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BJP committed to bring UCC but only after following all democratic process: Shah
NEW DELHI, (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the BJP is committed to bring Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country but only after following all democratic processes and discussions on it.
Addressing an event here, he also exuded confidence in BJP’s victory in the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat assembly elections as also in the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) polls.
The home minister credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making the country’s politics free from the ”naasur” (canker) of casteism, dynasty and appeasement.
”Modi ji has made country’s politics free from casteism, dynasty and appeasement and started politics of performance. Whosoever perform, will govern the country. Whosoever puts in effort, will govern the country. Those who are pro-country will govern (it).
”Nobody would rule on the basis of place of one’s birth or to the caste he or she belongs or how much appeasement somebody does,” he said, adding that the country’s people have accepted this policy of the Modi government.
Talking about the UCC, Shah said it has been a promise of BJP since its days of Bhartiya Jan Sangh.
”Not only BJP, the Constituent Assembly had also advised the Parliament and states that UCC should come in the country at an opportune time,” he said at the Times Now Summit on ‘India: A vibrant democracy, global bright spot’.
Shah said for any secular country, laws should not be on the basis of religion.
”If a nation and states are secular, how can laws be based on religion? For every believer, there should be one law passed by the Parliament or the state assemblies,” he said.
He, however, said that the commitment of the Constituent Assembly was forgotten over a period of time.
”Except the BJP, no other party is in favour of the Uniform Civil Code. They don’t even speak on it. If they don’t have courage, they won’t oppose it. But they won’t say that, ok you implement it we are with you. We are a part of a democracy. In a democracy, healthy debate is a necessity. There is a need for open and healthy debate on the issue,” Shah said.
He said in three BJP ruled states — Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat — a panel under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge and High Court chief justices has been formed, where all groups and people of different faiths are putting forth their views.
”We will take any action on the basis of advice coming after this exercise…The BJP is committed to bring UCC but only after the conclusion of all democratic discussions,” he said.
On abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Shah said many security pundits used to say that don’t touch 370, it will burn your hand.
Now, Article 370 is gone and Jammu and Kashmir is prosperous and it has also helped in getting terrorism controlled in the country, he said.
”It was propagated for years that Jammu and Kashmir was a part of India because of Article 370. Now there is neither Article 370 nor 35A, yet Jammu and Kashmir is with India,” Shah said.
A new democratic generation is coming up in Jammu and Kashmir where over 30,000 panches and sarpanches are percolating the democracy to grassroots, he said.
The home minister also said Rs 56,000 crore of investment had come into Jammu and Kashmir and a record 80 lakh tourists, the highest since independence, visited the Union Territory since 2019.
”As far as terrorism is concerned, since 1990s when it started, there are lowest incidents of terrorism now. Stone pelting has completely stopped. It is zero. It is a very big development,” he said.
Shah said the roots of terrorism and those harbouring it in Jammu and Kashmir are very deep but the government is committed to eradicate it completely.
”I assure you that in J-K, we won’t let terrorism spread its roots and we are committeed to ensure the entire J-K is terrorism free,” the home minister added.
Earlier, in his inaugural speech during the summit, the home minister said it was time that India’s democratic values were let known to the world.
He said the country was moving at a fast pace towards achieving the target of a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025.
”In 2014, the country had four unicorn start-ups and the number has now spiralled to over 100,” Shah highlighted.
When asked about allegations of agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate being misused ahead of elections, the home minister said that the federal bodies were working freely and anyone having grievances can move courts.
On the question of purported video of jailed AAP minister Satyendar Jain in which he is seen receiving special treatment at Tihar Prisons, Shah suggested that it should be posed to the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party to respond whether or not the video was genuine.
”If the video is genuine, the accountability lies on his party and you are asking questions from me. I had also gone to jail and resigned as minister. Such shamelessness to cling to the post of a minister even after lodged in jail is unprecedented”, he said.
When asked about provisions allowing the Centre to remove a minister in such a scenario, he said even the Constitution makers had perhaps not seen such things coming, and hence, there was no such provision.
On the Shraddha Walkar case, the home minister said Delhi Police and prosecution will ensure whosoever killed the 27-year-old woman will get the strictest punishment in minimal possible time.
”I have my eyes on the entire case. I just want to tell the people of the country that whosoever has done this, through due legal process, Delhi Police and prosecution will ensure strict punishment in the minimum time,” he asserted.
To a question on the need of having anti-conversion laws, Shah said wherever BJP-ruled state governments are there, such laws have been made.
”In Gujarat, I can tell you in detail. We have it and we are implementing it strictly as well. It is for state legislatures to decide on it,” he said.
When asked about the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat, Shah said the contest is between the BJP and the Congress.
”We will beat all records in terms of seat and vote percentage in Gujarat,” he said.
The home minister said that the BJP will win elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh besides the MCD polls with huge margins.
On border issues in Ladakh, he said our border dispute with China is years old and it is a legacy of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
”Who is raising the question? Under whom one lakh acre of land went to Chinese control, are they raising it? They should read history. As far as the BJP government under Narendra Modi is concerned, we are committed that this is a sovereign country. Not a single inch of its land will come under foreign occupation. It is our commitment to the people of the country,” Shah said. On the row over Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Shah said not only BJP but the entire country termed Savarkar as ‘Veer Savarkar’.
”There is no need to settle this. It is settled. If one understands the difference between Savarkar and Veer Savarkar it is settled. It is not Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Bharat Ratna conferred by a government. 130 crore people have facilitated the bravery of Saravakar by eternally adding ‘Veer’ to his name. People who are making comments should try spending 10 days in the cell where Savarkar spent 10 years,” he said.
A row has erupted over remarks by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Maharashtra leg of the Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra where he said that Savarkar had helped the British and wrote a mercy petition out of fear. (PTI)
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PM Modi unveils multiple metro projects, including India’s first underwater corridor in Kolkata
KOLKATA, (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday unveiled multiple metro projects across the country, including India’s first underwater metro line in Kolkata.
The Rs 4,965-crore Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of Kolkata Metro’s East-West Corridor, which has the first transportation tunnel ”under any mighty river in India”, was inaugurated by the PM. The stretch also has the deepest metro station in the country — the Howrah metro station.
After the inauguration programme, Modi took a metro ride from Esplanade to Howrah Maidan along with school children.
The under-river section of the tunnel is 520 metres long, and a train will take around 45 seconds to cross it, officials said.
From the function at the Esplanade metro station, the PM also inaugurated the Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section of the New Garia-Aiport line and the Taratala-Majerhat section of the Joka-Esplanade line of the Kolkata Metro, the country’s oldest metro network.
The Majerhat metro station is a unique elevated installation across railway lines, platforms and a canal, an official statement said. Modi also inaugurated the Duhai-Modinagar (North) section of the Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor, Pune Metro’s Ruby Hall Clinic-Ramwadi stretch, Kochi Metro’s SN Junction to Tripunithura section and Agra Metro’s Taj East Gate-Mankameshwar section.
The PM also laid the foundation stone for the extension of the Pune Metro between Pimpri Chinchwad and Nigdi.
These sections will help decongest road traffic and provide seamless, easy and comfortable connectivity, the statement said.
The section of the Agra Metro that was inaugurated will enhance connectivity to historical tourist places, it said.
The 17-km section of the RRTS will boost economic activity in the NCR, it added. (PTI)
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Shiv Sena office in Parliament House allotted to Eknath Shinde-led faction: LS Secretariat
NEW DELHI, (PTI0; The Lok Sabha Secretariat has allotted the Shiv Sena office in Parliament House to the Eknath Shinde-led faction after the Election Commission’s decision to recognise the group as the real Shiv Sena.
Responding to a letter written by Shinde faction’s floor leader Rahul Shewalae, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said the designated room for the Sena office in the Parliament building has been allotted to the party.
The poll panel had last week recognised the Shinde faction as the original Shiv Sena, allowing it to use the “bow and arrow” symbol in elections — practically denying Uddhav Thackeray a claim on the party his father, Bal Thackeray, founded in 1966.
Thereafter on February 18, Shewale had written to the Lok Sabha Secretariat seeking allotment of the office for the party.
So far, both factions were using the Shiv Sena office in the Parliament House. (PTI)
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Nikki Yadav case: Accused Sahil’s father was earlier arrested in murder case, say Delhi Police sources
NEW DELHI, (ANI): In a sensational revelation in the Nikki Yadav murder case, the Delhi Police sources on Monday said that accused Sahil Gehlot’s father Virender had been arrested in a murder case earlier.
The police, in their attempt to collect evidence, took the arrested accused along with Sahil to the dhaba, where he had stored Nikki’s body in a fridge, to recreate the crime scene, sources said.
The police had produced Sahil’s father Virender, two cousins Ashish and Naveen and two friends Amar and Lokesh at the residence of the Duty Magistrate on February 17.
According to the police, three years back Sahil and Nikki got married in a temple and Nikki had invited her family members to attend the wedding. However, Nikki’s family members did not approve of the marriage due to different castes.
Meanwhile, the police discovered the involvement of Sahil’s father, cousin and two friends as well and when the police arrested them and interrogated them. The answers during their interrogation were different from those in Sahil’s statement, sources said.
“For this reason, the very next day after the arrest, the police took them to the dhaba of Mitrau village, where Sahil had kept Nikki’s dead body in the fridge,” they added.
According to the police, Sahil’s friends had told that Nikki and Sahil had wanted to get married for a long time and they finally did in the year 2020 when they lived in Greater Noida. “This is why the police took the accused Sahil to the house in Noida where they lived. The neighbours were also questioned,” sources said.
The investigation so far has revealed that Nikki’s family members were aware of her marriage, though they have denied it since the beginning. The police have also recorded his statement in this regard. The police are currently examining the phone logs and data of the accused to find out who was involved in the conspiracy and how they planned the murder, sources said.
The Dwarka court on February 15 granted five days’ remand of Sahil Gahlot to Delhi Police Crime Branch to interrogate him and to ascertain the route where he went after the commission of the crime. Nikki was strangled to death allegedly by her partner after she came to know of his impending marriage with another woman, police said. Sahil was arrested on February 14 by the Crime Branch.
The accused was getting engaged on February 9. The accused went to meet Nikki at her flat and left early in the morning, they went to many places in Delhi, during which there was an argument about his marriage. During this, he got angry and strangulated the victim with a mobile cable, said DCP Crime Branch. “After that, he kept the victim’s body in the refrigerator in a dhaba in Mitraon village and then the accused went to his marriage. We are investigating deeply about this case,” he added. (ANI)
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Manish Sisodia called for CBI questioning again on Sunday in excise policy case
NEW DELHI, (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has again summoned Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia for questioning, nearly three months after filing a chargesheet in the Delhi excise policy case, officials said on Saturday. Sisodia has been called for questioning on Sunday.
However, Manish Sisodia has not been named as an accused in the charge sheet filed in the case. Arrested businessmen Vijay Nair and Abhishek are among the seven accused named in the charge sheet.
Alleging that the “full power” of agencies under the BJP-led central government had been unleashed to hound him, Manish Sisodia took to Twitter and said, “CBI has called me again tomorrow. They have unleashed the full power of CBI, ED (Enforcement Directorate) against me, raided my house, searched my bank locker, and yet found nothing against me.” “I have arranged good education for the children of Delhi. They want to stop it. I have always cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so,” he added.
Last year in August, the CBI conducted a search operation at Sisodia’s Punjab National Bank locker in connection with Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 money laundering case, where according to him the CBI had found nothing. Several raids were also conducted at 21 places in Delhi and the National Capital Region including the residence of Sisodia and the premises of four public servants last year, according to a CBI official. The official said that raids were conducted in locations across 7 states.
The probe was done after taking into account a report forwarded by the Chief Secretary to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommending a CBI investigation into the matter. The excise policy was passed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Cabinet in the middle of the deadly Delta Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.
The Delhi government’s version is that the policy was formulated to ensure the generation of optimum revenue, and eradicate the sale of spurious liquor or non-duty paid liquor in Delhi, besides improving user experience. It has been alleged that the Delhi government’s policy of granting licenses to liquor traders is in the interest of some dealers who allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly denied by AAP.
Following L-G’s recommendation, the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) issued a notice to Delhi’s Excise Commissioner asking him to provide all documents relating to the award of liquor licenses under the new excise policy. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that there was “no liquor scam” in the city and claimed that the case over his government’s excise policy was created as a result of “political vendetta”.
“First of all, there is no such thing as a liquor scam. We formulated the best and most transparent policy in the country. We implemented this policy in Punjab and the revenue increased by 48 per cent. All this is happening due to political conspiracy in Delhi.” Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Kejriwal said his government will fully cooperate with the CBI’s investigation into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy 2021-22. (ANI)
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Prithvi Shaw selfie case: Two more arrested by Mumbai police, Sapna Gill sent to police custody till Feb 20
MUMBAI, (ANI): A local court in Mumbai sent social media influencer Sapna Gill, who was arrested in the case of an alleged attack on cricketer Prithvi Shaw’s car and manhandling him, to police custody till February 20. She was produced before the Andheri magistrate’s Court in suburban Mumbai by the Oshiwara Police.
Meanwhile, the Oshiwara Police detained two more people in the case and they are being questioned. They are likely to be arrested later on. Shaw was allegedly manhandled and his car was attacked with a baseball bat outside a hotel in the Santacruz area of Mumbai, following an argument with the woman social media influencer and her friend Shobit Thakur after the batter refused to click more selfies with the influencer.
The incident took place in the early hours of Wednesday. A complaint about the incident was filed by Shaw’s friend Ashish Yadav, who is his flatmate for the last three years and runs a cafe.
The Oshiwara Police arrested Gill on Thursday and seven others have been booked for allegedly trying to intimidate the cricketer by damaging his car and threatening to implicate him in a fake case. The Police recorded the statement of Shaw’s friend Ashish Yadav again on Tuesday.
Yadav told the police that the accused had threatened to kill him. After Yadav’s statement, the police added Section 387 (putting a person in fear of death or of grievous hurt, in order to commit extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to the FIR.
“The accused had given life threats to Yadav. IPC Sec 387 added to the FIR,” Mumbai Police said. Oshiwara Police registered a case under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting), 384 (extortion), 506 (criminal intimidation) and some other sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the complaint.
Gill’s lawyer argued that the influencer was a fan of Shaw and wanted to take a selfie with him but the cricketer was drunk and misbehaved with her. He also accused the batter of assaulting Gill with a wooden bat. Yadav dismissed the claim made by Sapna Gill’s lawyer and said that whatever allegations are being made by the accused are all wrong.
Police said that Gill and Thakur were in an intoxicated state during the incident. Talking about the video which is being widely circulated on social media in which Prithvi Shaw is seen holding a stick, Yadav said, “When we came out of the hotel, the accused woman and her friend attacked our car thrice with a stick. Only then did Prithvi Shaw and I get down of the car and when Prithvi Shaw saw that the stick was in the hands of the woman, he wanted to snatch that stick so that it could not attack the glass again. Whatever allegations are being made by the lawyer of the accused are all wrong, and the police have called me again for questioning.”
As per the complaint, the cricketer was approached by Gill and Thakur for a selfie at the hotel and Shaw initially allowed them to get clicked with him. But when they insisted on getting more pictures, Shaw turned down the demand, following which Gill and her friend started misbehaving with the cricketer in an inebriated condition.
On seeing this, the hotel manager intervened and asked both Gill and Thakur to vacate the premises. Following the incident, Shaw and Yadav had dinner at the hotel. But when they stepped out, they saw Thakur holding a baseball bat in his hand, the compliant said. The accused went on to attack the windshield of the car and Shaw was also manhandled by Gill, it said. The cricketer was shifted to another car while Yadav and others drove his vehicle to Oshiwara.
Yadav said three motorcycles and a white-colored car were chasing their vehicle. At 4 am, the chasers attacked his car while it was taking a u-turn near a petrol pump on Link Road, he said. Thakur was one of the persons chasing the vehicle and attacked its windshield with a bat, the complaint said.
Six persons on motorcycles along with Gill and Thakur, who were both sitting in a car, abused Yadav and his friends, the complaint said, adding that Yadav took the car to Oshiwara police station. The eight accused followed Yadav to the station and threatened him to pay Rs 50,000 to settle the issue or else she would lodge a fake police complaint against them, as per police.
Following this, Yadav filed a complaint against the accused. (ANI)
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CJI D Y Chandrachud administers oath of office to five new SC judges
NEW DELHI, (PTI): Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Monday administered oath of office to five new judges of the Supreme Court.
The five judges — Justices Pankaj Mithal, Sanjay Karol, P V Sanjay Kumar, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Manoj Misra — were administered the oath during a swearing-in ceremony held in the Supreme Court premises.
With the appointment of five judges, the total number of judges in the apex court has risen to 32, two short of the full strength.
Their names were recommended for elevation as apex court judges by the Supreme Court Collegium on December 13, 2022. (PTI)
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Assam: 2278 arrested in connection with child marriage cases, say police
DHUBRI, (ANI): The Assam Police have arrested as many as 2278 persons in connection with the cases related to child marriage across the state, the police informed on Sunday.
According to the data shared by Assam police, 139 persons have been arrested in Biswanath, 130 in Barpeta, 126 in Dhubri, 123 in Baksa, 117 in Bongaigaon, 101 in Nagaon, 94 in Kokrajhar, 85 in Kamrup, 84 each in Goalpara and Udalguri district.
Assam police have registered 4074 cases related to child marriage, the police said. Notably, considering a surge in cases of child marriage (below the age of 18 years) of Assam women as reported by the National Report of the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led State government is carrying the crackdown against child marriages.
The drive was launched on Thursday night after CM Himanta Biswa Sarma chaired a video-conference meeting with senior officials of the police department directing them to launch a crackdown to rid the state of the evil practice of child marriage. This episode of this slew of crackdowns dates back to May 5, 2022, when the Health Ministry released the fifth report of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), carried out in 2019 and 2020.
The report, following a fine and detailed reading by the Assam government, showed serious concerns regarding child marriage, teenage pregnancy, and maternal mortality.
It was found in the report that 31.8 per cent of women in Assam between 20-24 age were married at a minor age or before 18 years. This was even higher than the national average of 23.3 per cent. Of these 31.8 per cent of women, more than half (50.8 per cent) cases were from All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MP Badruddin Ajmal’s parliamentary constituency, Dhubri.
As per the government, child marriage leads to teenage pregnancy in women causing maternal deaths in the state. (ANI)
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P T Usha alleges security threat in her academy; breaks down before media
KOZHIKODE, (PTI): Legendary athlete and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P T Usha on Saturday broke down before the media alleging that illegal constructions were being carried out at her academy campus in Kozhikode district and strangers were trespassing into the property posing a security threat to the inmates.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, she said those at the Usha School of Athletics had been facing such harassment and security issues for some time and it has intensified after she became the Rajya Sabha Member.
Usha had been nominated to the Upper House by the BJP in July 2022.
The ”sprint queen” appealed to the Left government in Kerala and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to intervene into the issue and take immediate steps to stop the alleged encroachment and trespassing into the campus and ensure the safety of women athletes there.
”Of the 25 women athletes in the Usha schools, 11 were from north India. It is our responsibility to ensure their safety. I submitted a written complaint to the Chief Minister in this regard,” she said.
A teary-eyed Usha also said waste is being dumped on a large scale in the campus, which is also facing threat from the drug mafia but the local panchayat was not letting the academy management to construct a compound wall.
”An illegal construction was made just in the middle of the campus by someone and when we asked, they said they had the approval of the panchayat authorities for it. The school management also had to suffer rude behaviour when they questioned this encroachment,” she said.
Usha said the 30-acre land, where the Usha School of Athletics is located, was handed over to them by the previous Oommen Chandy led-Congress government in the state for 30 years on lease.
Asked whether those at her academy were facing harassment and ill-treatment after she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP, she said each political party had the habit of considering her as a member of its political rival.
”The Congress would say I am a CPI(M) sympathiser while the Marxist party would say I have an affiliation to the BJP.
”I have no politics and I used to help everyone in all possible ways,” she added. (PTI)