
State sues Centre in SC over Samagra Shiksha fund dues
1. TN sues Centre in SC over non-disbursal of ₹2,000-crore education funds
Tamil Nadu has filed a suit in the Supreme Court accusing the Centre of stopping its annual share of crucial education funds to the tune of over ₹2000-crore under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme.
The suit said the 'glaring and apparent reason' for the non-disbursement of Samagra Shiksha Scheme funds was the State's vociferous opposition to the imposition of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 with its three-language formula and the NEP-exemplary PM Shri Schools' Scheme.
2. DMK worker Deivaseyal sexual harassment case: NCW serves notice; accused seeks anticipatory bail
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of serious allegations of sexual harassment levelled by a woman against her husband R. Deivaseyal, a DMK worker in Arakkonam who was removed from party post yesterday. The commission had also sought a detailed action-taken report, along with a copy of the FIR, within three days.
In a separate development, he moved the Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail in the case.
At Arakkonam, AIADMK cadre led by the party's women's wing secretary S. Valarmathi, staged a demonstration against the DMK government over the issue.
3. Coimbatore elephant that died was pregnant; plastic bags found in animal during autopsy
The post-mortem examination on the carcass of a female wild elephant that died at Marudhamalai foothills in Coimbatore yesterday revealed that the animal was pregnant and its stomach contained plastic bags and aluminium foil, which it had consumed along with food waste from a dump yard nearby.
4. T.N. moves SC to transfer PIL against laws taking away Governor's power to appoint Vice-Chancellors
The Tamil Nadu government informed the Madras High Court of having filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to transfer to the latter a public interest litigation (PIL) petition currently pending before the High Court, challenging the validity of State laws that take away the Governor's power to appoint Vice-Chancellors.
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The Hindu
22 minutes ago
- The Hindu
The difficult task of keeping everyone happy
The recent Cabinet expansion in Telangana reflects the Congress's promised commitment to social justice. By inducting three Ministers — Gaddam Vivek and Adluri Laxman from the Scheduled Caste (SC) group and Vakiti Srihari from the Backward Classes (BC) group — as well as leaders from socially and economically backward communities for various posts, the party has attempted to realign its power structure to better represent historically marginalised groups. However, this has not come without friction, particularly from the dominant Reddy community, which feels ignored despite its numerical and political clout in the Assembly. Of the seven BC MLAs in the Congress, three have been given Cabinet posts and two have been appointed as chief whip and whip. Among Ministers, Ponnam Prabhakar is from the Goud community, Konda Surekha belongs to the Padmashali community (with her husband hailing from the Munnuru Kapu community), and Vakiti Srihari comes from the Mudiraj caste. Pradesh Congress Committee chief A. Mahesh Kumar Goud is a Goud from the BC community. BCs enjoy more representation not just in the Cabinet, but also in key political roles. Additionally, with the inclusion of Mr. Vivek and Mr. Laxman, the number of SC leaders in the Cabinet has increased to four. They are split equally between the Mala and Madiga sub-groups. This balance is critical in a State where internal divisions within SC communities have influenced political equations, particularly the Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, a Mala, holds the Finance portfolio, while former Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narsimha holds the Health portfolio. Despite this progressive outlook, Congress has triggered dissatisfaction within its largest and historically most influential support base, the Reddy community. In the 119-member Assembly, 43 MLAs are from the Reddy community. Within the Congress, 26 of the 64 MLAs are from the Reddy community. Those who have been left out include strong aspirants such as Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, P. Sudarshan Reddy, T. Rammohan Reddy, and Malreddy Ranga Reddy. Mr. Rajgopal Reddy, who played a key role in boosting the Congress's prospects by jumping ship from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the elections, feels particularly aggrieved, especially since his political ally, Vivek Venkatswamy, was inducted into the Cabinet. Both leaders were promised a berth. When Mr. Rajgopal Reddy, Mr. Venkatswamy, and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) entered the Congress at around the same time, it created the perception that the BJP was losing ground and that the Congress was the only alternative to the BRS. No one can deny impact of these leaders on the overall performance of the party even though Revanth Reddy, who was then PCC chief, strongly built an anti-BRS narrative. The BJP, which was looking strong, lost steam when Mr. Rajgopal Reddy and Mr. Venkatswamy exited the party at a crucial juncture. Mr. Rajgopal Reddy's brother, Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, is a Minister and hails from Nalgonda — a Reddy bastion. While being progressive in its politics, the Congress would also do well in ensuring that its traditional support base, the Reddy community, is kept happy. While the Congress's caste arithmetic may have worked, the representation of regional and minority members leaves much to be desired. Key districts such as Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, and Nizamabad have gone not represented in the Cabinet. Muslims, and Lambadas among the tribal communities, have also been left out. There is no Muslim MLA in the Congress fold. The party has only one Muslim MLC, Amer Ali Khan. To bridge this gap, Congress is considering fielding a Muslim candidate from Jubilee Hills in the coming by-election. The names of Mohd Azharuddin, a cricketer, and Faheem Qureshi, a confidante of the Chief Minister, are being floated. To compensate for the absence of the Lambada community, the Chief Minister nominated Ram Chander Naik, an MLA from Dornakal, as Deputy Speaker. This complements the appointment of Gaddam Prasad Kumar, a Dalit, as Speaker. As a result, Telangana is perhaps the only State where both the presiding officers of the Assembly belong to the SC and ST communities, respectively.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Consider delinking RTE funds from Samagra Shiksha dues, says HC
Chennai: Madras high court has directed the Union govt to consider delinking Right to Education Act (RTE) component from Samagra Shiksha Scheme dues to Tamil Nadu govt and disburse the money for reimbursing private schools. A division bench of Justice G R Swaminathan and Justice V Lakshminarayanan passed the order on a plea moved by V Easwaran of Marumalarchi Iyakkam, based out of Coimbatore. "Duties under RTE Act are independent. Responsibilities such as fund allocation for implementing RTE Act lie with both Central and State govts. The Union must provide the specified percentage of funds to the State under the act," the bench said. According to petitioner, admissions under the RTE Act have not yet started this year due to non-payment of dues to private schools. In response, TN submitted that due to the non-allocation of funds by Union govt, the amount meant for private schools could not be provided. The state pointed out that although the central govt did not allocate the funds, it paid the private institutions from its own coffers between 2021 and 2023. The state further informed the high court that it has moved Supreme Court against the non-allocation of funds. The Union govt, on its part, informed the court that the funds were not released since the state failed to implement the new education policy.


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Sri Sathya Sai district cops arrest seven more in teen sexual assault case
Tirupati: Seven more persons, including a minor, were arrested on Tuesday on charges of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Sri Sathya Sai district. According to information the minor was illegally confined for several months by a group of men who sexually assaulted her multiple times in a village in Sri Sathya Sai district. She somehow managed to escape from the confinement and lodged a complaint with the local police station. A case was registered under various sections of the BNS Act, SC-ST Atrocities Act, Pocso Act and the IT Act. The incident sparked a public outrage and six accused were arrested on Monday. Seven more involved in the crime were arrested on Tuesday. Sri Sathya Sai district SP V Rathna told reporters that special police teams led by Dharmavaram DSP were on the lookout for the remaining accused in the case and asserted that they will also be nabbed very soon.