
Kula Nirmulana Porata Samithi holds state-level meeting
The Kula Nirmulana Porata Samithi organised a state-level meeting with a demand for the release of its president Duddu Prabhakar, who has been in prison in Chhattisgarh for the last two years, at Ambedkar Bhavan in Ongole on Saturday.
Attending as the chief guest to the meeting, Justice Chandrakumar said that no one has the right to suppress the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights, including the right to speak, the right to question, and the right to live. He said that the public has the right to dissent from the government, and it is undemocratic to arrest the leaders and workers who are working for the rights and aspirations of the public.
Another speaker, former Additional Advocate General of Andhra Pradesh, A Sathya Prasad, said that enforcing the laws made during the British Raj on the citizens of the country is nothing but cruel. The enforcement of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) like acts is strangling the voices of the public. He said that the government must protect the constitutional systems and not use force on the people questioning the systems. He stated that it is disheartening that the bail application of Duddu Prabhakar was rejected citing the sections of the UAPA.
Veekshanam Editor N Venugopal said that the government is waging a war on its people and resorting to atrocities on them, the natives of Chhattisgarh, in the name of 'Operation Kagar', to hand over the forest, full of natural resources and assets, to corporate forces. The Communist Party of India AP Secretary K Ramakrishna said that after the Bharatiya Janata Party came into power, the opposition party leaders are branded as Urban Naxals, and are being silenced by force. He said that the BJP won't be in power for long in a democracy.
The KNPS AP vice president, M Krishnaiah, and assistant secretary Duddu Venkatrao, presided over the meeting while ViRaSam leader G Kalyanarao, New Democracy leader Chittipati Venkateswarlu, Chenetha Karmika Samakhya leader Macharla Mohan Rao, Praja Kalamandali state secretary J Koti, and others participated in it.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Sikh girl not allowed to take exam for wearing ‘kada', Badal writes to PM
Chandigarh: Expressing grave concern over "growing incidents of disrespect and discrimination against the sacred symbols of the Sikh religion", Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "intervene directly to put an end to this painful chain of events in the country". Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In a letter to the Prime Minister, Badal sought to draw the PM's attention to an incident on Sunday in which a baptised Sikh girl, from Tarn Taran district, was reportedly stopped from entering the examination centre as a candidate for the Rajasthan Judicial Services at Poornima University, Jaipur, on the plea that she was wearing her sacred articles of faith – 'kada' and 'kirpan'. "This was a gross violation of her constitutional rights guaranteed under Article 25 of the Statute, and it denied her fundamental right to practise her religion. Article 25 of the Constitution specifically mentions 'kirpan' among other symbols of the Sikh religion, which are exempt from any bar even on flights," Badal said. He added in the letter to the PM, "It is shocking that rules, if any, are framed by lower authorities flouting the sacred Constitution of India. The govt of India should issue -- or, if necessary -- re-issue clear-cut guidelines to all states and Union Territories about the exemption to the inseparable articles of faith." Badal stated that it was "not a one-off incident but part of the ever-increasing number of examples of religious intolerance towards the uniqueness of Sikh identity. In a similar incident last year, two Sikh girls were stopped from appearing for Rajasthan Judicial Services (RJS) in an exam centre in Jodhpur." "Sikhs and their identity are inseparable, and this was duly acknowledged and constitutionally mandated for compliance for all purposes in the country by the Founding Fathers. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But some officials at lower rungs deem themselves even above the Constitution. This must stop as this vitiates communal harmony in the country," Badal wrote in the letter to the PM. "You are personally aware of the profound spiritual and emotional significance of the Sikh religious symbols and what these mean to our devoutly religious and fiercely patriotic community. I request you to issue immediate directions for compliance to ensure full respect to these symbols at all levels across the country," the letter read. Badal also urged the Rajasthan high court to provide the victimised Sikh girl, Gurpreet Kaur, a special opportunity to appear for the RJS examination, ensuring her right to uphold her faith is respected. Earlier in the morning, the SAD president had taken to X, asking Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal to take strict action against the guilty officials to ensure such incidents were not repeated in his state. Will Raise Issue in Parliament: Harsimrat Kaur Badal SAD MP from Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, while condemning the incident as "unfortunate and discriminatory" and demanding strict action against officials who "barred" the girl from appearing in the examination, took to X and wrote, "I will definitely raise this issue in Parliament so that such incidents do not happen with our Sikh children in the future and a permanent solution is found."


Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Delhi HC rejects bail of suspected Isis member in arms case
NEW DELHI: Delhi HC has rejected the bail plea of a suspected Isis member accused of procuring arms and ammunition for the proscribed outfit and using social media to promote its objectives. In a recent order, a bench of justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar upheld a trial court detention order, stating it was not mechanical in nature. HC said accused Mohd Rizwan Ashraf could not be released due to the ongoing investigation, as releasing him and others at a crucial stage would impede the probe. "This court is satisfied that the trial court applied its mind to the grounds set forth. The trial court categorically observed the investigation progressed substantially during remand extensions granted by it and the investigation was not stagnant. Order of the trial court extended custody not as a matter of routine but based on credible material outlining the investigative steps requiring completion," the bench observed. Ashraf was arrested by NIA in 2023 under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) provisions. He challenged various orders of the trial court extending his custody, including on Feb 24, 2024, when his judicial custody was extended by 25 days. On the same day, the trial court dismissed his plea for default bail. Ashraf's counsel submitted the orders were passed by the trial court in a mechanical and perfunctory manner and did not indicate any individual assessment of his role. He argued NIA failed to demonstrate why Ashraf's continued detention was necessary for probe. However, HC said three accused persons, including Ashraf, were active ISIS and they were propagating the ideology of the organisation and trying to recruit youth for its objectives. "At the time when the remand orders were being considered, material was being unearthed to establish that the accused, including the appellant (Ashraf), were conducting recce at various Indian cities including, but not limited to, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Surat for terrorist activities," it pointed out, adding conspiracy was also being hatched in other countries. "A money trail from Maldives was also being investigated. Material on record indicates that investigation was also underway to find out about other associates of the accused," HC noted.

The Hindu
7 hours ago
- The Hindu
Clearing the air on ‘citizenship' in Bihar poll roll revision
It is fundamental that unless a person is a citizen of India he cannot be an elector. Consequently, he cannot become a legislator also. Therefore, it is very surprising that some seasoned politicians have raised objections to the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar (where Assembly elections are expected shortly) that citizenship should not be verified. It only demonstrates that they have absolutely no knowledge of the Constitution and the working of the system. Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the 'superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of Electoral roll and the conduct of all elections ... shall vest' in the Election Commission. The preparation of electoral rolls is a continuous process, and is revised from time to time irrespective of there being elections or no elections (Lakshmi Charan Sen and Ors Etc vs A.K.M. Hassan Uzzaman and Ors. Etc., AIR 1985 SC 1233). Clarity on being a citizen Article 326 of the Constitution of India provides that 'the Elections to the House of People and the Legislature of every State shall be on the basis of adult suffrage, that is to say, every person who is a citizen of India and who is not less than 18 years of age in such State, as may be fixed in that behalf, by or under any law made by the appropriate legislature and is not otherwise disqualified under this Constitution or any Law made by the appropriate Legislature' on certain grounds. Therefore, it is clear that unless a person is a citizen of India, he is not entitled to be registered as a voter in any election. Pursuant to the enabling provisions, Parliament enacted The Representation of The People Act, 1950, which deals with the preparation of electoral rolls and delimitation. The Preamble to the 1950 Act reads as follows: 'An Act to provide the allocation of seats in, and the delimitation of constituencies for the purpose of election to, the House of the People and the Legislatures of States, the qualifications of voters at such elections, the preparation of electoral rolls, the manner of filling seats in the Council of States to be filled by representatives of Union territories, and matters connected therewith.' Part-IIA of the 1950 Act deals with the Officers of the Commission which includes Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers. Part-IIB deals with Electoral Rolls for Parliamentary Constituencies and Part-III deals with Electoral Rolls for Assembly constituencies. Section 15 of the 1950 Act deals with preparation of Electoral Rolls for every Constituency under the superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission. Section 16 of the 1950 Act deals with disqualifications for registration in an Electoral Roll, and in specific, Section 16(1)(a) provides that if a person is not a Citizen of India, he shall be disqualified for being registered as a voter. Further, Section 16(2) provides that the name of the person who is so disqualified, even if registered, shall be struck off from the electoral rolls. Besides this, Section 20 of the 1950 Act also provides who is 'ordinarily resident' in a constituency. Section 21 deals with preparation and revision of electoral rolls, while Section 22 deals with correction of entries in electoral rolls. Section 23 deals with the inclusion of names in electoral rolls, and Section 24 provides that if anybody is aggrieved by an order of inclusion or exclusion, they can prefer an appeal to the authority referred to in the Section. The only period during which no amendment, transposition or deletion is permitted, is referred to under Section 23(3) of the 1950 Act, which provides that no amendment, transposition, deletion or inclusion, shall be made after the last date for making the nominations for an election in that constituency. Therefore, it is fundamental that unless a person is a citizen of India, their name cannot be included in the electoral roll. And if it is erroneously included, it can be deleted under the provisions, as stated above. Under the duties of the Election Commission In fact, it is the duty of the ECI to verify whether the name of any non-citizen has been included in an electoral roll, if a complaint or doubt in this regard has been raised. In fact, to put it otherwise, the ECI or its officers, have no jurisdiction to include a non-citizen's name in the electoral roll; if it is so, it is null and void. Therefore, if an application is made for inclusion or a complaint is received that a non-citizen's name is included in the electoral roll, it is the duty of the ECI to conduct an inquiry as necessary to ensure that non-citizens' names are rejected and deleted from the list. If the ECI fails to do so, it would be failing in its constitutional duty and the purpose for which the power has been granted under Articles 324 and 326 would be defeated. In the same line, if you probe further, to be a Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of Parliament, one has to be a voter in a constituency; if he is not a citizen of India, he cannot be a member of Parliament or a State Legislature. In fact, Article 102 of the Constitution provides for disqualification of membership of either House of Parliament, while Article 191 provides the same for a State Legislature. It is very clear under Article 102(1)(d) that a person 'shall be disqualified for being chosen as and for being a member of either House of Parliament, if he is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State or if he is under acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State'. Article 191, which applies to the State Legislature, also provides the same. If someone contends that a non-citizen would be a voter, they are also contending that a non-citizen can be a member of Legislature, which is nothing but absurd. Therefore, if questioned, one has to prove to the satisfaction of the authority, that he is a citizen of India, and that he satisfies the provisions of The Citizenship Act, 1955. Though Section 7A of the 1955 Act provides for the registration of overseas citizens in India, Section 7B(2) of the said Act clearly provides that an Overseas citizen of India Cardholder shall not be entitled to the rights conferred on the citizens of India with regard to the registration of a voter. Therefore, the constitutional and statutory scheme clearly provides that unless a person is a citizen of India, his name cannot be included in the electoral roll. And even if he is included, the authority of the ECI can order deletion of their name under Section 16(2) of the 1950 Act. It is relevant to note the decision of the Supreme Court of India (reported in Dr. Yogesh Bhardwaj vs State Of U.P. And Ors, 1990 3 SCC 355), which dealt with admission in a medical college. In the said judgment, it has been observed in paragraph 20 that it is only lawful residence that can be taken into account, and if a man stays in a country in breach of immigration laws, his presence there does not constitute ordinary residence. The Aadhaar card and citizenship One more issue which has to be dealt with is whether any person who has an Aadhaar card can be a citizen of India. A reading of the provisions of The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, in particular, Section 9, clearly provides that the 'Aadhaar Number or the Authentication thereof, shall not, by itself, confer any right of, or be proof of, citizenship or domicile in respect of the Aadhaar number holder'. Section 3 of the Act, which deals with enrolment, only provides that 'every resident shall be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number by submitting his demographic and biometric information by undergoing the process of enrolment'. Therefore, mere possession of an Aadhaar card is not proof of citizenship, and despite the constitutional requirements, if the names of foreigners are retained in the electoral roll, the rolls to that extent would be void ab initio. G. Rajagopalan is a senior advocate and, formerly, Additional Solicitor General