Tag: Arvind Kejriwal

The Hindu Morning Digest – May 8, 2024

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Police and paramilitary personnel stand guard at the polling station during the third phase of Lok Sabha Polls, in Etah on May 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Three Independent MLAs withdraw support to BJP government in Haryana

Three Independent MLAs supporting the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government in Haryana on May 7 announced the withdrawal of their support to the government, even as the Congress party demanded the holding of Assembly election under the President’s rule in the State, as the government has been reduced to a “minority”.

Karnataka BJP post on Muslim quota | Election Commission tells X to immediately take down post

The Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered X, formerly Twitter, to take down an animated video posted by BJP Karnataka. The video features caricatures of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, advancing the party’s recent messaging that the Congress is diverting funds and resources away from SC/ST/OBC Hindus towards Muslims. As of May 7 evening, the post had garnered over 90 lakh views, and had not yet been taken down. 

CBI arrests four for pushing Indians into Russia-Ukraine war

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has so far arrested four accused in a case related to trafficking of Indian nationals for combat role in the Russian Army. Arun and Yesudas Junior, both residents of Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, were held on Tuesday in the case registered on March 6. The other two accused, Nijil Jobi Bensam from Kanyakumari and Anthony Michael Elangovan from Mumbai, were earlier arrested on April 24 and are in judicial custody.

Reject proponents of lies, hatred for a brighter future, Sonia Gandhi urges voters

Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s niti (policy) and niyat (intentions)have led to unemployment, crimes against women and discrimination against Dalits, Adivasis and minorities.

SC to think about giving bail to Kejriwal for campaigning; ED calls it a luxury a ‘real aam aadmi’ cannot afford

The Supreme Court on May 7 decided to mull over the question of granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to enable him to campaign as an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader for the ongoing Lok Sabha election.

Advertisers to submit self-declarations before promoting products in media, SC orders

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that advertisers should submit self-declarations that they are not misrepresenting or making false claims about products before promoting them in the media.

Gujarat sees 55% turnout; Modi, Shah cast their votes

Over 55% voting turnout was registered till 5 p.m. in the 25 parliamentary constituencies of Gujarat where polling was held in the third phase of the Lok Sabha election on Tuesday. There are 265 candidates in the fray, including three Cabinet ministers Amit Shah, Mansukh Mandaviya and Parshottam Rupala and a Minister of State Devusinh Chauhan.

Fact-check | Misleading posts cast doubt over the credibility of EVMs

Even as the third phase of polling for the Lok Sabha election draws to a close, some on social media have been casting aspersions on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the device used to electronically record and count votes cast in elections.

U.K. court rejects fifth bail plea of PNB scam accused Nirav Modi

The fifth bail application of diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is one of the prime accused in the ₹13,578-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, has been turned down by a United Kingdom court. In April 2021, the Secretary of State of U.K.’s Home Department had ordered his extradition to India, but it has not been implemented so far.

Interpol issues Blue Corner Notice against Prajwal Revanna 

Interpol issued on Tuesday (May 7) a Blue Corner Notice against “absconding” Hassan JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, accused of multiple instances of sexual abuse. This will help the Special Investigation Team probing the case to locate Prajwal Revanna. He flew to Germany from Bengaluru on April 27 using his diplomatic passport. His whereabouts are currently not known, amid reports that he later flew to Dubai or Hungary.

Foreign Secretary to visit Bangladesh, talks may feature China

China’s planned project along the Teesta in Bangladesh is expected to feature during Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra’s upcoming visit to Bangladesh, a prominent daily in Dhaka has reported.

Want 400 seats to prevent Congress from bringing back Article 370 and locking Ram Temple: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 7 said he needed 400 seats in the Lok Sabha election to prevent the Congress from “bringing back Article 370 [in Kashmir] and putting a lock on Ayodhya Ram Temple”, drawing parallels to the Rajiv Gandhi government overturning the Supreme Court ruling in 1985 in the Shah Bano case, which he characterised as appeasement politics.

Polling ends in Karnataka; month-long, nail-biting wait begins

As the curtains came down on the hard-fought and high-pitched Lok Sabha elections amid the sweltering heat in Karnataka on Tuesday, it will be nearly a month-long tense wait for the electoral fortunes to be known. The counting of votes across the country will take place on June 4.

U.K. court rejects fifth bail plea of PNB scam accused Nirav Modi

The fifth bail application of diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is one of the prime accused in the ₹13,578-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, has been turned down by a United Kingdom court. In April 2021, the Secretary of State of U.K.’s Home Department had ordered his extradition to India, but it has not been implemented so far.

Supreme Court provides relief to nearly 24,000 Bengal teachers

The Supreme Court on May 7 gave relief to the West Bengal government by protecting nearly 24,000 teaching and non-teaching staff members from immediate termination from their jobs in schools across the State.

Militant commander Basit Dar, wanted in 18 cases, among two killed in Kulgam operation: J&K police

Two militants, including a ‘commander’ of The Resistance Front (TRF), were killed in a two-day anti-militancy operation in south Kashmir’s Kulgam on Tuesday. 

More than 63% polling in third phase, sporadic violence in West Bengal

At least 63.27% of the electorate in 93 constituencies cast their votes on May 7 in the third phase of the Lok Sabha election, which has now crossed the halfway mark, with voting complete in 282 out of 543 seats. Apart from sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal, the voting was largely peaceful. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were among the voters in this phase, with the latter also in the fray.

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The Hindu Morning Digest, March 24, 2024

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Congress names Digvijaya Singh from Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh, Ajay Rai from PM Modi’s Varanasi seat in fourth list

The Congress on Saturday announced 45 names in its fourth list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls while one seat for the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) in Rajasthan. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh will contest the Rajgarh seat in the State while Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai has been fielded from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat of Varanasi. Chhattisgarh Congress chief and sitting member from Bastar, Deepak Baij, has been dropped as the party named Kawasi Lakhma from the seat.

Electoral bonds linked to project clearances by BRS government in Telangana

The purchase of electoral bonds and subsequent encashment by the then ruling party in Telangana, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), seemed to be closely linked to the award of contracts and opening of new units by donor companies, if the report submitted to the Election Commission (EC) is to be believed .In Telangana, the BRS encashed the bonds donated by IRB Infra, which were purchased a few weeks after the Outer Ring Road (ORR) contract was awarded to the company. The BRS government gave a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) to IRB Infra on April 27, 2023, leasing out the ORR for 30 years for maintenance.

BJP made ‘bribes’ legal via electoral bonds: Congress

Alleging that the electoral bond (EB) scheme ensured that “prepaid, postpaid, and post-raid bribes” could be routed through regular banking channels, the Congress on March 23 reiterated its demand for a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the scheme .Addressing a press conference at party headquarters, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that an analysis of recently published State Bank of India (SBI) data has revealed that 38 corporate groups received 179 government contracts and projects worth ₹3.8 lakh crore after donating electoral bonds to the BJP.

AAP raises concern with CEC as Delhi Police block party office

Alleging that the Delhi police have blocked all routes to the Aam Aadmi Party’s office in the national capital after the arrest of the party’s national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on March 23 seeking a meeting to present their urgent grievances.

Winter lacks bite in Munnar as frost gives the hill station a miss this year

Munnar, the hill station famed for its misty mornings from December to February, has deviated from its usual winter pattern this year. Officials say winter was marked by a total lack of frost, a first in the past two decades, which is unprecedented .Data from the United Planters Association of South India tea research centre in Munnar show that no sub-zero temperature was reported this year in Munnar town. “The lowest recorded temperature was 2°C on January 18 and 19 at Silent Valley Estate under Kanan Devan Plantations in Munnar. “This year, there was an absence of frosty conditions in Munnar compared to the past 20 years,” says a source.

Nitish shortlists JD(U) candidates for 16 seats in Bihar, many of them are sitting MPs

With the first phase of the upcoming Lok Sabha election less than a month away, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), has shortlisted candidates for its 16 constituencies in Bihar based on seat-sharing within the alliance. Barring a few seats, party president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, it is said, has opted to repeat several candidates.

Now, Karnataka knocks on Supreme Court’s door seeking drought relief from Centre

As repeated appeals seeking funds under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) from the Centre have not yielded results, the Congress government in Karnataka has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Union government for denying financial assistance for drought management in the State .The move is expected to trigger a fresh political debate in the run-up to the two-phase Lok Sabha elections in the State. Earlier too, Karnataka raised the issue of “discrimination” by the Centre in devolution of funds, clearances to projects and financial assistance for schemes.

2024 Lok Sabha election | Prakash Ambedkar remains ambivalent over MVA tie-up; will clear stand on March 26

Continuing to maintain an ambivalent stance towards forging an alliance with the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) president Prakash Ambedkar on Saturday said his party would announce its decision on March 26 on whether it would contest the Lok Sabha election independently or go along with the MVA. Mr. Ambedkar again claimed that the MVA parties (which include Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena UBT, the Congress, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP-SP) had yet to resolve their seat-sharing problems and that it was wrong to point fingers at the VBA for acting as a roadblock in seat-sharing discussions.

2024 Lok Sabha election: U.P. BJP to depute minority party workers to counter ‘bogus’ voting

In a first of its kind move, the Uttar Pradesh wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will depute women members from the Muslim community as agents on minority dominant polling booths to keep a check on bogus voters for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The BJP Minority Morcha, which planned this initiative, said the focus will be on parts of Western U.P. from where the party claims to have received reports of bogus voting in previous elections. 

IPL-17: KKR vs SRH | Russell, Salt fifties carry KKR to four-run win over SRH despite Klaasen’s heroics

Andre Russel’s all-round effort headlined Kolkata Knight Riders’ sweaty four-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL match here on Saturday .Russell’s brutal unbeaten 64 off 25 balls with three fours and seven sixes and Phil Salt’s more pragmatic 54 off 40 balls guided KKR to 208 for seven. Left-arm pacer T Natarajan was their most successful bowler with a three-wicket haul (3/32). At several points, SRH threatened to chase 208 down, particularly when Heinrich Klaasen (63, 29b, 8x6s) went berserk in the backend of the innings.

Hong Kong lawmakers pass new national security law, giving government more power to curb dissent

Hong Kong lawmakers passed a new national security law on Tuesday that grants the government more power to quash dissent, widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown that was triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019. The legislature passed the Safeguarding National Security Law during a special session Tuesday. It comes on top of a similar law imposed by Beijing four years ago, which has already largely silenced opposition voices in the financial hub.

BJP ends alliance with SKM; to contest Lok Sabha, Assembly polls in Sikkim alone

The BJP on March 23 called off its alliance with the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) and announced that the party would go alone in the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the Himalayan State. The SKM, on the other hand, did not rule out the possibility of a post-poll alliance with the BJP on the lines of a similar arrangement made after the 2019 polls. The announcement to fight the upcoming polls alone was made by State BJP president D.R. Thapa, who returned to Sikkim after attending a meeting with the party’s central leadership in Delhi on seat-sharing with SKM.

Israel says 170 Gaza gunmen killed in hospital raid

Israeli forces fighting in Gaza have killed more than 170 gunmen during their days-long raid at the Palestinian enclave’s main hospital, the military said on Saturday .Israeli troops entered Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in the early hours of March 18 morning and have been combing through the sprawling complex, which the military says is connected to a tunnel network used as a base for Hamas and other Palestinian fighters. “Thus far, the forces eliminated more than 170 terrorists in the area of the hospital, questioned over 800 suspects, and located numerous weapons and terror infrastructure,” the military said.

Kejriwal seeks police officer’s removal from security; court orders for CCTV camera footage to be preserved

A local court has directed authorities to preserve CCTV camera footage on a plea filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, seeking the removal of a Delhi Police officer deployed for security in the court for alleged misconduct .“Application has been filed on behalf of the accused [Kejriwal] stating that the security staff/in-charge responsible for bringing him for production before the court, namely ACP [Assistant Commissioner of Police] A.K. Singh, is unnecessarily harsh and mishandled the people around the courtroom,” Special Judge Kaveri Baweja noted.

2024 General elections | These are the Lok Sabha constituencies, Assemblies going to polls in Phase 1

The 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, which are set to commence from April 19, will see the country vote in seven phases as simultaneous elections also take place for four State Assemblies — Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh .A total of 102 Parliamentary constituencies in 21 States and Union Territories (UTs) will go to the polls in the first phase on April 19. The last date of nominations in Phase 1 for all 20 States and UTs other than Bihar is March 27. For Bihar, it is March 28 due to a festival.

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Opinion: Arvind Kejriwal Needs Better Advice

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I don’t remember the last time I heard such a bizarre statement from a political party. I am referring to news that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will request the court to permit Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to call cabinet meetings in jail if he is arrested by the Enforcement Directorate. To expect that any court will allow this is ridiculous, surreal, and beyond comprehension. It not only defies logic but also suggests the party does not belong on Planet Earth.

Apparently, AAP has no understanding of the Indian judicial system and the Constitution. I can understand there is nothing in the Constitution that dictates that a Chief Minister must resign if arrested. The Constitution, however, is not only a written document; it is also convention. The convention is that when a chief minister is arrested, they have no option but to resign and step aside for another person. That is what Lalu Yadav, J Jayalalithaa and BS Yediyurappa did. If Kejriwal thinks he is above the Constitution and need not resign, he is either very poorly advised or deluded.

AAP, which is also planning a referendum on its idea, argues that Kejriwal was elected by the people and voted to be chief minister, and therefore should be allowed to run the government from jail. By this logic, no chief minister, no minister, and no MP or MLA will ever have to resign if arrested, since they all are elected, except those who are members of Rajya Sabha or the legislative council.

Even to become chief minister, one has to first be elected MLA. In the Indian Constitution, there is no provision to directly elect a chief minister. India adopted a parliamentary system, unlike the American presidential system in which the President is directly elected by the people. Even in the American system, Richard Nixon had to resign in the Watergate scandal. He was later pardoned by his successor, President Gerald Ford, on 8 September 1974 to avoid the embarrassment of a former president going to jail.

Lalu Yadav had to resign and installed his wife Rabri Devi as Chief Minister when he faced imprisonment in the fodder scam. Lalu Yadav was left with no option but to resign on 25 July 1997 when the CBI put out a warrant for his arrest. The fodder scam was his undoing and he was convicted in the same case. Similarly, AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa had to go to jail for four years in a disproportionate assets case. She was Chief Minister then but relinquished the post, getting her trusted lieutenant O Panneerselvam to stand in. She was acquitted of corruption charges by the Karnataka High Court in May 2015, after which she returned as Chief Minister. BS Yediyurappa, the BJP’s strongman in Karnataka, had to make way for Sadananda Gowda in 2011 when he was convicted by a local court in a corruption case. Like Jayalalithaa, he, too, was acquitted by the higher court in 2016.

It is true that Kejriwal, until the time of writing, has neither been named as a witness nor as an accused in the Delhi liquor scam. The Enforcement Directorate did summon him for questioning on November 2 but the AAP chief pulled a no-show – instead, he called the ED’s summons illegal.

The summons fuelled a debate on who would replace him if he were to be arrested, because he couldn’t continue as chief minister. Many names floated in the media. AAP called a meeting of its MLAs and the press was later told that everyone had requested Kejriwal to hold on even if he was arrested, as he was chosen by the people.

The ED has not revealed its cards. Nobody knows what it is planning. Will it send him another summons? If so, when? What seems certain is that the agency has made up its mind to interrogate him in the liquor case. The BJP has been declaring vociferously that he is the lynchpin of the scam and that he should be arrested.

It was widely expected that his deputy Manish Sisodia, jailed since March, would secure bail from the Supreme Court, which had observed during a hearing that there seemed to be no evidence against him. The top court, however, rejected Sisodia’s bail request, in a hint that there might be tentative evidence against him in the money trail of Rs 338 crore. This was a massive setback for AAP, and the ED was so encouraged by the court verdict that it sent a summon to Kejriwal the same day. This fed into speculation that the probe agency now believes it has a strong case against the AAP government, and feels it is the right time to strike, starting at the top. Sooner or later, Kejriwal must face the ED. Whether he is arrested is a different matter but the party should have a Plan B if he is. If Plan B is for Kejriwal to run his government from jail then it is a sure-fire recipe for disaster. No court will indulge this.

I don’t know if Kejriwal is testing the waters, if he is trying to whip up public sympathy or acting on some hidden agenda. What is not in doubt is his penchant for tamasha.

Kejriwal is an unorthodox politician who does not believe in the tradition when it comes tonetagiri. He believes in breaking the rules and has mostly succeeded. In the beginning, the idealist in him inspired him to be innovative, to think out of the box to solve problems. Gradually, he started subscribing to the belief system of politics as event management – the bigger the event, the better the chances of success. It seems he is planning to convert his possible arrest into a big public spectacle, packaging himself as a messiah paying the price for fighting corruption. It is no coincidence that while campaigning in Chhattisgarh, Kejriwal declared that “Modi can arrest my body but not my thought process”.

The flip side is that he can lose his government. If he refuses to resign, then the Lieutenant Governor will be forced to send a message to the Speaker to convene an assembly session and choose a new leader. If this does not happen, the Lieutenant Governor will have no option but to send a report to the Union Home Ministry on a “constitutional breakdown” in Delhi and recommend that the elected government be sacked until the assembly elects a new leader. Or the Centre can dissolve the assembly straightaway.

The AAP government is functioning in a hostile ecosystem. It has been in trouble since Vinay Kumar Saxena became Lieutenant Governor. The central government has not missed any opportunity to make AAP miserable. But Kejriwal’s theatrics will be suicidal and harm his own party instead of drawing public sympathy. AAP could lose its government if the Centre were to invoke Article 356, used for imposing direct federal rule. Is AAP ready to pay the price?

Kejriwal would be better advised to face the Enforcement Directorate with dignity, and convey to the masses that he has been victimised like other opposition political parties and their leaders. Instead of resorting to a tamasha, he should facilitate the process of electing a new leader within the party to lead the Delhi government if he is arrested. If, however, he is afraid of a metaphorical Brutus, it’s a different matter. Either way he does not have many choices.

Kejriwal should not forget that he is up against Narendra Modi, and not Manmohan Singh. The Congress let him create a movement that is remembered in history as the Anna Movement. The movement that led to the rise of Kejriwal and the demise of the Congress in national politics. India has changed since 2014 and Kejriwal must not lose sight of that fact.

(Ashutosh is author of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ and Editor, satyahindi.com.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.

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