Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's padyatra resumes in Chhattisgarh
Tag: rahul gandhi yatra
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Supreme Court rejects plea seeking quashing of notification that restored Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership
The Supreme Court on Friday took a stern view on the filing of “frivolous” petitions and dismissed with a cost of Rs 1 lakh a plea seeking the quashing of an August 7, 2023, notification that restored the Lok Sabha membership of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The Lok Sabha notification restored the membership of Rahul Gandhi following an apex court order staying his conviction in a 2019 defamation case over his ‘Modi’ surname remark.
The top court had on August 4, 2023, stayed his conviction in the defamation case. Gandhi represents Wayanad in the Lower House of Parliament.
The plea filed by Lucknow-based Ashok Pandey came up for hearing before a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta. The bench observed that Pandey had not appeared before it despite the matter being called twice for hearing.
It also referred to two previous orders passed by the court on separate petitions filed by the petitioner.
The bench noted that the top court had dismissed those petitions with costs of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively. “Filing of such frivolous petitions waste precious time not only of the court but also the entire registry…,” it observed while dismissing the plea and imposing the cost. The petitioner had arrayed the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Union of India, the Election Commission of India and Rahul Gandhi as respondents in the plea.
The bench also observed that the issue raised by the petitioner was identical to the one raised in his earlier plea, which was dismissed in October last year with a cost of Rs 1 lakh.
In the plea dismissed in October, the petitioner had challenged the restoration of Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership.
Last year, the apex court had also imposed a cost of Rs 5 lakh on the petitioner for claiming in a separate PIL that the oath taken by the Bombay High Court chief justice was “defective”.
Gandhi was disqualified as an MP on March 24 last year after a Gujarat court convicted and sentenced him to two years imprisonment for criminal defamation for comments he made about the Modi surname.
The Gujarat High Court later dismissed his petition for a stay on conviction, observing that “purity in politics” is the need of the hour. Thereafter, the apex court had stayed his conviction in the case.
BJP leader Purnesh Modi had filed a criminal defamation case against Gandhi in 2019 over his “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remark made during an election rally in Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.
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Congress waiting for permission to use Hapta Kangjeibung ground in Imphal to launch Nyay Yatra
AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal (Organisation) said that they are waiting for the permission to use the Hapta Kangjeibung ground in Imphal East district on January 14 to launch the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by party leader Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress leaders met Manipur Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi on Monday and requested him to provide permission to hold the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra launching meeting at the Hapta Kangjeibung ground.
The Chief Secretary assured the Congress leaders that they will be informed about the granting of the permission very soon. Venugopal said that the party had applied for permission on January 2. The Yatra is not a political programme or any election campaign. “Don’t make politics by denying the permission of the ground,” the Congress leader said.
Accompanied by Manipur state Congress President Keisham Meghachandra Singh and former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh (2002-2017), Venugopal told the media person that they do not want to politicise the issue as the entire country is not looking towards Manipur.
“I am from Kerala. People from Kerala are also astonished about the grave situation prevailing in Manipur. Manipur needs justice, that’s why the Yatra will be started from this state. We want to ensure the future of Manipur and the state needs healing into its grave wound,” Venugopal said. He said that from Manipur, the Yatra will go to Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya and will reach Mumbai by covering 6,500 km in 15 states. Rahul Gandhi’s earlier Bharat Jodo Yatra, which covered 4,500 km from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.
Venugopal said that a preparatory meeting was held in Imphal to mark the success of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which according to the Congress leader will be another successful event.
“We are very hopeful that there will be no politics over this yatra. The Manipur Chief Minister should understand the importance of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and think about Manipur first and not BJP politics,” he said.
State party chief Meghachandra said that on January 14 several leaders of the party, including chief ministers and MPs from across the country will gather in Manipur for a peaceful rally.
Manipur is devastated by over eight month long ethnic violence between the non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki-Zo community and over 185 people have been killed and over 1,500 people injured and displaced over 70,000 people of both communities so far.