Archives for March 2023

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi,is disqualifed from the Lok Sabha was announced on March 24 a day after he was convicted by a Surat court for two years in a 2019 defamation case, has been asked to vacate his official bungalow. 

Rahul’s disqualification had kicked in from March 23,  the day of his conviction, a notice by the Lok Sabha Secretariat had said.

The Congress leader will have to vacate his 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow by April 22, parliament sources were quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying on Monday.

A notice asking Rahul to vacate the official bungalow has been served by the Housing Committee of Lok Sabha, the sources said.

Earlier on Monday, several opposition MPs marched in black dresses from parliament to Vijay Chowk to lodge their protest Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha and the government’s handling of the Adani issue.

Congress MP Sonia Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge were among the protestors who gathered near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Parliament complex and raised slogans against the government.

Holding a huge “Satyamev Jayate” banner and placards with “save democracy” written on them, the MPs proceeded towards Vijay Chowk where they staged a sit-in.

Kharge raised the issue of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as MP after a Surat court convicted and sentenced him in a 2019 criminal defamation case. “You want to defame Rahul Gandhi that is why you transferred the case to Gujarat even as the comments were made in Kolar in Karnataka. Today is a black day for democracy,” Kharge said.

Trinamool Congress, which has so far stayed away from opposition protests, joined the sit-in on Monday.

CHANDIGARH:  Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs  Jathedar (High Priest) Giani Harpreet Singh, on Monday gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the Punjab government to release all the Sikh youths arrested in last 10 days in connection with the crackdown on pro-Khalistani leader and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh.

Speaking in a meeting held in Amritsar, Singh said that the Akal Takht would start Khalsa Vehir (religious procession) against drugs and patriarchy and to make Sikh youths Amritdhari.  He also demanded that the National Security Act (NSA) imposed on all the Sikh youths should be immediately revoked.

Members of over 50 Sikh organisations, including those from Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) attended the meeting. Singh said if the government does not end the atmosphere of terror by releasing all the youth within 24 hours, a campaign will be started diplomatically in the country and abroad against bullying of the Sikhs.

Singh alleged that a serious and diplomatic siege is being carried out by the state against the Sikhs, which should be answered diplomatically without being violent. “There is a need to create collective capacity among Sikhs. On one hand, in this democratic and communally diverse India, announcements are made to create a Hindu Rashtra by suppressing the minorities, but no action is being taken against the people who make such provocative statements while governments do not take long to impose black laws on Sikhs who present their views within the framework of democracy,’’ he said.

He added that legal action will be taken by Sikh organisations against the character assassination of Sikhs by the government through the national media. He said that the flag and symbols of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s state and the Sikh princely states were wrongly portrayed as the flag of Khalistan by the Punjab Police and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) was ordered to take strict legal action against those concerned police officers.

He asked the Sikhs to put signs of the Khalsa state on their vehicles and houses to stop the government’s propaganda against flags and symbols related to the heritage. Meanwhile, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami announced setting up a panel of lawyers who will take up cases of Sikh youth booked under the National Security Act and provide other legal assistance to them.

Earlier, Harpreet Singh had requested Amritpal Singh to surrender before authorities and participate in the inquiry. Dal Khalsa had recently written a letter to the Jathedar. It  stated: “Asking Amritpal to surrender does not behove you. This is not the concern of Akal Takht Jathedar as per the Sikh point of view. You are not the custodian of the law and order but of Sikh principles and maryada. You did not take a clear stand on the Ajnala incident during which objections were raised over carrying the Guru Granth Sahib to the police station and then you passed its responsibility onto the Sikh bodies. Our complaint is that you have shown laxity in fulfilling responsibility twice in the matter of the recent incidents. As the time passes, such decisions become a mere formality and bear no impact.” 

Ravi Singh, chief of Khalsa Aid, an NGO, recently in a statement had said that the targeting of Sikh youth in Punjab is once again causing huge concern in the Sikh community across the world. Shiromani Akali Dal said the AAP government had become a party to defame Punjab and asked the government to come clean on the reasons for the arrest.

‘Will start campaign against bullying Sikhs’  
Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Harpreet Singh said in a meeting that if the government does not end the atmosphere of terror by releasing all the youth within 24 hours, a campaign will be started diplomatically in the country and abroad against bullying the Sikhs.  Singh alleged that today a serious and diplomatic siege is being carried out by the state against the Sikhs,

AHMEDABAD:  After their protest in the Gujarat Assembly, while dressed in all-black, 16 of 17 MLAs of the opposition Congress were suspended from the House on Monday until the conclusion of the current Budget Session. 

They were all suspended for raising a fuss and conducting demonstrations in the House opposing Rahul Gandhi’s exclusion as an MP. On March 29, the budget session comes to an end. Barring South Gujarat’s Vansda MLA Anant Patel, who was attending a court proceeding, all Congress MLAs were present during 
Question Hour in Parliament and dressed in black. 

Amit Chavda, the head of the Congress Legislative Party, wanted a discussion on Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha as soon as the question period started. He claimed that Gandhi had been “silenced by the BJP administration” for discussing concerns that affected people. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the Congress MLAs rushed to the well, shouting slogans, “Modi-Adani Bhai Bhai”. Amid pandemonium, the speaker them from the House.

A love saga of a wild Sarus (crane) – a state bird of Uttar Pradesh and Mohammad Arif, 30, from Amethi district, is now embroiled in a legal battle that surprises wildlife experts.

Arif spotted an injured bird in his agricultural field last February 2022. He nursed the injured bird’s leg for three months, and later both befriended each other. Soon, Arif became famous for his friendship and became viral on different social media.

Soon the bonhomie between the bird and Arif had taken a turn as Uttar Pradesh Forest Department separated them. On 21 March, Chief Wildlife Warden Sunil Chaudhary ordered officials to take away the bird and charged Arif with violating the law. The decision of government officials appalled wildlife enthusiasts.

“To my mind, the bird was not in wrongful restrain and free to go outside in search for forage is not a crime,” says MK Ranjitsinh, India’s leading wildlife conservationist who drafted India’s first wildlife protection act, the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, under which Arif is charged with violation of the law.

The Forest Department first shifted the Sarus to the Samaspur Bird Sanctuary in Rai Bareli, around 50 km west of the Amethi district where Arif lives. Soon the bird disappeared from the sanctuary, which was later sighted in Bisaiya village, five km away. After the bird shifted to Kanpur Zoo, where it became a centre for attraction for Zoo goers.

Dr Asad Rahmani, former Director of the Bombay Natural History Society and famous Birder visited Arif on 13 March and advised him to take care of the bird and inform forest officials.

“I visited him and found that bird was not in captivity,” says Rahmani. “I advised him that the bird has adopted you instead of you. Inform the local forest officer that the bird is not willing to go away,” he added.

Rahmani, a well-known conservationist of the country, explains that animals are well aware of human behaviour and behave according to it. Birds maintain distance if they feel unsafe.  Chaudhary asked Arif to register his statement on 2 April.

“I would request forest officials to treat this case on the human ground as the bird was healthy and free,” says Rahmani. While another wildlife activist agrees with the forest department’s action.

“I feel feeding of the bird is where Arif made some mistake but it should not be blown out of proportion as the bird was not in captive,” says Ajay Dubey, a Bhopal-based wildlife activist.

CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Tuesday refused to grant a stay on the general secretary polls of AIADMK, clearing the decks EPS  as the general secretary after late leader J Jayalalithaa.

Without wasting time after the Madras HC verdict, AIADMK election commissioners Natham R Viswanathan and Pollachi V Jayaraman announced the election of Palaniswami as the general secretary of the party. The party functionaries greeted him by presenting shawls and bouquets. 

Following the verdict, Palaniswami said he is thanking the party cadre wholeheartedly for electing him as the general secretary, which is the all-powerful post in the party held by party founder MG Ramachandran (MGR) and late party supremo J Jayalalithaa.

AIADMK is likely to inform the Election Commission of India about the party’s internal election result.

Justice K Kumaresh Babu passed the orders on the batch of petitions filed by deposed leader O Panneerselvam and his supporters PH Manoj Pandian, R Vaithilingam and JCD Prabakar who sought stay on the party polls.

“The interim applications (seeking stay) are rejected, ” the judge said in the order. This is considered yet another fatal blow to OPS in his attempt to claw back into the party by getting some favourable orders from the court.

OPS, PH Manoj Pandian, R Vaithilingam, both MLAs and JCD Prabhakar, filed the suit challenging the resolutions of July 11, 2022, general council meeting, in which, amendments were made in the party bylaws and EPS was appointed as the interim general secretary.

They also questioned their removal from the party without following due procedures.

Even when the matter was sub judice, polls for the general secretary post had been announced on March 17. As per the poll schedule, nominations were filed on March 18 and 19. EPS alone filed the papers and several other party men filed papers on his behalf. It appeared he would be declared elected unanimously.

Challenging the conduct of the organisational polls, OPS and the three leaders moved interim applications before the court. Meanwhile, the EPS camp gave an undertaking that the results would not be declared until the final orders were passed.

All the petitions were heard together in special sittings on two holidays. The senior counsels, representing the OPS camp, vehemently challenged the legality of the amendments and blamed the flouting of the party rules in removing them from the party.  After the final arguments on March 22, the judge had reserved the orders.

KOCHI: Popular Malayalam film actor Innocent, known mostly as a comedian for his unique style and dialogue delivery in a career spanning over four decades and 500 films, died here on Sunday. He was 75. Innocent was also a former member of Lok Sabha from 2014-19, winning the seat from Kerala’s Chalakkudy constituency as an independent candidate backed by the Left. He also served as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) for several years.

The actor, a cancer survivor after he was detected with the deadly disease as far back as 2012, had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kochi for the last two-and-half weeks for breathing issues. He is survived by his wife Alice, and son Sonnet.

Innocent’s body will be kept at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadavanthra in Kochi from 8 am to 11 am on Monday for the public to pay their homage. Later, his body will be brought to his hometown in Irinjalakkuda, where the body will be kept at the Irinjalakkuda Townhall there from 1 pm to 3.30 pm, and later at his residence.

The funeral will be held at the St Thomas Cathedral, Irinjalakkuda at 10 am Tuesday.

Innocent, who carved a style of his own, peaked as an actor from 1985 to the late 1990s, where he played a string of roles as a comedian, character roles, and even a few villain roles for directors like Priyadarshan, Sathyan Anthikkad, Fazil, and Kamal. His performance in blockbuster films like Kilukkam (Priyadarshan, 1991), ‘Azhakiya Ravanan’ (Kamal, 1996), ‘Ramji Rao Speaking’ (Siddique-Lal, 1989), ‘Nadodikkattu’ (Sathyan Anthikad, 1987), and ‘Devaasuram’ (I V Sasi, 1993) are still talked about, decades after their release.

However, he got his first big recognition in ‘Mazhavil Kavadi’, the 1989 film directed by Sathyan Anthikkad, for a serious character as ‘Kalarickel Kizhamkamthudiyil Shankarankutty Menon‘, in a full-fledged role alongside the film’s hero Jayaram. The role fetched him the state government’s best actor in a supporting role. Reportedly, Innocent struggled during the dubbing of the film when his lip movement would not match the dialogue, and when both lip movement and dialogue come in sync, the emotion would not match up. Finally, Sathyan Anthikkad told him that he would be forced to pray at the Mookambika temple to get Innocent going. To this Innocent, then slowly finding his feet in the industry, retorted, half-jokingly, ‘Who asked you to cast me in this role? You could have cast some famous actors in this role.’

“Innocent, along with Oduvil Unnikrishnan and Kuthiravattam Pappu, are actors who have created a style which no one can emulate,” Satyan Anthikkad would later say in an interview. “In ‘Azhakiya Ravanan’, the scene where Innocent appears before a camera for a film shoot is a classic. It’s almost impossible for another actor to play that scene,” said Sathyan Anthikkad.

Innocent took his first steps in show business by producing a few Malayalam films in the early 1980s, mostly serious offbeat films including award-winning ‘Vida Parayum Munpe’ (Kerala government’s second-best film in 1981, directed by Mohan) and ‘Oramakkayi’ (Kerala government’s second-best film in 1982, directed by Bharathan). ‘Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback’, a 1983 film directed by K G George that is considered a landmark movie and loosely based on the life of actress Shobha, was also produced by Innocent (along with David Kachapally).

After seeing the films he produced failing to ring the cash registers, Innocent decided to seriously involve himself as an actor in Mollywood even as he dumped the producer hat, which left him nearly bankrupt. But, it was in the 1972 film ‘Nrithashala’ that the veteran made his debut, and in ‘Football Champion’, the next year, where he uttered dialogue for the film time on the silver screen.

Born Innocent Vareed Thekkethala on February 28, 1948, in Irinjalakuda, then a small village near Thrissur, as the fifth child of his parents, who had eight children, his early life has not been anything to write home about. He studied only till the eighth grade after he found studies very difficult to cope with. 

He later tested political waters, contesting and winning the Irinjalakuda municipal council elections as a Revolutionary Socialist Party-backed candidate in 1979. He is also the author of five books including ‘Njan Innocent’ and ‘Cancer Wardile Chiri’ (Laughter in the Cancer Ward), where he narrates his experiences while undergoing treatment for throat cancer.

Irinjalakudakku Chuttum won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Humour in 2020.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and actors Mammootty and Mohanlal are among the people who condoled his passing.

“Mourning the loss of character actor, comedian & one-time Kerala MP Innocent, who has just passed away at age 75. Aside from being a brilliantly inventive & gifted actor, he was a fine human being whom it was a pleasure to interact with in the Lok Sabha. RIP. Om Shanti,” tweeted Shashi Tharoor, Senior Congress leader. h

“Innocent was an artist who left an indelible mark in the minds of the audience with his inimitable acting style. A Leftist at heart, Innocent became a candidate in the Lok Sabha election on the request of the LDF. After winning the election, he raised Kerala’s demands effectively in Parliament, which the state remembers with gratitude,” said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

“Innocent, who made us laugh and also think at the same time for decades, is now a memory. He was a person who fought bravely against a deadly disease and gave courage to the entire society through his actions. Innocent is truly irreplaceable,” said Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan

“The void that Innocent has left in Malayalam cinema cannot be filled. The actor, who was like a part of our daily life and came across to us as our next-door neighbour, will now remain immortal in our memories,” said Minister for Culture Saji Cherian. 

BJP’s Khushbu Sundar said, “We have lost a priceless gem.”

BHOPAL: Setting an ambitious target of 200-plus assembly seats out of the total 230 seats and over 51% vote to win the year-end assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, the ruling BJP’s national president JP Nadda gave a call to the party’s polling booth heads to connect with people across the state for detailing about party’s achievements and exposing the real political character of the opposition Congress.

“People are waiting for you across the state, go and meet every person and put before them with facts and arguments the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy of Reform-Transform and Perform. Go and tell them about how MP has made rapid strides during the present regime at the centre and state, spanning from recent 33 railway projects and 5,872 km of rail line projects at an investment of over Rs 84,000 crore to the opening of 14 medical colleges in the state during the last nine years. Go and tell them about Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s government’s ambitious plan of providing 1.24 lakh government jobs,” Nadda said while addressing a gathering of polling booth heads from 35 assembly segments of central MP.

He also appreciated the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government’s recently launched Laadli Bahna Scheme.

“Go and tell the people that Congress means corruption, commission, divisive politics, politics of dynasty and nepotism. Tell them about BJP’s Report Card Culture which entails that what we promise we do, what we say will be done,” Nadda said while appealing to the party workers to work for winning each and every booth and village in the state.

Importantly, the BJP’s target of 200-plus seats for 2023-end assembly polls isn’t new, as five years back also, target of 200 seats was set by the saffron party, but the party ultimately finished with just 109 seats and 41.02% votes against Congress’s 114 seats with slightly lesser 40.89% votes.   

Without naming Rahul Gandhi, he took a sustained jibe at the former Congress president, saying, the Congress of today is high on egoism and low on wisdom.

“You (Gandhi) first make casteist slur against most backward castes, when the court asks you to apologize, you don’t apologize. This proves you neither have respect for the country’s law, Constitution nor democracy. It’s time we go and expose the Congress and its leader on it, among masses in MP.”

Making light of the Congress’s ‘Satyagraha’ over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha, Nadda said “Mahatma Gandhi first started the Satyagraha in 1906 in South Africa and then in 1919 in India for India’s honour and self-rule, but the Congress’s call for Satyagraha is now based to further its high on ego and low on wisdom politics.”

“Go and tell the people, how the Congress’s leader has made casteist slur on most backward castes and isn’t regretting it till date, even after losing his Lok Sabha membership,” Nadda said.

Prior to addressing the BJP’s booth-level heads from 35 assembly segments, Nadda laid the foundation of state BJP’s new state-of-the-art headquarter in Bhopal. “When the PM was elected as leader of the BJP parliamentary party in 2014, he had highlighted the need for the BJP having a proper office in every district of the country. BJP now has well-equipped offices in 290 districts, while similar offices in 115 other districts are being built, land has been arranged for such offices in 123 more districts.”

Two Congress leaders join BJP, while OBC leader sacked by BJP in August 2022 returns to the party fold

Bhopal: Just four days after the Congress made a dent into one of the oldest Yadav families of BJP in Gwalior-Chambal region, by getting in its ranks son of former three-times BJP MLA Rao Deshraj Singh Yadav in Ashok Nagar district, the saffron party responded with three new joining – two of them being from the Congress.

Two women leaders of Congress, including Mona Sustani (considered close to ex-CM Digvijaya Singh’s family), former BSP MLA and presently Congress leader Usha Chowdhary joined the BJP in Bhopal on Sunday.

While Sustani had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Rajgarh seat, losing by over 4.31 lakh votes to BJP candidate, Usha Chowdhary had won in 2013 assembly polls from Raigaon (SC) seat of Satna district, but finished third on the same party’s ticket in 2018, before joining the Congress.

The third new joining, however, was perhaps the most notable, as Uma Bharti-loyalist OBC leader Pritam Singh Lodhi, who was sacked by the BJP in August 2022 over objectionable remarks for Brahmins, returned to the saffron party fold. Lodhi was recently in news for trying to build a third front in the state with tribal and Dalit outfits.

BENGALURU/TUMAKURU : KarnatakA Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar on Sunday in Bengaluru alleged that the BJP government threatened Vokkaliga community religious head Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji and Panchamasali Lingayat seer Sri Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamiji to accept the 2 per cent hike each in quota.

“The government called them up 20-25 times asking them to accept the new quota. But Vokkaligas and Lingayats are not beggars to receive the quota that has been robbed from the 4 per cent OBC quota for Muslims. Are minorities not our people,” he asked.

“Do you have a legal department? Is this your property to share the quota on the whims of three or four people? No community is a beggar to receive this alms of yours. We oppose this. Reservation should be allotted to these communities on the basis of population. Congress is committed to it,” he said.

The state and central governments are resorting to hate politics as they have changed the reservation thrice in 90 days though no commission has given its report, he said. He said Congress, which will form the government in 30-40 days after winning the Assembly polls, will cancel the reservation reshuffle by the BJP government. 

“The existing 56 per cent cap on reservation  should have been expanded to hike the quota. Lingayats had asked for 15 per cent and Vokkaligs 12 per cent,” he said. Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah said the Centre should dismiss the state government as it has reshuffled the quota matrix unconstitutionally without forming a commission. 

Minorities to move court
Muslim leaders, including clerics, who met under the chairmanship of former Union minister K Rahman Khan, have resolved to move court against the scrapping of 4 per cent OBC quota for Muslims.

They discussed the pros and cons of the government’s decision. “Without any report by the state backward classes commission, the government has taken the decision which we will question in the court,” said Shivajinagar Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad.

Law Minister JC Madhu Swamy said that every citizen has a right to move the court. “Out of 10 per cent economically weaker section quota, only 1.5 per cent has been utilised by Brahmins and Jains. The remaining 8.5 per cent is open for Muslims,” he said.