Odisha govt to distribute third instalment of Subhadra scheme on August 9
Subhadra Yojana, an ambitious women welfare scheme of the BJP government, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday on September 17, 2024.
The scheme is designed to provide eligible women aged between 21 and 60 years with ₹50,000 over five years, from 2024-25 to 2028-29.
Each beneficiary will receive Rs 10,000 annually in two instalments of ₹5,000 each — one on Rakhi Purnima and the other on International Women's Day (March 8).
This year, the Rakhi Purnima will be celebrated on August 9.
Speaking to reporters, Ms. Parida said the women, who turned 21 years old recently, will be allowed to apply for the scheme after August 9.
Nearly two lakh beneficiaries, who had received the first instalment, were later found ineligible due to having purchased five acres of land, vehicle or filed IT returns, Ms. Parida said.
"Our officials will conduct field-level inspection of these rejected beneficiaries. Those found eligible will receive the instalments in one go," she added.
Ms. Parida said women filing zero income tax returns and those with an annual income of less than ₹2.5 lakh will be eligible to avail the benefits under the scheme.
The Deputy Chief Minister further informed that 93,000 women, who reached the age of 60 years, have been excluded from the beneficiary list.
The list of excluded women has been sent to the department concerned for their inclusion in the social security scheme (old age pension), Ms. Parida said.
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First Post
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How a diamond pendant led to South Korea's former first lady's imprisonment
On Tuesday, a Seoul court ordered the arrest of Kim Keon-hee, wife of ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, over charges, including Deutsch Motors stock manipulation, illegal political funding, and accepting luxury gifts such as a $43,000 (Rs 37.68 lakh) pendant. She denies all charges South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon-hee, wife of impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review her arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors, in Seoul, South Korea, August 12, 2025. Pool Photo via AP The simultaneous imprisonment of both a former president and his spouse marks rare chapter in South Korea's political history. Kim Keon-hee, the 52-year-old wife of ousted president Yoon Suk-yeol, was formally arrested after a late-night ruling by the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday. The court authorised the special prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant, citing 'concerns about evidence destruction' as the justification for placing her in detention. The arrest follows a sweeping set of investigations initiated by liberal President Lee Jae-yung shortly after his election in June. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD These inquiries target alleged misconduct during Yoon's presidency, which ended abruptly in April when he was removed from office by the Constitutional Court after his impeachment. Yoon's downfall stemmed from his short-lived attempt to impose martial law in December last year — a decision that not only collapsed within hours but also triggered political outrage and set off a series of legal troubles for both him and his wife. While Yoon's imprisonment is linked to charges of insurrection and abuse of power, Kim faces multiple criminal accusations spanning bribery, stock manipulation, and unlawful political influence. She now occupies a cell in Seoul's Nambu Detention Centre, while her husband remains in custody at Seoul Detention Centre. How it came to Kim Keon-hee being arrested On the day of the ruling, Kim arrived at the court dressed in a black suit. She bowed to reporters gathered outside but did not respond to questions. Inside the courtroom, the proceedings lasted over four hours as prosecutors presented evidence and argued that she posed a serious risk of destroying documents or interfering with witnesses. Judge Jeong Jae-wook accepted these arguments, noting that the potential for evidence tampering warranted her detention. The decision followed earlier questioning by investigators, including a seven-hour interrogation session the previous week. Kim did speak briefly to journalists after that earlier questioning, offering a general apology for 'causing public concern' but adding that she saw herself as 'someone insignificant.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon-hee, wife of impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review her arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, August 12, 2025. Pool via Reuters Kim expressed discontent about the scope of the charges, telling the judge she was 'upset that even issues from before my marriage keep being brought up.' Her legal representatives have consistently denied all charges, labelling many of the allegations as unfounded. Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, stated on YTN radio, 'I would like to express that I hope the special prosecutor's investigation proceeds normally and fairly in accordance with the law and regulations.' The charges against Kim Keon-hee: Explained Allegations of stock manipulation One of the most serious allegations against Kim involves claims that she participated in a stock price manipulation scheme tied to Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealership in South Korea. Prosecutors allege that between 2009 and 2012, Kim conspired with others to artificially raise the company's share prices, generating profits of more than 800 million won (£428,000). These accusations are not new — rumours and media reports about her potential involvement in financial irregularities had circulated during Yoon's presidency, but formal legal action was repeatedly blocked while he was in office. Yoon had dismissed calls for an investigation as political attacks from opponents. The new administration has reopened the case, and prosecutors believe they now have sufficient evidence to press charges. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Claims of unlawful political influence Another significant charge is that Kim and her husband exerted improper pressure on the conservative People Power Party to secure the nomination of a specific candidate during a 2022 legislative by-election. This effort was allegedly coordinated at the request of political broker Myung Tae-kyun. Myung himself faces accusations of running manipulated opinion surveys for Yoon during the presidential primaries — surveys that may have bolstered Yoon's chances of winning the nomination. Prosecutors say these free polling services, valued at over 270 million won, amounted to illegal political funding. The allegation links Kim directly to a broader network of political interference that investigators claim compromised the fairness of party candidate selection processes. Bribery and luxury gifts Prosecutors also accuse Kim of accepting high-value gifts from various sources in exchange for providing favourable treatment in business or political matters. Among the items under scrutiny is Van Cleef & Arpels' Snowflake Pendant (18 karat white gold with brilliant-cut diamonds) reportedly worth over 60 million won ($43,000), which Kim wore while accompanying Yoon to a Nato summit in 2022. The pendant was not declared in the couple's legally required financial disclosure. According to the prosecution, it was supplied by a domestic construction company seeking to secure advantages. The company's chairman is alleged to have purchased the item, and investigators are examining whether its gifting was connected to the appointment of the chairman's son-in-law as chief of staff to then-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo shortly before the summit. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Kim has rejected the claim, telling prosecutors that the necklace was 'a fake bought 20 years ago in Hong Kong.' The prosecution, however, maintains that the piece is genuine. In addition to the pendant, Kim is accused of receiving two Chanel handbags worth a combined 20 million won (£10,700) and a diamond necklace from members of the Unification Church. Investigators allege these gifts were arranged through a shaman intermediary and tied to the church's interest in development projects in Cambodia. Other corruption-linked investigations Earlier on the day of her arrest, one of her close associates was detained after returning from Vietnam. Prosecutors suspect this individual used their connection to Kim to obtain millions of dollars in investment for a financially struggling company. Investigators have also conducted raids on multiple business premises, including a construction firm believed to be linked to some of the luxury gifts. In one instance, they are investigating whether a $43,000 necklace worn by Kim on a European trip in 2022 was connected to political favours. Kim has maintained that the jewellery was not authentic. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What next for Kim Keon-hee & Yoon Suk-yeol? Kim's arrest comes as part of a trio of major special prosecutor cases approved by President Lee Jae Myung in June. The first involves Yoon's martial law declaration in December 2024, which lasted only a few hours before being overturned by lawmakers who broke through a military blockade to hold an emergency vote. The second focuses on the allegations against Kim. The third examines the drowning of a marine during a flood rescue in 2023, which critics allege Yoon's administration attempted to cover up. Yoon's martial law decision was made during escalating disputes with liberal lawmakers, whom he described as 'anti-state' actors obstructing his agenda. Some of his opponents have argued that his drastic action may have been partly influenced by growing scrutiny of his wife's alleged misconduct. Following the failed martial law attempt, Yoon was impeached on December 14, 2024, and formally removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. After a brief release in March, he was rearrested in July and now faces trial on rebellion and other charges. He has consistently refused to attend hearings or answer prosecutors' questions, including those concerning Kim's activities. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While the country has a history of prosecuting former leaders, the incarceration of both a former president and a former first lady at the same time is without precedent. Kim's career before entering politics was in the arts sector, where she ran an exhibition company. During Yoon's presidency, she was seen by some observers as an influential figure behind the scenes. However, her time as first lady was marked by controversies, including the 'Dior bag scandal' — a separate incident that prosecutors are now revisiting. In recent months, her academic credentials also came under fire, with both her master's and doctoral degrees revoked following findings of plagiarism. Under South Korean law, prosecutors can detain Kim for up to 20 days before formally filing charges. During this period, investigators are expected to conduct further interrogations and review additional evidence. If indicted, she could face multiple years in prison if found guilty on charges ranging from financial crimes to bribery and political interference. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The special prosecutor's team, led by Min Joong-ki, has pledged to conduct a thorough inquiry in accordance with the law. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies
The Hindu
a minute ago
- The Hindu
Congress highlights 'vote chori' with video; Mallikarjun Kharge asks people to raise voice
The Congress on Wednesday (August 13, 2025) stepped up its campaign against alleged 'vote chori' by releasing a new video depicting how fake votes were being cast and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge asking people to raise their voice and save constitutional institutions from the "clutches of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)." Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi also shared the minute-long video and said, "Aapke vote ki chori aapke adhikar ki chori, aapki pehchaan ki chori hai." Tagging the advertisement titled 'booth par vote chori", Congress president Kharge said, "Do not let your rights to vote be snatched away. Ask questions, demand answers this time! Raise your voice against vote chori." "Free constitutional institutions from the clutches of the BJP," he said in his message to the people on X. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also shared the video on X, and said, "the theft of your vote is theft of your rights, theft of your identity." "Save your right to vote, Raise your voice against vote theft," she said. The video made by the Congress depicts a family entering a polling booth with two people telling them that their votes have already been cast by them and it ends with the two persons casting fake votes showing a thumbs up to an officer sitting at the table with 'election chori aayog' display plate on his table. The Congress on Tuesday (August 12, 2025) had claimed that "vote chori" was a "do-or-die" issue for it, and announced a roadmap to take its allegations to the people through various activities, including taking out 'Loktantra bachao mashaal marches' on August 14 evening. SIR exercise institutionalised vote theft: Rahul Gandhi The Opposition party also claimed that as more "evidence" of "vote chori" was coming to the fore, it seemed that it was not mere theft but "dacoity". The assertion was made after Mr. Kharge held a meeting with party general secretaries, in-charges and heads of its frontal organisations. The meeting was attended by the likes of former party chief Rahul Gandhi and general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, K.C. Venugopal, Sachin Pilot, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, as well as treasurer Ajay Maken. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Congress leader and AICC in-charge of National Students' Union of India (NSUI) Kanhaiya Kumar had said a "big issue" of "vote chori" has come to the fore. "Rahul Gandhi ji has put forward the truth with evidence on how democracy is being throttled," he had said. Mr. Kumar had said that going forward, the Congress will take this to the people with three important programmes. On August 14, the eve of Independence Day, there will be a 'Loktantra bachao mashaal march' at all district headquarters, Mr. Kumar said, adding that between August 22 and September 7, the Congress will hold "vote chor, gaddi chhorh (vote thieves, relinquish power)" rallies in all State headquarters. "Between September 15 and October 15, a signature campaign will be run to save the right to vote and ensure people's participation," he had said, while asserting that the whole INDIA bloc is together on this. The Congress has also launched a web portal for people to register and demand accountability from the poll panel against what it called "vote chori", and express support for the demand for digital voter rolls. Mr. Gandhi had urged people to support this demand by registering on Anyone can click on the portal link and download "vote chori proof, demand Election Commission accountability and report vote chori." It also carries Mr. Gandhi's video in which he reiterated his explosive claims of a "huge criminal fraud" in the polls through "collusion" between the BJP and the EC. He had cited an analysis in a constituency in Karnataka to support his claim, and said it was "a crime against the Constitution." On Monday (August 11, 2025), Opposition MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Mr. Pawar, took out a protest march from the Parliament House to the Election Commission office against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and alleged "vote chori", but were stopped midway by the police and briefly detained amid high drama.
The Print
a minute ago
- The Print
Kerala BJP losing favour with Church. Sangh not on board with Christian outreach
Anoop Antony, the newly-minted general secretary of the BJP – hitherto unknown to most of Kerala – butting in to make the most of the occasion, brought a touch of comic relief to the sombre proceedings. The whole fiasco, however, cast a huge shadow on the saffron party's Christian outreach in Kerala. BJP's Kerala leaders, as well as the Congress and the Left politicians, vied with each other to make it to the frame of the live visuals aired to the living rooms of their home state. It may have been straight out of the climax scene of a Priyadarshan comedy, where typically all characters converge in a chaotic sequence. The event was anything but comical, though: Two Malayali nuns who were lodged for nine days in a Durg prison on trumped-up charges of human trafficking by the Bhartiya Janata Party-led Chhattisharh government were getting freed on bail. On 25 July, the two Kerala nuns – Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis – of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate congregation were arrested by the Government Railway Police in Chhattisgarh. They were accused of forcibly converting three girls they were accompanying, when Bajrang Dal workers led by Jyoti Sharma pressured the state officials to apprehend them. The FIR added a trafficking angle when it emerged that the girls were adherents of Christianity from a young age, albeit of the Protestant kind. How the case played out Naturally, there was a huge uproar over the development in Kerala, not least because of the BJP's attempts to make political inroads into the community lately. The Congress and the Left were quick off the blocks and dispatched political delegations to Chhattisgarh even as parliamentarians from Kerala protested with placards in front of the Sansad Bhavan in Delhi. Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar also leapt to the defense of the nuns. He sent Anoop Antony as his emissary to touch base with the Chhattisgarh administration. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, however, had already passed his judgment on the matter on social media, accusing the nuns of proselytisation and trafficking, leaving the Kerala unit in an awkward position. In the meantime, a Sessions Court in Durg refused to hear the matter and disposed of it, citing lack of jurisdiction – referring to the 2019 amendment that placed human trafficking cases under the National Investigation Agency (NIA). This sent a chill down the spines of the nuns' relatives and created a sense of panic among the community in Kerala. Chandrasekhar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to apprise them of the damage wrought by the Chhattisgarh government's action on the BJP's Christian outreach in Kerala. The prosecution finally relented after the political intervention from the Centre by letting the nuns walk out on bail after spending nine days behind bars. The court did not go into the merits of the case, and the charges – that can fetch up to ten years in jail – remain far from quashed. Blowback in Kerala In Kerala, Christians of all denominations took to the streets as dioceses mobilised laity across the cities and census towns. They gagged themselves with pieces of cloth and carried placards protesting the persecution of the nuns. Some marches were led by Archbishop Joseph Pamplany, who famously promised to help the BJP open its account in Kerala if rubber prices were jacked up to Rs 300; Pala Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt, who coined the infamous 'Narcotic Jihad' phrase; and Thrissur Archbishop Andrews Thazhath – all considered sympathetic to the BJP cause. In one instance, Archbishop Pamplany's speech at Angamaly, where he spoke polemically, harked back to the days of the 'Vimochana Samaram'—the church-led Liberation Struggle that dislodged the EMS Namboodiripad-led Communist government of Kerala in 1959. This set off alarm bells for Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who has been engaged in building bridges with the Church since becoming the state BJP president. Factionalism rears head in BJP However, Chandrasekhar not only found himself caught between the hardline position adopted by the Chhattisgarh BJP—represented by the likes of CM Sai and Bastar MP Mahesh Kashyap—he was also facing rebellion from within the Kerala unit for summarily issuing a clean chit to the nuns. No sooner had he issued a statement on social media, senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue K Govindan Kutty publicly commented below his post, counseling him to stick to the party affairs in the state and let the law take its course in Chhattisgarh. On cue, the Kerala BJP bloc led by V Muraleedharan and K Surendran aligned themselves with the RSS position, getting back at Chandrasekhar for cutting their faction to size while naming office bearers. This stance was also echoed by the likes of other Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Hindu Aikya Vedi in Kerala. K Surendran's Facebook post, and leaders of his faction venting their frustration at Chandrasekhar for dispatching Anoop Antony without internal consultation, was threatening to eclipse the delicate 'cake diplomacy'. The issue also exposed a bunch of online media portals allegedly linked to the BJP. While such 'yellow portals' generally thrived by channeling hatred against the Muslim community on the back of issues like Munambam, their true colours stood exposed when they started echoing the Sangh Parivar narrative on the nuns' issue. The BJP-affiliated Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action (CASA) also went on an overdrive for damage control. Christian vote trade-off The RSS position on the issue is hardly surprising, as the organisation has a deep-seated suspicion of the missionary work of the Church. Supremo Mohan Bhagwat cast aspersions on the motives of even Mother Teresa's service years ago. Vishnu Deo Sai is a product of the Loyola School in Jashpur, but being an RSS adherent, he cannot see missionary work through any other spectrum. A veteran leader aligned to the K Surendran faction told me how the BJP cannot afford to lose its core Hindutva vote bank by appearing to appease the Christian community. This development proved an unexpected windfall for the Congress, reeling under the proposition of a slice of its Christian base shifting to the BJP. The issue might also help the Left to prevent some of its 'Hindu vote' transferring to the saffron party on an incremental basis, as 'Christian appeasement' charges have been levelled against the Rajeev Chandrasekhar-led BJP. The split down the middle within the Kerala BJP unit, not to speak of the RSS position, has exposed the Right-wing tactic of targeting Christians in Chhattisgarh to foment Hindu consolidation, while pitting the same community against Muslims in Kerala. The Chhattisgarh police, failing to act against the Bajrang Dal on a case filed by the girls – initially suspected to be victims of trafficking – demonstrated how the Hindutva outfits enjoyed state patronage. Also read: Nilambur isn't Kerala. UDF must look beyond Muslim votes to win 2026 polls Prelates in the dock Another case of a Bajrang Dal gang attacking a couple of Malayali priests and nuns emerged from Odisha soon after—further enraging Kerala's Christian community. in the state. This, following the aftermath of the Chhattisgarh imbroglio, snowballed into an impromptu social media backlash against the Syro-Malabar Church prelates. When Archbishops Andrews Thazhath and Pamplany thanked the BJP for interceding in the release of the nuns, they had to field tough questions on who put the nuns behind bars in the first place. The Syrian Christian Church leaders in Kerala have long held a casteist attitude of supremacy on account of their legacy being traced back to the Common Era. The conspicuous silence or acquiescence on Manipur, as well as in Father Stan Swamy's case, bears heavily on the conscience of the Syro-Malabar Church leadership. They willingly played ball with the BJP on account of their common distrust of the Muslim community. The criticism on social media is mostly targeted at Archbishop Thazhath—whom Kerala's Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan called a 'slippery person' for his role in facilitating Suresh Gopi's win—and Archbishop Pamplany. It was noticeable how bishops outside the Syro-Malabar fold reacted. Cardinal Baselios Cleemis of the Malankara Catholic Church and Baselios Marthoma Mathews III of the Syrian Orthodox Church talked tough against the BJP. They said the party was running with the hares in Kerala and hunting with the hounds in Chhattisgarh. Case of missing MP The BJP representatives in the Union Cabinet from Kerala, George Kurian and Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi, found themselves caught in the crossfire. While there was widespread criticism against Kurian's lack of empathy and running away from the press, citing poor comprehension of Hindi, Suresh Gopi went missing ever since the nuns' arrest until after their release. This was particularly flabbergasting for the Christian community in Thrissur – mostly comprising the mercantile class – who shifted their voting preferences in favour of the actor in 2024. The transactional nature of that support might come back to bite the actor if he were to seek re-election in 2029. Suresh Gopi's vanishing act prompted Bishop Yuhanon Meletius, of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Thrissur, to quip that perhaps he should file a police complaint to establish the whereabouts of the actor. The state BJP will have to go back to the drawing board on its Christian outreach template and find unity within the party and the Sangh ecosystem before it can aspire to become a larger player in Kerala. Anand Kochukudy is a Kerala-based journalist and columnist. He tweets @AnandKochukudy. Views are personal. (Edited by Ratan Priya)
