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Tag: Kapil Sibal

  • Hate speech: Supreme Court notice to Centre in plea seeking action against leaders 

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Centre in a petition filed by Shaheen Abdullah seeking action under penal statutes & UAPA against speakers involved in delivering provocative speeches targetting the Muslim community as well as organisations providing platforms to such speakers.

    A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravikumar tagged Abdullah’s petition which also sought an independent probe into the incidents of hate speech and hate crimes against the Muslim community with the batch of pleas seeking to curb hate speech. 

    Urging the bench to take action against the leaders involved in such speeches, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said, “Something needs to be done. If courts also do not do anything then God will save this country.” Taking exception to Sibal’s remarks, Justice Rastogi said, “do not take our institutions or this country for granted”. It (hate speeches) will go on. Adding that the court can take cognisance against individuals upon registration of FIR, the bench termed the reliefs sought in the plea as vague. 

    The petition had argued that despite the fact that the court was cognisant of the genocidal speeches and hate crimes against Muslims made at several events and passing several orders directing the concerned authorities to take appropriate action, the circumstances of the country only seemed to be worsening with the growing radicalisation of the Hindu community and the propagation of widespread hate against Muslims.

    “Action seems to be forthcoming against the speakers or the parties that organise such events where genocidal and hateful speeches are delivered. In most cases, minimal action of merely registering FIRs and that too under lesser offences is the only thing that is done by the authorities which seems to be more of a formality than any genuine initiation of the criminal machinery.

    The Government also refrains from publicly condemning the growing incidents of verbal and physical assault against Muslims across the country, despite being the guardian of all the citizens of this country,” the petition stated. The bench on September 21 had asked the Modi government to indicate within two weeks its stand as to whether it intends to bring any law to curb the menace. 

    Also in top court

    Centre’s reply sought on feeding roomsThe Supreme Court on Thursday sought the Centre’s response in a petition seeking the construction of a feeding room, child care room and crèches for infants and mothers in public places. A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and JK Maheshwari while issuing notice remarked that the matter required serious consideration. It was argued in the petition that such facilities were important for protecting the fundamental rights of nursing mothers and infants. 

    20% quota in Maha medical seats upheldThe SC upheld the 20% in-service reservation granted by the Maharashtra government to officers in Post Graduate medical education in the state to be implemented from the year 2022-23. “In our considered view, the HC verdict does not call for interference,” the SC said.

    Hearing on Kerala student arrest todayThe SC agreed to hear on Friday the plea of a mother whose law student son has been detained under a Kerala law on the prevention of anti-social activities. ‘List it for tomorrow,’ a bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi said on Thursday. 

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Centre in a petition filed by Shaheen Abdullah seeking action under penal statutes & UAPA against speakers involved in delivering provocative speeches targetting the Muslim community as well as organisations providing platforms to such speakers.

    A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravikumar tagged Abdullah’s petition which also sought an independent probe into the incidents of hate speech and hate crimes against the Muslim community with the batch of pleas seeking to curb hate speech. 

    Urging the bench to take action against the leaders involved in such speeches, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said, “Something needs to be done. If courts also do not do anything then God will save this country.” Taking exception to Sibal’s remarks, Justice Rastogi said, “do not take our institutions or this country for granted”. It (hate speeches) will go on. Adding that the court can take cognisance against individuals upon registration of FIR, the bench termed the reliefs sought in the plea as vague. 

    The petition had argued that despite the fact that the court was cognisant of the genocidal speeches and hate crimes against Muslims made at several events and passing several orders directing the concerned authorities to take appropriate action, the circumstances of the country only seemed to be worsening with the growing radicalisation of the Hindu community and the propagation of widespread hate against Muslims.

    “Action seems to be forthcoming against the speakers or the parties that organise such events where genocidal and hateful speeches are delivered. In most cases, minimal action of merely registering FIRs and that too under lesser offences is the only thing that is done by the authorities which seems to be more of a formality than any genuine initiation of the criminal machinery.

    The Government also refrains from publicly condemning the growing incidents of verbal and physical assault against Muslims across the country, despite being the guardian of all the citizens of this country,” the petition stated. The bench on September 21 had asked the Modi government to indicate within two weeks its stand as to whether it intends to bring any law to curb the menace. 

    Also in top court

    Centre’s reply sought on feeding rooms
    The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the Centre’s response in a petition seeking the construction of a feeding room, child care room and crèches for infants and mothers in public places. A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and JK Maheshwari while issuing notice remarked that the matter required serious consideration. It was argued in the petition that such facilities were important for protecting the fundamental rights of nursing mothers and infants. 

    20% quota in Maha medical seats upheld
    The SC upheld the 20% in-service reservation granted by the Maharashtra government to officers in Post Graduate medical education in the state to be implemented from the year 2022-23. “In our considered view, the HC verdict does not call for interference,” the SC said.

    Hearing on Kerala student arrest today
    The SC agreed to hear on Friday the plea of a mother whose law student son has been detained under a Kerala law on the prevention of anti-social activities. ‘List it for tomorrow,’ a bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi said on Thursday.
     

  • Uttar Pradesh: SP’s RS picks part of a three-pronged strategy with an eye on 2024 LS polls 

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: After facing a rout in the recently concluded UP Assembly election despite having taken its tally to 111 from 47, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has played his cards in Rajya Sabha polls sensibly following a three-pronged strategy– of mollifying Azam Khan, cementing ties with RLD and keeping the minority community in good humour–with an eye on the general elections of 2024.

    Notably, in the last two general elections—2014 and 2019—SP failed to take its tally of MPs beyond five despite having stitched a grand alliance with arch-rival Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 2019.

    However, the SP picks for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, slated for June 10, reflect the strategy to make SP’s fight more robust in 2024. As per the political pundits, by choosing Kapil Sibal, the Samajwadi Party chief has tried to mollify sulking Azam Khan, a senior party leader and Rampur MLA, who had been languishing in jail for 27 months in connection with a series of cases.

    Kapil Sibal represented Azam Khan in a cheating case in Supreme Court and played a crucial role in securing interim bail for him leading to his release from Sitapur District Jail on May 20.SP obliged Sibal who served a great jolt to Congress party by quitting it in the middle of this month.

    The selection of Jayant Chaudhury, too, has political connotations. Besides cementing the SP-RLD alliance further in the wake of 2024 electoral battle, the SP has tried to woo the Jat voters of western UP. However, the alliance was there in the assembly polls as well but it could not reap the results on expected lines in the constituencies dominated by Jats.

    The impact of the tie-up between the two parties, trying to capitalize on the prolonged farmers’ stir, was limited to Shamli, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar. Of the 113 seats which went to polls in the first two phases, basically in western UP, the BJP won 78 seats and SP and RLD 45.

    The SP insiders claimed that till the last moment on Wednesday night, Akhilesh’s wife and former MP, Dimple Yadav’s name was doing rounds as the party candidate for Rajya Sabha. This upset Jayant Chaudhury after he got the message that he was put out of the race. Jayant was purportedly promised an RS seat by Akhilesh during the UP assembly polls.

    ALSO READ | BJP government ruined health services in Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav

    However, sensing a potential threat to the alliance, the SP chief changed his decision and met the RLD MLAs on Thursday morning before announcing Jayant as the joint SP-RLD candidate for the upper house.

    Highly-placed SP sources also claimed that though Akhilesh had promised to send Jayant Chaudhary to the Rajya Sabha but they had a disagreement. While Akhilesh Yadav wanted Jayant in the upper house as a Samajwadi Party’s member, latter was insisting on representing his own party RLD backed by the SP.

    Fearing that BJP may woo Jayant before 2024, Akhilesh finally took the call in his favour and declared him the Joint candidate of SP and RLD. Moreover, the third candidate named by Akhilesh Yadav is Javed Ali Khan who has filed his nomination papers for the upper house. 

    “The decision in favour of Javed Ali Khan also seems to be party’s well thought out three-pronged strategy of mollifying Azam Khan, cementing tie-up with RLD and keeping the minority community in good humour for better prospects in 2024,” said Prof AK Mishra, a political scientist.

    It may be recalled that after consolidating in favour of SP in the 2022 polls, the minority community had not been happy with the SP leadership resulting in a series of resignations by the Muslim leaders. Their main refrain had been the guarded silence of the SP chief over alleged atrocities on Muslim leaders like Azam Khan and Mohammad Shahjeel.

  • Samajwadi Party may reciprocate Kapil Sibal’s help to Azam Khan, send him to Rajya Sabha

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: While the process of filing nomination for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections took off on Tuesday, the parties including the ruling BJP and main opposition SP are in the process of finalizing their list of candidates. Of the 57 seats, set to go to polls on June 10, UP will send 11 members to the upper house.

    As per the numbers, the BJP is sure to win at least 7 seats and SP three comfortably. However, for 11th seat, there could be a contest as the BJP with 273 members in Assembly, is short of 15 votes to win an added seat and SP, with 125 MLAs, would need 20 more votes to win the fourth seat. So, this situation may bring second preference vote into play as each member will need 36.63 votes to get elected. As per the highly-placed sources, of the three seats which SP is sure to win, one each may be given to RLD chief Jayant Chaudhury and veteran Congress leader Kapil Sibal.

    The party insiders also claimed that SP is scheduled to convene a meeting of its MLAs an MLCs this weekend to take a final call on candidates for the three seats the party is sure to win of the 11 seats that are up for grabs. The 11 seats are currently represented by BJP(5), SP(3), BSP(2) and Congress (1).

    If Jayant Chaudhury makes it to Rajya Sabha, he will return to Parliament after eight years as he had represented Mathura in Lok Sabha from 2009-2014.

    However, the fate of Kapil Sibal, a prominent face of Congress’s G-23, is still uncertain. In his last term, Sibal was elected from UP with the support of the Samajwadi Party. Sibal, completing term in Rajya Sabha in July, is believed to have a warm relationship with many SP leaders including the SP chief and Azam Khan.

    Sibal represented jailed SP leader Azam Khan in Supreme Court and helped him secure interim bail. He also helped Akhilesh Yadav retain the party’s bicycle symbol in 2017 when the first family was locked in an intense family feud, probably the worst in the SP’s existence.

    As per the SP sources, the Samajwadi Party is seeking to reciprocate for the help Sibal extended to Azam Khan in his legal battle. However, there has not be an official word on it. “The party has not decided on the candidates yet”, said SP national secretary and the state spokesperson, Rajendra Chaudhary.

    However, when Azam Khan, who is currently in Lucknow to attend the ongoing Assembly session, asked about the probability of Sibal being sent to Rajya Sabha from UP by the SP, he expressed his happiness saying if the party was thinking on those lines, he would support the move.

    On the other, state Congress leaders chose to remain non-committal over the possibility saying the Congress high command would take the decision. However, this time, the Congress, with two MLAs in UP, is not in a position to field a candidate on its own. 

  • Rajya Sabha polls to 57 seats from 15 states on June 10: Election Commission

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Elections will be held on June 10 to fill 57 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states falling vacant due to the retirement of members on different dates between June and August, the Election Commission said on Thursday.

    Prominent among those retiring are Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Congress leaders Ambika Soni, Jairam Ramesh and Kapil Sibal, and BSP’s Satish Chandra Misra.

    Members are retiring between June 21 and August 1.

    While 11 seats are falling vacant in Uttar Pradesh, six members each are retiring from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, five from Bihar and four each from Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka.

    Three members each from Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, two each from Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Punjab Jharkhand and Haryana, and one from Uttarakhand are also retiring.

    The notification for the polls will be issued on May 24 and voting will be held on June 10.

    According to established practice, counting will take place an hour after the conclusion of polling.

    Most of the new members who get elected are likely to vote in the President’s election, due sometime in July.

  • Supreme Court orders status quo on demolition drive in Jahangirpuri, matter to be heard on April 21

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a status-quo on the demolition drive in Jahangirpuri, Delhi.The matter was mentioned by Senior advocate Dushyant Dave before the bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana.“…The drive is unconstitutional, unauthorized demolition is taking place in Jahangirpuri where riots took place. No notice was served so that reply is served in 10 days,” he said.

    ALSO READ: MCD bulldozers in Jahangirpuri today, cops on alertSenior advocate Kapil Sibal also mentions the plea by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind seeking directions that residential accommodations or any commercial property cannot be demolished as a punitive measure. The petitioners have said in the plea that the administration in several states is employing bulldozers to raze down the houses of persons suspected to be involved in criminal incidents such as riots.The petitioners have also prayed that police personnel to be provided specialised training in handling communal riots and situations where populations become restive.The court will hear both matters tomorrow.

  • Dharam Sansad hate speech cases: SC seeks status report from  Uttarakhand government

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the State of Uttarakhand to file a status report on the probe into the alleged hate speech at Dharam Sansad events held in December 2021.

    The court was informed by the state government that it registered four First information reports (FIRs) in connection with the case. The state counsel also informed the court that three charge sheets have been filed in the matter. 

    Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for journalist Qurban Ali and advocate Anjana Prakash (petitioners) informed the top court that the matter needs to be heard soon as another event is scheduled this Sunday in Himachal Pradesh. They have filed an application to make Himachal Pradesh a party to the case.The bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar also granted liberty to the petitioners to intimate the collector and superintendent of police of the area about the event.

    The petition seeks directions to ensure that an independent, credible and impartial investigation is conducted into the incidents of hate speeches against the Muslim community including the speeches delivered in two day event (December 17-19, 2021) at Haridwar and Delhi by an SIT or otherwise as deemed appropriate by the court.

    The top court issued a notice in the matter in January. 

    It is submitted in the plea that the alleged hate speeches consisted of open calls for genocide of Muslims in order to achieve ethnic cleansing. “It is pertinent to note that the said speeches are not mere hate speeches but amount to an open call for the murder of an entire community. The said speeches thus, pose a grave threat not just to the unity and integrity of our country but also endanger the lives of millions of Muslim citizens.” It said,

    The plea has submitted that the hate speeches are extreme examples of incitement and advocating of violence and therefore fails the test laid down in the Shreya Singhal case. “That the contents of the speech feed into an already prevailing discourse which seeks to reimagine the Indian Republic as exclusivist, and that which has no space for other cultures, traditions, and practices. Such a discourse is in itself violative of constitutional guarantees provided to minority cultures and religions in India,” it added.

    The plea talks about  Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as adopted by the General Assembly provides that everyone is equal and entitled to equal protection against discrimination, and against incitement to such discrimination. 

    “Further, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which India ratified in 1992 places positive obligations to limit speech on governments… Article 20 (2) requires governments who adopt the ICCPR to prohibit “hate speech,” the plea reads.

    The next date of hearing is on April 22.

  • ‘Only Gandhis can take Congress out of the crisis’: Khurshid on ‘leadership change’

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: When did Kapil Sibal fight an election for any position in the party, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid asked on Wednesday as he hit back at his party colleague for criticising the Gandhi family’s leadership.

    Saying it was a “bit sad” to complain after receiving so much from the organisation, Khurshid also attacked the ‘Group of 23’ signatories, including Sibal, who wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking sweeping changes in the party.

    “The Gandhi family is the party’s integrating factor and the best possible leadership option in this moment of crisis,” Khurshid told PTI, countering Sibal who said it was time for the Gandhis to step aside from a leadership role and give some other person a chance.

    “When did Mr. Sibal fight an election to get into any position in the party,” he asked in response to Sibal’s remarks in an interview that the Gandhis should voluntarily move away because “a body nominated by them will never tell them that they should not continue to hold the reins of power”.

    Khurshid’s staunch defence of the Gandhis comes at a time the Congress faces an existential crisis following its electoral defeats in the recent assembly elections, including in Uttar Pradesh where it won only two seats and a little over 2 per cent of the votes.

    According to Khurshid, the common perception after talking to people within the party is that they would like Rahul Gandhi to take over as full-time party president.

    “We can all sincerely hope that the elections come in August, and that in August he will oblige and become president of the party again.”

    “We have been accustomed to a somewhat comfortable life of being in power guaranteed as it were by members of the Gandhi family over generations and we are suddenly feeling upset that they can’t keep us in power for now,” he added.

    The former Union minister argued that internal bickering does not help the party, and instead helps the BJP.

    “Leadership is in cuckoo land. I want a ‘Sab ki Congress’. Some want a ‘Ghar ki Congress’,” Sibal said in an interview to Indian Express.

    Slamming Sibal for the barbs, Khurshid said the crowds that had gathered in support of the Gandhi family on its own accord near the AICC headquarters when the Congress Working Committee (CWC) met on Sunday must also be considered part of an inclusive Congress.

    “When you talk about ‘sab ki Congress’, it means an inclusive Congress,” said the former Union minister, among the leaders, considered close to the Gandhi family.

    Referring to the CWC meeting including three members of the G-23 group who participated in a discussion reaffirming full faith in Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, Khurshid said giving “confusing signals” outside the party is not doing the party any service.

    “There was a free and frank discussion in the CWC. There were issues that people who belonged to G-23 raised and they were heard with all humility and seriousness and there was a friendly exchange of views. And then they participated in that decision (reposing full faith in Sonia Gandhi’s leadership),” said Khurshid, who is also a member of the CWC.

    “So now if people amongst them who have been gathering together before and after the CWC, are taking a different view, then frankly it is for them to disassociate themselves or to clarify.”

    The damage, he said, is irreversible if you give open interviews and come out and speak publicly.

    Referring to the G-23, Khurshid said if one catalogues what they have achieved and received from the party in comparison to “some of us”, the scales will be tilted towards them.

    “After receiving so much, for them to complain, seems a bit sad. If things in the party have not been fine as they should be in some imagined way, they are beneficiaries of things not being fine,” he said.

    Khurshid also addressed the oft raised question about Rahul Gandhi’s “accessibility”.

    “Of course, there are people who say he should be full time president and he should be really accessible to us the way Mrs Indira Gandhi, Mr Rajiv Gandhi were accessible to us or in previous years Sonia Ji was accessible to us. A lot of people do say he should be more accessible to us but they want him to be president,” Khurshid said.

    The senior Congress leader said people want Rahul Gandhi to be president but he wants to follow “constitutional propriety”.

    Khurshid said he could say without fear of contradiction that the commitment to the Congress legacy that he speaks of is “deep and robust in the Gandhis”, and he can’t see that in anyone who might figure as a possible leadership option.

    In another sarcastic jibe at Sibal, he said, “Is it that he was such a compelling person to become a Rajya Sabha MP that nobody could stop him, no. He was liked and he was respected and therefore he was made a Rajya Sabha MP. We must not forget the roots from where we come.”

  • ‘Adopt model of collective, inclusive leadership’: G-23 to Congress top brass as Sonia suggests changes

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Amid fast-paced developments in the beleaguered  Congress on Wednesday, its G-23 rebels advised the party leadership that the only way forward is to adopt a model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision making at all levels.

    The statement was issued after a dinner meeting at veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s residence. 

    The G-23 meeting was earlier scheduled to be held at Kapil Sibal’s house but was shifted at the last minute as leaders like ex-Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda were not comfortable with his attack on the Gandhis.

    Sibal is currently in the eye of a storm as he said upfront that the Gandhis should let someone else head the Congress. 

    The G-23 statement also demanded that the party leadership initiate talks with like-minded forces to build a credible alternative ahead of the next Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

    “The next steps in this regard will be announced soon,” the statement jointly issued by 18 leaders said. 

    What was interesting about the gathering was the presence of Rajiv Gandhi loyalist Mani Shankar Aiyar. Other additions were Patiala MP Preneet Kaur and ex-Gujarat CM S S Vaghela. Old faces like Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor,  Prithviraj Chavan, Vivek Tankha, Raj Babbar, Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Sandeep Dikshit were also present. 

    The dissidents had thrown the door open to those who were not part of G-23 but shared concerns about the party’s future. In Parliament, Congress president Sonia Gandhi aggressively attacked social media giants for allegedly siding with the ruling BJP during the recent state elections.

    Later in the day, she appointed senior leaders to assess the situation and suggest organisational changes in all the five states where Congress was routed.

    A day earlier, she had sought the resignations of five PCC chiefs.

    The newly appointed leaders are Jairam Ramesh (for Manipur), Ajay Maken (Punjab), Rajani Patil (Goa), Jitendra Singh (UP) and Avinash Pandey (Uttarakhand). 

    The G-23 saw some more leaders joining the dinner meeting at Azad’s residence, which was convened to work out the grouping’s future strategy and discuss the Congress’s debacle in the just-concluded Assembly polls in five states.

    The meeting lasted for over four hours and all the leaders spoke about the strategy to be adopted.

    Sources said Azad also spoke to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and conveyed to her the feelings of the grouping while assuring her of their support in strengthening the organisation.

    Azad and Anand Sharma reposed faith in Gandhi’s leadership at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Sunday.

    Incidentally, the grouping sidestepped the issue of leadership, after Kapil Sibal said Gandhi should step aside and pave the way for another leader.

    The leaders said they met to deliberate on the demoralising outcome of the recent poll results and the constant exodus of party leaders and workers.

    “We believe that the only way forward for the Congress is to adopt a model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision making at all levels.”

    “In order to oppose the BJP, it is necessary to strengthen the Congress party. We demand the Congress party to initiate dialogue with other like-minded forces to create a platform to pave the way for a credible alternative for 2024,” the joint statement of the G-23 said.

    The next steps in this regard will be announced soon, it added.

    Sources said the grouping had earlier planned a dinner at Sibal’s residence, but it was changed at the last minute.

    Among the leaders who attended the meeting were Sibal, Sharma, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Prithviraj Chavan, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Vivek Tankha, Raj Babbar, Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Sandeep Dikshit.

    The ambit of the G-23 grouping widened this time as some more leaders — Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, former Gujarat chief minister Shankar Singh Vaghela, former Punjab chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurian and former Haryana speaker Kuldeep Sharma joined the dinner meeting, besides MA Khan.

    The grouping had given an open invite to other Congressmen to join them at the dinner meeting.

    The sources said the meeting was convened to apprise all the G-23 members of the decisions taken at the crucial CWC meet.

    Two prominent G-23 members — Azad and Sharma — were to appraise the other members of the developments at the CWC meeting and what they said on strengthening the party in the wake of its drubbing in the Assembly polls, they said.

    The performance of the Congress in these states was poor as it failed to win any of the four BJP-ruled states — Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur — while it lost Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

    The G-23 grouping has been critical of Congress’ leadership.

    It has been demanding an organisational overhaul after its members wrote a joint letter to Gandhi in 2020.

    The sources said invitations were also extended to the Congressmen who do not constitute the bloc but feel that changes are required, including at the leadership level, to revive the party’s electoral fortunes.

    The decision to convene a meeting of the G-23 came a day after Gandhi sought the resignation of the Congress presidents of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.

    Sibal, in his latest salvo targeting the Congress leadership, had said the Gandhis should step aside and give some other leader a chance to helm the party, provoking a backlash from the Gandhi family loyalists, who accused him of speaking the language of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

    The G-23 has, however, got weakened over time with senior leader M Veerappa Moily distancing himself from the group, Jitin Prasada joining the BJP and Mukul Wasnik not attending its meetings in recent times.

    Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday engaged five senior leaders to assess the post-poll situation in five states and suggest organisational changes following its electoral debacle, a day after the state unit chiefs were asked to resign.

    Rajya Sabha MP Rajani Patil has been asked to assess the situation in Goa, Jairam Ramesh in Manipur and Ajay Maken in Punjab, where the Congress lost power to the Aam Aadmi Party.

    Congress leader Jitendra Singh will to asses the post-poll situation in Uttar Pradesh and suggest changes, while Avinash Pandey has been asked to do so in Uttarakhand.

    “Congress president has appointed leaders to assess the post-poll situation and suggest organisational changes in the states (with inputs) from MLA candidates and important leaders with immediate effect,” an official communication said.

    The Congress fared poorly in the just-concluded assembly elections by failing to win back any of the BJP-ruled states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur and losing Punjab to the AAP.

    The Congress Working Committee had discussed the reasons for the poll debacle and authorised Sonia Gandhi to initiate necessary changes in these states after the drubbing.

    Gandhi Tuesday had asked the chiefs of its Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur units to submit their resignations.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Shows your party is losing in Uttarakhand: Sibal slams Dhami over Uniform Civil Code promise

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Saturday attacked Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami over his remarks that the BJP will constitute a committee to prepare a draft Uniform Civil Code if re-elected, saying this shows the BJP is losing the polls in the hill state and he needs some legal advice.

    Sibal asked Dhami not to “embarrass” his party and himself by making such announcements.

    In a video statement, Dhami said the BJP, if re-elected to power in Uttarakhand, will constitute a committee to prepare a draft Uniform Civil Code soon after its new government is sworn in.

    The panel will comprise legal experts, retired people, intellectuals and other stakeholders, the chief minister announced on the last day of campaigning for the 70 assembly seats in the state going to polls on February 14.

    Reacting to the remarks, Sibal tweeted, “Pushkar S Dhami, Please don’t embarrass your party and yourself when you make announcements about implementing the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand if BJP comes to power.”

    “This shows your party is losing in Uttarakhand and that You need some legal advice,” the former Union minister said.

  • Ironic Congress doesn’t need his services when nation recognises them: Sibal on Padma award to Azad

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Wednesday took a jibe at his party over Ghulam Nabi Azad being conferred with the Padma Bhushan, saying it was ironic that the Congress does not need his services when the nation recognises his contributions to public life.

    Veteran Congress leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Azad, who was part of the group of 23 which has been critical of the party leadership and has sought an organisational overhaul, has been awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to public affairs.

    Sibal, also a part of the G-23, tweeted, “Ghulam Nabi Azad conferred Padam Bhushan. Congratulations bhaijan.”

    “Ironic that the Congress doesn’t need his services when the nation recognises his contributions to public life,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Buddhadeb Bhattacharya wants to be ‘Azad not Ghulam’: Jairam Ramesh’s dig at party colleague

    Another G-23 leader Shashi Tharoor also congratulated Azad.

    “Warm congratulations to Shri @ghulamnazad on his Padma Bhushan. It is good to be recognized for one’s public service even by a government of the other side,” Tharoor tweeted.

    However, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had on Tuesday taken a veiled dig at Azad who was conferred with the award.

    “Right thing to do. He wants to be Azad not Ghulam,” Ramesh said on Twitter after former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya declined the Padma award.