Congress MPs file adjournment motion in LS to discuss 'vote chori' allegations
Opposition members raised slogans like "SIR wapas lo (roll back SIR)", "SIR pe charcha karo (take up discussion on SIR)" in the House, referring to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Congress moved an adjournment notice in the Parliament, seeking discussions on fake votes and irregularities in the Lok Sabha, alleged by Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi in a press conference on Thursday.
The Lok Sabha is set for a packed agenda on Monday, with multiple committee reports, ministerial statements, and significant legislative business scheduled for discussion.
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Hindustan Times
2 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Delhi HC orders reconstruction of 1984 anti-Sikh riots case records to ensure fair trial
The Delhi High Court has ordered the reconstruction of four-decade-old trial records in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, saying the victims' and society's right to a fair investigation and trial cannot be compromised by missing files or flawed earlier proceedings. The directive, issued to the trial court, concerns the acquittal of five men including former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar in the killing of four Sikhs in Ghaziabad's Raj Nagar. The court said the available material revealed 'several lacunae' in both the investigation and trial. The murders took place on November 1, 1984, a day after then PM Indira Gandhi's assassination. Three women had alleged that their husbands and son were burnt alive. In 1986, the trial court acquitted Khokhar and four others, citing lack of evidence. Now, nearly 40 years later, a bench of justices Subramanian Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar WHEN has acted on petitions challenging the correctness of that verdict. The bench had earlier observed that the 1986 judgment appeared 'unsustainable' and noted it was being relied on in appeals by Khokhar, Captain Bhagmal, Girdhari Lal, Mahender Yadav, and Krishan Khokhar against their 2013 conviction for murdering five Sikhs in the same locality. Neither the state nor the victims had appealed the 1986 acquittal at the time. The court said the available material -- composite challans and the final judgments -- revealed 'several lacunae' in both the investigation and trial. Key eyewitnesses were never examined because summons were sent to addresses destroyed or abandoned during the riots. 'A composite challan has been filed for several cases, prima facie reflecting a perfunctory investigation,' the court said in its 66-page order, adding that the matter 'cannot be left to rest at this juncture.' Citing Supreme Court precedent in Abhai Raj Singh, the bench ruled that the trial court must reconstruct the records of Sessions Cases 31 and 32 of 1986, and only then can the High Court assess whether the original acquittals can stand. The matter will be heard next on September 1. 'The valuable rights of victims and the society at large to a free and fair investigation as also a real trial cannot be allowed to be compromised as a result of fait accompli,' the court observed. Senior advocate HS Phoolka, appearing for the complainants, argued that the 1986 investigation and trial were 'thoroughly inadequate and sketchy' and urged that the matters be remanded for retrial. Amicus curiae Siddharth Aggarwal asserted that the court, before giving any findings into the correctness of the judgements passed by the additional sessions judges, was under a mandate to call for the records, examine the same and only then proceed ahead in the matter. He submitted that the trial court records had been weeded out and it was inappropriate for the court to proceed further with the matter without getting the records. Khokhar's counsel had asserted that ordering a re-trial or further investigation, when the records have been weeded out, would violate his client's right to free trial. In a separate 26-page judgment, the same bench directed the authorities to widely publicise the various government compensation schemes available for victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. It further instructed them to verify victims' claims within 16 weeks of receiving them and to disburse the compensation within two months thereafter.
The Print
17 minutes ago
- The Print
INDIA bloc's protest against EC, why is BJP jumping to its defence, asks Uddhav Thackeray
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai about INDIA bloc members being detained during their protest march to the Election Commission's headquarters in Delhi earlier in the day, Thackeray said, 'What happened today is a blot on democracy. When we are protesting against the EC, why is the BJP defending them? Democracy is getting killed and everyone is watching it.' Raising the pitch ahead of local body polls expected across Maharashtra over the next few months, he also urged his party members to hit the street, 'not in the Shiv Sena style', but to have dialogues and corner meetings— 'Bhrashtachar pe Charcha' —with the general public to expose the alleged corruption of ministers in the Mahayuti government. Mumbai: Describing the detention of INDIA bloc MPs during their protest in Delhi as a blot on democracy, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray Monday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), asking why it was 'defending' the Election Commission when it is being questioned about alleged 'vote theft'. The Delhi Police Monday detained scores of INDIA bloc MPs including Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, during their protest march from Parliament to EC headquarters against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar and allegations of 'vote theft' during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Thackeray also attested to the claim of NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar that some people approached him before the Maharashtra assembly elections last year with a proposal that they could 'guarantee' the Opposition win 160 of the state's 288 seats, and that the senior leader introduced them to Rahul Gandhi and the two declined their 'offer' holding 'this is not our way'. Thackeray also spoke about Rahul Gandhi's presentation last week at a press conference detailing the alleged 'vote theft', and said rather than answering the serious questions he raised, the EC is asking Rahul—an elected member of Parliament—to submit his claims on oath. The Shiv Sena (UBT) president also slammed the EC over the Bihar electoral roll revision and for telling the Supreme Court the commission was not bound to publish a separate list of persons not included in the draft voter list. 'Is the EC now above the SC, or the President? This is an insult to the Supreme Court,' Thackeray said. 'Bhrashtachar pe Charcha' Thackeray, meanwhile, also spoke at the Shivaji Park where he told his workers to hit the streets ahead of the local body polls and hold 'Bhrashtachar pe Charcha'—taking cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's highly successful Chai pe Charcha campaign before the 2014 general elections. He asked Shiv Sainiks to hit the streets now as they can meet a lot of people during the festive season including on the occasion of Dahi Handi and Ganesh Chaturthi. 'Time has come to now hit the streets, not in the Shiv Sena style, but this time it will be slightly different. You must start discussions around the corruption within the government and highlight the corrupt ministers and their misdeeds,' Thackeray said. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former MP Vinayak Raut elaborated on this plan. 'What this means is that functionaries within the party—men, women, yuva sena—would organise small meetings in Mumbai to highlight the misdeeds of the government. Outside Mumbai, in rural settings, the party expects its workers to sit in farms, at chowks, bazaars, and expose the government,' he said. 'On one hand, ministers are becoming too arrogant on the back of corruption, while the government says it does not have money to give to people for welfare. Our workers would expose this, do the panchnama and start discussions around it. This is the aim of the programme,' Raut said. While the Congress led the INDIA bloc's protest in Delhi against the alleged 'vote theft', the Sena UBT held agitation at collector offices across various districts in Maharashtra. The party also talked about other issues including a video purportedly showing NCP minister Manikrao Kokate playing rummy in the legislature, minister Sanjay Shirsat purportedly seen sitting in a room with bags suspected to be full of cash, and Shiv Sena (Shinde camp) MLA Sanjay Gaikwad allegedly assaulting an MLA canteen staff. Political analyst Hemant Desai feels it is not for no reason that Shiv Sena (UBT) is putting renewed focus on street protests and organised agitation in the state separately from the Congress. 'It is a matter of their survival (for them),' he told ThePrint. 'And from what I know, this has been a longstanding demand of party leaders and workers that they should come out on roads and campaign.' 'From what I understand, they are most likely to go with Raj Thackeray in the upcoming polls and won't take the Congress along. Hence, maybe this protest was done individually by the Sena UBT and not as MVA,' he added. Targeting just Shinde or Mahayuti govt? While talking about the alleged corruption within the state government, Uddhav Thackeray specifically took the names of ministers of the Shinde Sena camp, aside from Manikrao Kokate, who is from the NCP(Ajit Pawar). The Shiv Sena (UBT) protest also involved playing cards to tease Kokate and carrying bags and boxes symbolising Sanjay Shirsat's video where he is purportedly seen with a bag of cash. They even targeted Yogesh Kadam over the alleged links of a dance bar with his mother. Desai added, 'On the surface it looks like he (Uddhav Thackeray) is targeting only Shinde. That could be possible because he will be mostly fighting against Shinde on most of the seats. But I don't think it means he is softer on (Chief Minister) Fadnavis. The other day in Delhi, he did target Fadnavis as well.' During the Monday protest, Thackeray questioned the chief minister over the issue of corruption. 'Fadnavis, you have done vote chori and for that INDIA bloc is protesting,' he said. 'In fact, the Congress has given him a good name—not chief minister but 'thief minister'. When someone was caught playing rummy, you just warned him and changed his ministry. The same is the case with others as well,' Thackeray said. 'I want to ask you,' he told the chief minister. 'Why are you not removing these corrupt ministers? Are you being pressured to do so? Then you should come out and say it. Or do you, the biggest party in the world (BJP), not have capable ministers to replace them? You should clarify.' Vinayak Raut, a former Lok Sabha MP and a part of the core leadership of Shiv Sena (UBT), told ThePrint the party aims to highlight the corruption of the entire government and not specifically one person or party. 'This is against the entire Mahayuti government. It just so happens that unfortunately, we have seen that the tainted ministers are of the Shinde faction only. That is why we had no option but to take the names of the ministers from the Shinde faction. But for us, the entire Mahayuti is a target,' Raut said. Edited by (Ajeet Tiwari) Also Read: Fadnavis 'invites' Uddhav to come over to ruling Mahayuti. How Shiv Sena (UBT) chief reacted
News18
27 minutes ago
- News18
Congress hosts INDIA bloc dinner in Delhi, Opposition leaders reaffirm unity
New Delhi [India], August 12 (ANI): Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, hosted a dinner for leaders of the INDIA Alliance in New Delhi on Monday. The gathering, attended by prominent Opposition figures, was described by the Congress as 'more than just dinner–it was a powerful reaffirmation of unity." An X post shared by Congress read, 'In the heart of New Delhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge welcomed INDIA alliance leaders to an evening that was more than just dinner–it was a powerful reaffirmation of unity. Bound by a shared commitment to uphold the Constitution and protect our democracy, the gathering radiated camaraderie, mutual respect and unwavering resolve."
