China protests to India over PM Modi's greetings to Dalai Lama on his birthday
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Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Bihar Voter List Row: SC to hear pleas challenging Election Commission's decision today
Bihar Voter List Row: The Supreme Court will today hear the batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India's special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The SC bench, comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, has over 10 related matters, including the SIR issue, listed for hearing on July 10 On July 9, the top court agreed to hear a fresh plea by two social activists, Arshad Ajmal and Rupesh Kumar, challenging the poll panel's decision to undertake extensive revision of electoral rolls in the state. The activists have said the exercise undermines the principles of free and fair elections and representative democracy, both integral features of the Constitution's basic structure, by introducing arbitrary, unreasonable and disproportionate documentation requirements related to birth, residence and citizenship. Besides, lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has filed a separate plea supporting the move and seeking a direction to the poll panel to conduct the SIR to ensure only Indian citizens decide the polity and policy, not the illegal foreign infiltrators.' The demography of 200 districts and 1,500 tehsils has changed after independence due to massive illegal infiltration, deceitful religious conversion and population explosion. Demography is destiny, and dozens of districts have already seen their destiny being shaped by those who aren't Indians," he said. On July 7, the bench noted the submissions of lawyers led by senior counsel Kapil Sibal, who was representing several petitioners, and agreed to hear the pleas on July 10. Sibal, who is representing RJD MP Manoj Jha, urged the bench to issue notices to the poll panel on the petitions, calling it an "impossible task" within the timeline as elections were to happen in the state in November. Senior advocate Abhishek M Singhvi, appearing for another petitioner, said of the eight crore voters in the state, four crore voters would have to submit their documents under the exercise. "The timeline is so strict, and if by July 25 you don't submit the documents, you will be out," Singhvi added. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for another petitioner, said the poll panel was not accepting Aadhaar cards and voter ID cards as proof for the exercise. Posting the matter on July 10, Justice Dhulia said the timeline was not sanctified at present as elections hadn't been notified yet. The bench asked the petitioners to give advance notice of their petitions to the counsel for the Election Commission of India. Election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) is also one of the petitioners. Beside RJD MP Jha and Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Congress' K C Venugopal, Supriya Sule from the Sharad Pawar NCP faction, D Raja from Communist Party of India, Harinder Singh Malik from Samajwadi Party, Arvind Sawant from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), Sarfraz Ahmed from Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Dipankar Bhattacharya of CPI (ML) have jointly moved the top court. All leaders have challenged the Election Commission's order directing for SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar and sought direction for its quashing. Jha, in his plea filed through advocate Fauzia Shakil, argues that the EC's June 24 order should be quashed for violating Articles 14 (fundamental right to equality), 21 (fundamental right to life and liberty), 325 (no person can be excluded from electoral roll based on caste, religion, and sex) and 326 (every citizen of India who has attained 18 years of age is eligible to be registered as a voter) of the Constitution. "The impugned order prescribes a schedule and requires the submission of enumeration form within 30 days, followed by filing of claims and objections and their disposal within 30 days," the plea said. Moitra sought a direction from the apex court to restrain the EC from issuing similar orders for SIR of electoral rolls in other states of the country. The poll panel's SIR exercise, which started in Bihar on June 25, has triggered a political storm. The opposition Congress has dubbed it 'a rigging attempt' orchestrated by the Election Commission under instructions from the ruling regime. At least half a dozen petitions by political parties, individuals, and civil society groups have been filed in the Supreme Court against what they call a 'blatantly unconstitutional' exercise. The impugned order prescribes a schedule and requires the submission of enumeration form within 30 days, followed by filing of claims and objections and their disposal within 30 days. Opposition leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and several others of the INDIA bloc led a march to the Election Commission's office in Patna as part of the protest. The poll panel has said that the intensified revision's objective is to ensure that the names of all eligible citizens are included in the electoral roll so as to enable them to exercise their franchise, that no ineligible voter is included in the electoral roll, and that complete transparency is introduced in the process of adding or deleting electors in the electoral roll.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Netas' aggression amplified by social media jolts city
Mumbai: With activists of political parties resorting to violence in the name of asserting Marathi asmita (prestige), a sense of unease has gripped many, especially in the class engaged in providing services and running small establishments. They fear that they or their employees could be targeted because they do not speak Marathi fluently. Political aggression manifesting in acts of violence like the Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad who slapped a canteen staff at the MLA hostel on Tuesday has also become a cause of concern. Some say the so-called "language war" needs to be curbed urgently. Puran Singh Rajput, whose family is from Nathdwara in Rajasthan, runs a grocery shop in Mira Road. "I was born here and know Marathi, but my father who has been in the city for three decades cannot speak Marathi. I fear that tomorrow any activist can confront my father and humiliate him just because he does not speak Marathi," said Rajput. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai A taxi driver from UP, who did not want to be named, said his grasp of Marathi is "30%". "I've been working in Mumbai for 25 years and picked it up on the job. I can answer basic questions, if someone wants to test me," he said, adding that this inadequacy has now led to a sense of insecurity. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 月 *만원대 '실비보험' 최적가 비교추천! "月 보험료 낮추고, 보장은 든든하게"... 굿리치 [등록번호:제2006038313호] 가격 받기 Undo He said Indians should be free to work anywhere in the country, and not be constrained by language. "Maharashtrians live and work in different states and no one demands that they learn Bhojpuri in Bihar or Oriya in Odisha. Then why do we, in Maharashtra, learn Marathi? This is nothing but politics," he said. Many say learning the language is an advantage but forcing someone to speak it is akin to fuelling linguistic chauvinism, and using violence to "punish" those who cannot speak this language is simply lawlessness. They blame misuse of social media to amplify acts of violence perpetrated in the name of linguistic supremacy. Shaikh Abdullah, whose Kurla-based bakery employs around 200 workers from different states, said, to win voters ahead of BMC polls, political workers are coining bigoted slogans and creating a climate of fear. "We've people from different states working for us. It does not matter if someone is a Bihari or Maharashtrian or from Kerala as long as he or she works efficiently. But there is a fear that someone might hurt them if they fail the language test," said Abdullah. Captain Nalin Bilochan Pandey, originally from Bihar, runs a shipping company in Navi Mumbai. "There are 25 employees, including seafarers and 90% of them are Maharashtrians. It is worrying that, for political gain, some leaders encourage their cadre to resort to violence against those who can't speak Marathi. One of my Maharashtrian employees failed in Marathi in matriculation exam while my daughter who has a Bihari origin topped in Marathi in her school at the same Board exam," said Pandey.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Arunachal shares a border with Tibet, China has no role in Dalai's successor: Khandu
1 2 Guwahati: Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu in a pointed and strategic statement on Wednesday asserted that originally his state shares a 1200-km long border with Tibet , not China. Khandu's statement made in an interview with PTI in New Delhi shortly after returning attending the 14th Dalai Lama 's 90th birthday at Dharamshala, subtly rejected Beijing's narrative and underscores that the region's identity is distinct from China's claim over entire Arunachal Pradesh as "South Tibet" or Zangnan and its frequent practice of renaming places in the state to assert its claims. When the interviewer suggested that Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,200-km border with China, Khandu instantly shot back, "Let me correct you here. We share a border with Tibet and not China." Khandu went on saying China forcefully occupied Tibet in 1950 and today officially Tibet is under China and "that can't be ruled out. But originally, we share border with Tibet. In Arunachal, we share three international boundaries - with Bhutan approximately 150 kms, with Tibet 1200 kms, which is one of the longest in the country and on the eastern side Myanmar approximately 550 kms." He buttressed his statement saying that if one looks at the map, "none of the Indian states directly share borders with China. We share the border with Tibet only." From the political timing and symbolism, Khandu's statement serves as a diplomatic message at a time when China has intensified its rhetoric on the Dalai Lama's succession. Khandu's remarks also reinforce union Kiren Rijiju's, also a Buddhist from Arunachal Pradesh, direct counter to China's longstanding claim that only Beijing can approve the next Dalai Lama. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Rijiju, a few days back saying that the decision on the Dalai Lama's successor rests solely with the Dalai Lama and the established Tibetan Buddhist conventions—not with any government, including China. The Dalai Lama, meanwhile, has declared that the Gaden Phodrang Trust (his official office) alone holds the authority to recognize his future reincarnation, and that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue on Tibetan terms. Amid these, Khandu's border clarification is more than a semantic distinction—it appears to be a deliberate assertion of India's historical and legal claims, a gesture of solidarity with Tibet, and a challenge to China's territorial narrative and this move is likely to increase diplomatic friction, complicate border negotiations, and reinforce the deep trust deficit that currently characterizes India-China relations. Khandu also said that the world's largest dam project on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, the Tibetan name for Brahmaputra, being built by China near the Arunachal Pradesh border will be a ticking "water bomb", an existential threat and a bigger issue than anything else apart from the military threat. Khandu said the dam project is a matter of grave concern as China is not a signatory to the international water treaty that could have forced it to abide by international norms and cautioned, "The issue is that China cannot be trusted. No one knows what they might do." Had China signed the international water treaty, Khandu said, there would have been no problem because it would be mandatory to release a certain amount of water downstream for the basin, for aquatic and marine life. "But China is not a signatory, and that is the problem... Suppose the dam is built and they suddenly release water, our entire Siang belt would be destroyed. In particular, the Adi tribe and similar groups... would see all their property, land, and especially human life, suffer devastating effects," he said. The chief minister said that because of this, after discussions with the Government of India, the Arunachal Pradesh government has conceived a project called the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, which will serve as a defence mechanism and ensure water For this reason, Khandu said, the state government is holding discussions with the local Adi tribes and others in the area. Asked what the government can do against the Chinese move, the chief minister said the government just cannot simply protest and sit idle. "Who will make China understand? Since we cannot make China see reason, it is better that we focus on our own defence mechanisms and preparations. That is what we are fully engaged in at the moment," he told PTI. Khandu also pointed out that The Dalai Lama should be honoured with the Bharat Ratna and he will soon be writing to the central government to recommend India's highest civilian award for the Tibetan spiritual leader On the succession of the 14th Dalai Lama, Khandu said that Beijing has no locus standi in the selection of the next Dalai Lama since Tibetan Buddhism is not even practised in mainland China unlike in Tibet and the Himalayan regions of India. "I don't know why China is objecting to it, they must have their own policy. In mainland China, there are followers of Buddhism, which is ancient, just like in other nations. However, the Dalai Lama Institute is only in Tibet, and people from the Himalayan belt follow him. There is no Dalai Lama Institute in China, so I do not know how China is going to decide. China has no role in it," he told PTI
