Archives for 2022

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee

New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry informed the wife of ailing Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee about the government’s decision to give him Padma Bhushan before announcing his name and no one from his family objected to it, official sources said Tuesday night, after the former chief minister of West Bengal refused the award.

Soon after the veteran CPI(M) leader announced he has rejected the Modi government’s decision to give him the country’s third-highest civilian award, official sources said that a top official of the home ministry had called Bhattacharjee’s home early Tuesday morning.

The former chief minister’s wife picked up the phone as he has been unwell and she was conveyed the central government’s decision to name him as one of the Padma awardees this year.

Bhattacharjee’s wife told the top official that she would inform him about it.

No one from Bhattacharjee’s family got back to the home ministry about his unwillingness to accept the Padma award.

The home ministry always calls up the prospective awardees about the decision to give the Padma awards before announcing the names. If anyone conveys any objection, he or she is not named, sources said.

Since no one from the Bhattacharjee household got back to the home ministry throughout the day, his name was announced late in the evening as one of the Padma awardees, they said.

In a statement, the former chief minister said, “I know nothing about this award. No one has told me anything about it. If they have decided to offer Padma Bhushan to me, I refuse to accept it.”

Bhopal: Police on Tuesday evening registered an FIR in Bhopal against unidentified sellers on e-commerce giant Amazon after it emerged that some products, including shoes, featuring images of the Indian flag were being sold on its platform in contravention of rules, an official said.

The action came hours after Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said the government has directed the police to register an FIR against officials of Amazon and its owner for allegedly selling products with images or imprint of the tricolour on them.

Amazon faced the ire of a section of Indian social media users over merchandising some products, including apparel and food items, that feature images of the Indian flag, with some saying that using the tricolour in such a way was an insult and a violation of the country’s flag code.

“It has come to my notice that our national flag is being used on products being sold by the online e-commerce platform Amazon. It (the national flag) has been used on shoes… this can not be tolerated,” Mishra, who is the state government spokesman, told reporters here. Prima facie, it is a violation of the National Flag Code, he said.

“I have directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to file an FIR against Amazon’s officials and owner,” Mishra added.

In the evening, Bhopal police’s Crime Branch registered a case against unidentified sellers on the Amazon platform on the basis of a compliant filed by a city resident.

Following a complaint, Bhopal’s Crime Branch has registered an FIR under section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act and section 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code (related to public mischief) against unidentified sellers on Amazon and taking further steps, Bhopal Police Commissioner Makrand Deuskar told PTI.

The FIR, quoting the 26-year-old complainant, said the unidentified sellers have posted products, including T-shirts, mugs and shoes with the national flag printed on them on Amazon, which has hurt the sentiments of countrymen and insulted the tricolour.

This is not the first time that the MP home minister has directed the police to take legal action against Amazon.

Last November, Mishra had ordered the filing of an FIR against officials of Amazon over the suicide of a youth from MP who allegedly obtained poisonous sulphas (used as an agricultural fumigant and is poisonous) tablets through the e-commerce site.

In another instance, the police in Bhind district had registered an FIR against unnamed officials of Amazon India after busting a gang that allegedly supplied ganja under the guise of selling stevia (a natural sweetener) through the e-commerce portal. Amazon had on Monday said it remains committed to take necessary action against sellers who may have listed any non-compliant products.

Amazon.in is an online marketplace where third-party sellers offer products for sale directly to customers, and as such is responsible for ensuring compliances associated with the sale of these products, it said.

“We require all products offered on the marketplace to comply with applicable laws and constantly take appropriate action on non-compliance. Amazon remains committed to taking necessary action against sellers who may have listed any non-compliant products,” the company said.

Late CDS Gen Bipin Rawat and former UP CM Kalyan Singh

New Delhi: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister late Kalyan Singh and India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat who died in a helicopter crash recently were awarded Padma Vibhushan on Tuesday, while veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and former West Bengal CM and CPI(M) leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee were given Padma Bhushan.

Cyrus Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India, which manufactured COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, and Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella of Bharat Biotech, which produced India’s indigenous coronavirus vaccine Covaxin, were also given Padma Bhushan.

Kalyan Singh and General Rawat were given Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second-highest civilian award, posthumously.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai were conferred Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award.

Late Punjabi folk singer Gurmeet Bawa, actor Victor Banerjee and former Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi have been awarded Padma Bhushan.

Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra and singer Sonu Nigam were awarded Padma Shri.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the President approved conferment of 128 Padma Awards, including two duo cases, this year. In a duo case, the award is counted as one.

Subedar Neeraj Chopra

New Delhi: Subedar Neeraj Chopra, who created history last year by winning India’s first athletics gold medal in Olympics, was awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal on Tuesday for his distinguished service.

Chopra, a Subedar with the 4 Rajputana Rifles in the Indian Army, had produced a second-round throw of 87.58m in the javelin throw finals at Tokyo Olympics in August 2021 to win the gold medal.

The Indian Army on Tuesday released a “list of Army personnel awarded for their gallantry and distinguished service on the occasion of Republic Day 2022”.

Along with Chopra, 18 other serving and retired personnel of the Indian Army have been awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal.

Chopra was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2018 and Vishist Seva Medal (VSM) in 2020 for his excellence in sports.

Chopra was enrolled into the 4 Rajputana Rifles as a Naib Subedar on May 15, 2016.

After joining the Army, he was selected for training at the ‘Mission Olympics Wing’ as well as at the Army Sports Institute, Pune.

The Mission Olympics Wing is an initiative by the Indian Army to identify and train promising sportspersons in 11 disciplines for various national and international competitions.

New Delhi: Soon after its leader and former union minister RPN Singh quit the party and joined the BJP, the Congress on Tuesday said it is fighting an ideological battle in which only those with courage can carry on and not cowards.

Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said Singh was ”not fully committed” towards the party’s ideology and that is why he left this fight midway to join the saffron party.

Another Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the Congress is fighting against the arrogance of the current government and its agencies.

“To fight this battle for truth and ideals, one needs strength and courage and cowards cannot fight this battle,” Shrinate said.

Former union minister RPN Singh resigned from the party and joined the BJP, saying he wants to contribute to the nation’s development while reposing faith in PM Narendra Modi.

He announced on Twitter that he was starting his new political journey.

Singh is also the party in-charge of Jharkhand affairs where the Congress is in power along with the JMM.

Amba Prasad, a Congress MLA in Jharkhand also accused Singh of destabilising the Congress-JMM government in the state.

“For more than a year, RPN Singh ji was trying to overthrow the Congress-JMM government of Jharkhand by colluding with the BJP. The party leadership was also constantly warned about this. Every true Congressman of Jharkhand is happy with his going to the BJP,” Prasad said in a tweet in Hindi.

Singh was only yesterday included in the list of the party’s 30 star campaigners for the first phase of the assembly election in Uttar Pradesh.

He is yet another high-profile leader to desert the Congress after Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasada quit and joined the BJP earlier.

Shrinate said the battle of ideology that the Congress is putting up across the country, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, requires fighting the government’s resources and agencies.

“For a battle as strongly pitched as this one, you have to fight it with courage and you have to fight it with a lot of dedication. I don’t think this is meant for the coward,” she said

Vallabh while giving best wishes to Singh said had he been fully committed to the Congress ideology, he would not have joined the party which he has been fighting against.

Congress leaders felt that his quitting would not make a difference to the party in the upcoming assembly polls and its battle of ideology against the BJP.

“Today, at a time, we are celebrating the formation of our great Republic, I begin a new chapter in my political journey. Jai Hind,” Singh said on Twitter.

RPN Singh in a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, said, “I hereby tender my resignation from the primary membership of the Congress party with immediate effect.”

“I thank you for providing me an opportunity to serve the nation, the people and the party,” he also said.

“This is a new beginning for me and I look forward to my contribution to nation-building under the visionary leadership and guidance of the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, BJP President Shri JP Nadda ji & Honourable Home Minister Amit Shah ji,” he later said in a tweet.

Sources said he was upset with the party leadership over his close associates being denied party tickets in Uttar Pradesh.

Singh is a former MP from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh and has served as Union Minister of State for Home Affairs.

He hails from Padrauna and is a scion of the royal family there.

RPN Singh has earlier contested and represented the Padrauna assembly constituency. He may contest from the seat once again.

He had also defeated Swami Prasad Mourya, who recently quit the BJP and joined the Samajwadi Party, from the Kushinagar Lok Sabha seat in 2009.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed concern over low voting percentage, especially in urban areas considered educated and prosperous, and said this should change in a vibrant democracy like India.

In an interaction with BJP workers from across the country, Modi also raised the issues of “one nation, one election” and “one nation, one voters’ list”, saying that continuous cycle of elections result in politics being seen in everything while development works suffer.

His address coincided with the National Voters’ Day on Tuesday.

While noting that the voting percentage rose from 45 per cent in the first Lok Sabha polls in 1951-52 to 67 per cent in 2019, he said the rise in woman voters participation was a good thing, but added that everyone from citizens to members of different political parties should think over low polling.

It is seen that urban areas, which are considered educated and prosperous, have low polling, he said, lamenting that their residents discuss elections on social media but don’t go to vote.

Modi asked the BJP’s “panna pramukhs” and other ground workers to work to ensure 75 per cent polling in every election.

Polling is the most sacred donation to strengthen democracy, the prime minister said, lauding the Election Commission for its several initiatives to increase polling.

Referring to the recently passed legislation which seeks voters to link their Aadhaar number and voter ID, he said it will boost transparency.

Pushing for discussion on “one nation, one election” and “one nation, one voters’ list”, he said let different point of views emerge.

Even this interaction with BJP “panna pramukhs”, those in charge of one page of voters list of a booth is linked to elections, he said, adding that he had been planning such an interaction for some time.

Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur will be held in seven phases beginning next month.

The audio interaction was earlier meant only for Gujarat BJP workers but was later expanded to include party members from different parts of the country.

Modi has often pushed for holding elections, from that of Lok Sabha, to state assemblies and local bodies, simultaneously, saying frequent polls hamper development works and make people impute political motives every step of a government.

On the National Voters’ Day, held to mark the Election Commission’s foundation in 1950, Modi praised the poll watchdog and noted it enjoys wide support from different political parties and institution.

The EC also enjoys powers like issuing notices and transferring officers, that its counterparts in other democracies do not, he said, noting that the makers of the Constitution knew that a lively democracy was possible only when there is a strong and unbiased electoral process.

In his address, Modi also urged BJP workers to run campaign with people’s participation against malnutrition so that a healthy India emerges by 2047, the centenary year of its independence.

He also asked them to get more and more to connect with the BJP through its micro donation exercise.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Henceforth, all Delhi government offices will carry photos of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh, and no pictures of any political leader, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday.

Kejriwal, also the Aam Aadmi Party chief, made the announcement during the Delhi government’s Republic Day programme. He said the government offices will henceforth not even have the chief minister’s picture.

During his speech, the chief minister said he is most inspired by Ambedkar, who was born in a Dalit family and went on to head the drafting committee of India’s Constitution, and Bhagat Singh, a revolutionary freedom fighter, as they charted different courses for a common purpose.

I announce today that in every office of the Delhi government, pictures of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh will be put up. Now, we will not put up pictures of politicians, including the chief minister, Kejriwal said.

The Delhi government will function on the principles of these two freedom fighters, he stated.

Kejriwal said he felt amazed every time he thought about how Ambedkar would have even applied to Columbia University and then went to the London School of Economics when there was no internet, around 100 years ago.

He then played a crucial role in writing the country’s Constitution and became the first law minister.

The chief minister said Ambedkar had a dream that every child should get the best education. But even after 75 years of Independence, we could not fulfil this. Today, on Republic Day, we all pledge to fulfil this dream, Kejriwal said.

In the context of elections in Punjab and other states, the AAP convenor said the country can be taken forward only when everyone gets a good education and not by tall poll promises.

India can become number one only when every child gets a good education. There is no shortcut. No matter how big promises are made in elections it is a long route. We will have to toil hard and to ensure good education to every child is a key step towards this, Kejriwal said.

In his 26-minute-long speech, Kejriwal largely spoke on issues related to revolutionary changes in the education system done by his government.

He said that in 2015, the AAP government set aside 25 per cent of the budget for education and started improving infrastructure at schools. Teachers were sent to IIMs and foreign countries for training.

It yielded good results as this year the pass percentage in Class 12 is 99.6 per cent, he said.

Kejriwal said the government is now moving to the next step in the education sector and is working on three things happiness curriculum to make students good human beings; entrepreneurship classes from Class 9 to impart business acumen in students; and Deshbhakti’ classes to instil a sense of patriotism in them.

If Babasaheb’s soul is looking at us from wherever it is, it must be blessing us. Had Babasaheb been alive today, he would have embraced us, Kejriwal said.

The chief minister said revolutionary changes in schools can be gauged from the fact that Melania Trump, wife of former US president Donald Trump, had visited a Delhi government school during her trip to India.

It is a big feat and a certificate to our efforts in making revolutionary changes in school education, he said.

Juhi Chawla

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Tuesday proposed to reduce from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 lakh the costs imposed on actress Juhi Chawla and two others by a single judge while dismissing her plea against 5G roll out, with a condition that she would have to do some work for public cause, considering that she is a celebrity and has presence in public.

Chawla’s counsel, senior advocate Salman Khurshid, on instructions from her, consented to the court’s suggestion which came during the hearing of an appeal by Chawla and the two others against the order dismissing her lawsuit against the 5G roll out.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh issued notice to the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) secretary seeking his response on the appeal and listed the matter for further hearing on January 27.

Khurshid submitted that if the cost amount could be waived, they could go back to pursue the cause.

To this, the bench proposed to the counsel that it could reduce the cost amount but this would come with a condition that Chawla would have to do some public work.

We will not waive the cost completely but we can reduce it substantially from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. But that comes with a condition. Considering your client is a celebrity and has presence in public, so she should do some public work also. Her image and position may be utilised by the society for some public work, some good campaign and good purpose also.

Will she do it? She could do a programme for DSLSA here. DSLSA people will contact her and they could work out something and she can feature in it and could promote, the bench said.

Khurshid said it would be an honour for her and it would be a life time opportunity and sought a passover to take instructions from the actress on it.

After some time, he informed the bench that the actress was grateful to the court for making this suggestion and she was agreeable to it.

He also said if the court could find a way of taking care of the negative impact, which the press reports make sometimes, it would help her.

While issuing notice to the DSLSA, the bench said it was not inclined to issue notice to other respondents at this stage, considering that the plaint has been returned to the appellants following the single judge’s order and their primary grievance is relating to payment of Rs 20 lakh costs amount to the DSLSA.

Regarding the prayer to exempt them from payment of court fees, the high court asked why should there be an exception and it is not that the actress does not have means to pay it.

Everyone pays the court fees, she also has to pay it. It is not that the amount is exorbitant. We are not going to change it. Everyone has to follow the discipline of the court, the bench said.

Khurshid urged the court to allow them to voluntarily deposit the court fees, which would be returned to them, in the account of the DSLSA.

In June last year, the single judge had described the lawsuit by Chawla and two others against 5G roll out as “defective”, “abuse of process of law” and filed for “gaining publicity” while dismissing it with costs of Rs 20 lakh.

In the appeal before the division bench of the high court, the actress and other appellants have contended that the single judge dismissed the plea and imposed costs without any jurisdiction and contrary to the settled law.

It is claimed that a plaint can be dismissed only after it has been allowed to be registered as a suit.

The appellants have further reiterated their concerns surrounding the harmful impact of 5G technology and submitted, Every day that the 5G trials are allowed to continue constitutes a distinct and imminent danger to the health of the people who reside in the vicinity of the area where the trials are being conducted.

In the lawsuit, the appellants had claimed that if the telecom industry’s plans for 5G come to fruition, no person, animal, bird, insect and plant on earth will be able to avoid exposure, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to levels of RF radiation that are 10x to 100x times greater than what exists today .

It had sought a direction to the authorities to certify to the public at large how 5G technology is safe to humans, animals and every type of living organism, flora and fauna.

While dismissing the lawsuit, the single judge had said the plaint in which questions have been raised about health hazards due to the 5G technology was “not maintainable” and was “stuffed with unnecessary Scandalous, frivolous and vexatious averments” which are liable to be struck down.

The single judge had said the suit filed by actress-environmentalist and others was to gain publicity which was clear as Chawla circulated the video conferencing link of the hearing on her social media account which resulted in the repeated disruptions thrice by unknown miscreants who continued disruptions despite repeated warnings.