Archives for 2023

BENGALURU:  Following the recent alleged sexual harassment incident with a woman commuter, bike taxi aggregator Rapido has asked its customers not to share their mobile numbers with the riders. Extending apologies to the victim, Athira Purushothaman, company representatives said the accused rider, who was allegedly involved in the sexual harassment incident on Friday, has been suspended from the platform.

Advising customers not to take the ride if the booked vehicle and the rider do not match with the details in the app, the representatives said, “This essential step ensures that customers can match the captain and vehicle details accurately, before beginning their rides. By doing so, we believe that such precautions can help prevent any unfortunate incidents and create a safer environment for all.”

“As part of our industry-leading practices, we conduct stringent background verification checks for all riders who join our platform. These checks are designed to identify any red flags and ensure that only trustworthy individuals become Rapido captains (riders),” the representative said.

Meanwhile, Athira thanked the Electronics City police for their swift action, by arresting the accused, Kuruvettappa, and said that as a woman, it gives hope knowing that such incidents are treated with utmost priority.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed that the Varanasi district court order on conducting a scientific survey of Gyanvapi mosque shall not be enforced until 5 pm on July 26.

On Monday morning, a 30-member team of the ASI had entered the mosque complex to carry out the scientific survey in accordance with court orders to determine if the mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple was built upon a temple.

Meanwhile, a plea was moved by the mosque committee today.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of submissions made by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, who appeared in the court on behalf of the mosque committee. Urging the court to stay the Varanasi district court’s July 21 order, Ahmadi said that the trial court did not even give them “breathing time” to file an appeal against the Varanasi court’s order. 

Expressing an apprehension regarding ‘a possible excavation’ being carried out, Ahmadi also said that the district court’s order, according to them, was in the teeth of the top court’s May ruling of directing to defer the scientific survey of “shivling” in the complex.

Questioning the haste for carrying out the survey, he asked, “What is the hot haste? This property is being used as a mosque since 1500. What is the tearing hurry?”

Opining that “breathing time should be granted to the Muslim side”, the bench asked the mosque committee to approach the Allahabad High Court and directed the Registrar General of the HC to ensure the listing of the plea.

“We permit the petitioners to move the HC to challenge the order of District Judge Varanasi. Having regards to the fact that the order was pronounced at 4:30 pm on Friday (July 21) and the survey is in the process of being carried out today, we are of the view that some breathing time should be granted. Order of the district court should not be imposed until 5 PM till July 26, 2023,” the bench said in its order.

The top court also ordered that no invasive work would be undertaken by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi was built upon a temple.

The Supreme Court asked Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, who was representing the Uttar Pradesh government, to inform the ASI team that there should not be any “invasive work” or excavation at the site.

Initially, when the matter was taken up around 10:45 am, the bench on being informed about the possible excavation of the premise had asked the SG to take instructions from the ASI till 11:15 am.

When the matter was again taken up by the bench, the SG informed the bench that the ASI was not contemplating any excavation but was only carrying out measurements, photography & radar imaging.

Although the court initially turned down the Muslim side’s request to stay the district court’s order, it on constant persuasion stayed the same. 

The mosque’s “wazookhana” (a small reservoir for Muslim devotees to perform ritual ablutions), where a structure claimed by the Hindu litigants to be a “Shivling” exists, will not be part of the survey, following an earlier Supreme Court order protecting that spot in the complex.

District Judge A K Vishvesh has directed the ASI to submit a report to the court by August 4, along with video clips and photographs of the survey proceedings.

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan assembly was adjourned after sacked minister Rajendra Gudha, aided by BJP MLAs, created unruly scenes in the House during Zero Hour on Monday.

Gudha, who was sacked as minister of state on Friday after he cornered his own Congress government in the assembly, reached near Speaker C P Joshi’s chair with a “red diary” and had an argument with him.

After some time, Gudha reached near Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal and confronted him while he stood to speak.

Ugly scenes were witnessed at this time and BJP MLAs too created an uproar and stormed the well of the House over the issue of the “red diary”.

The speaker then adjourned the House.

Before the House began in the morning, Gudha told reporters that he would “disclose” details about the “red diary” in the assembly.

He said the diary contained some “secrets”.

Gudha, who held charge as minister of state for Sainik Kalyan (Independent Charge), Home Guard and Civil Defence, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, was sacked on Friday evening, hours after he cornered the state government over the law and order situation and women safety in the assembly.

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday said the only way forward in Manipur is to sack Chief Minister N Biren Singh and impose President’s rule in the state.

More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3 when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

According to Article 356, President’s rule can be imposed in a state if a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.

Sibal, who was a Union minister during the UPA-1 and UPA-2 governments, quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party’s support.

He recently floated the non-electoral platform ‘Insaaf’, aimed at fighting injustice.

BSP chief Mayawati

New Delhi: BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday announced that her party will go it alone in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well as in Assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

In a statement here, Mayawati said the BSP was open to tie-ups with regional parties in Punjab and Haryana, provided they have no truck with the ruling NDA alliance or the newly formed opposition coalition ‘INDIA’.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister slammed the NDA as well as the newly formed opposition coalition, alleging neither of them was favourable to the Dalits and the oppressed classes.

While the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA alliance were strengthening themselves, BSP too was holding closed-door meetings of party workers across the country, Mayawati said.

She said the oppressed classes has to support the BSP as the Congress adopted a “casteist mindset and ignored their demands”.

“Had the Congress kept aside its casteist and capitalist mindset, worked towards the welfare of the poor and the oppressed and listened to B R Ambedkar, the need to form the BSP would not have arisen,” Mayawati said.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday met his former ally and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for the first time after the NCP leader joined the Eknath Shinde government.

Thackeray, a member of the state legislative council, attended the house proceedings for a brief period. It was also his first visit to the legislature after deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe, his one-time party colleague, joined the Shinde-led rival Shiv Sena.

“I asked him to do good work for the state and people,” Thackeray said after meeting Pawar, who is also the finance minister, at his office.

The former chief minister noted that he had worked with Pawar in his cabinet and knew his style of functioning. Pawar was Thackeray’s deputy in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

“I am confident that people of the state will get aid because he has the keys to the treasury,” Thackeray added.

Earlier this month, Ajit Pawar and eight other Nationalist Congress Party MLAs joined the Shinde government, virtually splitting the party founded by Sharad Pawar.

Bengaluru: Opposition BJP and JD(S) MLAs gave a no-confidence notice against Karnataka Assembly Speaker U T Khader to the Assembly Secretary on Wednesday.

It has been jointly signed by BJP and JD(S) MLAs, including former Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai and H D Kumaraswamy.

“As the Speaker who has been elected by all the members of Karnataka Assembly, has lost the trust of the House, to remove him from the post, we request for an opportunity to move the motion as per rule 169 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly,” the notice read.

This move by the combined opposition came on a day when the Legislative Assembly witnessed chaotic and unruly scenes as angry BJP legislators tore papers, which were copies of the bills and agenda, and threw them at Deputy Speaker Rudrappa Lamani, who was in the Chair.

Following this, Speaker Khader suspended 10 BJP MLAs for the remainder of the Assembly session for “indecent and disrespectful” conduct in the House.

Since the beginning of the day’s proceedings in the assembly, opposition BJP and JD(S) members were protesting from the well of the House accusing the Congress government of deputing 30 IAS officers to “serve” its alliance leaders, who had met in the city on Monday and Tuesday to strategise for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.