Tag: NDA government

  • Parliament session: Congress upset over pro-tem speaker election, will not assist during oath-taking of MPs

    After seventh-term BJP MP Bhratruhari Mehtab was appointed as pro-tem Speaker, instead of Congress leader K Suresh, who is an eighth-term MP, the MPs of the India bloc have decided not to sit on the speaker’s chair to assist the pro-tem Speaker during the oath-taking ceremony of MPs, sources said.

    According to the sources, Congress and India Bloc parties are upset with the fact that tradition has been broken as Mehtab was made the Protem Speaker instead of the 8-time Congress MP K Suresh.

    The Congress has reacted sharply to the central government’s decision to appoint Mahtab as Pro-tem Speaker of Lok Sabha over senior-most Dalit MP Kodikkunnil Suresh of Congress, saying that the appointment by the BJP deviates from the traditional practice of appointing the senior member.Congress leader K Suresh said that there is an eighth-term MP in the House, but a seventh-term MP has been appointed as pro-tem Speaker.

    “We are claiming that an eighth-term MP should be the pro-tem Speaker…They have done wrong, and now the whole country is criticising the decision of the BJP government,” K Suresh said.

    Congress MP Hibi Eden said that the NDA government has violated all the traditions and customs.”There are certain customs related to the Parliament of India, and it is always the senior-most member, irrespective of the party, who is given the opportunity to become the pro-tem speaker. It is merely a matter of two days, but it is the respect given to the member, whichever party he/she is from. Unfortunately, a Dalit member, who is an 8-time MP from Kerala has been denied the right to become the pro-tem speaker. This shows the attitude of the NDA government towards the Dalit and the oppressed community of this country. They have violated all the traditions and customs… Even though this session is hardly for 8 days, it should have been in consensus with the opposition because we are representing almost 45 per cent of the country,” he said.The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will witness the oath-taking ceremony of newly-elected Members of Parliament, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    The first session is expected to be stormy as the opposition is likely to corner the BJP-led NDA government on the election of the Speaker on June 26, discussions regarding allegations of paper leaks in NEET-UG and UGC-NET, and a row over the appointment of the pro-tem Speaker.

    President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath to Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Mahtab will then call upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Leader of the Lok Sabha, to take oath as a member of the House.

    On June 26, the Lok Sabha Speaker will be elected. On June 27, President Murmu is scheduled to address the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament.

    This is the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha after the general elections, which saw the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secure 293 seats and the INDIA bloc win 234, with the Congress holding 99 of them.

    Meanwhile, the Newly Elected Congress MPs meeting is called at 10 am at the CPP office in Parliament today.

    After the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate 2024 (NEET-UG), Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi targeted the BJP and said that they stand with the students.

    Meanwhile, BJP MP Mahtab, who has been appointed as the pro-tem Speaker, will administer the oath to newly elected members and oversee the proceedings of the House.

    President Murmu also appointed Suresh Kodikunnil, Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, Radha Mohan Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Sudip Bandyopadhyay to assist the Speaker Protem in oath taking of the newly-elected members.

    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. The 264th Session of Rajya Sabha will also commence on June 27 and conclude on July 3.

    Moreover, the Samajwadi Party Parliamentary meeting is to be held on Monday in Delhi. The meeting will be chaired by party National President Akhilesh Yadav.

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

  • Will Railway Ministry Become Bone Of Contention In NDA Govt? JDU MP Confirms Demand |

    Amid speculations over Janta Dal United’s possible demands in the Narendra Modi led NDA government, JDU MP-elect Lovely Anand and her gansgter-turned politician husband Anand Mohan confirmed party’s demand of Railway Ministry. Lovely Anand, while speaking to the reporters said, “Railway Ministry certainly should be given, it has always happened. Bihar should also get special status.”

    #WATCH | Delhi | On being asked if the Railway ministry portfolio should be given to JD(U) in the new Cabinet, JD(U) MP-elect from Bihar’s Sheohar, Lovely Anand says, “Yes, it certainly should be given, it has always happened. Bihar should also get special status.” pic.twitter.com/iKeYJ2Zzu6


    — ANI (@ANI) June 7, 2024

    Lovely’s husband, Anand Mohan, while speaking to the press said, “The demand for the railway ministry is confirmed. It has been in Bihar’s share… The Backward Bihar needs the railway ministry… The CM took Bihar out of ‘jungle-raj’ and made a developing Bihar in the last 16 years. If we want to give it wings, then the ‘special’ state demanded must be fulfilled.”

    Mohan clarified that he was not part of the meeting and he had come to pay a unofficial courtesy visit to CM Nitish at his residence. 

    #WATCH | Delhi: On JDU parliamentary meeting at Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s residence, gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan says, “The demand for the railway ministry is confirmed. It has been in Bihar’s share… The Backward Bihar needs the railway ministry… The CM took Bihar… pic.twitter.com/XThO9b0WFV


    — ANI (@ANI) June 7, 2024

    NDA Ally Nitish Kumar Slams INDIA Opposition Alliance 

    Days after the results of the Lok Sabha election, JDU chief Nitish Kumar attacked the INDIA opposition alliance on Friday, saying that it had never served the nation’s interests. Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, the nation will advance, Kumar said while addressing the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parliamentary meeting in Delhi.

    “Agli baar jab aap aaiye toh kuch log jo idhar udhar jeet gaya hai, agli baar sab haarega. Humko poora bharosa hai (Those who have won this time will lose the next elections. I’m confident about it). They never worked for the nation. They never served the country. The country will progress under your (PM Modi) leadership” said Kumar.

    During his address at the NDA meeting, the JDU chief also affirmed his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “All pending Bihar projects will be completed. It’s great that we’ve all come together, and we’ll all work with you (PM Modi). You will be sworn in as Prime Minister on Sunday, but I wanted you to do so today. We will be there for you whenever you take the oath…We will all work together under your leadership.”

    The newly elected MPs of the NDA attended the meeting of the alliance, which was held days after the Lok Sabha results.

  • PM Modi’s indirect jibe at Tejashwi Yadav ‘Shehzaada’ has considered whole Bihar as his property – The Economic Times Video

    Amid the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 04 addressed a public gathering in Bihar’s Darbhanga. The PM highlighted the work done BJP-led NDA government for India. He said that under the leadership of the BJP government, India has reached the moon and has broken all shackles in the 21st century. He also took a veiled swipe at RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav calling him a ‘Shehzaada’ of Bihar. “This period has come in the 21st century when India has once again broken all its shackles and stood up. Today India’s reputation in the world has reached new heights. Today India has reached the moon, where no one has reached before… Just as there is a prince in Delhi, similarly there is a prince in Patna also. One prince has considered the whole country as his property since childhood and the other prince has considered the whole Bihar as his property. The report cards of these two princes are the same. There is nothing in their report card except scams,” said Narendra Modi.

  • Bihar Assembly floor test: Jitan Ram Manjhi after HAM issues whip ahead of Bihar Assembly floor test: ‘We might be poor but…’ – The Economic Times Video

    Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) founder, Jitan Ram Manjhi, on Saturday informed that a whip has been issued by the party to its four MLAs instructing them to vote in favour of the NDA government during the upcoming trust vote in the state.

  • RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav: Born with a silver spoon, favourite of his father

    By PTI

    PATNA: After a dream debut seven years ago when he was sworn in as deputy chief minister after being elected MLA for the first time was followed by a slump in his political fortunes, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has finally come back to center-stage as the kingmaker and deputy to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

    The 33 years old younger son of the charismatic Lalu Prasad had steered the party to an impressive performance in the tightly contested 2020 assembly polls when it won the largest number of 75 seats, belying those who thought he will flounder since Prasad was in jail and the heir apparent lacked acumen.

    Before Chief Minister Kumar decided to pick him as his deputy for a second time, Yadav was making waves as a doughty leader of the opposition, taking on the government of his father’s arch-rival on the floor of the assembly while in session, as well as on the streets.

    The dramatic realignment was preceded by a massive ‘Pratirodh’ (opposition) March against the NDA government at the Centre which he led on Sunday, rallying along Congress and the Left, in a clear signal that the opposition in the state had the appetite for a fight.

    Born on November 9, 1989, he is the youngest of all but nine siblings and has been a clear favourite of his father who seemed to have noticed political potential in him at a young age.

    Doted on by seven elder and one younger sisters, besides a temperamental elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, the RJD heir apparent whom family members address by the nickname “Tarun” married his Chandigarh-based friend Rachel Iris, who has since adopted a new name “Rajshree”.

    Derided by his opponents for lacking formal education, Yadav had given up studies after flunking in Std IX at DPS, RK Puram.

    He has, however, demonstrated an ability to read the situation he finds himself in and make the best of it.

    Having decided early on in life that studies were not for him, Yadav chose not to cling to his cricketing aspirations after the much-needed big break eluded him though, by most accounts, he was a competent all-rounder.

    He announced his “retirement” from cricket just a couple of years before entering politics in 2015, at the tender age of 25.

    The new vocation came as a perfect pitch to bat on as he won from Raghopur in the assembly election comfortably, thanks to a formidable, albeit short-lived alliance forged by arch-rivals Kumar and Prasad.

    In addition to being his father’s favourite, Yadav exuded a maturity that was beyond his age which certainly played role in his rise.

    As fate would have it, Yadav’s name cropped up in a money laundering case, relating to illegal land transactions involving his father’s tenure as the Railway Minister in the UPA-1 government, when the scion himself was in his teens.

    The development drew heavy opposition fire and the JD(U) leader, conscious of his reputation for probity in public life, snapped ties with the RJD and ended up making a hasty return to the NDA.

    Yadav took the sudden loss of power in his stride and worked to keep the RJD party afloat while his father ended up behind bars following convictions in a number of fodder scam cases.

    Questions were raised about his ability to lead the party and the Grand Alliance after the Lok Sabha elections in which the opposition coalition conceded 39 out of 40 seats to NDA and the RJD itself drew a blank.

    He was ridiculed, by the then ruling JD(U)-BJP combine, as an “ill prepared student afraid of facing exams” when he demanded that the assembly elections be deferred in view of the global pandemic.

    However, once the poll schedule was announced, the fire in his belly was there for all to see.

    Yadav displayed ruthlessness in shunning dissenters and guile in winning over allies, including the CPI(ML) which has been bitterly opposed to the RJD especially since former JNU president Chandrashekhar was gunned down, in the early 1990s, allegedly by henchmen of the local MP Mohd.Shahabuddin.

    Naysayers may think that he has short-changed himself, meekly accepting a deputy’s instead of waiting it out till the Chief Ministership could be up for grabs.

    Supporters will, however, be on a roll in their belief that he has given it back to the BJP which had snatched power from the RJD through a “backdoor entry” five years ago.

    PATNA: After a dream debut seven years ago when he was sworn in as deputy chief minister after being elected MLA for the first time was followed by a slump in his political fortunes, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has finally come back to center-stage as the kingmaker and deputy to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

    The 33 years old younger son of the charismatic Lalu Prasad had steered the party to an impressive performance in the tightly contested 2020 assembly polls when it won the largest number of 75 seats, belying those who thought he will flounder since Prasad was in jail and the heir apparent lacked acumen.

    Before Chief Minister Kumar decided to pick him as his deputy for a second time, Yadav was making waves as a doughty leader of the opposition, taking on the government of his father’s arch-rival on the floor of the assembly while in session, as well as on the streets.

    The dramatic realignment was preceded by a massive ‘Pratirodh’ (opposition) March against the NDA government at the Centre which he led on Sunday, rallying along Congress and the Left, in a clear signal that the opposition in the state had the appetite for a fight.

    Born on November 9, 1989, he is the youngest of all but nine siblings and has been a clear favourite of his father who seemed to have noticed political potential in him at a young age.

    Doted on by seven elder and one younger sisters, besides a temperamental elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, the RJD heir apparent whom family members address by the nickname “Tarun” married his Chandigarh-based friend Rachel Iris, who has since adopted a new name “Rajshree”.

    Derided by his opponents for lacking formal education, Yadav had given up studies after flunking in Std IX at DPS, RK Puram.

    He has, however, demonstrated an ability to read the situation he finds himself in and make the best of it.

    Having decided early on in life that studies were not for him, Yadav chose not to cling to his cricketing aspirations after the much-needed big break eluded him though, by most accounts, he was a competent all-rounder.

    He announced his “retirement” from cricket just a couple of years before entering politics in 2015, at the tender age of 25.

    The new vocation came as a perfect pitch to bat on as he won from Raghopur in the assembly election comfortably, thanks to a formidable, albeit short-lived alliance forged by arch-rivals Kumar and Prasad.

    In addition to being his father’s favourite, Yadav exuded a maturity that was beyond his age which certainly played role in his rise.

    As fate would have it, Yadav’s name cropped up in a money laundering case, relating to illegal land transactions involving his father’s tenure as the Railway Minister in the UPA-1 government, when the scion himself was in his teens.

    The development drew heavy opposition fire and the JD(U) leader, conscious of his reputation for probity in public life, snapped ties with the RJD and ended up making a hasty return to the NDA.

    Yadav took the sudden loss of power in his stride and worked to keep the RJD party afloat while his father ended up behind bars following convictions in a number of fodder scam cases.

    Questions were raised about his ability to lead the party and the Grand Alliance after the Lok Sabha elections in which the opposition coalition conceded 39 out of 40 seats to NDA and the RJD itself drew a blank.

    He was ridiculed, by the then ruling JD(U)-BJP combine, as an “ill prepared student afraid of facing exams” when he demanded that the assembly elections be deferred in view of the global pandemic.

    However, once the poll schedule was announced, the fire in his belly was there for all to see.

    Yadav displayed ruthlessness in shunning dissenters and guile in winning over allies, including the CPI(ML) which has been bitterly opposed to the RJD especially since former JNU president Chandrashekhar was gunned down, in the early 1990s, allegedly by henchmen of the local MP Mohd.Shahabuddin.

    Naysayers may think that he has short-changed himself, meekly accepting a deputy’s instead of waiting it out till the Chief Ministership could be up for grabs.

    Supporters will, however, be on a roll in their belief that he has given it back to the BJP which had snatched power from the RJD through a “backdoor entry” five years ago.

  • Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ends JD(U)’s alliance with BJP, to meet Governor soon

    By Online Desk

    Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar has announced the end of the party’s alliance with the BJP, according to media reports.

    Earlier today, he had sought an appointment with Governor Phagu Chauhan.

    This came after the chief minister chaired a meeting of JD(U) legislators and MPs at the residence of Kumar in Patna following the resignation of party leader RCP Singh on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, Congress and Left party leaders and MLAs also converged today at the residence of Rabri Devi here for a meeting convened by the opposition RJD.

    The BJP also held a meeting of its top leaders at Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishor Prasad’s residence in Patna.

    Rumours of a growing rift between the BJP-JDU) ie the NDA alliance in Bihar intensified after Kumar skipped a key meeting of the NITI Aayog, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday and JD(U) leader RCP Singh tendered his resignation from the party.

    Singh, once considered a close aide of Nitish Kumar had announced his exit from the party after being served a notice seeking an explanation on allegations of corruption.

    The RJD-led Opposition in the state has meanwhile said that it will welcome any re-alignment in Bihar’s ruling coalition without the BJP.

    The RJD had emerged as the single-largest party in the 2020 Assembly elections in which the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 125 seats – BJP won 74, the JD(U) bagged 43, the Vikassheel Insaan Party got 4 and Hindustan Awaam Party (Secular) bagged 4 seats.

    (With inputs from ANI and IANS)

    ALSO READ | Bihar to see MVA-like government? Nitish may dump BJP in favour of RJD, Congress, Left

    Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar has announced the end of the party’s alliance with the BJP, according to media reports.

    Earlier today, he had sought an appointment with Governor Phagu Chauhan.

    This came after the chief minister chaired a meeting of JD(U) legislators and MPs at the residence of Kumar in Patna following the resignation of party leader RCP Singh on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, Congress and Left party leaders and MLAs also converged today at the residence of Rabri Devi here for a meeting convened by the opposition RJD.

    The BJP also held a meeting of its top leaders at Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishor Prasad’s residence in Patna.

    Rumours of a growing rift between the BJP-JDU) ie the NDA alliance in Bihar intensified after Kumar skipped a key meeting of the NITI Aayog, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday and JD(U) leader RCP Singh tendered his resignation from the party.

    Singh, once considered a close aide of Nitish Kumar had announced his exit from the party after being served a notice seeking an explanation on allegations of corruption.

    The RJD-led Opposition in the state has meanwhile said that it will welcome any re-alignment in Bihar’s ruling coalition without the BJP.

    The RJD had emerged as the single-largest party in the 2020 Assembly elections in which the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 125 seats – BJP won 74, the JD(U) bagged 43, the Vikassheel Insaan Party got 4 and Hindustan Awaam Party (Secular) bagged 4 seats.

    (With inputs from ANI and IANS)

    ALSO READ | Bihar to see MVA-like government? Nitish may dump BJP in favour of RJD, Congress, Left

  • CWC meeting: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi slams Centre’s ‘sell it all’ initiative

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday accused the NDA government of selling the country’s interest and leaving the people to fend for themselves amid rising commodity prices.

    “Becho, becho, becho (sell, sell sell)! This is what Prime Minister Modi’s government is doing in the country by putting the economy in jeopardy. Farm laws, inflation, security and many other issues pertaining to the nation’s well-being have gone beyond the control of the government, leaving the people fending for themselves and their survival,” she said at the first in-person meeting of the Congress Working Committee after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Launching a scathing attack on the National Demoratic Alliance government headed by BJP, she said: “There has always been a broad consensus on foreign and neighbourhood policies in our country. But that consensus has been damaged because of the prime minister’s continued reluctance to take the Opposition into confidence in any meaningful manner.”

    Sonia lashed out at the Central government on its foreign policy and stated that this has become a ‘diabolical’ instrument of electoral mobilisation and polarisation.

    “Of late, we are facing serious challenges at our borders and other fronts also. But the prime minister told the nation that there was no occupation of our territory by China. Since then, the prime minister’s silence has been intriguing and costing our nation dearly,” Sonia alleged, adding that to rescue the country Congress needs to work in united manner.

    Calm after last year’s storm

    NEW DELHI: The Congress Working Committee meeting on Saturday was a sedate affair compared to the turbulence witnessed at the virtual meeting held last year.  In 2020, there were accusations, threats and other upheavals. Sonia Gandhi got fed up and offered to quit.

    This time, there was no acrimony. Those who wanted put forward their views in the party’s interest, said insiders.

  • Trinamool accuses BJP of vendetta politics as ED issues summons to Abhishek Banerjee

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday accused the central government of “vendetta politics” over the recent summonses issued by the Enforcement Directorate to the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira.

    The ED summonses came in a money laundering case related to alleged coal scam in West Bengal.

    TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray alleged that the summonses were issued as part of a vendetta by the BJP after it lost the recent Assembly polls in West Bengal.

    In a press conference, Ray accused the BJP of misusing central investigation agencies against its political opponents, whereas investigations against its leaders are suppressed.

    He said that the ED has joined the CBI in being a “caged parrot”.

    “They (BJP) declared that they will capture West Bengal. They didn’t want to win hearts, they wanted to capture the state and its people. And now that they have failed in it, they are carrying out this witch-hunt. Abhishek Banerjee’s friends are also being hounded. Is this the duty of supposedly neutral agencies?” he asked.

    He said that both the ED and the CBI have allowed themselves to work as “arms of the BJP.”

    He also alleged that bureaucrats working in the West Bengal government are also being harassed without any evidence.

    He said that the TMC was not bothered by such “false cases” and will counter these both politically and legally.

    Ray also said that TMC was not the only opposition party being targeted and listed the income tax raids against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s daughter just days before the assembly elections in the state and the “harassment” of NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar before the Maharashtra elections.

    He also alleged that when the time comes to act against its own leaders, the BJP has always looked the other way.

    “Suvendu Adhikari was seen taking bribes on camera in the Narada case, but when the charge sheet was filed his name was missing because now he is under BJP protection,” Ray said, referring to the leader of opposition in the West Bengal Assembly.

    The ED case, registered under criminal sections of the PMLA, was filed after studying a November, 2020 FIR of the CBI that alleged a multi-crore coal pilferage scam related to Eastern Coalfields Ltd.

    mines in the state’s Kunustoria and Kajora areas in and around Asansol.

    A “deep system” of political patronage and a “well-oiled” machinery was used to brazenly carry out certain unlawful coal mining in West Bengal, the ED has claimed.

  • ‘BJP selling away national assets like an unworthy son’: Digvijay Singh lashes out at Modi, Shah

    Express News Service

    PATNA: Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijay Singh accused the BJP of selling all the national assets which were raised and created by the Congress government in the last 70 years. 

    Criticising the National Monetisation Pipeline launched by Union finance minister, Singh who reached Patna on Thursday night, drew the comparisons between Congress and BJP as worthy and unworthy sons. “Congress government raised and created the national assets during its governance like a worthy son. These assets are now being sold off by the BJP like an unworthy offspring would under the guise of the National Monetisation Pipeline. All national assets, including railway stations railway line, airports, road and others, are being sold by this ‘unworthy son’ (BJP),” Singh said.

    “When the country is passing through a difficult economic crisis how can I say Narendra Modi is a good prime minister? The BJP-led NDA governemnt is not for the people but for corporate houses.”

    He said the BJP often claims that nothing has happened in the country in the last 70 years, the majority period of which was ruled by the Congress. “If nothing has happened in the last 70 years, what the central government is selling? That is the difference between worthy and unworthy sons, between the Congress and the BJP,” Singh said.

    Stepping up his political attack at the Centre, Singh said that Both PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are proving disastrous for the country. He alleged that the hike in the rates of petrol and diesel is creating financial hardships for the common man. 

    Singh also blamed the Modi-Shah duo for constant disruptions in the Parliament. “The Congress party had always wanted to discuss the national issue in both the houses, but the BJP government differed from it. If these issues of inflation, unemployment and others are not discussed in Parliament, then where will it be done? The BJP is ruining the nation”, he alleged

    “No discussion can take place in both the houses without their consent. That is why the Congress has decided that it will send its people to different provinces to speak on inflation, unemployment and national wealth.”

    Lashing out at chief minister Nitish Kumar, Singh that the CM is under pressure from the Centre. “Now the political thoughts of legendary leaders like JP Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia are being removed from the syllabus by the state government,” he said.

    On being asked about Nitish Kumar being projected as the ‘PM Material’, Singh said: “Had he (Nitish Kumar) been the PM material, he would have not gone in the political shelter of BJP. Kumar knelt before the BJP just to continue to stay in power.”

  • Govt returned 14 names recommended by collegium for elevation as High Court judges

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The government is learnt to have returned to the Supreme Court collegium names of 14 advocates it had recommended for elevation as high court judges.

    Sources in the government said all the names were returned with a request to reconsider within a span of one week sometime in the end of July and early August.

    But the recommendations by the apex court collegium were made nearly a year ago. In some cases the recommendations were made over a year ago.

    The names for elevation were made for the high courts of Delhi, Calcutta, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala, the sources said without elaborating.

    In written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon session of Parliament, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had said during the last one year, the Supreme Court collegium recommended 80 names for appointment as judges of various high courts, out of which 45 judges were appointed and the remaining proposals are under various stages of processing.

    He had said that between July 1, 2020, and July 15, 2021, the Supreme Court collegium made 80 recommendations for appointment of judges in various high courts.

    Out of these, 45 “recommendees” were appointed by the government as high court judges and the “remaining proposals are under various stages of processing with the government and the SC Collegium”, Rijiju had said.

    India has 25 high courts with a sanctioned strength of 1,098 judges.

    The working strength as on August 1 stands at 643 — a shortfall of 455 judges.