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SP declares third list of candidates for Lok Sabha polls in UP, fields Shivpal Yadav from Budaun

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SP declares third list of candidates for Lok Sabha polls in UP, fields Shivpal Yadav from Budaun
Shivpal Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday declared its third list of five candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, fielding senior leader Shivpal Yadav from Budaun parliamentary constituency.

Shivpal Yadav, the uncle of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, is an MLA from the Jaswantnagar assembly constituency in Etawah district.

The other candidates on the list are Surendra Singh Patel from Varanasi, Iqra Hasan from Kairana), Praveen Singh Aron from Bareilly and Ajendra Singh Rajput from Hamirpur.

With this list, the Samajwadi Party has so far declared the names of 31 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh.

In its first list, the SP had fielded Dharmendra Yadav, the son of party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger brother Abhay Ram Yadav, from Budaun.

The Akhilesh Yadav-led party has offered 17 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress, an alliance partner in the INDIA bloc. Altogether, the state has 80 LS constituencies.

Court rejects CBI’s plea seeking to stop broadcast of docu-series on Indrani Mukerjea

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Mumbai: A special court here on Tuesday rejected a plea moved by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking a stay on the broadcast of a documentary series on Indrani Mukerjea, a prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, citing that it does not have “inherent powers” to pass such a direction.

CBI special judge S P Naik-Nimbalkar said the probe agency could approach an appropriate legal remedy if advised.

The judge held that the prosecution had not brought to his notice any legal provision for such directions.

The docu-series, titled The Indrani Mukerjea Story: The Buried Truth’, delves into the disappearance of 25-year-old Bora and is scheduled to premiere on streaming platform Netflix on February 23.

In its application filed through public prosecutor C J Nandode, the CBI had asked the court “to issue direction to accused and others concerned for staying/stopping the featuring of the accused persons and the persons connected with the case in the documentary by Netflix and its broadcasting on any platform till the conclusion of the ongoing trial”.

The probe agency on Tuesday argued that the documentary, with its promotional claims of “new revelations” without providing evidence, can create a prejudicial atmosphere and mislead the public, especially prosecution witnesses when the case is pending trial before the court and is at the crucial stage of prosecution evidence.

It further submitted that the motive to feature in the documentary and its release is malafide.

The CBI claimed that this posed a direct threat to the safety and protection of witnesses by potentially disclosing their identities, compromising their security, and deterring them from giving truthful testimony.

Advocate Abad Ponda, appearing for Netflix, contended that only the high courts and the Supreme Court had jurisdiction to pass a direction on such a plea.

He submitted that the provisions of witness protection are available in TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act) and Maharashtra Protection of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) matters and not in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The judge, after hearing both sides, held that the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) has the remedy for the exigency of the situation, for which the CBI has called upon his court to invoke its inherent power, “which I fear is not vested with this court”.

The Supreme Court had granted bail to Indrani and laid down certain conditions for her release. However, the CBI has not contended that she has violated the bail conditions, the court said.

“As there is no legal provision brought to my notice and as this court has no inherent power to pass any such order, the application is rejected,” the court said.

The CBI may take the recourse to appropriate legal remedy if advised, it added.

Bora was allegedly strangled to death in a car by Indrani, her then driver Shyamvar Rai and former husband Sanjeev Khanna in April 2012.

Bora was Indrani’s daughter from her previous relationship. Her body was burnt in a forest in the neighbouring Raigad district.

The murder came to light in 2015 after Rai revealed about the killing following his arrest in another case.

Indrani was arrested in August 2015 and granted bail in May 2022.

The other accused in the case, Rai, Khanna and Peter Mukerjea, are also out on bail.

Seize earthmoving equipment from farmers protest sites: Haryana DGP to Punjab Police

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Chandigarh: A day before the resumption of farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ march, Haryana Police urged its Punjab counterparts to seize bulldozers and other earthmoving equipment from the interstate border which they say protesters will use to break barricades.

These could pose a threat to the security forces deployed at the border, Haryana Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapoor said in an urgent communication to his Punjab counterpart Gaurav Yadav.

Farmer leaders taking part in the ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation on Monday rejected the Centre’s proposal for procuring three pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP by government agencies for five years and announced that they would resume their march on Wednesday.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march.

“It is reliably learnt that heavy earthmoving equipment, including proclain (digger), JCB etc., that have been further modified/armour-plated have been acquired by protesting farmers and have been deployed at the border locations where the protesters are camping right now,” the letter written by the Haryana DGP stated.

“These machines are meant to be used by the protesters to damage the barricades thereby posing serious danger to the police and paramilitary forces deployed on duty and is likely to compromise the security scenario in Haryana,” it said.

“In view of this, you are requested to take all necessary steps to immediately seize these machines from the protesting sites at the borders and take all preventive steps so that the proclain/JCB machines and other heavy machinery which may cause harm to security forces are not allowed to reach the protesting sites,” it added.

Haryana Police also requested its Punjab counterparts to strictly warn the owners or operators of such equipment to not provide their equipment to the protesting farmers as this would “amount to a criminal act and they would be criminally liable for the same”.

“The matter may be dealt (with) on top priority being matter of utmost urgency,” the letter stated.

The protesting farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march was stopped by security forces on February 13.

The farmers had also clashed with the security personnel at the two border points.

Karnataka Assembly passes bill slashing penalty on property tax in Bengaluru by 50 percent

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Bengaluru: The Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill to slash the penalty on property taxes in Bengaluru city limits by 50 percent.

The bill is titled Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Amendment Bill 2024. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, tabled the bill in the Legislative Assembly.

“With the passing of this Amendment Bill, the penalty amount is halved, saving Bengalureans a whopping Rs 2,700 crores. The BBMP will be able to collect penalties worth Rs 1000 crore,” a statement issued by Shivakumar’s office said.

This important amendment will benefit around 13 to 15 lakh people in Bengaluru city including 5.51 lakh taxpayers, five to seven lakh people outside the property tax bracket and three lakh partial property taxpayers, it added.

Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the BJP would oppose this bill as it will lead to large scale corruption.

The Amendment Bill has a provision to give a special rebate to the poor. Government residential buildings and buildings in slums are exempt from property tax penalties. Buildings up to 1,000 square feet which are for own use are exempt from property tax penalties.

Under the amendment bill, residential and mixed-use property owners will have to pay property tax penalties only for a maximum period of five years irrespective of the default duration. Interest has been waived off for dues beyond five years.

“This is a taxpayer-friendly amendment. We have brought this Bill to help the common people though it is a burden on the government,” Shivakumar told the Assembly.

He charged that the property owners in Bengaluru had to pay heavy penalties as the previous BJP government had passed an amendment bill which doubled the penalties resulting in a huge burden on the property tax payers.

The new amendment passed by the Congress government has reduced the penalty burden on the property owners significantly, he added.

Farmers to resume Delhi Chalo’ march today security beefed up in city borders

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New Delhi: The Delhi Police has beefed up security in the national capital on Wednesday and directed its personnel to ensure strict vigil at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur borders after protesting farmers announced to continue their ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation.

The move came a day after the protesting farmers rejected the Centre’s proposal to buy pulses, maize and cotton crops through government agencies at minimum support price (MSP) for five years, and announced to continue with their agitation.

Traffic was hit on Delhi-Gurugram, Delhi-Bahadurgarh and several other roads after heavy deployment was made to ensure law and order.

In the fourth round of talks with the farmer leaders on Sunday, a panel of three Union ministers proposed that government agencies would buy pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP for five years after entering into an agreement with farmers. Farmer leaders refused the proposal, saying it was not in favour of farmers.

Delhi Police officials said security personnel deployed at the three borders were on Tuesday asked to stay on alert. They said commuters might face traffic congestion.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the “Delhi Chalo” march.

Protesting farmers and Haryana police personnel clashed at the Punjab-Haryana border near Amabala on February 13.

The two border points of Delhi and Haryana – Tikri and Singhu – are sealed with the heavy deployment of police personnel and paramilitary forces and multi-layered barricades of concrete and iron nails. Two lanes of the Ghazipur border have also been shut with multi-layer barricades and police personnel.

An official said if required, the Ghazipur border may also be shut on Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Jimmy Chiram said there was sufficient deployment of the force, besides paramilitary personnel, at the Delhi-Haryana borders.

Another officer said the Delhi Police was prepared to stop the farmers at the Delhi borders. Security personnel have been directed to not allow even a single protester or vehicle to enter Delhi, he said, adding that mock security drills were conducted.

The Delhi Police has already stocked up 30,000 tear gas shells.

The officer said that checking vehicles on various roads leading to the central part of Delhi may lead to traffic congestion on Wednesday.

Nine of wedding party killed in truck-tempo collision in Lakhisarai district in Bihar

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LAKHISARAI: At least nine people were killed and several injured after a truck and a tempo collided head-on in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district in the wee hours of Wednesday, police said.

The incident took place at Biharaura village along Lakhisarai-Sikandra main road.

The tempo, which was carrying around 15 passengers, was coming from the opposite direction at the time of the collision, police added.

Among the deceased are Veer Paswan, Vikas Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Dibana Paswan, Amit Kumar, Monu Kumar, Kisan Kumar, and Manoj Goswami, with most of them hailing from Munger.

The accident took place around 3am on the Lakhisarai-Sikandra main road. While nine people died on the spot, several others sustained injuries. All injured were taken to the nearest government hospital”.

The victims were returning from a wedding ceremony when the accident took place, he said, adding that the driver of the truck fled the spot.

“The truck has been seized by police and investigation is on”, the SP added.

Karnataka government, BJP spar over changing slogan at classroom entry

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BENGALURU: The Social Welfare Department’s decision to replace the wording at the entrance of classrooms in its schools from “This is the temple of knowledge, come with folded hands” to “This is the temple of knowledge ask without fear” resulted in ruckus in both Houses of the legislature on Monday.

Opposition BJP legislators in the Assembly and Council slammed the department for making the change. In the Council, MLCs protested in the well, demanding a detailed statement from the minister.

BJP state president and party MLA BY Vijayendra and MLC N Ravi Kumar took up the issue in the Assembly and Council, respectively, during the zero hour. Vijayendra said the Social Welfare Department principal secretary has issued directions to change the wording at the entrance of residential schools run by the department.

“With this, the government has insulted Rashtrakavi Kuvempu,” Vijayendra said. An irked Krishna Byregowda, revenue minister, said the Congress government does not need BJP for lessons on respecting Kuvempu. “It is you (BJP) who removed Kuvempu’s chapter from the textbook. Why do you bring politics here,” he questioned.

Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said Vidhana Soudha carries a slogan, ‘’Sarakari Kelsa Devara Kelasa”. “Will that also be removed? Who is he (the officer) to change the wording at the residential schools and who has given him the power,” Ashoka asked.

BJP members protested in the well in the Council when they were not allowed to discuss the issue during the zero hour. They were asked to take it up for discussion under a different provision after following the due process and Council opposition leader Kota Srinivas Poojary’s request was turned down. At one point, BJP and Congress MLCs were raising slogans against each other. The House was adjourned after the din.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka has demanded that the state government allow drilling of new borewells as the existing ones have gone dry. “We still have four months left for the monsoon and we are already facing a drinking water crisis now,” he told the Assembly. Ashoka said it’s not just people, even animals are facing a lack of water in Karnataka. With no rain, the state is facing a drought situation and underground water has depleted drastically.

“At some places, borewells are not able to pump water from even at a dept of 1,000 ft. People are forced to depend on private water tankers,” he said. Ashoka also pointed out that many experts have flagged the water crisis. “Reservoirs in the state have reached rock bottom, water is also getting evaporated and in the coming days the situation is likely to turn from bad to worse as monsoon is some four months away,” he said. The government should allow drilling of borewells in new locations. “The government should also provide Rs 10 lakh to each gram panchayat to resolve the issue,” he said.

Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar said a committee constituted by the department suggested changes in the system of grading in universities. The committee was constituted after a boy studying at a university died by suicide. The minister informed the Council that they will get a report from the Higher Education Council and see how they can bring in a uniform system in all universities. He was responding to MLC Manjunath Bhandari’s question on huge variations in marks given by different universities and the need to bring in a uniform system.

The Assembly witnessed a verbal altercation between Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal over contractors’ association president D Kempanna’s allegation of 40% commission. “The government is not paying outstanding bills to contractors. Earlier, Kempanna had said that there is ‘40% commission’ in the current government. But it is a pity that he kept quiet and I don’t know whether he was fed with honey or jaggery,” Yatnal alleged. Shivakumar responded by recalling that Yatnal had alleged irregularities in the previous BJP government during the Covid-19 pandemic, and suggested that he speak out on the matter. This lead to a war of words between the duo with each addressing the other in the singular.

Rahul yatra draws huge crowd in UP Ameithi

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LUCKNOW: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s UP leg reached his erstwhile traditional constituency of Amethi on Monday, drawing huge crowds. He hit out at the BJP government for “not inviting” the Dalits, backwards and even the President to the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. “It was an insult to them,” he said.

“By inviting industrialists and Amitabh Bachchan to the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple, Modi gave the message that the country’s 73% of people have no importance,” Rahul said addressing a gathering at Lalganj Indira Chowk in Rampur Khas Assembly seat.

Continuing with his onslaught, Gandhi said that it was their (BJP) India. “This is not yours. All you do is chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, while all they do is have helicopter rides and make money,” he said.

Reiterating the party’s promise to provide a legal guarantee of MSP to farmers, he said: “Farmers were stopped from entering Delhi. Modi government has put barricades, and constructed walls to stop farmers. What are they demanding? All they are asking for is MSP; it is not a big thing.”

Incidentally, BJP MP Smriti Irani and Rahul Gandhi were present in Amethi on Monday. Rahul’s attack prompted the BJP MP from Amethi to challenge the former Congress chief and party’s Wayanad MP to contest from Amethi if he had the confidence to win.

The developments seem to suggest that Rahul would contest from Amethi this time.

“In 2019 he (Rahul Gandhi) left Amethi, today Amethi has left him. If he is confident, then without going to Wayanad, let him fight from Amethi alone,” said Irani. She tried to underplay Rahul’s Naya Yatra by claiming that “empty roads” of Amethi were the testimony of Rahul’s popularity.

Holding a Jan Samwad programme in Amethi as part of a four-day visit to her parliamentary constituency, Irani said that despite having won three consecutive elections from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi did very little for the constituency.

“Congress had to call workers from Sultanpur and Pratapgarh to welcome the Yatra,” Irani said. “Amethi was

distressed to note how its former representative insulted his voters in Wayanad. Also, the invite to consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya was rejected by him and his family. Amethi is dismayed at this also,” she said.

The Union Minister also claimed that sensing the mood of the people of Amethi where the voters went for a change in 2019, the Gandhi family decided to stay away from Raebareli ahead of the 2024 polls.

Rahul yatra draws huge crowd in UP, Irani steps up attack on Amethi pitch

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LUCKNOW: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s UP leg reached his erstwhile traditional constituency of Amethi on Monday, drawing huge crowds. He hit out at the BJP government for “not inviting” the Dalits, backwards and even the President to the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. “It was an insult to them,” he said.

“By inviting industrialists and Amitabh Bachchan to the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple, Modi gave the message that the country’s 73% of people have no importance,” Rahul said addressing a gathering at Lalganj Indira Chowk in Rampur Khas Assembly seat.

Continuing with his onslaught, Gandhi said that it was their (BJP) India. “This is not yours. All you do is chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, while all they do is have helicopter rides and make money,” he said.

Reiterating the party’s promise to provide a legal guarantee of MSP to farmers, he said: “Farmers were stopped from entering Delhi. Modi government has put barricades, and constructed walls to stop farmers. What are they demanding? All they are asking for is MSP; it is not a big thing.”

Incidentally, BJP MP Smriti Irani and Rahul Gandhi were present in Amethi on Monday. Rahul’s attack prompted the BJP MP from Amethi to challenge the former Congress chief and party’s Wayanad MP to contest from Amethi if he had the confidence to win.

The developments seem to suggest that Rahul would contest from Amethi this time.

“In 2019 he (Rahul Gandhi) left Amethi, today Amethi has left him. If he is confident, then without going to Wayanad, let him fight from Amethi alone,” said Irani. She tried to underplay Rahul’s Naya Yatra by claiming that “empty roads” of Amethi were the testimony of Rahul’s popularity.

Holding a Jan Samwad programme in Amethi as part of a four-day visit to her parliamentary constituency, Irani said that despite having won three consecutive elections from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi did very little for the constituency.

“Congress had to call workers from Sultanpur and Pratapgarh to welcome the Yatra,” Irani said. “Amethi was

distressed to note how its former representative insulted his voters in Wayanad. Also, the invite to consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya was rejected by him and his family. Amethi is dismayed at this also,” she said.

The Union Minister also claimed that sensing the mood of the people of Amethi where the voters went for a change in 2019, the Gandhi family decided to stay away from Raebareli ahead of the 2024 polls.

SP offers 17 seats to Congress for lokh sabha

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Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav

LUCKNOW: Uncertainty looms large over the INDIA alliance of the opposition bloc in Uttar Pradesh, with a seat-sharing pact between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress for the Lok Sabha still being a distant dream. Moreover, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is reportedly skipping Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, saying that he would join Gandhi only after the seat-sharing pact between the two parties gets sealed.

Akhilesh was to join the yatra in Rae Bareli on Tuesday. Earlier on Monday, the SP offered 17 seats to the Congress, calling it the final offer to the grand old party. Notably, the negotiations between the two parties had been going on with Congress initially demanding 25 seats but then scaling it down to 21. However, the SP does not want to spare more than 17 seats for its ally.

Last month, the SP chief unilaterally announced 11 Lok Sabha seats for the Congress in UP. Caught off guard, the baffled leadership of UP Congress said that the seat-sharing talks with the SP were still on and the central leadership would take the final decision.

Later, the SP released the first list of candidates for 16 seats, including many like Lakhimpur Kheri and Farrukhabad, which the Congress had demanded. Meanwhile, on Monday, immediately after offering 17 seats to the Congress, the SP released a second list of 11 party candidates for the polls. It covered at least three seats, which the Congress was demanding.

Dealing a blow to the INDIA bloc in the state, RLD president Jayant Chaudhary recently decided to part ways and switch over to the ruling NDA.

However, the support of the SP in Amethi and Rae Bareli is significant for the Congress as it has been winning both seats over the past few decades, banking upon the former’s support. SP and BSP have not been fielding their candidates in Amethi and Rae Bareli in support of the Congress for the last few elections to check the division of votes.

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