News Analysis India

Tag: NDA

  • After SC verdict, UPSC allows unmarried women to apply for national defence, naval academy exam

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has allowed unmarried women to apply for the national defence academy (NDA) and naval academy exam, an official statement said Friday.

    The move follows a Supreme Court directive on the issue last month.

    In compliance with the apex court’s interim direction, the UPSC has decided to open the application on upsconline.nic.in for this exam to enable “unmarried women candidates only” who are otherwise eligible in terms of nationality, age, educational qualification etc., the statement said.

    Physical standards and the number of vacancies for women candidates would be notified after it is received from the Ministry of Defence, it said.

    The application window will remain open for women candidates from September 24 to October 8 (till 6 PM), said the statement issued by the UPSC.

    No application will be accepted beyond the prescribed last date/time, i.e., 08.10.2021(till 6 PM) or through any mode other than the aforesaid online mode, it said.

    “Women candidates are not required to pay fee for their application for this examination,” the statement said.

    The examination is scheduled to be held on November 14, an official said.

    The admission of the women candidates in the national defence academy and naval academy examination (II), 2021, will remain provisional and subject to the final outcome of a writ petition pending in the court or such other order(s) as may be passed by the Supreme Court and action by the government of India in the matter, the statement said.

    In a major step towards gender equality, the apex court had on August 18 allowed eligible women to take the examination for admission to national defence academy.

    A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy passed the interim order on a plea filed by a person named Kush Kalra who sought a direction to the authorities concerned to allow eligible female candidates to appear in the ‘national defence academy and naval academy examination’ and train at the NDA.

  • Issue of Dalit dignity leaves Jitan Manjhi and Bihar BJP at loggerheads

    By PTI

    PATNA: Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Thursday lashed out at “dharm ke thekedaar” –self-appointed guardians of faith – whom he squarely blamed for Dalits being deprived of a life of dignity.

    Manjhi, whose Hindustani Awam Morcha is a part of the ruling alliance in the state, expressed his anguish on his Twitter handle, sharing a heart-wrenching news report of a Dalit couple in Karnataka being penalized after their two-year-old child inadvertently stepped into a temple.

    Incidentally, Karnataka is ruled by the BJP, which is also the largest partner in the ruling coalition in Bihar.

    “I am giving voice to the pain that has been experienced for centuries. So far, I have been shy of expressing the anguish. Now nobody will say a word. The dharm ke thekedaar go silent on such matters. They cannot brook Dalits entering the temples or offering their views on religious works (dharmik kavya),” Manjhi tweeted.

    For the politically savvy citizens of the state, which Manjhi ruled for a little less than a year, the context was hard to miss.

    His outcry came close on the heels of a barrage of insults from the BJP after he made a statement suggesting that he believed Lord Ram was a fictional and not historical figure.

    The controversy had erupted a couple of days ago when his views were sought about demands by BJP leaders here that Ramayana be included in school syllabus, following a similar move by the saffron party’s government in Madhya Pradesh.

    Manjhi had said he was very much in favour of the epic being taught in schools though he was of the view that “Lord Ram was not a man who lived on this earth at any point of time”.

    This evoked predictable outrage from the BJP, which owes its rise, in no small measure, to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in Ayodhya.

    Several BJP leaders came out with statements berating Manjhi.

    Its MLA Hari Bhushan Thakur, who is fast emerging as an outspoken hardliner, went to the extent of asking why the former CM, a septuagenarian and more than 20 years his senior, “was named Jitan Ram Manjhi and not Jitan Rakshas (demon) Manjhi”.

    Manjhi, whose political career spans over several decades, chose not to reply to the vituperation but stuck to his guns on Wednesday when he reiterated, “I do not believe Lord Rama was a great man. He is a work of fiction. I believe Valmiki and Goswami Tulsidas were great men who came out with such an inspiring character.”

    Ironically, it was the BJP to which Manjhi owed his rise as an independent Dalit leader in Bihar.

    He became the Chief Minister in 2014 when his political mentor Nitish Kumar stepped down and parted ways with the latter when he was asked to step down several months later.

    The BJP, which was then sore over Nitish Kumar snapping ties with it, had backed Manjhi to the hilt when he broke away from the JD(U) and floated his own party.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s infamous “DNA” jibe at Kumar was also made in the context of unceremonious removal of Manjhi, a “Mahadalit”.

    After remaining with the NDA for some time, Manjhi quit the BJP-led alliance in 2018 when he was promptly rewarded by the opposition RJD with a berth in the legislative council for his son.

    Shifting sands of politics have led Manjhi to realign with Kumar, with his son as a member of the cabinet.

  • ‘Chintan Shivir’: PM Narendra Modi’s ministers get efficiency schooling in marathon meetings 

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a marathon meeting of his council of ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan auditorium. It was their first in-person meeting since the expansion of the ministry in July last. The meeting was designed to be an extensive brainstorming session. The BJP had recently held seven such brainstorming sessions on specific themes.  

    The meeting came in the backdrop of the NDA government seeking to expedite the implementation of the BJP’s vision documents for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections amid important Assembly polls early next year. The meeting went on for about five hours, sources said. It also took place on a day when the BJP named Modi as its prime ministerial candidate in 2013. Then BJP chief Rajnath Singh had announced Modi as the PM candidate of the party on September 14 that year.

    Government officials were stoic in their silence over what transpired during the meeting. However, it is understood that the ministers were given an account of the status of the Covid-19 vaccination in the country in the backdrop of the threat of a third wave of the pandemic and the approaching festive season.

    One source said issues concerning the agriculture ministry were also taken up during the marathon meeting, but there were no official confirmation. The NDA government at the Centre continues to grapple with the farmers’ protests over three farm sector reform laws passed by Parliament. Their agitation has gone on for over nine months, with the BJP bracing for its electoral fallout in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, which are due to go to the polls next year.

    Incidentally, the prime minister had held two such online meetings with his council of ministers after the reshuffle during which he had tasked the newcomers to study in-depth the BJP’s vision documents for the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections and draw up an actionable agenda for the short and medium terms. 

    Chintan shivirPresentations were made at the Chintan Shivir by Mandaviya and Pradhan on efficiency and time management. Four more such Chintan Shivirs will be held, sources said

  • Nitish won’t attend Jind programme, his hands are full: JD(U)

    By PTI

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) on Saturday made it clear that the leader will not attend a function in Haryana later this month, where he could have ended up sharing the stage with a host of political bigwigs opposed to the NDA.

    A statement to the effect was made here by the party’s national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, who said the chief minister’s hands were full so he will not be able to visit Jind on September 25, though the JD(U) will be sending national secretary general K C Tyagi as its representative.

    “The function is being held on the occasion of birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal for whom the chief minister has deepest personal regard,” said Lalan.

    “But, the situation in the state is fraught with challenges. Preparations are to be made for a possible third wave of COVID-19. Flood relief is to be undertaken. Affliction of children, on a large scale, by viral fever has to be tackled,” the JD(U) chief said.

    He said under the prevailing circumstances, Kumar could “ill afford to go out of the state. He might, at most, make short trips to the national capital if the situation warrants”.

    INLD leader Abhay Chautala, along with his father and former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala, is organising the ‘Kisan Panchayat’ where leaders like Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, former PM H D Deve Gowda and Siromani Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal are expected to be present.

    Chautala had initially claimed that Nitish Kumar had “confirmed” his presence for the meeting, which had led to a political storm in Bihar since the JD(U) is the biggest constituent of the NDA after the BJP.

    It was being speculated that the JD(U) strongman, whose party had been given a short shrift by the BJP in the recent Union cabinet expansion, might have decided to attend the Jind programme to express his disgruntlement.

  • As parties unite for caste census, Bihar BJP to meet people with works done for OBCs

    Express News Service

    PATNA: Amid the growing dissension among the NDA allies with backup from opposition on the caste census, Bihar BJP’s OBC Morcha resolved on Tuesday to reach the people of OBCs with the works done for them by the BJP government in Centre or State.

    Attending the meeting of Patna Mahanagar OBC Morcha, former dy chief minister and current MP (RS) Sushil Kumar Modi claimed that the BJP-led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not only done a lot of works for the OBC people but also emerged as the real party concerned about the OBCs and other extremely backward classes.

    “A simple example of BJP is enough to prove the party’s genuine concern for the OBCs. As many as 27 OBC MPs are in the union cabinet of BJP-led government in centre as ministers. Besides this, reservation granted to the children of people belonging to OBCs in NEET is another benchmark in the credibility of party for the OBCs,” Modi said.

    Dr Nikhil Anand, national general secretary of BJP OBC Morcha, told this newspaper that a two-day executive meeting of Bihar OBC Morcha will be held in one of the most backward districts-Khagaria on September 4 and 5.

    The Bihar BJP is all geared up to expose the opposition on the demand of caste census for OBCs by highlighting the works done for the betterment of people of OBCs across the state.

  • Supreme Court allows women to take NDA exam, slams Indian Army for ‘gender discrimination’

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday in an interim order has allowed women to take the National Defence Academy (NDA) exam scheduled for September 5 and has also slammed the Indian Army for the decisions that are based on “gender discrimination”.

    A Bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Hrishikesh Roy ordered that female candidates can sit for the NDA exam on September 5 but the admissions will be subject to the outcome of the petition. The Bench posted the matter for hearing on September 8 and asked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to advertise the court’s order widely.

    The top court slammed the government and Army for not allowing women to take part in NDA exams. As Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the government and Indian Army told the Bench that it’s a policy decision not to allow women to take the NDA exam, the Bench said that this policy decision is based on “gender discrimination”.

    “It’s a policy decision which is based on gender discrimination. We direct the Centre and Army to take a constructive view of the matter…,” the Bench said expressing displeasure on “regressive mindset”.

    As the ASG said there are three modes of entry in the Army- NDA, Indian Military Academy (IMA) and Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) and that women are permitted entry through OTA and IMA. To which the Bench asked why women’s entry is allowed only through two sources.

    “And even if it is a matter of policy, you are allowing women’s entry through two sources. Why should you say the one more additional source of entry is closed for women? It is not just a gender principle but discriminatory otherwise also,” it added.

    Don’t compel judicial intervention all the time, said the apex court while slamming the Indian Army for not giving opportunities to women.

    “How can you continue to plead the same thing… This has been my impression right from the High Court that till a judgment is passed, the Army doesn’t believe in doing anything voluntarily. It’s like Army will act only when judicial orders will be passed,” observed Justice Kaul.

    The Bench added, “It’s a question of mindset which is not changing. That’s why despite so many opportunities in the Supreme Court and High Court, we couldn’t persuade the government. Every time the order has come from the court, it has expanded the scope.”

    We are permitting the girls who have approached the court to sit for the NDA examination because we will be considering the larger issue, it said further while giving interim order.

    When the ASG Bhati sought to submit that women have been conferred Permanent Commission in the Army, Justice Kaul remarked, “You (Army) kept on opposing it and till orders were not passed, you didn’t do anything. The Navy and the Airforce are more forthcoming. The Army seems to have a bias to not implement.”

    The court’s order came on a plea seeking directions to allow eligible female candidates to join the NDA and the Indian Naval Academy (INA) at par with the men. The plea filed by advocate Kush Kalra stated that denial of opportunity to women candidates to enrol at the NDA is violative of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 19 of the Constitution.

    Senior advocate Chinmoy Pradip Sharma, appearing for Kalra, told the Bench that the government has filed its affidavit and they say it is purely a policy decision and should not be interfered with by the court and that because girls are not allowed to enter into NDA does not mean there is any difficulty in their progression or in their career.

    Earlier, the Bench had also issued a notice in an impleadment application by a woman candidate Anita, who was denied an opportunity to enrol at the NDA. Anita said she had to give up her aspirations to join the Armed Forces.

    The plea said stated that the eligible and willing female candidates being denied the opportunity of entry to the National Defence Academy “on the basis of their sex and thereby systematically and categorically excluding eligible female candidates” the opportunity to train at the premier joint training institute of the Indian Armed Forces which, at a later point of time, becomes a hurdle in the career advancement opportunities for Female Officers in the Armed Forces.

    The petition was filed in light of the directions issued by the top court on the extension of Permanent Commission to Short Service Commissioned women officers of the Indian Army.

    The plea said, “After the passing of the judgment in the matter of Secretary, Ministry of Defence vs Babita Puniya by this Court, Permanent Commission has been extended to the Women Officers of the Army.

    However, there is still no mode of entry available to female candidates to join the Armed Forces as Permanent Commission Officers. In the present state of affairs, female candidates have to apply through the appropriate mode of entry into the Armed Forces as a Short Service Commissioned Officer and after serving for a certain period of time, have the option to opt for Permanent Commission.”

    It added that granting Permanent Commission to the Short Service Commission Women Officers is only half a measure to restore equality of opportunity in the Army.

    “The categorical exclusion of women to train at the National Defence Academy and get commissioned into the Armed Forces of the Country as Permanent Commissioned Officers solely on the basis of their sex is a denial of the Fundamental Right to Practice any Profession and it is not justifiable within the contours of the Indian Constitution,” it added.

    The government allows unmarried male candidates having adequate 10+2 qualification to take the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination, however, eligible and willing female candidates are not allowed to take this examination on the sole ground of their sex and without any reasonable or justifiable explanations, the petitioner contended.

  • Congress constitutes Uttar Pradesh poll panel; includes Salman Khurshid, Rajeev Shukla

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Gearing up for the Assembly polls next year, the Congress on Wednesday constituted the election committee for Uttar Pradesh, which includes state unit chief Ajay Kumar Lallu and former Union ministers Salman Khurshid, Rajeev Shukla and R P N Singh.

    Congress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the proposal of the constitution of the Pradesh Election Committee of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC), said a statement issued by K C Venugopal, AICC general secretary in-charge organisation.

    Apart from 38 members named in the panel, national president/chairperson of AICC organisations/departments from Uttar Pradesh, state heads of frontal organisations, vice-presidents and general secretaries of the UPCC will be its ex-officio members.

    ALSO READ | Cracks in NDA? Will fight UP polls with or without BJP, says JDU

    The election committee includes state party chief Lallu, CLP leader Aradhana Mona Misra, senior leaders Khurshid, Shukla, Nirmal Khatri, Pramod Tiwari, P L Punia, R P N Singh and Vivek Bansal.

    Former MPs Rajesh Mishra, Rajaram Pal, Rakesh Sachan, Begum Noor Bano, Zafar Ali Naqvi, Harendra Malik, Rashid Alvi, Mohd Muqeem, Naseemuddin Siddique and the party’s 2019 Lok Sabha candidate from Lucknow Acharya Pramod Krishnam are also part of the panel.

    AICC secretaries Imran Masood, Brijlal Khabri, Sudhanshu Tripathi, B P Singh and Jitendra Baghel are also among those included.

    UP Congress chief Lallu has said that the Congress would fight the polls in Uttar Pradesh next year under Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s “dekh-rekh (supervision)” and would make a comeback in the state after over three decades.

    Congress functionaries have said that the party is prioritising organisation building and carrying on the struggle against the government on the streets in the run-up to the crucial Assembly polls.

    The Congress in Uttar Pradesh organised a statewide “BJP gaddi chhodo” marches this week on the occasion of August Kranti Diwas.

  • Cracks in NDA? Will fight UP polls with or without BJP, says JDU

    Express News Service

    PATNA: The unease between the NDA constituents – the BJP and the JD(U) – continued to grow on Sunday after the latter said it was ready to contest the 2022 Uttar Pradesh polls ‘with or without BJP as an ally’.

    “It is up to the BJP to decide on the alliance for UP polls. We are willing go it alone in UP,” newly-elected national president of JD(U) Rajiv Ranjan told the media.

    There has been a growing discomfort between the parties ever since the JD(U) broke ranks to demand a probe into the Pegasus snooping and also seek a caste-based census, going against the BJP line, which wanted the headcount done only for the SCs and the STs. 

    Other NDA constituents –Vikashsheel Insaan Party and Hindustani Awami Morcha (Secular) –have announced that they, too, would fight the UP polls with or without allies.

    Linking JD(U)’s stellar show in the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly election, when the party won seven of the 15 seats it contested, to the popularity of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Ranjan said his image as an able administrator would help the party expand in eastern UP.

    Ranjan’s statement is being viewed in light of Nitish’s desire to shed the regional leader tag and have a say in national politics. 

    The party most recently contested the Assam and Bengal elections by fielding its candidates, but drew a blank. Its victory in Arunachal, too, was shortlived as all the seven legislators later defected to the BJP.

    Reacting sharply to Ranjan’s statement, BJP insiders said if the JD(U) did not reconsider its stand, it could lead to unpleasant developments, including the parting of ways. 

    However, a JD(U) leader said, “If we contest alone, we would make caste census, population policy and Pegasus our major poll issues. Caste census figures on top of our priority list.”

    JD(U) is attempting to woo the Kurmi, Koeri and other OBC castes.

  • BJP left red-faced as another ally Jitan Ram Manjhi demands probe into Pegasus snooping issue

    Express News Service

    PATNA: Jitan Ram Manjhi, another ally of the NDA in Bihar followed Nitish Kumar’s suit and demanded a probe into the Pegasus snooping row. 

    Speaking to the media on Tuesday, the founder chief of Hindustani Awami Morcha (HAM) said that if the Opposition is demanding a probe and Parliament sessions are being affected, then this matter must be investigated. “The Pegasus snooping should be investigated to establish the facts of the case and who has been spying,” Manjhi said.

    Despite being part of the NDA government in Bihar, Manjhi had expressed his objection over using Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s picture on the vaccine certificates. He had argued that the same image must be used on the death certificates of all those who succumbed to this deadly virus. 

    Experts in the state believe that statements made by Nitish Kumar and Manjhi on caste census and the Pegasus scandal have put the BJP in a spot.

  • Nitish Kumar drops hint on replacing RCP Singh as JDU national president soon

    Express News Service
    PATNA: With RCP Singh becoming a Minister in Union Cabinet, Bihar’s ruling Janta Dal (United) is likely to elect another senior leader as party’s national president following the party norm of ‘one post one man’ policy.

    Sources from within the JD-U indicated about the possibility of replacing the current national president RCP Singh could be part of the agenda at JDU’s national executive meeting which is likely to be held on on July 31.

    Speculations are rife with the news that new national president of JD-U can also be finalised at the meeting with the consent of CM Nitish Kumar, who is learnt to be not as happy as he was earlier with RCP Singh after the latter accepted the offer of one berth in Cabinet and has become the minister.

    Earlier, Nitish Kumar had not congratulated Singh through his twitter handle contrary to usual activity.

    At a party meeting of newly nominated state office-bearers of JDU, held on Sunday, Nitish Kumar lavishly heaped praised upon Upendra Kushwaha, who is touring across the state for taking people’s feedbacks on the former’s governance. Nitish Kumar’s praises to Kushwaha in an open party platform is construed as an indication towards the change of party national president following the principle of ‘One Person, One Post’.

    “Nitish Kumar ji,who speaks less but acts more strongly when it comes to policies and principles of party, has given a sort of hint regarding  RCP Singh being replaced either by Upendra Kushwaha or Rajiv Ranjan Singh,” said a senior leader, wishing not to be named.

    RCP Singh, who is also considered close to the BJP political higher-ups, also realising the pervasive sense in the wake of his induction in the union cabinet on single berth by BJP, also said that he would have no problem to abdicate the post of national president if the party desires.

    “But I, thanks to the kindness of God, am also capable to discharge the responsibilities of both he posts –of minister and the party national president,” he added.

    For the post of JDU national president, the name of Upendra Kushwaha runs on the top as he after merging his party RLSP with the JD-U is gradually gaining influence in the party and trust of Nitish Kumar again.

    But, as sources said, RCP Singh has never warmed to Kushwaha’s entry into party or his elevation to the upper post because of the latter’s past history of joining multiple alliances.