EPS asks Centre to support Tamil Nadu mango farmers
In a statement, Palaniswami said, 'Monetary compensation under the PDPS scheme would be highly beneficial to the mango farmers of Tamil Nadu, as they have suffered significant losses, since mango is a seasonal crop cultivated only once a year.'
Palaniswami said the Centre, under the PDPS, has agreed to compensate the farmers up to 2.5 lakh tonnes of Totapuri mangoes to offset massive losses. He also criticised the DMK government for failing to redress the grievances of mango farmers in the state.
Accusing the government of remaining a 'mute spectator' to the issue, PMK 'president' Anbumani Ramadoss said Karnataka and AP governments have taken sincere steps to safeguard their farmers. Recently, the state government announced that after June 20, the mango pulp producing companies would procure the fruits at a remunerative price. But four days have passed since, the companies did not start procuring mangoes, he said, 'At least, the government should provide Rs 4,000/tonne as incentive.'
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Indian Express
22 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Mere apprehension…': High Court declares arrest of Goa councillor over ‘PFI links' unlawful
Declaring the arrest of an elected councillor of a local body for being an alleged member of the Popular Front of India (PFI) as 'unlawful', the High Court of Bombay at Goa has held that a mere apprehension that the person may indulge in illegal activities in future is insufficient ground to justify arrest under section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The central government declared the PFI and its affiliates as 'Unlawful Association' under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on September 27, 2022. The petitioner, Sarfaraz Sayyad, a municipal councillor from Valpoi Municipal Council, was arrested on September 29, 2022, along with three other people, by the Goa Police by invoking section 151 of CrPC on the premise that he is a member of the PFI. After being produced before the court, they were directed to be released on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each and a surety residing within the local limits of Valpoi police station of Rs 1 lakh. The petitioner challenged this order. In an order passed on August 11, a Division Bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita P Mehta said the police did not place sufficient material before the magistrate, except for stating that the PFI was declared as an Unlawful Association under the UAPA and it was suspected that the members of PFI are likely to indulge in activities, which were likely to disturb the peace in the locality. 'No other specific material was placed before the Magistrate regarding the design or intention to indulge in any cognisable offence, which could not have been prevented unless and until he was arrested. The mere apprehension that the person may indulge in illegal activities in future and there is a possibility of breach of peace in the locality or commission of any cognisable offence, according to us, is not sufficient ground which would justify exercise of this power,' the court said. The power conferred on the police officer necessarily must be discharged with accountability and responsibility, the court said. 'We do not find any material in that regard as we have noted that except expressing an apprehension of likelihood of such activity being committed, with no concrete material establishing the link of the petitioner with the PFI or substantially establishing that he has indulged in activities of the Unlawful Association in the past giving rise to an apprehension that he may indulge into the said activities, upon it being declared an Unlawful Association, is conspicuously absent,' the court went on to say. The court stressed that the petitioner has a right to contend that his image in the society has been tarnished on account of his wrongful arrest without any incriminating material justifying the arrest under the said provision. 'When we test the aforesaid arrest in the backdrop of Article 21, i.e. 'right to life and liberty', which has considered a right to reputation as a cherished right and an important facet of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, as the term 'life' is of wider amplitude and necessarily convey, life with dignity and involve reputation of a person, with the petitioner being enjoying a position in the society, he definitely has a right to contend that his image in the society has been tarnished on account of the action of his wrongful arrest without sufficiency of the material justifying such an arrest under Section 151 of the CrPC,' the court said. The court thus held that the arrest of the petitioner is 'liable to be declared as unlawful' and granted him liberty to seek compensation before an appropriate forum.
The Wire
25 minutes ago
- The Wire
Modi's I-Day Speech Shows It Is No Longer Ideas or Hope but Hate That Excites His Supporters
But the PM's words do not merely evoke disquiet – they are actually dangerous, and their consequences are borne by Muslims and Christians. Listening to Narendra Modi's speeches is nothing less than a trial. And an ordeal. How can anyone endure nearly two hours of such tedium, a speech full of falsehood, empty boasts, puffed-up bravado that – most pernicious of all – is saturated with the poison of hatred? But why are these speeches delivered with such audacity, repeated for 11 years? If they continue, and the speaker thinks that there are people ready to receive them, the responsibility lies not only with the speaker but even more so with those who keep listening to such demagoguery. For, in truth, it is we who have allowed this. We have sustained – and re-elected, not once but twice, this man as our prime minister for over a decade. We have done so fully aware that his only mastery lies in one trade: the trade of hate. Perhaps we tolerate Modi's bluster, his swagger, his lies, because behind all of it lies a single undiluted truth that we love and want: this hatred. In the official press release that followed his speech, the Prime Minister's Office spoke of fortifying our defences with an expanded security envelope, of fostering strategic sectors, of repeating the mantra of an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' in technology and industry. Youth and entrepreneurs were urged to embrace swadeshi. All this is stale stuff. Those fortunate enough to secure employment in the private sector were promised Rs 15,000 – a sum intended to absolve the government of its fundamental responsibility to provide work. It is now for you to secure work, and if you are lucky enough, then the government rewards you with a paltry sum of Rs 15,000. But the central point of the speech was Operation Sindoor and a demographic task force. Operation Sindoor was presented as a watershed moment in the history of independent India, a new normal in the war against terrorism. Or against Pakistan. And yet, we know that respected security experts have called it a costly and pointless folly. India failed to mobilise support for this foolhardiness even after spreading scores of MPs across the world. It left India looking pitiable. Defence experts warned that calling this 'new normal' a doctrine was not bold – it was dangerous. What he is promising to his constituents is a continuous war. Only that will keep them enthralled. A social activist and blood campaigner makes a portrait of Prime Minister Narendra Modi using blood at a demonstration organised to celebrate 'Operation Sindoor', in Bhopal, Saturday, May 10, 2025. Photo: PTI. An official press release talked about the mundane: 'Prime Minister's address focussed on self-reliance, innovation and citizen empowerment … Every Indian must contribute to nation-building, whether by buying India-made products or participating in scientific, technological and entrepreneurial ventures to ensure a prosperous, powerful and Viksit Bharat by the nation's centenary of independence.' These phrases – self-reliance, 'Vocal for Local', indigenous and so on – have been repeated ad nauseam over the last 11 years and they have worn thin. Modi's record is stuck, static – the needle refuses to move forward. These words no longer excite his supporters – they know that they are recited as ritual. What can move them, then? Not ideas. Not hope. The only thing cutting through this tedium is hatred – each shot a higher dose than the last. But these words have to be spoken, for his civilised apologists to find something positive in his speech, the mainstay of which is actually division and hatred. That hatred becomes a stimulant, injecting enthusiasm into his disheartened audience. Their blood pulses faster; life recedes until it finds purpose again in rage. Long ago, Sonia Gandhi called Modi the 'merchant of death'. She was criticised – but the sobriquet fits, because the result of this hatred is indeed death. After his coronation as the promoter of hate in 2014, Pune witnessed the murder of Mohsin Sheikh. His killers gloated, 'the first wicket has fallen'. That was but the beginning. Death and destruction have followed in a daily, unrelenting stream. Muslims and Christians are the targets of that hatred – and they alone bear its consequences. Most Hindus don't even notice. When Muslims or Christians object, they are told: 'You are over-sensitive, too touchy, too fragile, too reactive. You are making a mountain out of a molehill.' But the BJP leaders – including Modi – and dozens more associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) promote hate and violence day in and day out. Their foot soldiers execute violence across India. And now, the state – its police, its bureaucracy – has joined in, emboldened by the prime minister and the chief ministers, confident that this is now the state policy. Worse, many in the police and the administrative ranks themselves believe in the ideology of hate. After Modi's coronation as the promoter of hate in 2014, death and destruction have followed in a daily, unrelenting stream. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty. The courts, too, remain indifferent, as if violence against Muslims or Christians is no big deal. The media marches ahead – in both promoting and legitimising this hatred and violence. Yet hate wounds even the hater – it just reveals itself much later. Initially, the hater feels powerful. History is witness to this – and yet, how rare it is for us to learn from distant countries. We believe that by understanding the price the German people paid for choosing Hitler, we will save ourselves – a naivety. When, after 1945, Germany emerged from Hitler's terror and declared 'never again', it was not just a declaration for themselves – the world needed to hear it. India, in arrogance, believed that we too were immune to the charms of demagogues like Hitler. But there was an organisation – the RSS – that claimed inspiration from Hitler and Mussolini. And among its members is one Modi. In 2025, the RSS completes a century of existence. It has been complicit in inciting violence against Muslims – before and after independence. The organisation keeps no records of its members, so it can always distance itself from their actions – yet everyone knows its role. Former members have testified how the RSS has plotted violence. The RSS isn't just one organisation: the Vishva Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad are its branches. Evidence of their involvement in violence across India stretches decades back. On Independence Day, the prime minister sang the RSS's praises. For him, a volunteer, it was natural – maybe even right. But he is the prime minister of India. That the chief of the state should engage in such praise of an organisation which has a Hindu rashtra as its ideal is shameful. Modi spoke about 'infiltrators' in fierce terms in his speech, saying: 'Under a deliberate conspiracy, the country's demography is being changed … infiltrators are stealing the livelihoods of our youth … targeting our daughters and sisters … deceiving innocent Adivasis and seizing their land … this will not be tolerated … when demographic shifts occur near our borders, they become a threat to national security, sow social discord … no country can hand itself over to infiltrators … that is why I announce from the Red Fort: we have decided to launch a high‑power demography mission … this mission will address the grave crisis.' This is not the first time. Since 2013, the fear of infiltrators has been planted in the Hindu psyche. In the Jharkhand elections, he talked again of outsiders eyeing Adivasi land and women. In Bihar, voter roll purges in the name of a special intensive revision (SIR) justified as removing infiltrators was deemed necessary. Today, every Bengali-speaking Muslim is branded an infiltrator. The prime minister's words could fuel this violence – they do not merely evoke disquiet, as an editorial suggested – they are actually dangerous. Photo: A child wears a headband that reads, 'I am Bengali, not Bangladeshi' during a protest rally in Kolkata on July 23, 2025. Credit: PTI/Swapan Mahapatra. Very recently at Sitamarhi, home minister Amit Shah attacked the opposition for speaking against the SIR. Infiltrators must be removed from the electoral rolls and have no right to vote, but are the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress opposing the SIR because these infiltrators' names are being deleted, he asked. The Election Commission removed 6.5 million names from the state's draft voter rolls. But it does not cite even one person that was removed for being an infiltrator. Infiltrators need not be real. Even without them, the fear of infiltrators can be made real. Today, every Bengali-speaking Muslim is branded an infiltrator. They are pushed across borders, detained and their homes demolished. The prime minister's words could fuel this violence – they do not merely evoke disquiet, as an editorial suggested – they are actually dangerous. The consequences are real, and they fall upon Muslims and Christians. In his speech, the PM pledged to save the nation's 'daughters' from infiltrators – a spectacle of 'love jihad' dressed in a new uniform. But it is also jaded. Many noted that fatigue had set into Modi – there was repetition, hollow rhetoric. But has anyone ever tired of hatred? One person might turn away, but for many, hatred remains fresh, alluring. That is why even though people leave the RSS, its ideology of hate and division continues to draw new followers. Hate existed within Hindu society before, but in 2014, we liberated ourselves of our inhibitions when Modi was accepted as prime minister. India began walking – no, sinking – into the mire of hate and violence. Better to say: it stepped into that morass. But perhaps even that is incorrect. Muslims, Christians, Sikhs – they refused to go to that morass. Yet, the power of the Hindu majority dragged them in. They are bearing the consequences of the decision of the majority of Hindus. They are paying the cost of majoritarian decisions. On Independence Day, the chief propagandist of this hate played his tried-and-tested record. When we hear it, do we feel disgust? Or do we wonder if there is still some authentic hate we are craving for – something more visceral, more real? Apoorvanand teaches Hindi at Delhi University. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Advertisement
Hans India
25 minutes ago
- Hans India
PM Vishwakarma Yojana bringing meaningful change to people's lives in MP's Damoh
The Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana is equipping and enhancing the skills of crores of people across the country and also making them financially self-reliant. In Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district, a large number of beneficiaries trained under the PM Vishwakarma Yojana spoke to IANS, explaining about its impact on their lives. Sunil Vishwakarma, who received a week-long training in bicycle repairing at Tendukheda Center said that the scheme helped him hone his skills. Sunil, a resident of Tendukheda Nagar Parishad in Damoh, first joined this scheme and took training for 6 days. Today, he is planning to take a loan from the bank to expand his own shop. 'During the six-day training, I was told that the bank can provide collateral free loan of upto Rs 3 lakhs. The first installment could be of Rs 1 lakh and the second installment would be received after 18 months. I got Rs 3 lakh along with Rs 1,000 rent from the six-day training,' he said. Sundar Lal, a resident of Bandipura Gram Panchayat of Tendukheda block was another person to get skills training under the scheme. 'Based on the information received from the villagers, I filled in the form of PM Vishwakarma Yojana online. After a few days, I came to know that my name had come in the list after which the employees working at the centre contacted me and during this six-day training, I learnt welding work. Earlier also I had done welding and craftsmanship work at other people's shops,' he said. He further said: 'I want to thank PM Modi who made such a good scheme for small people. Even today I work at a welding shop where I get a wage of 250 to 300 rupees, but in the coming days I will have my own shop.' Notably, the PM Vishwakarma Yojana is one of the flagship schemes under which beneficiaries are given a toolkit worth Rs 15,000 and a loan without collateral of up to Rs 3 lakh to start their own business. This Central government scheme is economically empowering people associated with different categories including blacksmith, potter, tailor, mason and cobbler, but is also motivating them for self-employment.
