
2,289 govt. staff taken off beneficiary list of Ladki Bahin Yojana
Their names were removed from the list of beneficiaries, Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare said in a written reply to the State Assembly on Thursday, adding that her department has stepped up efforts to cross-check beneficiaries and uphold the integrity of the flagship scheme.
Launched by the BJP-led Mahayuti government in August 2023 ahead of the November 2024 Assembly election, the scheme provides monthly aid of ₹1,500 to nearly 2.4 crore women in the 21-65 age group through direct benefit transfer to improve their health, nutrition, and decision-making capacity.
In May this year, Ms. Tatkare said it was detected that over 2,200 government employees were receiving the aid despite being ineligible for it. With the latest update, the number of such ineligible beneficiaries stands at 2,289.
The Minister also informed the Assembly that for 2025-26, the budgetary allocation for the scheme has been made from the general category funds (₹28,290 crore) of her department as well as ₹3,240 crore from the Tribal Development Department's funds and ₹3,960 crore from the funds of the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department.
Loan facility
The State government is also considering a proposal to allow the beneficiaries of the scheme to take loans against the monthly instalment and start micro-businesses, the Minister said.
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Indian Express
34 minutes ago
- Indian Express
As RSS calls for amending Preamble, why it puts BJP in a tricky position
When the RSS general secretary says that the words 'secular' and 'socialist' in the Preamble to the Constitution should be reviewed, it is more than a casual call for a debate, for the Sangh is measured in its utterances. Dattatreya Hosabale's comment last week is not the first time the issue has come up. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha moved a Private Member's Bill in 2020, and others have petitioned the courts. The Supreme Court examined the matter, and in 2024, a two-judge Bench led by then Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjeev Khanna upheld the insertion of 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble. It is true, as the RSS says, that B R Ambedkar, and indeed Jawaharlal Nehru, did not feel it was required to explicitly include secularism and socialism in the Preamble when the Constitution was being framed. Ambedkar felt the idea was embedded in the essence of the document and did not need an overt expression. In 1976, Indira Gandhi decided to include the words in the Preamble amid the Emergency when fundamental rights were suspended, the press muzzled, the judiciary's oversight role withdrawn, and Opposition leaders in jail. In the preceding months, there had not been any demand for their inclusion in the Preamble, and there was hardly any discussion on the matter before it happened. The change came as part of the 42nd Amendment that concentrated power in the hands of the executive. Whatever be Mrs Gandhi's motivation — whether it was to insert 'socialist' to retain the support of the USSR, or add 'secularism' to make amends and send a signal to Muslims who were angry about enforced sterilisations during the Emergency — the Janata Party government chose not to remove the two words from the Preamble. The government, of which the BJP's precursor Jana Sangh was a part, clearly thought it politically prudent to retain them even though it undid many of the Emergency provisions through the 44th Amendment. The two 'S' words that have suddenly become so controversial did not create a kerfuffle back then and a few questioned if India was, or should be, a secular and socialist nation. Over the years, socialism has evolved into a widely accepted generic concept, understood as economic and social justice for the last person. PM Narendra Modi is more of a social-welfarist than several of his predecessors. Secularism, too, had near-universal acceptance till it began to be equated with minority appeasement. The RSS wants to turn the clock back. But in politics, sometimes it's easier to do than undo. To remove 'secular' from the Preamble today will signal that India is now moving towards a Hindu Rashtra. It is like talking about undoing reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes given after Independence (22.5%), or quota for the Other Backward Classes (27%) that was given in 1990 following the Mandal Commission report. V P Singh had once said even if he wanted to undo the Mandal decision, he could not go back because it could lead to widespread violence. When RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in 2015 spoke about moving beyond reservation, the resulting backlash only helped bring Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar to power in Bihar. The timing of the Sangh's move today is of as much interest as the move itself. After the fulfilment of its core agenda — Ram temple, Article 370, Uniform Civil Code — the Sangh may want to push its agenda further in its centenary year as it looks to create a Hindu civilisational entity. The response, or otherwise, of the BJP to Hosabale's comment is instructive. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan — who has been one of the Sangh's favourites for BJP presidentship — was the first to endorse the idea. Chouhan said 'sarva dharma sambhava (all religions are equal)' and not secularism (the French concept of separation of church and state) was a part of Indian culture. His Cabinet colleague Jitendra Singh also spoke in the same vein as did Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Himanta Biswa Sarma. The RSS's suggestion can complicate an already difficult situation for the BJP brass. First, the party will have to decide what it will do about the allegiance to secularism that is mentioned in its party Constitution. In 2014, PM Modi said that secularism 'flows in our blood'. Second, the BJP's NDA allies, on whom the party is dependent in its third term, are not likely to bite the bullet easily. Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan has already made it clear he is not in favour of amending the Preamble. Third, it will give another handle to the Congress to target the BJP. Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has already said the BJP prefers the Manusmriti to the Constitution. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav has also accused the party of quietly going for a change in the Constitution because it is unable to openly oppose reservation for Dalits and OBCs. Both the BJP and the Opposition are manoeuvring to get the support of Dalits and OBCs. The ruling party knows how fraught with risks any talk of changing the Constitution can be, given that the Opposition's narrative dented it in the Lok Sabha elections last year and brought the party down to 240 seats. There is a growing perception today about the Constitution. The founding document (also, Constitutional secularism) is identified with Ambedkar, more than was the case in the 1970s and 80s. And Ambedkar is equated with Dalits and Dalits with reservation. Even though the RSS is saying it wants to return to the Preamble approved by Ambedkar, we do not know which way the cookie will crumble. Both the Congress and the BJP realise the Constitution is a live political issue today and observing the 50th anniversary of the Emergency is more than a mere recall of what happened then. We can discuss what kind of secularism suits the country. We can accept or reject the French model, and back the Indian concept that emphasises the equality of religions before the state. However, at the end of the day, secularism is not a luxury for a diverse nation such as India. It is a necessity that enables us to co-exist as one entity. (Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the last 11 Lok Sabha elections. She is the author of How Prime Ministers Decide)


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Centre's pick & choose policy hits HC judge appointments
Representative image NEW DELHI: Advocate Ramaswamy Neelakandan prepared for life as a high court judge by returning case files to clients after the CJI-led Supreme Court collegium on Jan 17, 2023, recommended to Union govt to appoint him, along with four other advocates, including L C Victoria Gowri, as judges of Madras high court. The Union govt appointed all of them as judges, except Neelakandan. Though names of the five advocates were sent by the SC collegium on the same day, the govt appointed them in batches - three on Feb 7, 2023, and the fourth on Feb 27, 2023. Neelakandan, who belongs to the OBC community, shares his fate with 28 other advocates, whose names were recommended to the govt by the collegium between Jan 2023 and April this year. The Centre's pick and choose policy has left them in suspense - whether to resume practice or keep waiting for the Centre's nod to become an HC judge. While Neelakandan's wait has stretched beyond 29 months, advocate Subhash Upadhyay, whose name was recommended by collegium on April 12, 2023, for judgeship in Uttarakhand HC, is waiting for his warrant of appointment for the last 26 months. Along with Upadhyay, the collegium had recommended names of three advocates and a judicial officer for appointment as judges of the HC. Only Upadhyay's name was left out. Like him, advocate Arun Kumar is awaiting action on collegium's May 9, 2023, recommendation for his appointment as Allahabad HC judge. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Birla Evara 3 and 4 BHK from ₹ 1.75 Crore* Birla Estates Learn More Undo On Oct 17, 2023, the collegium recommended the names of five advocates for appointment as judges of Madhya Pradesh HC. Among them, only advocate Amit Seth is still awaiting appointment. Of the 29 advocates still awaiting appointment as HC judges, five are women advocates. Among them, the one enduring the longest wait is advocate Shamima Jahan, whose name was recommended by the collegium on Jan 4, 2024, for appointment as a judge of Gauhati HC. Other women advocates sharing Jahan's fate are Sreeja Vijayalakshmi (name recommended on April 16, 2024), Tajal Vashi (Oct 15, 2024; Gujarat HC), Shwetasree Majumder (Aug 21, 2024; Delhi HC), and Sheetal Mirdha (March 5, 2025; Rajasthan HC). Despite successive chief justices, including the incumbent CJI B R Gavai, impressing upon the Union govt not to pick and choose from the list and avoid making staggered appointments from the same batch, the govt has not abandoned the practice which creates seniority issues in constitutional courts where merit and seniority are two crucial factors for career advancement. Interestingly, the collegium's recommendations for appointment of judges to Supreme Court have been speedily processed and implemented by the govt, in some cases the appointments have come through within three days of the recommendation. The collegium recommended to the govt on May 26 to appoint Justices N V Anjaria, Vijay Bishnoi and A S Chandurkar as judges of the SC. The three took oath as Supreme Court judges on May 30. On May 26, the collegium recommended appointments of chief justices to five HCs, transfers of four HC CJs and transfer and repatriation of 22 HC judges. More than a month later, govt is yet to give effect to the appointments and transfers of HC CJs and judges.


Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Nationalism card at play, parties follow BJP lead in backing Diljit Dosanjh
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