Monday, January 12, 2026

Kejriwal skating on thin ice as ED mulls fourth summons to him

By
Aayush Goel
-

After Delhi CM Kejriwal chose to skip the third summons issued by ED in the excise policy case, the directorate is set to issue yet another summons. Amid speculation of the AAP chief’s possible arrest, we look at the legal provisions available to the ED in the case. A report by Aayush Goel

As Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has refused to appear before the ED (Enforcement Directorate) following the ‘third’ summons to join the investigation in the alleged excise policy case, the ED is planning to issue a fourth summons. Sources said the ED is currently examining Kejriwal’s five-page reply sent to the investigating officer of the case on Wednesday and may reject his charges of calling the summons illegal. The agency may issue its fourth summons to Kejriwal as per provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

He was earlier asked to depose on November 2 and December 21 in 2023 and January 3 this year. AAP supremo Kejriwal has alleged that the ED sent “false summons” to him in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam. While asserting his willingness to cooperate, he said that he ‘won’t bow down to hooliganism and dictatorship of the BJP’ even as the saffron party claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo was “behaving like a fugitive” by skipping summons issued to him by the ED for the third time.

Kejriwal further questioned the agency for not responding to his earlier replies when the summons was sent to him and he had raised certain queries on the nature of the agency’s investigation. “As a premier investigating agency, the non-disclosure and non-response approach adopted by you cannot sustain the test of law, equity or justice. Your obstinacy is tantamount to assuming the role of judge, jury and executioner at the same time which is not acceptable in our country governed by the rule of law. In these circumstances, I urge you to respond to my earlier response and clarify the position so as to enable me to understand the real intent, ambit, nature, sweep and scope of the purported inquiry/investigation for which I am being called” read the reply sent by Kejriwal. So while he is away on a political tour to Gujarat and Goa, we look for an answer to the question everyone has on mind: will he be arrested?

Legal provisions

The issuance of three summons to Kejriwal and non-compliance with the same doesn’t necessarily mean that the agency is bound to arrest him. There have been instances in the past when the ED has summoned persons to no avail. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is the most recent example, having refused to comply with six summons. However, according to Nitesh Rana, an advocate specialising in PMLA cases, the agency has the power to arrest a person if it has sufficient material. “There is no limit on how many summons can be issued. But if somebody doesn’t turn up despite being summoned repeatedly, ED can file a private complaint under Section 174 of IPC before the court concerned and the person will have to face consequences of that,” he explained.  According to legal journal, Bar and Benches, while the ED issues summons under Section 50 of PMLA, Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code deals with “non-attendance in obedience to an order from public servant” and its violation attracts punishment in terms of imprisonment and fine. On the other hand, the agency derives its power of arrest from Section 19 of PMLA, which stipulates, “If the Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Director or any other officer authorised in this behalf by the Central Government by general or special order, has on the basis of material in his possession, reason to believe (the reason for such belief to be recorded in writing) that any person has been guilty of an offence punishable under this Act, he may arrest such person and shall, as soon as may be, inform him of the grounds for such arrest.” As per Section 63(2)(c) of the PMLA, if a person to whom the agency issues summons under Section 50 either to attend and give evidence or produce documents, omits to do so, he is liable to pay a fine “not be less than five hundred rupees but which may extend to ten thousand rupees for each such default or failure”.

Kejriwal cries vendetta

“In the last two years, all the agencies of BJP have conducted many raids but not a single penny was found. If there is corruption then where is the money? AAP leaders are kept in jail in such fake cases. Now the BJP wants to arrest me. My biggest strength and asset is my honesty,” Kejriwal said while addressing a press conference. Questioning the timing of the notice just before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Delhi CM said that BJP wants to stop him from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. “My lawyers told me that the summons were illegal. I wrote the question and sent it to ED. Should I obey an unlawful summons? If a legal summons comes, I will comply with it. Why am I being called just before the Lok Sabha elections? Eight months ago, I was called by the CBI. I went and gave all the answers. Today they want to stop me from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections,” he added.

The AAP chief further said that he has always fought for the country and till his last breath, he will fight for the country. “Today, opposition leaders are being included in the BJP through ED. Whoever joins the party, all his matters get resolved. Today honest leaders like Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Vijay Nair have been put in jail. I have always fought for the country. Every breath of mine is for the country. We have to save the country together. I am fighting against them with all my heart, I need your support,” he said.

AAP leader Jasmine Shah in a scathing attack against the BJP said that the saffron brigade’s only aim is to “finish” the AAP and “arrest” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Arvind Kejriwal also received support from Samajwadi Party chief and I.N.D.I.A bloc ally Akhilesh Yadav. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister shrugged off the ED summons as “nothing new” and claimed that the BJP dispensation was probing all opposition leaders.

Kejriwal not above law: BJP

Union Minister Anurag Thakur asked if the Delhi CM was above the law of the land. The BJP leader claimed that Kejriwal is “scared to appear before the ED”. “One after another, scams keep coming out. The leaders of the AAP have been in jail for more than a year. Arvind Kejriwal has an equal role in all these scams. People are asking if Arvind Kejriwal is above the law today. Why is he so scared to appear before the ED?” Anurag Thakur asked.

“One by one, the scams done by Kejriwal and his party are coming to light. Today, he is not ready to appear before ED and is behaving like a fugitive,” said the BJP spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla “If there is nothing to hide, why is he not appearing before ED, even after the 3rd summons?”, the BJP leader asked.

In what is changing the political dynamics of the I.N.D.I.A block, even Congress is now cornering Kejriwal for ignoring summons. Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit reminded Kejriwal about his ‘fight against corruption’ and called him a “cheater of his own ideology”.

“When the Lokpal Bill was under discussion, I used to discuss the same with him. We told him that the Lokpal you’re trying to make may be misused if the wrong person becomes a Lokpal and the government could misuse it. He said that a political leader should be transparent. If there is any allegation against them, they should resign…and they should also surrender if they get arrested and if one is innocent then it will be proved. He should at least stick to his words. I believe he’s become the biggest cheater of his own ideology,” he added.

Apex Court sends Bilkis Bano case convicts back to prison

By
Mudit Mathur
-

While cancelling the remission of 11 convicts in Bilkis Bano gangrape case, the Supreme Court ordered  them to surrender within two weeks even as it came down heavily on the Gujarat government for ‘acting in tandem’ with the convicts. A report by Mudit Mathur

In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court has set aside the remission of 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple murders and gang rapes, including that of Bilkis Bano, during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. The apex court directed the convicts, who were given premature release in August 2022, to surrender to the prison authorities within two weeks.

The court also declared its May 2022 judgement delivered by a bench comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath, which had directed the Gujarat Government to consider the remission applications of the convicts as a nullity since the petitioner (one of the convicts Respondent no. 3 – Radheshyam Shah) was found to have “played fraud” by misrepresenting and suppressing relevant facts before the court. It was also found to be per incuriam (lack of due regard to the law or the facts) for ignoring precedents and the statutory mandate.

The court held that the State of Gujarat was not the “appropriate government” to decide the issue of remission as the trial was held in the State of Maharashtra. Since the Gujarat Government was found to be incompetent, the remission orders were held to be invalid. After an 11-day-long hearing that began in August 2023, a division bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan had reserved its judgment on October 12, 2023.

Directing the convicts to be sent back to jail, Justice Nagarathna said, “If the convicts can circumvent the consequences of their conviction, the peace and tranquillity in the society will be reduced to a chimaera. The courts have to be mindful not just to the spelling of justice but also the content of it. It is the duty of this court to correct arbitrary orders at the earliest and to retain the foundation of trust of the public.”

The court held, “The Respondent No. 3 played fraud on this court. The Gujarat High Court’s order could not have been challenged in a writ petition, nor could it have been set aside in writ proceedings. Hence the said order is a nullity and non-est in law. Consequently, the May 2022 order is hit by fraud and is a nullity. It cannot be given effect to. All proceedings pursuant to the said order are vitiated. This judgment is also “per incuriam” as it refused to follow the binding proposition of law that had been settled long ago by a nine-Judge bench decision of this Court in Naresh Shridhar Mirajkar vs. State of Maharashtra, AIR 1967 SC 1.

The apex court noted. “The Gujarat High Court while considering the submissions on criminal application of Shah challenging the non-consideration of his application for premature release under Sections 433 and 433A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (“CrPC”), observed that Respondent No 3 herein had been tried in the State of Maharashtra, hence, as per Section 432 (7), the ‘appropriate government’ for the purpose of Sections 432 and 433 of the CrPC would be the State of Maharashtra.”

“We cannot forget the conduct of the convicts, particularly, the one who had abused the process of this court. The deprivation of liberty is justified inasmuch as they have been erroneously set at liberty. One cannot overlook the fact that they were in jail for a little over 14 years, with liberal paroles and furloughs. The status quo ante must be restored. Plea of protection of liberties of these convicts cannot be accepted by us. The rule of law must prevail. When the impugned orders are set aside, the consequences must follow.”

Quoting classical Greek philosopher Plato from “Trevor J. Saunders, Plato’s Penal Code: Tradition, Controversy, and Reform in Greek Penology, Oxford University Press, 1991,” Justice BV Nagarathna, who authored the 251-page judgement reversing the earlier judgment favouring remission to eleven convicts of such a grave crime, pronounced the relevant extracts of the judgement in open court along with Justice Ujjal Bhuyan stating that earlier order of the apex court was obtained by playing fraud with the court concealing material facts therein.

“Punishment is to be inflicted not for the sake of vengeance but for the sake of prevention and reformation. In his treatise, Plato reasons that the lawgiver, as far as he can, ought to imitate the doctor who does not apply his drug with a view to pain only, but to do the patient good. This curative theory of punishment likens penalty to medicine administered for the sake of the one being chastised. Thus, if a criminal is curable, he ought to be improved by education and other suitable arts and then set free as a better citizen and less of a burden to the State. This postulate lies at the heart of the policy of remission,” the court held.

“A woman deserves respect howsoever high or low she may be otherwise considered in society or to whatever faith she may follow or any creed she may belong to. Can heinous crimes, inter alia, against women permit remission of the convicts by a reduction in their sentence and by granting them liberty? These are the issues which arise in these writ petitions,” the bench proceeded with the matter with aforesaid philosophical preface as it examined these writ petitions, both on maintainability as well as on merits purely from a legal perspective.

The apex court judgement has come on the writ petitions assailing the orders dated 10.08.2022, granting remission and early release of respondent eleven convicts in Writ Petition (Crl.) No.491 of 2022 of Bilkis Yakub Rasool, (which was treated as the lead petition), who were all convicted, having been found guilty of committing heinous crimes during the large-scale riots in Gujarat on February 28, 2002 and a few days thereafter which occurred in the aftermath of the burning of the train incident in Godhra in the State of Gujarat on February 27, 2002.

Taking note of the incidents post Godhra, the Bench took note of the facts: “The grotesque and diabolical crime in question was driven by communal hatred and resulted in twelve convicts, amongst many Writ Petitions (Crl.) No.491 of 2022 Etc. Page 6 of 251 others, brutally gang-raping the petitioner in Writ Petition (Crl.) No.491 of 2022, namely, Bilkis Yakub Rasool, who was pregnant at that time. Further, the petitioner’s mother was gang raped and murdered, her cousin who had just delivered a baby was also gang raped and murdered. Eight minors including the petitioner’s cousin’s two-day-old infant were also murdered. The petitioner’s three-year-old daughter was murdered by smashing her head on a rock, her two minor brothers, two minor sisters, her phupha, phupi, mama (uncle, aunt and uncle, respectively) and three-cousins were all murdered. While eventually, the perpetrators of the crime, including the police personnel were convicted and sentenced, the petitioner, who was aged twenty-one years and pregnant at that time, having lost all members of her family in the diabolical and brutal attacks, has once again approached this Court seeking justice by challenging the en-masse remission granted to eleven convicts.”

Bilkis Yakub Rasool, being an unfortunate victim of the heinous crimes herein above narrated, filed the present writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, seeking issuance of a writ, order or direction quashing the orders dated 10.08.2022 passed by the State of Gujarat by which the convicts in Sessions Case No.634 of 2004, Mumbai (eleven convicts), whose convictions were upheld by a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court and thereafter by the Supreme Court, have been released prematurely.

Besides one of the victims, Bilkis Yakub Rasool, the action of Gujarat government was also challenged by women organizations–All India Democratic Women’s Association and National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), an academic bureaucrat, Dr Meeran Chadha Borwankar, an independent journalist, Revati Laul, former and present parliamentarians including Subhashini Ali and Mahua Moitra, Roop Rekha Verma, former Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University, and lawyer Asma Shafique Shaikh. The court left open to consider the question of maintainability of such Public Interest Litigation in criminal matters on the ground that one of the victims herself came before it seeking justice.

While answering the question of whether the impugned remission orders were in accordance with law, Justice Nagarathna said, “We need not have gone into the other issues. But for the sake of completion, we have.” Rule of law was breached because the Gujarat government usurped power not vested in it and abused its power. “The exercise of power by the State of Gujarat is an instance of usurpation of power and abuse of power. This is a classic case where the order of this court was used to violate the rule of law by granting remission. On that ground also, the remission orders deserve to be quashed,” the judge said. The court also criticised the Gujarat Government for not seeking review of the May 2022 judgment.

Advocate Shobha Gupta appeared for Bilkis, the rape survivor, while senior advocates Indira Jaising, and advocates Vrinda Grover, Aparna Bhat, Nizamuddin Pasha and Pratik R Bombarde represented various public interest litigants. Additional Solicitor-General SV Raju appeared for both the State of Gujarat and the Union of India. The convicts were represented by senior advocates Sidharth Luthra, Rishi Malhotra, S Guru Krishnakumar, advocate Sonia Mathur, and others.

Activist flags US duplicity in Gaza by returning honour

By
Humra Quraishi
-

One of the few who have reacted in full-throated way to Palestine tragedy, activist-academic Sandeep Pandey will return his Magsaysay Award besides his US  degrees in the backdrop of the killings by Humra  Quraishi 

Apprehensions, worries and fears spreading out, as this sarkar insists on using religion for political mileage. It’s rather too obvious; even the naïve do understand the game plans of the Right-Wing forces in this election year, but they seem utterly helpless. After all, the masses cannot outdo the State’s might, even as political tactics are only compounding the tense scenario. There seems to be a crisis turning point in the very democratic set-up as there’s little of the democracy and more of the very obvious political agenda. Tense times, with relays of what more could unfold to unsettle, sabotage and silence the democratic structures …rather, whatever remains of them.

Only once in a while, brave rebel voices do come up which carry the courage to veto, cry hoarse to the Agenda.  A rarity in today’s India and also in today’s deeply polarized world. Cry out as much as one can that we are a developed-cum- civilized lot but the reality is quite the opposite. Masses can be butchered in hundreds and thousands but there’s no stopping to the violent killings.

The present ongoing onslaught on the Palestinians by the  Israeli forces relays the helplessness of the civilians. More so, as their killers are backed by the superpower of the world. Only a handful amongst us have reacted in that full-throated way to the killings in Palestine.  In fact, this brings me to write that I just received this  message from the  Lucknow-based activist-academic Sandeep Pandey, who  has decided  to return his Magsaysay Award and also all his US  degrees in the backdrop of the “role of the US in war in Gaza.”  To quote Sandeep Pandey on this: “When I received the Magsaysay Award in 2002, a little controversy was created due to my decision to participate in a protest outside United States embassy in Manila against the impending attack on Iraq, immediately a day after the award ceremony in which the award was handed over by the Philippines President. The then Chairperson of Magsaysay Foundation had tried to dissuade me from participating in the protest on the pretext that it’ll harm the reputation of the foundation. My contention was that the award mentioned my participation in a peace march in India for global nuclear disarmament from Pokaran to Sarnath in 1999 and hence my anti-war position was well known. I had to honour the decision taken at a peace conference at University in Manila which, coincidently, concluded on 31 August, the day Magsaysay Awards were handed over, to stage a protest at the US embassy as I was invited to the conference as well. After the protest on 1 September, a Manila newspaper, in an editorial challenged me saying that if I was the principled man that I would like them to believe then I should return the award to the US embassy before returning to India, This made the decision easier for me. I returned the cash component of the award from the airport which came from the Ford Foundation of the U.S. but in a letter to the Chairperson of Magsaysay Foundation I said that for the time being I was keeping the award as it was named after a former popular Philippines President and had been given in my country to personalities like Jayaprakash Narayan, Vinoba Bhave and Baba Amte, whom I considered as my ideals. I had mentioned in that letter that if the Magsaysay Foundation ever thought that I was harming their reputation too much, I would be happy to return the award as well.”   He further details: “ I think that the time has now come. Magsaysay Award is primarily funded by Rockefeller Foundation and the category in which I received the award is funded by Ford Foundation, both American foundations. Given the role of the US in blatantly supporting Israel in the current offensive against Palestinian citizens, more than 21,500 of whom are dead, and still continuing to sell arms to Israel, it has become unbearable for me to keep the award. I, therefore, am deciding to finally return the award too. I would like to apologise to the people of the Philippines if they feel hurt because of the association of President Ramon Magsaysay’s name with this award. My protest is only because of the American connection with the award… I have to take the hard decision because I think the US is singularly responsible in encouraging Israel to continue its aggression against Palestinians contrary to popular world opinion. It could have played the role of mediator, like it once did, and tried to negotiate peace between Israel and Palestine. Creation of the sovereign state of Palestine and its recognition by the United Nations as a full member is essential towards the solution of the problem. But it is strange that US, which not very long back handed over Afghanistan, much bigger in area, to Taliban on a silver platter knowing very well that it was jeopardizing the civil liberties of common Afghans, especially the women, parrots the Israeli position about Hamas being a terrorist organization ignoring the fact that Hamas has won an election in Palestine, unlike the Taliban. I feel that it is time to call out the double standards of US government… it is inexplicable why the US chooses to turn a blind eye to the misfortunes and sufferings of the Palestinians and overlook the crimes of Israeli defence forces. Had it been any other country, it would have imposed sanctions against it, like it did along with the rest of the world against South Africa, when apartheid was still practiced there.”

Pandey has also decided to return his US degrees. To the ‘why’, he explains: “As I return the Magsaysay award I also feel that I should relieve myself of the degrees I have obtained in the US. Hence, I am also taking a decision to return my Dual M.S. degrees in Manufacturing and Computer Engineering to Syracuse University in upstate New York and my Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering degree to the University of California at Berkeley. Incidentally, I was made aware of involvement of US academic institutions, especially their engineering and science departments, in defence projects during the protest on Berkeley campus in 1991 against the US war on Iraq launched by senior President Bush. A Professor Pravin Varaiya of Electrical Engineering, whose research area, Control Systems, was the same as mine, and who was a participant in the anti-was protests, made me realize that I was also unknowingly part of the war machine of the United States. Thus began my disillusionment with my research area and I decided to change my research area once I began teaching at Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur in 1992.”

Ending this column with this verse of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish:

‘Pride and Fury

O Homeland! O Eagle,

Plunging, through the bars of my cell,

Your fiery beak in my eyes!

All I possess in the presence of death

Is pride and fury.

I have willed that my heart be planted as a tree,

That my forehead become an abode for skylarks.

O eagle,

I am unworthy of your lofty wing,

I prefer a crown of flame.

O homeland!

We were born and raised in your wound,

And ate the fruit of your trees,

To witness the birth of your daybreak.

O eagle unjustly languishing in chains,

O legendary death which once was sought,

Your fiery beak is still plunged in my eye.’

As twin polls loom, campaigning hits the top gear in Haryana

By
Rajesh Moudgil
-

With the upcoming general election being just about five months away, all the political majors in Haryana seem have entered poll mode by holding back-to-back rallies; for the state assembly polls are also due later this year if not held along with the LS polls, writes Rajesh Moudgil

The last fortnight in Haryana saw all the political parties – the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its ally Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), the main opposition party Congress, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – holding rounds of rallies across the state. Why? While the general elections are due around the month of May, the state assembly polls are also due towards the year-end, in case these are not held simultaneously.

The national president of the BJP, JP Nadda was in Haryana – second time during the past fortnight – the last being in Panchkula city where he held a road-show with the state chief minister chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Nadda got a rousing welcome by score of party workers and supporters along about 1.5 km roadshow led by him along with Khattar and state party chief Nayab Saini and accompanied by other top party leaders of the state, including assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta, party affairs in-charge Biplab Kumar Deb and former state chief O P Dhankar.

Giving BJP a push ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Nadda in his address to a gathering on the occasion, claimed that the BJP would win all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana and form government for the third time at the centre and in the state.

He held that by the year 2027, India would become the world’s third-largest economic power and lauded Haryana chief minister for also effectively implementing the policies of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government.

Quoting an article published in a Chinese newspaper, Global Times, he lauded Modi’s policies, stating that “India is accelerating at a faster pace’’. Nadda further held that India was currently ranked fifth in the world in terms of the economy and was progressing at such a pace that it would become the third largest economic power by the year 2027.

He also lauded the “Parivar Pehchan Patra’’ (family identity cards) scheme initiated by the Haryana government and said that the same had brought a revolutionary change in the state eliminating the need for people to run around offices – instead, the government was reaching out to the people directly.

The ally rallies

Though a partner in ruling government, the JJP, which has already said to have announced that it would hold rallies in all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state this poll season, held its rally in Karnal a few days ago in which its top leaders – deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala and party president and his father, Ajay Chautala, exhorted JJP workers to gear up for the upcoming polls.

Notably, there have already been talks agog about the rough edges in the ties between BJP and JJP.

The JJP leaders called upon party workers to be ready for the upcoming polls and reach out to the people of the state so as to apprise them of the party’s vision. The JJP leaders also asked the workers to bring all the disgruntled workers back to the party fold amid the slogans to make Dushyant the chief ministerial candidate in the upcoming assembly polls.

The leaders also asked the workers to have the JJP flag atop their residences so as to show support to the party because of its achievements and vision. They lashed out at the Congress for allegedly misleading the people of the state on various issues. They said that since the general elections and the assembly polls were round the corner, workers should be ready for the same and their momentum should turn into a storm.

Principal opposition Congress

The Congress too has announced the start of the “Ghar-Ghar Congress, Har Ghar Congress’’ campaign in Haryana from January 15 during which it has been decided that the party would reach every home and every voter, showcasing the policies of the Congress and the failures of the government.

This was announced at a recent meeting presided over by party in-charge Deepak Babaria, former two-time chief minister and leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the state president Udai Bhan.

Several other senior leaders including Rajya Sabha member Deepender Hooda, party MLAs, former MLAs and other senior leaders also attended the meeting.

Babaria and Hooda held that there was a clear wave in favour of the Congress in the state. “Recently, the “Kisan Mazdoor Jan Aakrosh Rally’’ in Sirsa left all the rallies behind in terms of crowd attendance,” Hooda said and added that the actions of the ruling BJP-JJP government had been exposed before the public. The Congress during its rule had made Haryana number one in per capita income, investment, employment generation, law and order, development and prosperity, but the present government had made the state number one in unemployment, inflation, crime, drugs, corruption and atrocities. That is why the public is inclined towards Congress, he added.

Udai Bhan said that a 31-member committee would be formed at the booth level under the new campaign. “The responsibility of this committee would be to eliminate bogus votes, know the problems of the people and connect them with Congress through social media,” he said and added that war rooms would be set up by the party in Delhi and Chandigarh.

It may be recalled that Hooda and other party leaders have already been holding their separate events against the state BJP-JJP government.

Kejriwal rally on Jan 28

Meanwhile, even as the top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), namely Sushil Gupta and Anurag Dhanda, have already held rallies across the state in the past several days, the party supremo and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to hold a “badlav’’ (change) rally in Haryana on January 28.

Stating that the party had already held meetings with the party workers of almost all the districts for the January 28 rally, Gupta and Dhanda said that BJP was afraid of the increasing popularity of Kejriwal as well as the support of the AAP in Haryana and that is why it was bent upon cornering the party leader.

Congress, AAP move closer to sealing the seat-sharing deal

By
Pawan Kumar Bansal
-

The crucial seat sharing talks between the Congress and the AAP for states of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Goa and Delhi progressed well with AAP convenor Gopal Rai stating that seat-sharing formula would be finalised in the subsequent meeting.  A report by Pawan Kumar Bansal

Leaders of INDIA alliance partners insisted on rising above petty considerations for achieving the goal of ousting ‘communal and anti-minorities’ BJP from the power. Although inducting former Haryana CM Om Parksh Chautala-led Indian National Lok Dal into the alliance in Haryana was not officially discussed in the meeting but there was broader consensus on the issue which will be taken up later on. It is believed that once Bihar CM Nitish Kumar joins as convenor of the INDIA alliance, the issue of including INLD in the alliance be addressed. Nitish Kumar had a good relationship with Devi Lal, former deputy Prime Minister, who was the architect of the anti-Congress alliance, thirty four years back.

Nitish Kumar is pursuing the issue of inducting INLD into INDIA bloc in Haryana. Gopal Rai told newsmen in Delhi after the talks that out of these five states, AAP does not have a presence in the Haryana assembly. It is interesting to mention here that the Aam Aadmi party in Haryana had suffered serious set-back with former Haryana Minister Nirmal Singh and his daughter Chitra Sarwara, who held key positions in the party, subsequently  quitting the party and joining the Congress. More senior leaders of the party are reportedly in touch with both Congress as well as BJP, and may quit the party any time. AAP has sixty two out of seventy MLAs in Delhi: Ninety two out of one hundred seventeen in Punjab: four out of one hundred eighty two in Gujarat and two out of forty in Goa. Beaming Gopal Rai said that discussions were positive and we will contest the elections as alliance partners of INDIA to defeat NDA.

Congress general secretary Mukal Wasnik, National Alliance Committee member Ashok Gehlot, Delhi and Haryana incharge Deepak Babaria, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Arvind Singh Lovely, AAP national general secretary Sandeep Pathak and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj attended the meeting held in Delhi. Gopal Rai said that the seat sharing issue will be discussed in the next round of meetings. The Punjab Unit of Congress party had opposed alliance with AAP in Punjab accusing Bhagwan Maan-led Punjab government of indulging in politics of “vendetta ” against its leadership, but their views were brushed aside  by the national leadership.

Political analyst Dr. Ramesh Madaan told Tehelka that it will be win-win situation for both the Congress and AAP adding that key elements crucial for successful political alliance and strategies in the contemporary scenario includes open communication and coordination between alliance partners, common goals, understand regional and sub-regional dynamics, empowering local leadership at booth level, flexibility in seat allocation, fair representation, negotiation and accommodation and joint campaigning, adding that if alliance partners followed these guidelines, they could give tough fight to the NDA in ensuing Lok Sabha.

According to sources, Congress will contest on seven out of 10 Lok Sabha seats leaving the rest for the Indian National Lok Dal and AAP. In the last elections, all the 10 Congress candidates, including former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son Deepender Hooda had lost elections to BJP candidates. This time also, Union Home Minister, Amit Shah is working on repeating the past performance and at a recent rally had appealed to people of Haryana to gift 10 lotus flowers to the party, implying to get all the 10 BJP candidates elected.

Although Bhupinder Singh Hooda is still reluctant to the idea of the alliance with INLD arguing that Congress is capable of contesting on all the ten seats, it is believed that national leadership will ignore his objections as it strongly feels the necessity of alliance after defeat in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh.

Swaranjit Savi embodies a perfect confluence of art and literature

By
Raju William
-

Savi has been named the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award 2023 for his collection of Punjabi poetry ‘Mann Di Chip.’ The book showcases the creative use of digital metaphors – a first in Punjabi language – to express churnings of contemporary society’s sensibilities, writes Raju William

Punjabi poet Swaranjit Savi’s journey to literary fame is set in Punjab’s industrial hub, Ludhiana, where he grew up in a hyper commercial atmosphere listening and responding to his subtle creative urges.

On December 20, 2023 his name was announced for the year’s Sahitya Akademi Award,  India’s top official literary award for his collection of Punjabi poetry ‘Mann Di Chip’ (Chip of Mind). As the title suggests, the book showcases inarguably the best creative use of digital metaphors in poetry to express churnings of contemporary society’s sensibilities in a manner none has done before in the Punjabi language. Doing so, he takes on the monster called Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the realm of literature.  

Amidst an intense ongoing global – man versus machine – debate, Savi’s consciousness through his sublime poetic expressions strain to liberate from the AI-induced servility. Without sounding didactic, his poetry seeks willing conformity to this notion by the nations and communities of the world in shaping the future. For the Punjabi community, this issue is all the more significant due to its transnational character. With award winning book, the credit for making the Punjabi language and community a part of this debate goes to Savi.

Post graduate in English and Fine Arts, Savi is a versatile individual in the world of Punjabi art and literature. He is a poet, painter, sculptor, photographer, designer and publisher. His 16 published books of poetry and many translations have earned critical acclaim.

Also a Sahitya Akademi awardee Punjabi novelist, poet and critic, Dr Manmohan had once commented that in Savi’s poetry, one gets a glimpse of painting, and in his painting, one witnesses poetry in action. His photography creates sculpture and from his sculpture comes photography.  By creating a poetic scene through words, he complements the word-world of poetry. 

Will his creative attention now be more on sustaining recognition that poetry has got for him than other art forms?

“No dilemma. For me, all forms of creative expression complement one another. Recognition of my poetry is definitely a booster for me. After finishing any art work, be it painting or sculpting, I get up with a feeling as if something is still left unexpressed. Then my mind shifts to poetry to satisfy my deep urge to express the unsaid. The same is my state of mind when I write a poem and feel short of expression,” he responds.

In 2012, he arrived with a bang on the art scene as a sculptor when his creation ‘Evolution-II’ in stainless steel signifying the evolution of tools and language was installed at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Another masterpiece named Ekomkar Te Rabab adorns Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Chowk, Dera Baba Nanak since 2019. He has also designed plates of all the 15 Bhakts, whose poetry is included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, at Immigration Port, Indo-Pak border at Kartarpur Sahib.

He paints in the series form in oil, natural pigments on canvas and mix media on paper. Desire, The Quest, Leela, Nee Dhartiye, Impressions and Udasian Babey Nanak Dian are collections of his paintings on permanent display in India, the UK, the US, Canada, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Philippines.

The acclaimed poet has been following his passion of photography since student days at Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar. His exhibitions – Speaking Tree and Dancing Lines – have received wide appreciation.

Savi’s award winning work of poetry awaits wider appreciation. To achieve this objective, the Sahitya Akademi will get it translated in major Indian languages in due course.

No alliance with INDIA or NDA for 2024 LS polls, says Mayawati

By
Tehelka WebDesk
-

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati, on Monday, said that her party would fight the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections alone and would not join hands either with the INDIA bloc or the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Addressing a Press conference on her 68th birthday, Mayawati said she had no plans to retire from politics, as was being reported in a section of the media.

Asked about her post-poll options, Mayawati said that she would take a decision regarding supporting government formation but would not join any government.

Replying to a question, Mayawati said that she had received the invitation for the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple but had not taken a decision regarding attending it as yet.

She welcomed the construction of the temple and said that the BSP would also welcome the construction of the mosque because the party did not differentiate between religions.

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister Rajnath Singh and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav took to the micro-blogging site X to wish Mayawati on her birthday.

AAP and Congress are coming together to beat BJP in the mayoral election of Chandigarh

By
Tehelka WebDesk
-

Chandigarh : The mayoral elections of Chandigarh took an interesting turn on Monday when AAP and Congress came together and nominated their joint candidates to face the BJP for the Mayor race. This alliance of the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress for Chandigarh Mayor seat will pave the path for the both parties to fight the general election together in Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana to defeat the Bharatiya Janata party.

AAP will field its candidate for the Mayor post while Congress gets senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor positions. AAP and Congress together now have 20 councilors (13 councilors of the AAP and 7 councilors of Congress) and are clearly in a winning position for all three posts. 

Congress’s mayor candidate Jasbir Singh Bunty and AAP’s senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor candidate Neha and Poonam withdrew their nominations. Now, AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar Tita will challenge the BJP candidate for the Mayor’s office and Congress’s Gurpreet Gabi will fight for senior Deputy Mayor post and Congress’s Nirmala Devi for Deputy Mayor.

Informing about the AAP-Congress alliance, AAP Chandigarh incharge Jarnail Singh said that together we will easily win this election and finally Chandigarh will have a Mayor other than the BJP. He added that we have had more councilors since the beginning but the BJP forcibly and unconstitutionally made their Mayor twice but this time they won’t succeed. Jarnail Singh said that Chandigarh will set an example that together we can defeat the BJP.

AAP leader said that to end the dictatorship of the BJP, AAP and Congress have decided to fight this election together. The BJP has done nothing for the welfare of Chandigarh and its people but now it will change. With the AAP mayor Chandigarh will see new heights of the development and public welfare works. He said that Chandigarh will set precedent and soon the whole country will follow to beat the dictatorial powers in our country.

Army chief says,’ dealing with proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir’

By
Tehelka WebDesk
-

Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Sunday highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by the security forces in dealing with a “proxy war” in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a message aired on All India Radio on the eve of Army Day  on January 15, the Army Chief, while not explicitly naming Pakistan,  alluded to the neighboring country’s involvement in supporting proxy activities in the region.

“The Indian Army has a vital role to play in ensuring a stable and secure environment, which is crucial for the nation’s progress to continue unabated,” PTI quoted him as saying.

“The transition towards becoming a modern, agile, adaptive and technology-enabled, future-ready force, will continue as part of our transformation roadmap,” he added.

General Pande emphasized the Indian Army’s commitment to countering the proxy war with a professional approach and collaborative operations with other security forces in the region. He assured the nation that the Indian Army maintained a robust posture at the borders and was fully prepared to handle any threats, prioritizing the protection of the country’s territorial integrity at all costs.

In his message, the Army Chief mentioned the achievements in capability development aligning with the concept of ‘atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance), to which the army was fully dedicated. General Pande outlined the army’s commitment to transforming into a modern, agile, adaptive, and technology-enabled force, emphasizing the importance of technology as a catalyst for transformative change.

For the year 2024, General Pande declared it as the ‘Year of Technology Absorption,’ signifying the army’s focus on leveraging technology for future readiness. He stressed the continued responsibility towards veterans and ‘Veer Naris,’ describing it as a sacred commitment. The army chief pledged ongoing efforts to enhance welfare initiatives, proactively address grievances, and reach out to ex-servicemen.

The Army Day parade, scheduled to take place in Lucknow, will commemorate the achievements of Field Marshal KM Cariappa, the first Indian Commander in Chief of the Army, who assumed command on January 15, 1949, marking a significant moment in India’s military history. Army Day is observed annually on January 15.

PM Modi, President Putin hold talks on stronger defence, trade ties

By
Tehelka WebDesk
-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two reviewed the progress on a number of issues of bilateral cooperation in follow-up to recent high-level exchanges between the two countries, according to a PMO statement.

“Had a wonderful meeting with President Putin. We got the opportunity to discuss furthering India-Russia cooperation in sectors such as trade, energy, defence and more. We also discussed other bilateral and global issues, ” PM Modi posted on X.

PM Modi and President Putin positively assessed the developments in bilateral relations and agreed to develop a roadmap for future initiatives to further strengthen the India-Russia Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership, the PMO statement said.

PM conveyed his best wishes for Russia’s Presidency of BRICS in 2024 and assured of India’s full support. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch, the statement added.

“A number of international topics were touched upon, including the situation around Ukraine, ” the Kremlin’s press service said following the conversation.

“Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi expressed interest in further enhancing mutually beneficial bilateral ties and wished each other success in the upcoming presidential elections in Russia and parliamentary elections in India, ” the statement said.

1...238239240...1,608Page 239 of 1,608

MOST POPULAR

Load more

HOT NEWS

Tehelka
TEHELKA is the fastest growing national news group for English & Hindi news magazines. The core value of the brand is to uphold the truth with a free, fair and fearless attitude. The company has a high standard of excellence in journalism and a commitment to assist in India’s fight against corruption. News is published in the maximum number of languages to maintain a stronger circulation base across the country.
Contact us: wecare@tehelka.com