NEW DELHI: The  Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept the Rajinder Nagar Assembly bypoll in Delhi with a margin of over 11,000 votes. AAP’s Durgesh Pathak got 55.76 per cent votes, defeating BJP’s Rajesh Bhatia, who secured 39.92 per cent votes, Congress got 2.79 per cent votes, AAP leaders, including the party’s national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, congratulated Pathak over his victory, tweeting, “Heartfelt thanks to the people of Rajendra Nagar. I am grateful for this immense affection and love of the people of Delhi. This inspires us to work harder and serve.” 

The bypoll to the Assembly seat had taken place on June 23 with a significantly low turnout at 43.75 per cent as compared to 2020 polls.  

Although 14 candidates were in fray,  the constituency was largely seen as a battle ground between AAP and BJP. The bypoll was necessitated in the wake of AAP’s Raghav Chadha leaving the seat after being elected to Rajya Sabha. 

RANCHI: Twenty-seven students have been booked for allegedly assaulting 40 inmates during ragging at a tribal welfare boys’ hostel in Dumka. According to the FIR lodged at the Town Police Station, senior students summoned their juniors separately in groups of four at around 1 am and assaulted them overnight in semi-naked condition.

The FIR further states that the juniors were targeted for failing to oblige the seniors by organising a feast and inviting them to relish chicken curry and rice. Meanwhile, a probe has been initiated into the matter and the arrests will be done accordingly.

“Looking at the seriousness of the matter, we have registered an FIR with 27 named accused and an investigation has been initiated in this regard. So far, no arrest has been done as the investigation is going on,” said Dumka SP Amber Lakra. Action will be taken against those who will be found involved directly, he added.

The junior undergraduate students, who are inmates of the tribal welfare hostel number five located in SP College premises, had submitted their joint complaint to the police on Saturday. “All of a sudden in the midnight on June 22, seniors knocked at my door and asked me to come with them forcefully. As soon as I entered their room, the light was switched off and they stated thrashing me as they do it in south Indian movies. When I asked them the reason, they said we were being beaten up for not doing ‘Dobu Johar’ (greeting) ,” said one of the juniors, Gabriel Hambrom.

Another junior told that they were asked to get inside room number 101 separately in a group of four and assaulted badly in semi-naked condition. “The seniors, while assaulting us, were saying repeatedly that why we did not invite them for the feast organised after winning the ‘poultry chicken,” said Vimal Murmu, adding that they were all stripped before being beaten up black and blue. According to seniors, juniors have forgotten the gesture of greeting their seniors, he added.

In the last few months, Karnataka was caught in numerous emotive and communal issues. Many even wondered if that would escalate further in the run-up to the 2023 polls. While it is too early to predict how things will pan out in the next few months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attempted to bring back a positive and developmental narrative into the political discourse in the state.

The PM spoke the language that Bengaluru wanted to hear, set a 40-month deadline for completing the Bengaluru Sub Urban Rail project, and emphasized ‘Brand Bengaluru’s importance. With the election tempo slowly gaining momentum, the public meeting looked like the first of many such big rallies by top leaders. The PM made a pitch for the double-engine Sarkar to ensure a smooth ride on the development path while taking potshots at the opposition for delaying key projects.

The timing of the PM’s development push is crucial. It comes at a time when issues like Hijab, Halal, restrictions on the use of loudspeakers, school textbooks revision row, irregularities in police sub-inspectors recruitment, contractors allegations of 40 per cent commission and other issues have almost shadowed Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s efforts to portray development as his government’s top agenda.

The CM often says that they will go before the people in elections with a report on the government’s performance. But caught between fringe groups pushing their agenda and the aggressive opposition fighting hard to regain its lost ground, the government seems to be in a firefighting mode to deal with the controversies.

While the Opposition will make all efforts to put the administration on the defensive, the last few months of the tenure will be more crucial for the government to implement all budget proposals, fast-track development works and keep controversies at bay.  

Bengaluru’s infrastructure, which is struggling to keep pace with the city’s growth, seems to be one of the pain points for the government. Pothole-ridden roads, water-logging in low-lying areas and on roads, and peak-hour traffic congestion should be addressed as a priority. The government needs to have a long-term vision for Bengaluru, which is considered the engine of India’s economic growth. The lack of a long-term vision by successive governments is telling.

Those in the government need to showcase their acumen and dynamism to address immediate challenges and put in place a long-term vision for the development of the city as well as the state. On the political front, the government and the ruling party should build on the positive narrative set by the PM and give further momentum to it.

Staying the course on the development agenda and taking everyone along is as crucial for BJP as it is for Congress, which is often daubed as a faction-ridden party. After its good show in the Rajya Sabha polls, in which it managed to win three out of four seats, the ruling party’s performance in the Legislative Council elections from the Graduates and Teachers Constituencies was not very encouraging. It was a signal that emotive issues failed to strike a chord with educated voters.

The BJP managed to retain two out of the total four seats. The real concern is that it failed to retain a seat in the Lingayat stronghold of North Karnataka and did not succeed in its efforts to strengthen its hold in Old Mysuru. The principal opposition party Congress made significant gains in both the seats, despite its share of challenges.

The party will be hoping to ride on its newfound confidence in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) polls and the assembly elections. The BJP in Karnataka needs to learn a lesson from the flimsy tar that came off Bengaluru roads as soon PM Modi left the city. They should not replay that by removing themselves from the development narrative.

MUMBAI: With dissident Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde staying put in Guwahati for the last five days, the party is preparing for a legal battle amid the crisis, a Sena MP said on Sunday.

Devdutt Kamat, the legal advisor-cum-counsel for Shiv Sena, said the Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly has full powers to adjudicate in the absence of the Speaker- the post is lying vacant.

A day earlier, the Maharashtra legislature secretariat had issued ‘summons’ to 16 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, including senior minister Eknath Shinde, seeking written replies by the evening of June 27 to the complaints seeking their disqualification.

“A legislature party is not supreme and majority in the legislature party has no meaning (if) it is formed from the original party,” Kamat told reporters flanked by Shiv Sena chief spokesman and Lok Sabha MP Arvind Sawant.

“We are preparing for a legal battle,” Sawant said.

Kamat said disqualification proceedings have been initiated against 16 rebel MLAs as per para 2.1.A of the 10th schedule of the Constitution.

“Several verdicts of the Supreme Court had shown that actions of legislators outside the House amount to the anti-party activity and they are liable to be disqualified. They haven’t responded to the party directives to attend meetings convened,” he said.

When asked about the options available for the dissident group of MLAs, Kamat said disqualification applies to them until they merge with another political outfit.

“The governor can call for a floor test on the advice of the chief minister,” he said.

Addressing a virtual press conference from Guwahati on Saturday, rebel MLA Deepak Kesarkar had said the rebel group enjoys a two-thirds majority in the legislature party and will prove its strength in the House but will not merge with any other political party.

Kamat said the concept of a merger was introduced in 2003.

Earlier, Zirwal had acknowledged the appointment of Ajay Chaudhary as the new legislature party leader of Shiv Sena, replacing Eknath Shinde.

The rebel MLAs have asserted that they are Shivsainiks of Bal Thackeray and demanded that party president Uddhav Thackeray walk out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and revive ties with BJP.

RANCHI: Congress candidate Shilpi Neha Tirkey has become the youngest MLA in Jharkhand Assembly, by winning the Mandar by-poll. She defeated her nearest rival, BJP candidate Gangotri Kujur, by over 23,500 votes. This is fourth consecutive victory by the ruling alliance in the by-polls in the state.

Tirkey received 95,062 votes while BJP candidate Gangotri Kujur secured 71,545 votes. AIMIM candidate Dev Kumar Dhan was at number three with 22,395 votes.

With this, the number of women Congress MLAs in the Assembly has gone up to five. After the disqualification of former Mandar MLA Bandhu Tirkey from Jharkhand Assembly, Congress fielded his daughter Shilpi Neha Tirkey from the seat. The seat is reserved for tribals. There were a total of 14 candidates in the fray for the Mandar Assembly by-election.

NEW DELHI: India logged 17,073 new coronavirus infections, raising its tally to 4,34,07,046, while the daily positivity crossed 5 per cent after over four months, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

The death toll climbed to 5,25,020 with 21 fresh fatalities, data updated at 8 am by the ministry stated. The active cases increased to 94,420, comprising 0.22 per cent of the total infections.

The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.57 per cent, the ministry said. An increase of 1,844 cases was recorded in the active COVID-19 case count in a span of 24 hours, as per the data.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 5.62 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 3.39 per cent, it stated. The daily positivity crossed 5 per cent after a gap of 139 days.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,27,87,606, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent.

According to the ministry, 197.11 crore doses of vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 inoculation drive.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore cases on May 4, 2021, three crore on June 23 and four crore cases on January 25 this year.

The 21 new fatalities include six from Kerala, five from Maharashtra, four from Delhi, two each from Goa and Punjab and one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, the data stated.

CHENNAI: Inspecting contact tracing at an apartment complex in Navalur, Health Minister Ma Subramanian, on Saturday, cautioned the public about the increasing number of Covid-19 cases.“The country reported more than 17,000 cases in the last 24 hours (Friday till Saturday). This is the highest number of infections in India in the last four months. It is high time the public adhered to Covid-appropriate behaviour,” Subramanian said.

He said all affected people were being given necessary medical help and steps to control the spread were being taken.“The complex has more than 1,000 houses and RT-PCR tests are being done. A special camp has been organised in the area for those who are not vaccinated,” he said.Of the 5,912 active cases (as of Saturday evening) in Tamil Nadu, 92% are in home isolation and 8% in hospitals. 

The health minister said most patients admitted to hospitals in the State did not need oxygen or severe medication. However, it is important for the public to stay safe.Over 50 centres have 24-hour vaccination facilities in the State and the next mega vaccination drive will be conducted on July 10.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that during the Emergency imposed in 1975 attempts were made to “crush democracy” in India, and asserted that it is difficult to find another such example in the world where people defeated a “dictatorial mindset” through democratic means.javascript:false

In his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi recalled the Emergency imposed by the then Indira Gandhi-led government and said all rights were “snatched away” during that time.

Emergency was announced in the country on June 25, 1975 when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister, and was lifted on March 21, 1977.

“During the Emergency, all rights were snatched away. Among these rights was the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. At that time, attempts were made to crush democracy in India, the country’s courts, every constitutional institution, press, everything was brought under control,” Modi said.

He said censorship was so stringent that nothing could be published without approval. “I remember, when famous singer Kishore Kumar ji refused to praise the government, he was banned, he was not allowed on radio,” the prime minister said.

Despite several attempts, thousands of arrests and atrocities on millions, the faith of Indians in democracy could not be shaken, he asserted.

“The democratic values ingrained in us since centuries, the spirit of democracy that flows in our veins, ultimately triumphed,” Modi said. Through democratic means, people of India got rid of the Emergency and restored democracy, he said.

“It is difficult to find an example like this in the world of defeating the dictatorial mindset through democratic means,” Modi said.

“I was fortunate to be a witness as well as a participant in the struggle of our countrymen during the Emergency. Today, when the country is celebrating 75 years of its Independence, we must not forget the dark period of Emergency. Future generations also must not forget it,” he said.

A day after a Supreme Court bench observed that people with vested interest had sought keep the 2002 post-Godhra riots pot boiling and suggested action against them, the police arrested activist Teesta Setalvad and former Gujarat DGP R B Sreekumar in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, respectively, on Saturday. The Gujarat Police had sent its Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to Mumbai to arrest Setalvad.

The court’s ruling was widely read as pointing towards Setalvad’s NGO, Citizens for Justice and Peace, which worked extensively with many victims, including petitioner Zakia Jafri, whose family was a victim of the Gulbarg Society massacre. Setlavad was a co-petitioner in the case.

Earlier in the day, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested former Sreekumar after registering a complaint and conducting a preliminary inquiry. The complaint named Sanjeev Bhatt, Sreekumar and Setalvad as accused, adding they misrepresented information, damaged the image of Gujarat and abused the legal process. According to the complaint, they had created a situation where false evidence was thrown against the SIT, the trial court, the Gujarat High Court and the Supreme Court.

The entire operation to arrest Setalvad was kept secret. The Crime Branch sent a team to Mumbai early in the morning to catch her by surprise. Former IPS officer Bhatt is currently serving his sentence in Palanpur Jail in connection with a custodial death case. The Crime Branch is expected to arrest him any time now.

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday posted a tweet targetting the rebel MLAs of the party, in which he said that however long they may “hide” in Assam’s Guwahati, they will ultimately have to come to “chowpatty”, a reference to Mumbai.

“How long will you hide in Guwahati, you will have to come to chowpatty,” the Sena MP tweeted in Hindi along with a photo of the state Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal looking into the distance.

Key government establishments, including the Mantralaya (state secretariat), Vidhan Bhavan (legislature complex), Raj Bhavan and the chief minister’s official bungalow ‘Varsha’ are located in the vicinity of the Girgaum beach, which is also known the Girgaum chowpatty, in south Mumbai.

Majority of Shiv Sena MLAs have shifted their loyalty to minister Eknath Shinde and are currently camping in Guwahati, plunging the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who heads the Sena, into a crisis.

The Maharashtra legislature secretariat had on Saturday issued ‘summons’ to 16 of the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, including Shinde, seeking written replies by the evening of June 27 to the complaints seeking their disqualification.

The party’s national executive has authorised Uddhav Thackeray to take action against the rebel MLAs.