News Analysis India

Category: Politics

  • Defer implementation of new criminal laws: Jairam Ramesh

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday demanded that the enforcement of the three criminal laws, which are to come into force from July 1, be deferred, saying the Bills were “bulldozed” through Parliament. In a post on X, Ramesh said the implementation of the Bills be deferred to enable a thorough review and re-examination by a reconstituted Standing Committee on Home Affairs as they were passed at a time when 146 MPs had been suspended.

    “On Dec 25 2023, the President of India had given her assent to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. The three far-reaching Bills had been bulldozed through Parliament without proper debate and discussion, and at a time when 146 MPs had been suspended from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” Ramesh said.

    “Earlier the Bills had been bulldozed through the Standing Committee on Home Affairs without detailed interactions with stakeholders across the country and completely ignoring the written and very detailed dissent notes of a number of MPs belonging to different political parties, including the Indian National Congress, who were members of the Standing Committee,” he said. Ramesh said the three new laws are to come into effect from July 1, 2024, and the Congress is of the firm opinion that the date should be deferred to enable a thorough review and re-examination of the laws by the reconstituted Standing Committee on Home Affairs.

    He said the panel should have more extensive and meaningful consultations with various legal experts and organisations “who have serious concerns on the three laws as they stand”, after which it should be scrutinised by the 18th Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well.

    On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding deferment of the implementation of the three criminal laws, saying they were “hurriedly passed”. Similar demands have been made by the DMK as well.

  • “Congress’ long-term plan to create rift with help of lies”: Maharashtra Dy CM on claims of Atal Setu cracks

    Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday asserted that there is “no danger” to Atal Setu and termed the allegations as part of Congress’ “long-term plan to create a rift with the help of lies.”

    This comes after Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole on Friday inspected the cracks spotted on the Mumbai-Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) and alleged that these cracks are the result of corruption.

    “There is no crack on Atal Setu. Nor is there any danger to Atal Setu. This picture is of the approach road. But one thing is clear the Congress party has made a long-term plan to create a rift with the help of lies. Talks of constitutional amendments during elections, unlocking of EVMs through phone after elections and now such lies. Only the people of the country will defeat this ‘Darar’ plan and the corrupt behaviour of Congress,” Devendra Fadnavis posted on X.The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) clarified that minor cracks were found on the approach road connecting Atal Setu in Ulwe, which is not a part of the bridge but is a service road connecting the bridge.

    MMRDA stated that the cracks are not due to structural defects in the project and do not pose any threat to the structure of the bridge.

    MMRDA also labelled the news as ‘rumours’ and urged the citizens not to believe them.According to MMRDA, these minor cracks were already noticed at three places on Ramp No 5, from Ulwe towards Mumbai, on Thursday during an inspection by the Operation and Maintenance Team of the Project and require immediate repair. Strabag, the contractor of Package 4 of the Atal Setu project, has started the repair work in the said area and the work will be completed within 24 hours without any disruption to the traffic on the bridge.The official statement reads, “It has been noticed that there is no crack in the main part of Atal Setu Bridge but rumours are being spread in various media about it. Please don’t believe the rumours. Minor cracks have been found on the approach road connecting Atal Setu. The said footpath is not a part of the main bridge but is a service road connecting the bridge. It is also very important to note that the cracks are not due to structural defects in the project and do not pose any threat to the structure of the bridge.”

    “During the inspection on 20th June 2024 by the Operation and Maintenance Team of the project, minor cracks were noticed at three places on Ramp No. 5 asphalt from Ulwe towards Mumbai which require immediate repair. M/s Strabag, the contractor of Package 4 of the Atal Setu project, has started the repair work in the said area and the work will be completed within 24 hours without any disruption to the traffic on the bridge.”

    In a social media post to X, MMRDA wrote, “There have been rumours circulating about cracks on the MTHL bridge. We want to clarify that these cracks are not on the bridge itself but on the approach road connecting MTHL from Ulwe towards Mumbai.”

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewari-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, India’s longest bridge, in Maharashtra on January 12, 2024.

    Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were also present on the occasion.

    Atal Setu is also the longest sea bridge in the country.

    Atal Setu provides faster connectivity to Mumbai International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport and reduces travel time from Mumbai to Pune, Goa and South India.

    The foundation stone of the bridge was also laid by the Prime Minister in December 2016.

    Atal Setu has been constructed at a total cost of more than Rs 17,840 crore.

    It is a 21.8-kilometer-long, 6-lane bridge with about 16.5 km of length over sea and about 5.5 km of length on land.

  • ED seizes benami documents, Rs 19L cash after raids on BRS MLA, brother

    New Delhi: The ED said on Friday that it seized Rs 19 lakh cash apart from a “large number” of property documents in the name of benami persons during raids on premises linked to BRS MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy and his businessman brother Gudem Madhusudan Reddy in and around Hyderabad. The raids were launched on Thursday at about ten locations as part of a money laundering investigation linked to alleged illegal mining.

    The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Telangana Police against a company Santhosh Sand and Granite Supply located in Patancheru, Hyderabad and promoted by Gudem Madhusudan Reddy.

    The premises of G Madhusudan Reddy, G Mahipal Reddy, their company and others were searched, the central agency said in a statement. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party is headed by former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao.

    Search operations led to the seizure of “unaccounted” cash of Rs 19 lakh along with large number of property documents in the names of unrelated persons who are suspected to be “benamis” of the accused persons, the Enforcement Directorate said.

    Mobile phones “containing evidence related to cash dealings” were also seized, it said. Some bank locker keys were recovered and examination of these lockers is expected to furnish more evidence, it said. The accused firm, according to the ED, was found to have excavated and transported excess quantity of 11,98,743 CBM of building stone and road metal within the quarry lease permitted area and 10,11,672 CBM of material beyond the permitted area (on encroached government land measuring 4.37 hectares).

    In this process, the agency alleged, the accused “illegally amassed” around Rs 300 crore by sale of illegally excavated material and also evaded royalty amount of Rs 39.08 crore due to the government.

    “The sale proceeds of illegally excavated material were deliberately not reported in banking transactions and books of accounts and the transactions were suspected to have been carried out in cash.

    “The proceeds of crime in the form of cash were laundered by the accused and were invested in real estate and other activities,” the ED claimed.

  • hd kumaraswamy: PM Modi acted immediately to safeguard students’ interests: Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on NEET exam row

    Amid the row over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday said that “acting immediately” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the concerned minister to safeguard the interest of the students.

    “According to my knowledge, PM Modi acted immediately after it came to his notice. In the first cabinet itself, he advised the concerned minister how to…safeguard the interest of the students. He has given the direction,” Kumaraswamy told reporters.

    The former Karnataka CM also performed yoga on the 10th International Yoga Day here in the national capital on Friday.”PM Modi encouraged citizens of nearly 124 countries to do Yoga every day and keep good health. I congratulate him,” he said after the event.

    Earlier on Thursday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Modi and said he is ‘silent’ on the entire issue because he is “crippled” and he has “psychologically collapsed” post-elections and will struggle to run a government like this.

    Rahul Gandhi further said that it seems PM Modi is not bothered about NEET and is instead more concerned regarding the election of the Speaker.”The silence (of government) is because the Prime Minister is crippled. Right now, the PM’s main agenda is the (election of) Speaker. He is not bothered about NEET or all these things. He is bothered about his government and Speaker. That is where his mind is,” Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference on Thursday.Speaking about the people who have been arrested from Bihar in the “paper leak” case, he said, “Regarding Bihar, we have said that there should be an inquiry and action should be taken against those who have leaked the paper.”

    Rahul Gandhi also said that the Congress party will raise the issue in the Parliament.

    Recently, Patna Police arrested several people including some candidates who had taken the NEET exam in recent days.

    Meanwhile, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government is working to further strengthen the National Testing Agency (NTA) by “reconsidering important things.” He also assured action against those responsible for the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examinations.

    Speaking to ANI, Pradhan said, “In a democracy, everyone has their views. It is our job to listen to everyone. Our responsibility is to run a process-driven government, it is our responsibility to speak the truth and accept truth. Few students have doubts about NTA (National Testing Agency) and we will have to accept this.”

    “The government has decided to form a committee and experts will be part of that committee. All the important things will be reconsidered and the NTA will be strengthened further. Those who are responsible for it (discrepancies) will be held accountable,” he said.

    The Education Minister earlier announced the formation of a high-level committee to probe into the issues pertaining to the functioning of NTA.

    The NEET-UG 2024 exam was conducted on May 5 and the results were declared on June 4, ahead of its scheduled announcement date of June 14. Protests were held alleging irregularities and paper leaks as the results showed that as many as 67 students had topped the exam with a perfect score of 720.

    The NEET-UG examination, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), paves the way for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.

  • ‘People living in Karnataka should learn Kannada’: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

    Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that it is the responsibility of every Kannadiga to protect the Kannada language, land and water and urged everyone in the state to learn the language.

    The Chief Minister said speaking the mother tongue should be a matter of pride.

    “Everyone must decide to speak in Kannada with those who live in Karnataka. A vow must be taken that no language other than Kannada is spoken. Kannadigas are generous. That is why there is an environment in Karnataka where even those who speak other languages can live without learning Kannada. The same situation cannot be seen in Tamil Nadu, Andhra, or Kerala states. They speak only in their mother tongue. We also have to speak in our mother tongue. That should make us proud,” Siddaramaiah said while addressing a public function in Bengaluru.”It is the duty of all of us to create a Kannada atmosphere. For that, all the people living here should learn Kannada. Love for Kannada should be developed. But we should develop respect and admiration for our language, land and country,” he said.

    He was addressing the gathering after performing Bhoomi Puja for the construction of a bronze statue of Nada Devi Bhuvaneshwari near the western entrance of Vidhana Soudha as part of the Karnataka Namakarana Suvarna Mahotsava celebrations organised by the Department of Kannada and Culture.

    The Chief Minister said that a bronze statue of about 25 feet in height will be constructed on the premises of Vidhana Soudha. He said that the work should be completed by November 1, 2024.”Work has already started and there is no shortage of funds. It is directed that it should be attractive to the people. I think the statue will add to the charm of the Vidhana Soudha,” he said.November 1, 2023, marked 50 years since the state was named Karnataka and this year was named Karnataka Sambhrama along with the ‘Hesaraayitu Karnataka, Usiragali Kannada’ slogan.

    “We organized programmes for the whole year. The programme started from Hampi on November 1, 2023. A big programme was held in Gadag too. After the naming, the then Chief Minister Devaraja Arasu visited the place. It was during his time that the state was named Karnataka. Until then it was called Mysore State,” the Chief Minister recalled.

    Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraja Horatti, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Kannada and Culture Minister Shivraj Thangadagi and MLAs were present.

  • President appoints seven-term Lok Sabha member Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro-tem Speaker

    President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Bhartruhari Mahtab as Speaker Protem under Article 95(1) of the Constitution to perform the duties of Speaker till election of the Speaker.

    “President is pleased to appoint Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member, Lok Sabha as Speaker Protem under Article 95(1) of the Constitution to perform the duties of Speaker till election of the Speaker,” announced Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.

    Additionally, the President appointed Suresh Kodikunnil, Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, Radha Mohan Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Sudip Bandyopadhyay to assist Speaker Protem in Oath/Affirmation to newly elected Members of 18th Lok Sabha till election of the Speaker, informed Rijiju. — KirenRijiju (@KirenRijiju) Speaker elections:The election for the post of Lok Sabha speaker is to be held on June 26, an official statement from the Lok Sabha said.Before appointment of Mahtab, BJP MP Om Birla was holding the post of Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament. He was elected as the speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha in June 2019, following a motion for election moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will be held from June 24 and conclude on July 3 for oath/affirmation of newly elected Members, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said on Wednesday.The 264th Session of Rajya Sabha will also commence on June 27 and conclude on July 3, the minister said.

    “First Session of 18th Lok Sabha is being summoned from 24.6.24 to 3.7.24 for oath/affirmation of newly elected Members, Election of Speaker, President’s Address and discussion thereon. 264th Session of Rajya Sabha will commence on 27.6.24 and conclude on 3.7.24.”

    President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on June 27.

    The last session of the 17th Lok Sabha (Budget session) was held between January 31 and February 10, 2024.

    (with agency inputs)

  • Congress to decide on LoP in Lok Sabha: Sharad Pawar

    NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the Congress will decide on the appointment on the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha as it has maximum seats among the INDIA bloc parties in the Lower House of Parliament. Asked if efforts will be made to have the Lok Sabha’s deputy speaker from the opposition, Pawar claimed this “rule” was not followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his last government.

    “A discussion will take place on that point, but I do not think any fruitful outcome will be there from it,” he said.

    Pawar was speaking to reporters at Baramati in Maharashtra’s Pune district. The BJP won 240 seats in the recently held polls to the 543-member Lok Sabha and formed government with its partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

    Among the opposition INDIA bloc constituents, the Congress bagged the highest 99 seats.

    Asked about the appointment of the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Pawar said, “Earlier, we had agreed that the position would go to the party with the highest seats. Today, the Congress has the maximum seats (among opposition parties) in the Lok Sabha, so they will decide who should hold the position.” “After the Congress decides, it will need the consent of our (INDIA) bloc,” he said. On the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) success in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, Pawar claimed people have lost confidence in PM Modi and that “Modi’s guarantee” turned out to be fake.

    “The people of the state came to a conclusion that the promises he made in the last five years were not kept,” he said.

    The MVA, which comprises the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray and NCP (SP), bagged 30 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

    The ruling Mahayuti, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the NCP headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, got 17 seats.

  • NEET cancellation: “When will NEET be cancelled?”: Congress urges PM Modi to “take responsibility” for stopping paper leak

    New Delhi: Amid the ongoing row over NEET-UG 2024, the Congress party urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take responsibility for stopping the paper leaks.

    Indian National Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in a post on X referred to the cancellation of the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) as a “victory of spirit” of millions of students.

    He further said that it was the “defeat of the Modi government’s arrogance.””You “discuss exams” a lot, when will you “discuss the NEET exam”? Cancellation of the UGC-NET exam is a victory of the spirit of millions of students. This is the defeat of the arrogance of the Modi government due to which they made a despicable attempt to trample the future of our youth,” Kharge said in the post.

    “The Union Education Minister had earlier said that no paper was leaked in NEET. When arrests are made of the education mafia in Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana, the Education Minister accepts that some scam has taken place! When will the NEET exam be cancelled?” he asked.

    “Modi Ji, please take the responsibility of stopping your government’s rigging and paper leak in NEET exam too!”Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi asked if at least now the accountability be decided.”The laxity and corruption of the BJP government is fatal for the youth. After the news of the scam in NEET exam, now the NET exam held on June 18 has also been cancelled due to the fear of irregularities,” Priyanka said in a post on X.

    “Will accountability be fixed now? Will the education minister take responsibility for this lax system?,” she said.

    The Ministry in a statement on Wednesday said that the issue related to grace marks has already been fully addressed in the matter pertaining to the NEET(UG) -2024.

    The Ministry of Education has sought a detailed report from the Economic Offences Unit of the Bihar Police over the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the NEET(UG) examination-2024 in Patna.

    It further reiterated that any individual/organization found to be involved in the NEET (UG) Examination 2024 matter, will face the strictest action.

    Earlier on June 18, the Supreme Court told the Centre and NTA that if there is any negligence in conducting the NEET-UG, 2024 exam, it should be thoroughly dealt with.

    Several petitions were filed in the apex court seeking direction to recall NEET-UG 2024 results and to conduct the examination afresh, alleging paper leakage and malpractices in the test held on May 5. Aspirants have raised the issue of leakage of the question paper, awarding compensatory marks and anomalies in the question of NEET-UG 2024.

  • Cabinet approves Rs 2,870 cr funding for expansion of Varanasi Airport – The Economic Times Video

    On Cabinet decisions, Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw says, ” The Cabinet has approved the expansion of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi at a cost of Rs 2,870 crores. The proposal includes extending the runway and building a new terminal building. It will be made a green airport for minimum energy consumption.”

  • Rahul Gandhi turns 54, celebrates birthday with Priyanka and Congress chief at party HQ – The Economic Times Video

    Senior leader Rahul Gandhi shared a lighter moment at the Congress headquarters on Wednesday as he cut his birthday cake. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi and other senior leaders were present during the cake-cutting event. Rahul Gandhi, who turned 54, was greeted by numerous Congress leaders from across the country. The 54th birthday marks a special moment for Rahul, as Congress doubled its tally in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. Rahul Gandhi has instructed party workers to refrain from grand celebrations and rather celebrate the occasion by engaging in humanitarian works.