Congress leader Jairam

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has submitted a notice to initiate privilege proceedings in the Rajya Sabha against Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for “misleading” the House over the issue of alleged dropping of the Preamble to the Constitution from certain NCERT textbooks.

In his letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Ramesh said that on August 7, 2024, Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge raised the matter regarding “omitting the Preamble to the Constitution of India in the textbooks by NCERT for children of Class 3 and 6”.

“In response thereto, Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education, subsequently (at 12 Noon) inter alia stated ‘abhi bhi kaksha 6 ki jo pathyapustak aayi hai, usme bhi preamble hai (the textbook for Class 6 that has come out also contains the preamble)’,” Ramesh said.

This assertion by Pradhan is factually “incorrect and misleading”, Ramesh said in his letter to Dhankhar dated August 8.

“In support of my contention, I enclose herewith copies of textbook for Class 3 titled ‘Looking Around’ (Environmental Studies), November, 2022 edition, textbook in Hindi titled “Rimjhim-3′ November, 2022 edition and textbook of Class 6 titled ‘Honeysuckle’, December 2022 Edition. In these textbooks, the Preamble to the Constitution had been incorporated as was done in the earlier editions of the textbooks,” the Congress leader said.

On the other hand, in the textbook for students of Class 3 titled ‘Our Wondrous World’, June 2024 edition, textbook in Hindi titled ‘Veena’, June 2024 edition and the textbook for students of Class 6 titled ‘Poorvi’ June 2024 edition, the Preamble to the Constitution has been omitted, he claimed.

“Thereafter, your goodself, had inter alia observed, ‘…If he is wrong, it is a breach of privilege. .. (Interruptions)… If what the hon. Minister says is wrong, then, it is a breach of privilege’. The relevant extracts from Rajya Sabha Debates dated 7 August 2024 as well as from the textbooks referred to above are enclosed for reference,” he said in his letter.

Omission of the Preamble to the Constitution in the textbooks of school children is a “grave affront” to the very concept of generating awareness among youth of this country about the spirit of the Constitution of India, Ramesh said.

“It was this point which the hon’ble Leader of the Opposition had contended while raising the matter during Zero Hour on 7 August, 2024. The contentions made by Dharmendra Pradhan contesting the assertions made by me in the House in this regard as already stated are misleading,” Ramesh said.

It is well established that “misleading and misrepresentation of facts” on the floor of the House constitutes breach of privilege and contempt of the House, he said.

“I, therefore, request you to initiate privilege proceedings against Dharmendra Pradhan in this regard,” Ramesh said.

Education Minister Pradhan on Wednesday has said the Preamble to the Constitution is in the NCERT textbooks of Class 6 as he refuted charges made in this regard by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Earlier, the Congress party had raised the issue in Rajya Sabha, saying dropping the Preamble from textbooks was an attempt to impose communal ideology on the country – a claim which Union Minister J P Nadda countered, saying the government was committed to protecting the Constitution.

The minister informed the House that till now textbooks for up to class 7 have been published.

“Leader of the Opposition was saying that earlier there used to be Preamble (in the textbooks). In the new textbooks of Class 6, there is Preamble. Not only Preamble, there is Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights, and National Anthem (in the books). These also represent core values of the Constitution and they are in the books. What he said was not a fact,” Pradhan had said.

Ramesh has given the notice of privilege motion under Rule 187 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha against Pradhan.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, noting that he has been in custody for 17 months.

A bench of justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said Sisodia has been in custody for 17 months and trial has not yet commenced, depriving him of the right to speedy trial.

The bench said it would be a travesty of justice to relegate him to the trial court for seeking bail in these cases.

The top court said it is high time that the trial courts and high courts recognise that the principle of bail is a rule and jail is an exception.

It directed that Sisodia be released on bail on a personal bond of Rs 10 lakh with two sureties of the like amount.

The former deputy chief minister of Delhi was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26, 2023 for the purported irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in the money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9, 2023.

He resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.

Sisodia had sought bail contending that he has been in custody for 17 months and the trial against him has not yet started.

The ED and the CBI had opposed his bail pleas.

New Delhi : Air India on Tuesday cancelled morning flight to Dhaka from the national capital amid massive anti-government protests in Bangladesh.

The neighbouring country has plunged into uncertainty after extraordinary street protests over job quota forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to quit and flee.

IndiGo and Vistara have cancelled all their flights to the Bangladesh capital on Tuesday, two officials said.

Vistara operates daily flights from Mumbai and three weekly services from Delhi to Dhaka.

An airline official on Tuesday said Air India cancelled its morning flight to Dhaka and will take a decision later in the day on whether to operate its evening flight to the Bangladesh capital.

As per schedule, the airline is to operate two flights daily to Dhaka from Delhi.

“In view of the emerging situation in Bangladesh, we have cancelled the scheduled operation of our flights to and from Dhaka with immediate effect.

“We are continuously monitoring the situation and are extending support to our passengers with confirmed bookings for travel to and from Dhaka with a one-time waiver on rescheduling and cancellation charges,” an Air India spokesperson had said in a statement on Monday.

New Delhi : INDIA bloc parties staged a protest in Parliament premises on Tuesday to press for the rollback of 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on life and health insurance premiums.

MPs from various parties such as TMC, Congress, AAP and NCP (SC), among others, participated in the protest on the steps leading to the Makar Dwar of Parliament.

Carrying placards reading “Tax terrorism”, the protesting MPs raised slogans demanding that the GST on life and health insurance premiums be rolled back.

Trinamool Congress MPs have raised the issue in Parliament and party president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the matter.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari also wrote to Sitharaman and urged her to consider withdrawing the GST which, he said, amounted to taxing uncertainties of life and restricting the industry’s growth.

New Delhi : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday told an all-party meeting that India has assured help to former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who arrived here on Monday evening, and given her time to decide the future course of action, sources said.

Briefing political party leaders in Parliament House, Jaishankar said India was in touch with the Bangladesh Army to ensure the safety of over 10,000 Indian students in that country, the sources said.

“Briefed an All-Party meeting in Parliament today about the ongoing developments in Bangladesh. Appreciate the unanimous support and understanding that was extended,” Jaishankar posted on X after the meeting.

Congress leader Karti Chidambaram said the government had briefed an all-party meeting on the situation in Bangladesh.Congress party is fully with the government as far as national security and national interest are concerned.

Bangladesh plunged into uncertainty after extraordinary street protests over job quota forced Prime Minister Hasina to quit and flee.

Sharath Kalyani

Shivamogga: Sharath Kalyani, local BJP media department leader, has been taken into custody by the Shivamogga Women’s Police Station following allegations of rape and fraud. The arrest came after a 43-year-old divorced woman, who works in a private company, lodged a complaint against Kalyani, accusing him of deceiving her into a relationship under the pretense of marriage.

According to the complaint filed on July 26, 2024, the woman had known Kalyani since August 31, 2023. She claimed that Kalyani had concealed his marital status and engaged in a physical relationship with her, promising marriage. The woman also alleged that Kalyani convinced her to provide financial assistance, amounting to four lakhs, citing personal financial problems.

The situation escalated when the woman insisted on marriage, and Kalyani began avoiding her. When she visited his residence, Kalyani allegedly verbally abused her, physically assaulted her, and threatened to kill her if she came near his house again.

The police have registered a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 376(2)(n) (rape), 420 (cheating), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 506 (criminal intimidation).

A team led by a female inspector arrested Kalyani in Vijayapura taluk and brought him in for questioning.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it has ordered listing of a plea challenging the verdict of the Bombay High Court which had upheld a decision of a Mumbai college to impose a ban on wearing of ‘hijab’, ‘burqa’ and ‘naqab’ inside the campus.

The high court had on June 26 refused to interfere with the decision of the Chembur Trombay Education Society’s N G Acharya and D K Marathe College imposing the ban, saying such rules do not violate students’ fundamental rights.

It had said a dress code is meant to maintain discipline which is part of the college’s fundamental right to “establish and administer an educational institution”.

Taking note of submission seeking urgent listing of the appeal, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said it has already assigned a bench for the matter and that it would be listed soon.

Lawyer Abiha Zaidi, appearing for petitioners, including Zainab Abdul Qayyum, sought urgent hearing saying the unit tests in the college are likely to commence on Wednesday.

The top court is yet to conclusively decide the legality of such diktats issued by educational institutions.

A two-judge bench of the top court, on October 13, 2022, had delivered opposing verdicts in the hijab controversy emanating from Karnataka. The then BJP-led state government had imposed a ban on wearing the Islamic head covering in schools there.

While Justice Hemant Gupta, since retired, had dismissed the appeals challenging the judgement of the Karnataka High Court which had refused to lift the ban, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had held there shall be no restriction on the wearing of hijab anywhere in the schools and colleges of the state.

The present controversy stems from the decision of a Mumbai college.

The Bombay High Court trashed the plea against the ban and said the dress code was applicable to all students irrespective of religion or caste.

The students, who were in the second and third year of the science degree course, had moved the high court, challenging a directive issued by the college imposing a dress code under which students cannot wear a hijab, naqab, burka, stoles, caps and badges on the premises.

The students had claimed it was against their fundamental right to practice religion, the right to privacy and right to choice.

The college’s action was “arbitrary, unreasonable, bad-in-law and perverse”, the plea had said.

The high court, however, had said it could not see how the prescription of dress code by the college violated Articles 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) and 25 (freedom to practice religion) of the Constitution.

“In our view, the dress code as prescribed cannot be held to violate the petitioners’ rights claimed under Article 19(1) (a) and Article 25 of the Constitution of India,” the HC had said.

The high court had also refused to accept the petitioners’ contention that wearing a hijab, naqab and burqa was an essential practice of their religion.

“Except for stating that the same constitutes an essential religious practice on the basis of the English translation of Kanz-ul-Iman and Suman Abu Dawud, there is no material placed to uphold the petitioners’ contention that donning of hijab and naqab is an essential religious practice. The contention in that regard, therefore, fails,” the HC had said.

Prescribing a dress code should be seen as an “exercise towards maintaining discipline”, and the right to do so flows from the fundamental right to establish and administer an educational institution under Article 19(1)(g) (right to practise any profession or run trade/business) and Article 26 of the Constitution, the HC had said.

The dress code was mandatory only within the college premises and the petitioners’ freedom of choice and expression was not otherwise affected, it had said.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday told an all-party meeting that India has assured help to former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who arrived here on Monday evening, and given her time to decide the future course of action, sources said.

Briefing political party leaders in Parliament House, Jaishankar said India has spoken to the Bangladesh Army Chief to ensure the safety of over 10,000 Indian students in that country, the sources said.

Replying to questions from various leaders, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the minister did not rule out the role of foreign governments in the unrest in the country but emphasised that the situation was too fluid, and the government has been keeping a watch on the evolving situation, they said.

At the meeting, Gandhi asked if foreign governments might be involved in fuelling the crisis there.

Jaishankar said that households and properties belonging to minorities were targeted by protestors in the neighbouring country.

Noting that it has been not even 24 hours since Hasina arrived in India, he said she is in a state of shock and the government is giving her time to recover before it speaks to her over various issues, including her future plans, the sources said.

The External Affairs Minister is scheduled to make a statement on the issue in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.

Various leaders, including Gandhi, conveyed their full cooperation to the government on the issue.

YSR Congress leader V Vijaysai Reddy said his party supports the government in the interest of the country.

“Briefed an All-Party meeting in Parliament today about the ongoing developments in Bangladesh. Appreciate the unanimous support and understanding that was extended,” Jaishankar posted on X after the meeting.

Congress leader Karti Chidambaram said the government had briefed an all-party meeting on the situation in Bangladesh.

“Congress party is fully with the government as far as national security and national interest are concerned,” Chidambaram told PTI. However, he was not present at the meeting.

Bangladesh plunged into uncertainty after extraordinary street protests over job quota forced Hasina to quit and flee.

The all-party meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister J P Nadda, JD(U) leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’, JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, DMK leader T R Baalu, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav, Trinamool leader Sudip Bandypapdhyay, NCP leader Supriya Sule among others.

Ahead of the meeting, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut had said that the rulers in India should learn lessons from the developments in Bangladesh.

“When democracy faces danger and those in power become dictators wearing a mask of democracy, the people of the country tolerate them for a while and then there is anarchy,” Raut said.

CPI(M) member P Santosh Kumar said the situation in Bangladesh was very volatile.

“We are with the people of Bangladesh, not with Jamaat-e-Islami, military or with Sheikh Hasina. We are with students of Bangladesh. This is the fate of all autocrats,” Kumar said.

Samajwadi Party member Virendra Singh said the situation in Bangladesh was a message for all countries which do not listen to people’s voices.

“Similar situations happen in countries where attempts to end democracy and bring dictatorship take place. It is very unfortunate,” Singh said.

BJP Rajya Sabha member Lahar Singh Siroya said the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are keeping an eye on the whole issue.

“They would have been taking necessary steps. Our country is capable of handling the issue,” the BJP Rajya Sabha member said.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Kozhikode : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday shot off a letter to his Karnataka counterpart requesting him to resume the search operations for the lorry driver from here, who went missing following a landslide at a village there last month.

In a letter written to Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, Vijayan said the search operations which were halted earlier were supposed to resume today, but they haven’t.

“I write this to share the anxiety and sorrow of the family members of Arjun, as he is missing for quite a long time. I was given to understand that the search operations to find Arjun were to be resumed today. Information is reaching that the operations have not yet resumed,” he said in his letter.

Kerala CM sought the personal intervention of Siddaramaiah for the resumption of the search operations today itself.

Earlier in the day, Vijayan visited the house of Arjun and interacted with his family members.

Later, in a Facebook post, Vijayan said the concerns of the family on finding Arjun will be conveyed to the Karnataka government.

After a brief meeting with them, Vijayan returned, assuring the family that he would be there to support them through any difficulties.

Arjun was driving a lorry loaded with timber to Kozhikode when the landslide occurred on July 16. He has been missing since then.

Multiple agencies had conducted a search mission to find him at the landslide site in Uttara Kannada district.