Monsoon Session Kicks Off On A Stormy Note: LS Adjourned Amid Sindoor Row, Demands For PM Statement
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Business Standard
3 minutes ago
- Business Standard
PM Modi congratulates Amit Shah on becoming longest-serving home minister
Addressing the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Members of Parliament (MPs) on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has become the longest-serving incumbent in his ministry, surpassing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran L K Advani. 'It is just the beginning,' the PM said, adding that there is a long way to go for Shah — a remark that led some MPs to speculate on its possible implications. Shah took charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs on May 30, 2019, and continued as the country's home minister in 2024. On Tuesday, he became the longest-serving home minister with a tenure of six years and 66 days, surpassing Congress leader Gobind Ballabh Pant, who held the post for six years and 65 days between 1955 and 1961. Advani was home minister for six years and 64 days between 1998 and 2004. Shah reached this milestone on the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, which Parliament repealed on August 5, 2019. Currently, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who turned 74 in July, ranks second in the Union Council of Ministers. He has served in the first and second Modi-led NDA governments between 2014 and 2024. After the PM, he was the first Cabinet minister to take the oath of office in 2014, 2019, and again in 2024. At Tuesday's meeting, MPs felicitated the PM for his "exceptional leadership" in marshalling India's response following the Pahalgam terror attack. A resolution passed at the meeting praised the armed forces for their "unmatched courage" and "unwavering commitment" during Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev. Singh garlanded Modi, with Shah and Union Minister and BJP president J P Nadda by his side. After the meeting, Singh led MPs from the Parliament Library Building — the venue — to the Parliament House. The PM told BJP and allied MPs that they should participate actively in all programmes as part of the ruling coalition, irrespective of their party's individual strength in a particular region. In some states, the BJP may not be as strong as its allies, but all parties must act together as NDA members, he said. Sources present at the meeting said the PM's broader message was about maintaining cohesion and coordination within the alliance. Leaders of NDA allies joined BJP leaders in the front row at the meeting. The BJP and its allies currently govern in 19 out of 28 states and are preparing for the upcoming Assembly polls in Bihar. The NDA Parliamentary Party meeting was last held on July 2, 2024. At Tuesday's gathering, Modi also noted the historical significance of August 5. Article 370 was abrogated on this day in 2019, and the ground-breaking ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya took place on August 5, 2020. The NDA resolution paid tribute to the 26 civilians who lost their lives in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, carried out by terrorists linked to Pakistan. It also praised Modi for his leadership. The NDA is yet to announce its candidate for the vice-presidential election, scheduled for September 9. The last date for filing nominations is August 21. The BJP is also expected to elect its next president soon.
Scroll.in
3 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
Rush Hour: Several dead in Uttarkashi flash flood, President's Rule extended in Manipur and more
We're building a brand-new studio to bring you bold ground reports, sharp interviews, hard-hitting podcasts, explainers and more. Support Scroll's studio fund today. At least four persons died and several were feared missing after a cloudburst triggered a flash flood in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. A rescue operation was underway in the Dharali area, which is about 18 kms from the Hindu pilgrimage town of Gangotri. The disaster relief forces and the Indian Army were involved in the rescue operation. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that people were being evacuated to safe locations on a priority basis and the situation was being monitored. Read more. Parliament extended the President's Rule in Manipur by six months. The statutory resolution was passed in the Rajya Sabha through a voice vote on Tuesday. The Lok Sabha cleared the resolution on Thursday. President's Rule was imposed in the North East state on February 13, four days after Bharatiya Janata Party leader N Biren Singh resigned as the chief minister amid allegations from Kuki-Zomi-Hmar groups that his response to the ethnic violence was partisan and that he had stoked majoritarianism. Manipur has seen ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities since May 2023. At least 260 persons have been killed and more than 59,000 persons displaced since the violence broke out. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024. Read more. Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik died on Tuesday. He was 79. Malik was undergoing treatment for kidney-related ailments in a hospital in Delhi. He served as the last governor of Jammu and Kashmir from August 2018 to October 2019. He also held the post in Bihar (2017-2018), Goa (2019-2020) and Meghalaya (2020-2022). Malik was an MP in the 1980s, and jumped parties including the Congress, the Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party. He also served as the Union minister of state for parliamentary affairs and tourism in 1990. In recent years, Malik made several allegations of corruption in Jammu and Kashmir, and Goa. He had also claimed in an interview in April 2023 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him not to speak about the alleged security lapses that led to the Pulwama terror attack in 2019. Read more. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra defended her brother Rahul Gandhi a day after the Supreme Court criticised his remarks on alleged Chinese incursions. 'With due respect to the honourable judges, they do not decide who a true Indian is,' Vadra said. 'It is the duty of the Opposition leader to question the government.' On Monday, the court told Rahul Gandhi that a 'true Indian' would not make remarks such as those he had about China having allegedly intruded into Indian territory. The bench made the comments while hearing his petition seeking to quash a defamation case against him.
The Wire
3 minutes ago
- The Wire
Modi Govt Responsible for 'Return of Cross-Border Militancy': J&K Human Rights Forum
The forum notes in its report that post-Pahalgam attack, the situation has worsened in J&K, despite the fact that Kashmiri people condemned the Pahalgam attack and repudiated the terrorists goals to foment Hindu-Muslim polarisation and instability. New Delhi: The Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir (FHRJK) – an informal group of concerned citizens that includes the likes of former Union home secretary Gopal Pillai, former Supreme Court judges Madan Lokur and Ruma Pal, former chief justice of Delhi and Madras high court A.P. Shah, and former member of group of interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir Radha Kumar – in its recently released report has placed the blame entirely on the Narendra Modi government for the 'return of cross-border militancy' in Kashmir. 'The Union Home Ministry's policy of placing non-State officers ('outsiders') to helm civilian security and governance' and 'jettisoning of experienced local officers' that followed as a result of the Narendra Modi government's unilateral decision to reorganise Jammu and Kashmir as a union territory and concentrate power in its own hands 'entailed a paucity of intelligence from the ground and contributed to the security lapses that allowed cross-border militancy to return to the Pir Panjal and Chenab valley areas of Jammu from 2020-2021 on, and then allowed it to spread to Kashmir…,' the report states. 'It contributed, too, to the failure to prevent the Pahalgam terrorist attack,' it adds. The 2025 report is the sixth annual report released by the FHRJK, which was formed after the Union government diluted Article 370 and reorganised Jammu and Kashmir. Compiled on the basis of government sources, media accounts, NGO fact-finding reports, interviews and information gathered through legal petitions, the report notes that in spite of the assembly elections in September-October 2024, the people of the union territory continue to feel disempowered. It says that the Transaction of Business Rules issued by the Union home ministry on July 12, 2024, months ahead of the assembly elections, ensured that the Union government retained most of the administrative powers in J&K through the Lieutenant-Governor and held control over 'civil servants, the police, the Attorney-General, and prosecutorial services'. The report states that the extent of the Union government's control could be gauged from the fact that soon after the Omar Abdullah government came to power with a comprehensive majority, the L-G returned his proposal for 'allocation of portfolios to Ministers and establishment of a mechanism to resolve difference of opinion between the elected and centrally appointed administrations, with queries as to whether it was in accordance with the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019.' It further notes that post-Pahalgam attack, the situation has worsened in J&K, as despite the fact that Kashmiri people condemned the Pahalgam attack and repudiated the terrorists goals to foment Hindu-Muslim polarisation and instability, the police investigators hastily announced the involvement of two Kashmiris in the attack, only to retract later. However, in the meantime, the evidence-less declaration resulted in a pan-India backlash against Kashmiris, the report says. 'Allegedly, over 2,800 people have been detained or summoned for questioning and over 100 have been arrested under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). There are daily cordon and search operations as well as raids; continuing purges of local officers; intimidation of the media, and other scantily verified or unjustified harassments detailed in this report's section on civilian security,' the report says, adding that 'the post-Pahalgam environment, which was widely conducive to the re-establishment of peace building initiatives, is thus already being vitiated.' The report goes on to recommend that such 'vitiation of civil and political rights, including oversight institutions' can be contained only by granting the promised statehood to the union territory. Yet, there are still no signs by the Modi government of 'fulfilling its promise', even after several MPs demanding restoration of statehood in J&K in the run-up to the monsoon session of the parliament. The forum has demanded a rollback of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, and an immediate discussion between Ladakhi representatives and the Union government on demands of Ladakh's statehood and its incorporation in the Sixth Schedule, too. Pahalgam security lapse The report found that there was 'a major security lapse by the Lieutenant-Governor's administration and the Union Home Ministry' in the case of Pahalgam terror attack. The report confirmed that intelligence warning of an attack was 'received in actionable time' but the security reviews were both 'feeble and incompetent'. A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) picket close to the Baisaran meadow, where the attack took place, was removed in January, 2025, the report notes, and was not reinstated even after intelligence inputs about a possible attack. Further, the FHRJK found that 'the responsibility of Union home minister Amit Shah remains to be acknowledged' as he 'personally supervised repeated security reviews following the intelligence that an attack was being planned'. The report also holds the Union gvoernment accountable for not preventing a backlash against Kashmiris in various parts of India and allowing hate speech and hateful actions against them in the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack. The FHRJK expressed concern about Pakistani military response to 'Operation Sindoor' that it thought 'revealed a new level of China-Pakistan defence cooperation' that included not only supply of arms but also 'onsite guidance by Chinese military-strategic personnel'. This, the report says, deviates from China's earlier stance of non-involvement in the India-Pakistan conflict, and can add to India's challenges in the context of 'China's encroachments in Ladakh'. Despite the Union government increasing expenditure on security in J&K, amounting to Rs 1347.79 crores, the FHRJK believes that merely enhancing security measures could be ineffective as the Pahalgam incident showed. '...the immediate and past lessons of counterinsurgency are being ignored. As our own experience has repeatedly shown, armed attacks dwindle only when the local people and their elected representatives are involved in peace building on the ground, and when security forces are seen to adhere to the human rights guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in 1997, which were included in the Indian Army's 'List of Dos and Don'ts' under the Armed Forces (Special Protection) Act,' the report says. Apart from pressing for restoration of statehood for J&K and Ladakh, the FHRJK recommended opening a dialogue between parliamentarians and members of legislative assembly on the special status of J&K and reinstating J&K's oversight commissions like the Human Rights Commission, the Women's Commission, the Accountability Commission and the Information Commission which were shut down after Article 370 was hollowed out. The FHRJK is chaired by former Union home secretary Gopal Pillai and former member of group of interlocutors Radha Kumar, and its members are: Justice Ruma Pal, former judge of the Supreme Court of India Justice Madan Lokur, former judge of the Supreme Court of India Justice AP Shah, former Chief Justice of the Madras and Delhi High Courts Justice Bilal Nazki, former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court Justice Hasnain Masoodi, former judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Justice Anjana Prakash, former judge of the Patna High Court Probir Sen, former Secretary-General, National Human Rights Commission Amitabha Pande, former Secretary, Inter-State Council, Government of India Moosa Raza, former Chief Secretary, Government of Jammu and Kashmir Shantha Sinha, former chairperson, National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights Major-General Ashok Mehta (retd) Air Vice-Marshal Kapil Kak (retd) Lieutenant-General H S Panag (retd) Colonel Yoginder Kandhari (retd) Enakshi Ganguly, Co-founder and former Co-director, HAQ Centre for Child Rights Ramachandra Guha, writer and historian Anand Sahay, columnist Shivani Sanghvi, lawyer Abhishek Babbar, lawyer The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
