Siddaramaiah, 45-year-old CM record of Devaraj Urs, and life parallels
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Hindustan Times
12 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
P Vasu: He fought for freedom, and against Emergency
P Vasu might be 102 but still moves about his house in Cheruvannur in Kerala's Kozhikode district with the help of a walker, reads at least two newspapers a day, and watches television news with great intent, trying to keep himself informed of what's happening in the country. P Vasu: He fought for freedom, and against Emergency Born in January 1923, Vasu got a whiff of nationalistic sentiments early when his father took him to hear Mahatma Gandhi when the latter visited Kozhikode in 1934. He was just 11 then, but by the time he was in his late-teens in 1942, Vasu found himself leading an agitation by the Congress in his native Cheruvannur on the sidelines of the Quit India movement. That year, he was arrested and sentenced by a judge to three-and-a-half months in jail , where he was tortured. In 1943, Vasu had to go underground in erstwhile Madras for over nine months after the police attempted to put him in preventive custody in connection with a case of a bomb threat on Farook bridge. 'I had nothing to do with it but because I was jailed previously, my name was on the police list and I had to go into hiding. It was an extremely tough period,' Vasu told HT over phone. After Independence, Vasu joined the socialist party and was given its membership by stalwart Jayaprakash Narayan in Kozhikode. His strong beliefs in socialist ideals earned him the nickname among locals -- 'Socio Vasu'. In 1951, the then Madras presidency, under which the Malabar region in Kerala fell at the time, offered 10 acres of land in Wayanad and ₹2,000 to several freedom fighters including Vasu. But he refused to accept. 'Jayaprakash Narayan told us that we fought for the country's freedom, not for financial gains. Accepting it would have gone against my socialist ideals,' said Vasu. In 1975 during the Emergency, Vasu was beaten by the police for picketing the local post office. He spent 23 days at the Kozhikode Medical College hospital for treatment. In 1997, on the 50th anniversary of independence, Vasu was felicitated in Delhi by then President KR Narayanan. Is he happy about the present state of the country? 'No,' came the reply. 'It is not the India we envisioned in 1947. We are losing our secular ideals,' he said.
Hindustan Times
12 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Tarachand Jain: I am happy with the country's progress
Born on December 12, 1925, in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district, Tarachand Jain aspired to become a teacher, just like his father. However, his life took a dramatic turn when he was dismissed from his school at 17 for participating in the Quit India Movement in 1942. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Jain joined the freedom struggle and was imprisoned for six months. Tarachand Jain: I am happy with the country's progress An athlete and long-time supporter of the Indian National Congress, Jain expressed concern over the party's current state. 'I am happy with the country's progress — be it access to water, road construction, housing for the poor, or improvements in education. But I feel distressed about the Congress's condition due to weak leadership,' he said. Jain is also disappointed with the growing influence of caste and religion in politics. 'When we fought for freedom, we were united by a dream of a united India—free from divisions based on caste and religion. Even after 78 years of independence, political parties continue to promote reservation and division. Progress should not only be material but also mental and social,' he said.
The Hindu
12 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Rahul Gandhi accused of making false statements in Savarkar defamation proceedings
A perjury application has been filed in the Special MP/MLA Court in Pune against Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of misleading the court in a defamation case over his remarks on Vinayak Damodar 'Veer' Savarkar, made in London. The application has been filed by Satyaki Savarkar, the grandnephew of Veer Savarkar, through advocate Sangram Kolhatkar. It alleges that Mr. Gandhi falsely claimed in a 15-page pursis, or statement to the court, on July 29 that he had not received the defamatory video which forms the crux of the complaint. The plea states that Mr. Gandhi's advocate had acknowledged receipt of the documents, including a CD containing the speech, on May 9. Pen drives and CDs According to the application, Mr. Gandhi also admitted in his reply to having received a pen drive containing the video uploaded on YouTube but claimed that it was non-functional. A new pen drive was later provided and operated in court in the presence of his advocate. The application says that Mr. Gandhi still alleged non-receipt and filed a 'false pursis.' It further points to another application filed by Mr. Gandhi's advocate on May 28, admitting receipt of the pen drive but refusing to operate it, citing possible malware. The pen drive is currently in Court custody. The plea terms these actions a 'deliberate and malicious attempt to deceive, mislead, and make false statements before the court', arguing that such conduct from a constitutional office-holder is 'serious and unbecoming'. Unnecessary delays Speaking to The Hindu, the advocate Mr. Kolhatkar said, 'Multiple times we have handed him over the speech document, we even provided him the link, transcript of the entire speech that was around 17 minutes long. We have also submitted news reports of the speech. We believe they must have misplaced them again and again because they keep saying they cannot access the CD, then when we gave them the file in a new pen drive, they said it was corrupt, then another fresh pen drive was provided to them and this time they said the pen drive might contain malware and may damage their computer system.' He added, 'For so long, we have ignored each and every criticism but now enough is enough. We are compelled to file the perjury because we are fed up with their excuses. We want a fair trial. The case is going on since 2023 and the trial has not even started. So much time and money has been wasted, including the court's time.' Milind Dattatraya Pawar, the advocate representing Rahul Gandhi, countered, 'None of the files in the form of CD and pen drives provided by Satyaki Savarkar works. They provided us the copy of the London speech in a CD which has never worked. The pen drives too do not work. We will file our reply on September 10.' The court is scheduled to hear the matter on September 10, 2025.
