Chitradurga (Karnataka): The ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ of the Congress led by Rahul Gandhi on Thursday resumed from Bommagondanahalli in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district and headed towards Rampura.

Hundreds of people gathered on the roadside in the morning to welcome them.

According to Congress workers, the march started at 6.30 am from the BG Kere underpass in Bommagondanahalli.

After walking 12 kilometres, Gandhi will take a break at Konasagara in the district.

The march will then resume at 4 pm from Konasagara and stop for an evening break in Molakalmuru. After that, Gandhi will take a night halt in Rampura.

The ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ entered Karnataka on September 30. It will cover 511 km in 21 days and exit the state on October 20.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

Chitradurga: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said every State should have the right to use its language and if the students want to do exams in it, they should be allowed.

The former AICC president said this while interacting with around 1,800 youths from all over Karnataka on unemployment and related issues here, as part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by him.

“A language is much more than simply something you use for conversation. A language has hope, a language has imagination, a language has history in it,” Rahul Gandhi said.

He said, “Every State should have the right to use its language, and if the students want to do the exams in that language, they should be allowed to do exams in that language.”

Rahul Gandhi’s statement comes amid controversy over a Parliamentary Committee’s recent recommendation that the medium of instruction in technical and non-technical higher education institutes such as IITs in Hindi-speaking States should be Hindi and in other parts of the country their respective local language. It said the use of English should be optional.

In southern States where Hindi is not spoken as much, several political leaders like former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan have expressed objections to the Parliamentary Committee’s recommendation and termed it “Hindi imposition.”

New Delhi: Observing that “citizens cannot be faced with an emergency situation due to lack of governance”, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Delhi government to pay Rs 900 crore as environmental compensation for improper management of solid municipal waste.

A bench headed by chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel noted that around 80 per cent of legacy waste at the three landfill sites — Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla — was not remediated and the quantity of legacy waste at the three dumpsites was 300 lakh metric tonnes.

The bench, also comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert members A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmad, said that the scenario presented a grim picture of environmental emergency in the national capital.

“Citizens cannot be faced with an emergency situation due to lack of governance,” the bench said.

There was continuous emission of methane and other harmful gasses along with groundwater contamination, the bench said, adding even minimum safeguards against repeated fires were not adopted.

“Needless to repeat the hazardous consequences of accumulated and unscientifically stored huge quantum of garbage which are mountains,” the bench said.

The green tribunal further said that scarce and costly public land was occupied by the waste dumpsites.

“The area is 152 acres and its price even at a conservative rate is more than Rs 10,000 crore at the applicable circle rate and thus the urgency to retrieve the said public asset for beneficial public use,” it said.

The NGT said that there was a serious violation of the rights of citizens and a failure of the public trust doctrine to protect the environment and public health by the authorities concerned.

“Steps taken so far do not meet the mandate of law and are not commensurate to the grim factual emergency situation, constantly threatening the safety and health of citizens and the environment with no accountability of officers entrusted with the task,” it said.

The NGT said that emergency measures, along with a new and sensitive approach in a mission mode, were required to remedy the situation.

Fixing accountability of the state authorities for past violations, the bench said, “We hold the National Capital Territory of Delhi liable to pay environmental compensation of Rs 900 crore having regard to the quantity of undisposed waste which is to the extent of three crore metric tonnes at the three landfill sites.”

The amount could be placed in a ring-fenced account to be operated under the directions of the chief secretary, Delhi, for restoration of the environment by remediation of waste and other measures, the bench said.

It also directed the authorities to ensure that current waste is not added to the legacy waste sites and the waste was disposed of as per norms.

To control foul smell and improve aesthetics, turfing of landfill sites could be done through boundary walls or fencing by plantations of at least three rows of fast-growing and tall native trees in the periphery of landfill sites, the tribunal said.

The authorities could also establish a tourism and recreational centre, the bench said.

The already constituted 13-member monitoring committee headed by the chief secretary could coordinate with any other concerned departments and co-opt any other experts or institutions for speedy preparation and execution of the action plan, it said.

The NGT directed that an interim progress report, providing the status of compliance as on December 31, 2022, be filed by January 15, 2023.

New Delhi: The Delhi government on Wednesday asked all fuel stations in the national capital to gear up to refuel only those vehicles which have valid Pollution Under Control Certificates from October 25.

In a notice issued by the transport department, owners of vehicles more than a year old (except electric or battery-driven vehicles) were also asked to get Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCCs) for their vehicles.

The department is issuing notices to vehicle owners without valid PUCCs to get them within a week or face suspension of registration certificates.

Apart from this, the city government has also formed teams to check buses coming from neighbouring states at the Anand Vihar bus terminal for PUCCs.

The transport department has asked vehicle owners to obtain valid PUCCs before October 25 to avoid inconvenience and action as per law.

“Driving a vehicle without a valid PUCC is liable to attract a penalty of Rs 10,000 and imprisonment up to three months or both,” the notice read.

Delhi Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra said pollution control is a shared responsibility. Sharing the notice on his Twitter handle, he said: “For those who missed it. Pollution control is a shared responsibility. Do your bit this winter. Make sure your vehicle has a valid PUC certificate. Post 25 October, in Delhi, no PUCC would mean no fuel at the pumps.”

The Delhi government has intensified its crackdown on vehicles without valid PUCCs in an effort to control pollution levels.

The environment department is considering issuing a notification mandating all dealers of petrol, diesel and CNG pumps to sell fuel to motor vehicles only on production of valid PUCC from October 25, the notice read.

Earlier this month, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai had announced that vehicle owners would not be provided fuel at petrol pumps in Delhi without showing a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate from October 25.

The decision was taken at a meeting of officials from the environment, transport and the traffic departments on September 29, he had said.

“Vehicular emission is one of the key contributors to rising pollution in Delhi. It is imperative to reduce it, and so, it has been decided that from October 25 petrol, diesel will not be provided at petrol pumps without PUC certificate of vehicles,” Rai had said.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday directed no citizen can be prosecuted under section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which it had scrapped way back in 2015.

Under the annulled section, a person posting offensive content could be imprisoned for up to three years and also fined.

Underlining that liberty of thought and expression is of “cardinal” significance, the top court had on March 24, 2015 done away with the provision, saying “the public’s right to know is directly affected by Section 66A of the Information Technology Act”.

A bench headed by Chief Justice U U Lalit said in all cases where citizens are facing prosecution for alleged violation of section 66-A of the Act, the reference and reliance upon the said provision shall stand deleted.

“We direct all Director General of Police as well as Home Secretaries of the states and competent officers in Union Territories to instruct the entire police force in their respective states/Union Territories not to register any complaint of crime with respect to alleged violation of section 66A,” said the bench, also comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and S R Bhat.

The top court clarified that this direction shall apply only with respect to offence punishable under section 66A, and if in the crime in question, other offences are also alleged, then the reference and reliance upon section 66A alone shall be deleted.

The bench observed the counsel appearing for the Centre has placed on record an all-India status report with regard to pending cases under section 66A.

It observed the information given in a tabular form does suggest that despite the issue regarding the validity of section 66A of the Act having been decided by the apex court, a number of criminal proceedings still rely upon this provision and citizens are still facing prosecution.

“Such criminal proceedings, in our view, are directly in the teeth of the directions issued by this court in Shreya Singhal vs Union of India (March 2015 judgement) and consequently, we issue following directions .,” the bench said.

“It needs no reiteration that section 66A of the 2000 Act has been found by this court in Shreya Singhal vs Union of India to be violative of the Constitution and as such, no citizen can be prosecuted ….in said section 66A,” it said.

The bench also said whenever any publication, whether government, semi-government and private, about the IT Act is published and section 66A is quoted as part of the statute book, the reader must adequately be informed that section 66A has already been pronounced upon by the apex court to be violative of the Constitution.

Calling a “matter of serious concern” the registration of FIRs under section 66A of the Act which was scrapped in 2015, the apex court had last month asked the chief secretaries of the states concerned to take back the cases within three weeks.

The bench was hearing a miscellaneous application of NGO ‘People’s Union for Civil Liberties’ (PUCL) alleging prosecution of people under the scrapped provision.

The NGO claimed that despite express directions of the court in 2019 that all state governments sensitise police personnel about the March 24, 2015 judgement, thousands of cases have been registered under the section.

It sought direction to the Centre to collect all data/ information regarding FIRs/investigations where section 66A has been invoked as well as pendency of cases in the courts throughout the country where proceedings under the provision are continuing in violation of the 2015 judgment.

On February 15, 2019, the top court had directed all state governments to sensitise their police personnel about its March 24, 2015 verdict, which had scrapped section 66A of the Act, so people are not unnecessarily arrested under the struck-down provision.

The first PIL on the issue was filed in 2012 by law student Shreya Singhal who sought an amendment to section 66A of the Act after two girls – Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan – were arrested in Palghar in Maharashtra’s Thane district.

While one had posted a comment against the shutdown in Mumbai following Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray’s death, the other had ‘liked’ it.

PUCL was also one of the petitioners in the earlier case and had challenged the constitutional validity of Section 66A of the Act.

Hospet/Chitradurga: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa had breakfast at the residence of a Dalit man at a village near Hospet on Wednesday.

They visited the village as part of the ruling BJP’s ‘Jan Sankalp Yatra’, which kick-started on Tuesday.

Hirala Kollarappa and his two daughters served the VVIPs ‘Kesari Bhaat,’ (dessert) ‘Mandakki Voggarane’ (fried puffed rice with seasoning), fried chilli and Uppittu (Upma).

According to government officials, the CM was accompanied by Yediyurappa, Water Resource Minister Govind Karjol and Tourism Minister Anand Singh during the visit to Ambedkar Nagar in Kamalapura village in the newly formed Vijayanagara district.

“A festive mood prevailed at the residence of Hirala Kollarappa in Ambedkar Nagar in Kamalapura village. His two daughters, Huligemma and Renuka were busy in the kitchen since morning preparing a special breakfast for none other than ‘Common Man’ Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday,” an official statement said.

After having meal at Kollarappa’s home, the BJP leaders interacted with all the family members.

Meanwhile, the Congress described Bommai and Yediyurappa eating at the Dalit family’s residence as a “photo-op” for the sake of votes, ahead of assembly election next year in the state.

While Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah hit out at the ruling party for not doing enough for the sake of Dalits and other backward communities so far, AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala took a swipe at Bommai government by highlighting an incident where over a dozen Dalit workers were allegedly assaulted and held captive by a coffee estate owner in Chikkamagaluru over financial issues.

“As elections are approaching, they have started remembering Dalits, backward classes, SCs and STs, till now nothing has been done for their welfare by this government. Now for the sake of election and votes, they are visiting areas where Dalits and backward communities live,” Siddaramaiah, who is here to take part in ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ led by Rahul Gandhi, told reporters in response to a query.

Surjewala in a tweet said, “The ugly stench of Dalit atrocities under Bommai Govt in Karnataka is nauseating – a 54% increase over last year. As Bommai-BSY (Yediyurappa) do photo-op of visiting a dalit house, BJP leader detains 16 Dalits & a hapless women loses her child.”

Reacting to the criticism, BJP state unit chief Nalin Kumar Kateel said Siddaramaiah has started the AHINDA movement, which instilled confidence among the backward communities and minorities.

In 2014 state assembly election, the Congress gained majority and Siddaramaiah remained the Chief Minister for 5 years but ‘failed’ to provide justice to the minorities and BC, he told reporters in Gadag district.

It is only the Bommai government which gave the SC/STs honour, whereas the Siddaramaiah did nothing in five years,” Kateel added.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut

Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, who is currently in jail over money laundering charges, has claimed that there was pressure on him to “betray” his party, and that he landed in jail as he did not pay heed to it.

In a letter to his mother dated August 8, a week after his arrest, Raut said, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sainiks were like her own children and till the time he was in jail, they would take care of her.

Everyone is aware that he has been framed under false and bogus charges and statements are extracted from him at gun point, Raut alleged.

Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on August 1 in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of Patra ‘chawl’ in Mumbai. He is currently in judicial custody. The ED probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities of Rs 1,034 crore pertaining to the redevelopment of the chawl or tenements in suburban Goregaon and related financial transactions allegedly involving his wife and associates.

Raut, the executive editor of Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, said freedom fighters Lokmanya Tilak and Vinayak Domadar Savarkar had to face similar treatment.

“Like you, the Shiv Sena is also my mother. I had pressure to betray my mother (the party). There were threats not to speak against the government as it will prove costly. I did not pay heed to the threat which is why I am away from you,” the letter, which was tweeted on Wednesday, said.

He said Uddhav Thackeray, who heads one faction of the Shiv Sena, is his dear friend and a leader, and that it would be difficult to face Sena founder Bal Thackeray if he left Uddhav’s side in his trying times.

Raut also assured his mother that he will definitely be out of jail as the “soul” of Maharashtra and the country cannot be killed.

At the time of Raut’s arrest by the ED, his mother had hugged him and sobbed when he was being taken away. In two separate rallies held in September and October, the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction had kept a chair vacant with Raut’s name written on it to send a message how strongly the party backs him.

Uddhav and his wife Rashmi have visited Raut’s family at different intervals to show their support to him.

Raut, a bitter critic of the Modi government and also one of the architects that helped form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government under Uddhav Thackeray, said without naming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the ones in power want to finish the Shiv Sena and want to trample upon the self-respect of Maharashtra.

In such circumstances, it is difficult to be a mute spectator and live like a slave, he said, adding that Congress’ interim president Sonia Gandhi and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Rohit Pawar are being troubled.

“But this will lead to a revolution and democracy will again take birth,” Raut said.