They called for the withdrawal of the death threat and the directive to contractors and suggested that continued violations should result in the abrogation of the ceasefire with the offending group and legal action under the National Security Act of 1980. Spokesperson of the Nagaland Government and Minister for Power & Parliamentary Affairs, KG Kenye recently stated that the State Government of Nagaland has taken notice of the death threats and capital punishment issued to a contractor.

    He informed that an FIR was promptly registered against the NSCN (Khango) and its functionaries under appropriate sections of law for this crime.

    The Nagaland government spokesperson then said that the State Government had previously made clear in response to the “shutterdown” initiated by the business community of Nagaland in April 2024 that any acts of threat or coercion, whether by factions in ceasefire or otherwise, are criminal offenses and will be dealt with according to the law. “The State Government reiterates the same and will ensure peace and tranquility in Nagaland which is essential for economic development and prosperity”, he added.

    Kenye also said that the State Government has taken up the matter with the Chairman of the Ceasefire Monitoring Group/Ceasefire Supervisory Board to ensure that the NSCN (Khango) faction and other groups adhere strictly to the ground rules of the ceasefire.

  • Jaya flares up after her middle name ‘Amitabh’ comes up again in Rajya Sabha

    Samajwadi Party member Jaya Bachchan was miffed when Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called her again by her full official nameJaya Amitabh Bachchanand even suggested that by the same logic the name of male members’ wives should be added to their name.

    During Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Dhankhar announced that Jaya Amitabh Bachchan ask her supplementary question to Urban and Housing Development Minister Manohar Lal. This had happened a few times earlier as well when Deputy Chairman Harivansh and Dhankhar had called her by her official name. Bachchan is into her second term as Rajya Sabha member and was never called by the Chair by her full name before this session.

    Dhankhar had suggested a few days back that Bachchan can follow the laid down rules and make the requisite change in her name. When her full name was called out again on Monday, Bachchan retorted, “Yeh aap logo ne naya drama shuru kiya hai.”She maintained that she is not against this practice but doing so is “incorrect” as the same is not done for men. where the name of their spouse is not mentioned with their name.

    As the matter continued, Bachchan said, “Inke (Lal’s) name and his wife’s name should also be added.” The exCM of Haryana, who is single, responded, “I will have to take another birth for it”.

    Dhankhar added his bit, saying he often introduces himself as Mr Sudesh. When Bachchan did not get his point, the Vice President explained, “that is my wife’s name.”Bachchan regretfully replied that she was not aware his wife’s name and moved on to ask her supplementary on water logging in Gurgaon.

  • Governor decision on request to prosecute Karnataka CM likely today

    Bengaluru: Karnataka governor Thawarchand Gehlot is expected to respond on Monday to the council of ministers’ resolution urging him to reject activist TJ Abraham’s request for prosecution of chief minister Siddaramaiah, even as BJPJDS is pressing for the prosecution, said people familiar with the matter.

    The NDA partners have accused the CM of unlawfully gaining 14 plots in an upscale Mysuru residential area, and have started a weeklong protest march to Mysuru from Bengaluru on Saturday. Congress began a sixday counter rally a day earlier, as part of a strategy to deflect the attention from the BJP protest.

    Abraham also urged the governor to withdraw the showcause notice issued to Siddaramaiah asking to explain his actions. Siddaramaiah has said that the AICC leadership has thrown its weight behind him while attacking the governor as being a puppet in the hands of BJP, accusing him of trying to destabilize an elected government.

    The chief minister and his party are preparing to pursue an aggressive legal battle in the event the governor concedes the activist’s request, said people familiar with the matter.

    Congress has, however, not publicly spoken about its strategy in the event the Raj Bhavan grants permission for the CM’s prosecution. On Sunday, the second day of BJPJDS yatra, the opposition leaders continued to attack Siddaramaiah, while Congress rally remained mostly directed at JDS state president and Union minister HD Kumaraswamy. Congress leaders are attacking the JDS leader repeatedly as the regional party has a dominant presence in Ramanagar district, and Kumaraswamy represented Channapatna in the assembly before his election to the Lok Sabha. Kumaraswamy addressed BJP and JD (S) workers on Sunday and pledged that he would work together with BJP to dislodge the Congress regime and bring the NDA to power.

  • Waqf boards: Bill seeking changes in Wakf Act in works

    The Center may bring a bill soon in Parliament seeking several amendments in the Wakf Act, including a check on sweeping powers of the Waqf boards to declare any land as its own property, sources said.

    The bill is likely to propose around 40 amendments in the Wakf Act. The bill was approved by the Union Cabinet on Friday, sources said.

    The bill also proposes to repeal a few clauses of the act.

    The major amendments proposed by the draft legislation include restructuring of Waqf boards, changing the composition of boards and ensuring verification of the land before the board announces it as the property of Waqf.

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    The bill proposes to amend Section 9 and Section 14 of the Wakf Act to change the composition of Central Waqf Council and state Waqf boards, to ensure representation for women in the bodies.The bill also proposes to seek fresh verification of the disputed land claimed by the state Waqf boards.In May last year, the Delhi High Court had ordered that the Union government may carry out physical inspection of 123 properties, possession of which is being claimed by the Delhi Waqf Board.Thereafter, in August last year, the Union urban development ministry also issued a notice to all these properties.

    Giving a rationale behind this bill, sources cited a case of September 2022 when Tamil Nadu Waqf Board claimed ownership of entire Thiruchendurai village in Tamil Nadu, with a majority Hindu population.

    Presently, there are 30 Waqf boards across the country in twentyeight states and Union territories.

    The Wakf Act, 1995, was enacted to regulate ‘Auqaf’ (assets donated and notified as Waqf) by a wakif the person who dedicates a property for any purpose recognized by the Muslim law as pious, religious or charitable. Amendments were also made to the act in 2013 to address several shortcomings.

    As per government records, there are 8.70 lakh Waqf properties spread over 9.40 lakh acres of land.

    In the last Modi government, the minority affairs ministry had undertaken a review of the sweeping powers of the state Waqf boards to declare a particular property as a Waqf property, and misuse of powers of the state Waqf boards regarding appointment of Mutawallis (Waqf managers). .

    The timing of bringing the bill assumes significance as the assembly polls in three states Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand are likely to be held in October this year.