Varsha Gaikwad clarifies stand after criticism over remarks on 11/7 blasts acquittals
In a video clip, Gaikwad said: "Do not put your words in my mouth. I am a follower of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and follow the Constitution written by him. I asked the govt how the 11/7 accused, who lost their 19 years in jail, will be compensated. I also asked the govt what it is doing to catch the real culprits and how justice will be done to the families who lost their loved ones."
Several community leaders slammed Gaikwad for her social media post, requesting the state govt to challenge the High Court verdict in the Supreme Court. Leaders said that Gaikwad won her Lok Sabha seat because Muslims overwhelmingly supported her.
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SC to hear pleas challenging Bihar electoral roll revision on August 12, 13; says ‘will step in if there is mass exclusion'
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear on August 12 and 13 pleas related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters' list being carried out by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Bihar and sought to assure petitioners who challenged the process that 'if there is mass exclusion, we will step in'. Hearing the matter on Monday, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, while refusing to stop the ECI from publishing the draft revised list, had asked the parties to inform it on Tuesday how much time they will take to make their submissions so that the court can fix a date. As the court took up the matter on Tuesday, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, submitted that the draft has been advertised and given to political parties. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha, said those who have been left out must have a chance to submit objections. 'They will have the right. Who said they won't?' Justice Kant said, adding, 'The moment they deviate from the notification, we will interfere.' To this, Sibal said, 'We don't know who has been left,' and asked if the ECI had given the names of those excluded. Dwivedi replied, 'It won't be given to you. Take from the website.' Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), submitted that according to the ECI, 65 lakh people have not submitted the enumeration forms as they are either dead or have permanently shifted elsewhere. Contending that those excluded will have to apply afresh, he wondered how they will come to know whether they are in the draft. Justice Kant said that the ECI is a constitutional body and 'we would deem their action will be in accordance with the law.' He assured that the court is there to take care of any concern. 'We are here, we will hear you,' he stated. Justice Bagchi said, 'January 2025 list is the starting point if there was no SIR. Draft list will be published by ECI. Your apprehension is 65 lakh-odd voters will not feature… They (ECI) are seeking correction vis-a-vis 2025 entry. We are overviewing the thing as a judicial authority. If there is mass exclusion, we will step in. Bring 15 people saying they are alive but left out.' The ECI counsel, however, said there is a 30-day window for filing objections and that the petitioners should help with adding names. Justice Kant stated that political parties should operate like NGOs during the process. Sibal said the petitioners will have no problem if the ECI mentions who were excluded. Justice Kant then said, 'If the draft list is conspicuously silent, you will bring (it) to our attention.' Dwivedi said the final number would be made public only after the objections are considered. 'Once objections are considered, a real picture would come as to who has been excluded. At least by September 15, we are expecting (the final list),' he added.
The Hindu
22 minutes ago
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Gogoi's Parliament speech proves he acts on behalf of Pakistan: Himanta
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday (July 29, 2025) claimed that Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi's speech in Parliament "proved beyond doubt that he acts on behalf of Pakistan". Mr. Sarma alleged that with Mr. Gogoi's wife and both kids having foreign citizenship, he can leave India any time. "Speech delivered by our MP from Jorhat in Parliament yesterday proved beyond doubt that he acts on behalf of Pakistan. His secret trip and close ties with the Pakistani establishment speak volumes," the CM posted on X. speech delivered by our MP from Jorhat in Parliament yesterday proved beyond doubt that he acts on behalf of Pakistan. His secret trip and close ties with the Pakistani establishment speak volumes. With his wife and both the kids holding foreign citizenship, he can leave India… — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 29, 2025 "He is a disgrace to Assam and a betrayal of our pride as proud (sic) Indians," he added. Gogoi, during a debate on Operation Sindoor in Parliament on Monday, had criticised Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for allegedly failing to answer basic questions about the April 22 Pahalgam attack. He had also questioned the government's alleged silence over internal security lapses and the origin of the Pahalgam attack that claimed the lives of 26 people. The CM has been attacking Gogoi for months, alleging that his wife Elizabeth Colburn has a connection with Pakistan's spy agency ISI.
The Hindu
22 minutes ago
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Eviction underway to clear encroachment on 3,600 acres of forest land in Assam's Golaghat
A massive eviction drive is underway to clear alleged encroachment on over 3,600 acres of forest land in Assam's Golaghat district, officials said on Tuesday (July 29, 2025). The move by the state government will affect at least 1,500 families, they said. Several senior officials of the Golaghat district administration and the forest department told PTI that the eviction drive started in the morning to clear the alleged encroachment on almost 11,000 bighas (over 3,600 acres) of land in the Rengma Reserve Forest in Uriamghat along the Assam-Nagaland border in Sarupathar sub-division. Although the government has claimed that the area was encroached, there were houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), water connection under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), government schools under Sarba Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) and electricity connections to almost every household, besides markets, mosques, madrassas and churches, the locals claimed. "The eviction started from the main market in the Bidyapur area. We will gradually proceed to residential areas and demolish the illegal housing structures," an official said. He claimed that around 10,500 bighas to 11,000 bighas of land were encroached upon by the people. "Around 2,000 families are living in those areas. Out of them, notices were served to about 1,500 families, who illegally settled here. The remaining families are forest dwellers and have certificates from the Forest Rights Committee (FRC)," the official said. The families whose houses are being demolished belong to the Muslim community, while those having FRC certificates are from Bodo, Nepali, Manipuri and other communities, he added. "Around 80% of the families who had received notices have already vacated their illegal settlements in the last few days. We are only demolishing their homes," the official added. While speaking to PTI, the affected families, however, questioned the rationale of the eviction drive and claimed that they were brought to the place by the earlier governments to protect the area from the alleged invasion of Nagaland. "Where will we go from here? My father had come from Nagaon district around 40 years ago, but I was born here. We were brought here during the 1980s to protect the forest land from encroachment from Nagaland," said Ali Kazi, who also received an eviction notice. He claimed that most of the alleged encroachers' previous generation was settled in the forest area by the Janata Party government, headed by ex-CM Golap Borbora, in 1978-79 and the first AGP government, which came to power in 1985. Notably, the assembly was informed in March that almost 83,000 hectares of land belonging to Assam were being occupied by four neighbouring states. It was also stated that Nagaland captured the highest amount of land in Assam — 59,490.21 hectares. Mr. Kazi claimed, "We have been cooperating with the authorities in this eviction drive. We requested them to settle us somewhere else, but they refused. We now have no option but to stay under tents. We are not even given drinking water; forget about food. It's very inhuman." Another eviction victim, Mamtaj Ali, asked, "If we were illegal settlers, how did we get electricity connections? Why did the government open schools and give us JJM connections? We were also given houses under PM Awas Yojana." When asked about these government infrastructure, a senior official of the forest department accepted that such facilities were provided by the authorities, and some of these installations were made even after 2016 when the BJP came to power for the first time in Assam. "I do not know why these were sanctioned and established in this area. These were made before I came here," he added. There were mosques and madrassa for people belonging to the Muslim community, while churches were set up by the Bodo people, the official said. For carrying out the eviction drive across 12 villages, the authorities divided the entire area into nine zones and conducted a survey accordingly, he added. "An extensive land survey of around 30 villages of the Rengma Reserve Forest was done. It is found that several thousand bighas of forest land have been converted into agricultural land by the suspected encroachers in 12 villages," another official said. A district administration official said that proper notices were served by the forest department to the encroachers, giving them seven days to vacate the place. He said that many of the suspected encroachers are reportedly from Nagaon, Morigaon and Sonitpur districts. The Assam Police have stationed a senior official from the headquarters in Golaghat to oversee the law and order situation during the eviction drive. "There are enough security personnel deployed, and we are fully prepared. Apart from our personnel, we have taken support from CRPF for the eviction exercise," he told PTI without sharing further details. In the meantime, the Nagaland government issued an advisory to the bordering districts to keep a strict vigil so that displaced people cannot cross into the state in the event of the eviction drive. On July 25, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Uriamghat to inspect the areas that have been encroached upon and for which the state government had already issued eviction notices. He said those who had settled on these land parcels came from various districts in Assam, such as Cachar, Sribhumi, Dhubri, Barpeta, Hojai, Nagaon and Morigaon, as well as from other states, including West Bengal and Bihar.
