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.