The Lok Sabha on Wednesday was adjourned for the day after paying tributes to the late DMK President M. Karunanidhi.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan read out an obituary reference and paid homage to the late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.

Karunanidhi, 94, passed away on Tuesday.

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday said the Madras High Court judgement to allow the burial of DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi at Marina Beach was a “setback for proxy callers”.

“Huge setback for proxy callers of Delhi Durbar conspiring to deny Anna his rightful burial place. Rahulji strongly supported the idea of a memorial for Karunanidhi at Marina. Why are central/state governments silent?” Surjewala tweeted.

“Huge victory of justice for DMK. Long live Anna,” he added.

The DMK had approached the high court after the Tamil Nadu government declined their request to allow burial of DMK President and the state’s five-time Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who breathed his last on Tuesday evening, at Marina Beach.

The party won the legal battle on Wednesday.

Former Prime Minister and senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh expressed his condolence on the death of DMK President M. Karunanidhi and wrote to his son M.K Stalin saying that the country has lost a versatile genius.

“In his death, our country has lost a versatile genius who was an outstanding artist, an eminent writer and a true leader who always stood for the cause of poor and downtrodden classes of the society,” he said.

Singh also added that he was an exceptional public servant who was a very able administrator and served the nation and Tamil Nadu with “great distinction in diverse capacities”.

“I respected Thiru. Karunanidhi deeply who had a special affection towards me and whenever I went to Chennai, I tried to find time to meet him personally there. His services to the nation will be remembered for many years to come,” he added.

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala also expressed grief over Karunanidhi’s demise saying that he was “repository of federalism in India”.

“Karunanidhi was the harbinger of politics of deprived and politics of the poor in the state of Tamil Nadu. He represented scientific temper and creation of a casteless society. He led people of Tamil Nadu and shaped the destiny of the state,” he said.

Karunanidhi, 94, passed away on Tuesday evening. He was admitted to the hospital on July 28 and his condition worsened on Monday.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi will visit Jaipur in Rajasthan for a day on August 11, the party said on Monday.

During his visit, he will address the PCC delegates, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) President Sachin Pilot.said.

On Monday, a meeting called by Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi was attended by former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Pilot and state party in charge Avinash Pandey to discuss strategies and poll preparations for the Assembly elections this year and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

According to Pandey, Gandhi directed the party leaders to avoid issuing any statement on the chief ministerial face for the Assembly polls. “No matter how senior a leader, any unwanted comments on to-be CM face will not be tolerated,” Gandhi is said to have warned those present.

The Congress leaders will sit together after elections to zero on the Chief Minister’s name and the Assembly elections will be contested under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, Pandey added.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that the shelter home incidents in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are “sad and shameful” and assured the House that steps would be taken to prevent recurrence of such acts.

“I direct the concerned ministry to issue an advisory to all states so that no such incident is repeated. Running shelter homes can be investigated,” Singh assured the opposition.

“Whatever happened in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh is sad and shameful,” he said during the question hour.

However, there was again an uproar after the Union Minister praised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government for taking “concrete steps” after the incident in the Deoria shelter home surfaced.

“He (Adityanath) called a meeting of all the officers and directed them to take strict action. The District Planning Officer was suspended and the managers of the shelter home were arrested,” Rajnath Singh said.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said: “The issue is being raised in the House consecutively for three days, let us have a parliamentary panel to inspect and submit a report.”

Opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party staged a walkout demanding an impartial probe into both Deoria and Muzaffarpur shelter home rapes.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said: “These incidents are very unfortunate. All the concerned members should take appropriate action on such incidents in their constituencies.”

Both shelter home horrors sparked a political storm in Parliament after the cases revealed sordid tales of women being abused at these places.

A total of 24 girls were rescued from the shelter home in Deoria late on Sunday after one of them told the police that they were being sexually abused.

Officials told IANS that 18 girls were missing from the privately-run shelter home which earlier got funds from the government. Its affiliation to the Women and Child Welfare Department was cancelled in 2017 after a CBI probe revealed some discrepancies.

At least 34 minor girls were raped at the Muzaffarpur shelter home. The crime came to light in July when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR based on a social audit of the shelter home conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Justice Indira Banerjee, Justice Vineet Saran and Justice K.M. Joseph on Tuesday were sworn in as Supreme Court judges.

They were administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

The swearing in took place amidst a raging controversy over the government relegating Justice Joseph to the third position in the order of seniority even though he was recommended for elevation way back on January 10.

His recommendation was reiterated on July 17 after the government had returned it for reconsideration by the Supreme Court collegium.

With three new judges joining, the strength of the top court judges is now 28 as against the sanctioned strength of 31.

It is for the first time that the Supreme Court has three sitting woman judges — Justice R. Banumathi, Justice Indu Malhotra and Justice Indira Banerjee.

Justice Banerjee is the seventh woman judge of the Supreme Court, first being Justice Fatima Beevi, followed by Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Ranjana Desai, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, Justice R. Banumathi and Justice Indu Malhotra.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Tuesday batted for reservation in government jobs for the economically weaker upper castes and Muslims and other minorities.

She said if the Modi government brought a Bill to give 18 percent or more reservation to the poor from the upper castes, Muslims and other minority groups, her party will be the first to support it.

Welcoming the passage of The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018 in the Lok Sabha, the four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also expressed hope that the Bill will sail through the Rajya Sabha comfortably.

She, however, credited the pressure built by her party and the sacrificeS of the Dalits who participated in the April 2 ‘Bharat Bandh’ for the development.

“The voice of the Dalits and the marginalized along with the BSP cadres forced the government at the Centre to bring in this Bill,” Mayawati said.

She pointed out how an NDA Minister (Ram Vilas Paswan) was forced to announce a sit-in to compel the government to act against the dilution of the SC/ST Act by the Supreme Court.

She, however, slammed other leaders of parties in the National Democratic Alliance government for keeping mum on the issue that was close to the heart of millions of Dalits.

An Indian Army Major and three soldiers were killed in a gun battle that also left two militants dead on Tuesday when an incursion bid from Pakistan was foiled on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, a defence official said.

Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said a group of militants tried to infiltrate to this side of the LoC in Bandipora’s Gurez sector, some 180 km north of Srinagar.

“They were challenged when they were seen attempting to infiltrate into our side of the LoC. In the ensuing encounter, two terrorists were killed while two others are still trapped in the cordon laid around them.

“Four soldiers including a major and three other ranks were martyred in this operation,” Kalia said.

Sources said para commandos were rushed to augment the troops engaged in the gunfight on the border sector that usually remains peaceful.

The identities of the dead soldiers were being withheld till their families are informed.

The spokesman said the militants were given cover fire by the Pakistan Army by resorting to ceasefire violation to divert the attention of the troops on the LoC.

The condition of ailing DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi has “declined” and keeping his vital organs functioning remains a “challenge”, Kauvery Hospital said today, indicating the next 24 hours could be crucial.

The 94-year-old five-time Tamil Nadu chief minister was being continuously monitored and treated with active medical support, a press release issued by the hospital said. “There has been a decline in the medical condition of DMK president and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

Maintaining his vital organ functions continues to remain a challenge considering his age-related ailments,” it said. “His response to the medical interventions over the next 24 hours will determine the prognosis,” Executive Director of the Hospital Dr Aravindan Selvaraj said in the terse two-paragraph release.

Soon after the news of a decline in Karunanidhi’s condition spread, hundreds of his supporters gathered outside the hospital, including a large number of women, some failing to control their tears, others waving at the TV cameras, preparing for an overnight vigil at the facility in downtown Alwarpet.

Karunanidhi was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital on July 28 following a dip in blood pressure, which stabilized following medical intervention. The hospital had, however, said on July 31 that an extended stay could be necessary due to age-related overall decline in his general health, altered liver function, and hematological parameters.

A host of dignitaries and political leaders, including President Ram Nath Kovind Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi have visited the hospital over the last few days to inquire about the condition of the DMK veteran.