New Delhi Former chief minister Amarinder Singh joined the BJP here on Monday and merged his Punjab Lok Congress with it, saying it was time for him to go to the party that is looking after the country’s interests and security.

Singh (80) joined the BJP at its headquarters in the presence of Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Kiren Rijiju along with several Punjab leaders. His son Raninder Singh and daughter Jai Inder Kaur also joined the saffron party.

In his remarks, the two-time former Punjab chief minister with a long association with the Congress before he quit it last year highlighted his security concerns for Punjab amid “increasing animosity” with Pakistan, something he has been seeing with “growing dismay”.

“Now is the time to do something for the country. We have seen the Congress, now it is time to go to the party which has been doing so much for the country and its security. It is a pleasure being here,” he told a press conference.

He also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda after the joining ceremony.

Noting that Chinese border is also a short flight away from Chandigarh, Punjab’s capital, Singh said the state is hemmed in by two hostile countries and that China is way ahead of India in weaponry. He blamed the Congress for the gap, saying no weapon was added to India’s security apparatus when A K Antony was the defence minister.

The Narendra Modi government has been working to boost India’s firepower and has introduced several new weaponry, he added. “Our ideology is the same,” he said, stressing on his commitment to national security.

Asked whether his wife Preneet Kaur, a Congress MP from Patiala, would also join the BJP, he asked if it is necessary for the wife to do what the husband is doing, leaving everyone in laughter.

Singh had floated the Punjab Lok Congress last year after quitting the Congress following his unceremonious exit as chief minister, but his party failed to win any seat in the state assembly polls held in February. Singh himself lost from his home turf of Patiala Urban as the Aam Aadmi Party scored a landslide victory.

Along with Singh, former deputy speaker of Punjab Assembly Ajaib Singh Bhatti, former MP Amrik Singh Aliwal, former legislators Harchand Kaur, Harinder Singh Thekedar, Prem Mittal and labour leader Kewal Singh also joined the BJP with scores of his supporters.

The former adviser to Amarinder Singh, BIS Chahal, also joined the saffron party.

Later, Singh said that prior to his spine surgery abroad, he held discussions with his colleagues in Punjab Lok Congress, who told him that “if we want to see a bright future for Punjab, we need to join the BJP”.

To a question on his stand on the completion of the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal as the BJP is in power in Haryana and also at the Centre, he said, “My job is to fight for Punjab and I will continue to do that.”

On the issue of security along Punjab’s borders, he said, “We are a border state and I have been in politics for 52 years. I have seen over a period of time that our relationship with Pakistan deteriorated. The animosity that they have put forward, we have noted that with growing dismay. We have had three wars in 1961, 1965, and 1971, and since then this animosity has grown.”

Singh also said that he has been bringing the drone issue to the notice of the prime minister and the home minister, saying, “drones are coming in from across the border”.

He said earlier they were coming in till 7 kms, now they are coming up to 42 kms, and they bring weapons, narcotics, and counterfeit currency with them.

“The objective is to create complete chaos in the border state,” he noted.

Singh, the two-time former chief minister, is the scion of the erstwhile Patiala royal family.

Earlier, welcoming Singh and his party members into the BJP fold, Union minister Tomar said Capt Amarinder Singh has always considered the nation first and has kept the nation above everything.

“I welcome Amarinder Singh and his party into the BJP fold,” he said.

He also noted that Punjab is a border state and it is important for the security of the nation that peace is maintained in the state.

“Capt sahib’s thought has been similar to that of the BJP, as BJP is the lone political party which considers the nation first and the party after that. Amarinder Singh has also maintained this view all his life. Capt Amarinder coming with the BJP means that he wants peace and security in Punjab. The BJP will be strengthened in Punjab with his joining. This will be a historic step,” Tomar said.

Union minister Kiren Rijiju said Punjab is a state that needs to be handled with care and asserted that they have seen Capt Amarinder Singh and his functioning.

“I would like to offer a hearty welcome to Amarinder Singh ji. We all are extremely excited. This is a important milestone in India’s political history,” he said.

Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma was also present on the occasion.

Bengaluru: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Monday called on former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda at the latter’s residence here to inquire about his health.

Soon after the Legislative Assembly session for the day ended, the former Chief Minister, along with his party legislators R V Deshpande, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, and Ajay Dharam Singh, among others, drove to the 89-year-old leader’s Padmanabhanagar residence here.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Siddaramaiah said he was visiting Gowda’s residence after six years.

“I last visited him in 2016 as the Chief Minister to discuss the Cauvery water disputes case. Now, I found out that he was not in good health, so I visited to inquire about his health,” he said.

Making it clear that no political discussions took place between them, the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly said Gowda complained of knee pain and hence was unable to walk freely, and was using a walker.

“He (Gowda) said rest are all normal, including intake of food….he also said that he watches Assembly proceedings on TV… his memory power is very good.”

To a question about the visit being seen as a “shishya meeting his political guru”, Siddaramaiah said, “…he (Gowda) is a senior politician in the country and in the State too. I had come to inquire about his health. We are in different parties, party politics are different, humanity is different and it is important.”

The duo has been considered as political bete-noires since 2006, when Siddaramaiah quit as Deputy Chief Minister and subsequently joined the Congress, after being expelled from the JD(S).

However, the hung verdict in the 2018 Assembly elections had forced both the stalwarts to swallow their pride and join hands to fight for survival, resulting in the formation of Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the State under the leadership of Gowda’s son H D Kumaraswamy.

Following the collapse of the coalition government in 2019 due to internal squabbles, the animosity between the two again surfaced and they publicly criticised each other for the downfall of the partnership.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Monday warned the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that the court might not be shouting at the civic body, but that does not mean it is not serious about ensuring potholes are covered in the city.

The HC also asked BBMP to be honest about its work.

The division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe told the BBMP lawyer, “You convey the sense of urgency. Tell him (BBMP Commissioner) the seriousness of this situation and urgency. If we are not shouting it does not mean we are not serious.”

The BBMP advocate informed the court that the number of potholes being filled up is being updated every day and a total of 2,010 potholes had been filled and only 221 potholes remained till September 14, 2022.

To this, the HC said: “You should be able to tell tentatively by when you can fill it up. You are giving 221 as the number. We ask you to be honest. How many potholes?”

The advocate then informed the court that the 221 potholes were on major roads. After much prompting and asking for the number of potholes on other roads, the court was told that there were approximately 2,500 potholes on arterial roads.

The advocate had earlier told the court that he had no idea of the number of potholes on arterial roads.

“If you have issued tenders, you should have estimated how many potholes are there. How many potholes in arterial roads which you have tendered? What is the approximate number?” the court prodded him before the number of approximately 2,500 was submitted.

The court was also informed that 427.12 kilometres of roads were being resurfaced with hot concrete mix. It would be completed in four months after the work order. The court however demanded a date and it was informed that the work would be completed by January 21, 2023.

Earlier, the court said that not giving an outer time limit for completing the work was improper. “There seems to be no positive statement in your reply,” the court said.

The court further said that it would take things seriously if the deadlines are not met. “Any deviation, we are going to view seriously. You have to seek an application for seeking extension of timeline fixed by us. If we are satisfied that if it is because of circumstance beyond your control,” the time would be extended.

The court also took the BBMP to task about the grievance cells it had set up. The court pointed out that in the “grievance cell some of the numbers have nine digits. Some of the phone numbers are not even working. Is that the type of grievance cell you set up?”

The court was told that it would be looked into.

The proceedings ended with a positive note for the BBMP when the court asked about the website for complaints about potholes.

“You have a website for potholes right? Have you ever used it? Telling us is fine. Anyone in this court has used the website?”

It was the counsel for petitioner who said she had the mobile app and it worked. A pothole was filled and compliance report uploaded. The court said it was glad that the counsel for the petitioner had something positive to say about the BBMP.

The HC has also ordered for the constitution of a three-member committee of officers “who are efficient and who would be able to implement” the filling of potholes and removal of encroachments on stormwater drains (SWDs).

The committee would be constituted by Tuesday and they will file a report to the HC every fortnight. The court said that fixing a deadline was not the end in itself and the real exercise begins after that. Any deviation would incur severe consequence, the court said, adding “Make it clear to them in no uncertain terms”.

Commenting on the lethargy shown by the BBMP removing encroachments of SWDs in Bengaluru, the High Court said “construction takes time, demolition does not take time. That is why we want to know how many encroachments you are removing per day?”

The court also made it clear that it will oversee the removal of encroachments. “No other authority will oversee this. It is the subject matter of this public interest litigation.”

The counsel informed the court that 2,626 encroachments were identified and as on 16-09-2022 a total of 2,024 have been removed and 602 encroachments remain.

“What sort of grievance mechanism do you have in place? Can any citizen file a complaint on the website? Do you upload the action taken report on the website? the court asked. The court was told such a system existed.

The court then sought information about the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report. “Tell us about the CAG report. It was submitted in September 2021. What have you done to implement it?” the court asked.

The court was told: “We are incorporating it in the work we do.” The court then suggested a committee to oversee it.

“What we suggest is you constitute a committee to implement the report of the CAG. That committee should submit us a report periodically,” it said.

The court warned that “if these timelines are not adhered to”, it would pass orders against the authority. The hearing of the PIL was then adjourned to September 30.

New Delhi: Asserting that the hijab is the “identity” of Muslims, senior advocate Dushyant Dave told the Supreme Court on Monday that various acts of ommission and commission like Karnataka’s headscarf controversy showed a “pattern to marginalise the minority community”.

The apex court was hearing arguments on a batch of petitions challenging the Karnataka High Court verdict refusing to lift the ban on hijab in educational institutions of the state that have prescribed uniforms.

“This is not about uniform. I will be able to show to your lordships that by series of acts of commission and acts of omission that have happened, unfortunate incidents, I am not blaming any individual or anybody, but these acts of commission and omission show that there is a pattern to marginalise the minority community,” Dave told a bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia.

Arguing that the country has been built on liberal traditions and religious beliefs, Dave, appearing for some of the petitioners, said the kind of atmosphere being seen today was far removed from being called liberal which we have been for 5,000 years.

“You (the state authority) are passing this resolution ostensibly saying uniform. Actually it is for some other purpose. The whole idea is that how do I tell the minority community that you are not allowed to profess your beliefs, you are not allowed to follow your conscience. You will do what I tell you,” Dave said.

“We have not hurt anybody’s sentiments by wearing hijab. Our identity is hijab,” he asserted.

The senior advocate said the Constitution has always been interpreted liberally and never in a restrictive sense, and the scope and ambit of Articles 19 and 21 have been expanded in every possible way.

While Article 19 of the Constitution deals with protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech etc, Article 21 pertains to protection of life and personal liberty.

Dave said over 10,000 suicide bombings have taken place in the Islamic world, and in India, only one such incident happened in Pulwama. He was referring to the 2019 terrorist attack in Kashmir’s Pulwama where a suicide bomber targeted a convoy of security forces, killing 40 of them and wounding many others.

“That shows that the minority community has placed its faith in us, the majority,” he said.

In the course of arguments, Dave referred to some debates in the Constituent Assembly.

“My question is, to what extent the Constituent Assembly debates can be relied upon to interpret the provisions of the Constitution,” asked Justice Hemant Gupta.

“My respectful answer to that is, to full extent,” Dave said.

Dave also asked does wearing hijab amount to threatening the unity or integrity of the country.

“That nobody is saying,” the bench said, adding, “That even the judgment (of the high court) does not say.”

During the arguments, which would continue on Tuesday, the bench also asked about religious practices.

Dave said religious practice is what the community practises as part of its religious belief.

The bench observed that traditionally, whenever a person used to go to a respected place, he or she would cover their heads.

“In my respectful submission, school is the most respected place. It is a place of worship,” Dave responded, adding even the prime Minister wears a head gear on August 15.

The Karnataka government’s order of February 5, 2022 by which it banned wearing clothes that disturb equality, integrity, and public order in schools and colleges, was referred to in the apex court.

Several pleas have been filed in the top court against the March 15 verdict of the high court holding that wearing hijab is not a part of the essential religious practice which can be protected under Article 25 of the Constitution.

The high court had dismissed the pleas filed by a section of Muslim students from the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi, seeking permission to wear hijab inside the classroom.

Challenging the February 5 order of the government, the petitioners had argued before the high court that wearing the Islamic headscarf was an innocent practice of faith and an essential religious practice and not a display of religious jingoism.