KCR to challenge ‘victimisation' by Ghose Commission in SC
The BRS chief held an emergency meeting with senior party leaders, including T Harish Rao and B Vinod Kumar, in his farmhouse. The Ghose commission report, the pending court judgment on the disqualification of 10 BRS legislators, who defected to the ruling Congress party, and a proposed public meeting in Karimnagar on the BC quota issue were discussed in the meeting. Party leaders pointed out that KCR was taking exception to the Ghose Commission targeting him.
The BRS party will file a petition in the Supreme Court and challenge the panel for giving its findings without cross examining the statements of Irrigation officials that were recorded during the open hearing, when it was binding on the Commission to bring out all facts pertaining to every recorded statement. Instead, the panel held KCR responsible without any evidence, whatsoever. The BRS leaders said that the apex court's intervention would help to counter the commission's 'unsubstantiated' findings.
Rao has reportedly instructed the party's legal team to fight for the disqualification of all their defected MLAs by filing additional petitions in the apex court. It may be recalled that the Supreme Court has already directed the Assembly Speaker to act against the BRS MLAs for switching over to the Congress within three months. As KCR is apprehensive about the Speaker's actions, he has decided to challenge the issue in the court seeking disqualification of the 10 legislators.
Rao has also given specific instructions to the party leaders to make the ensuing public meeting on BC quota a big success by mobilizing many people from the BC community. He intends to send across a strong message to the ruling Congress besides sounding a warning about an impending political unrest if the state government fails to fulfil the promise of providing 42 per cent quota to BCs in the local body elections.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
13 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
CJI to look into stray dogs matter as lawyer claims conflicting orders by court
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai on Wednesday said he would examine the ongoing contentions over the management of stray dogs, after an advocate flagged conflicting directions issued by different benches of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of India. (PTI Photo) The CJI's assurance came in the wake of an August 11 order of another bench of the top court, directing the civic bodies in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) to round up all stray dogs within eight weeks and house them in dedicated shelters. No captured animal, this bench made clear, is to be released back on the streets. During the brief mentioning, the advocate reminded the CJI that the matter was heard by another bench, which had earlier issued notice and referred to a 2014 Supreme Court judgment that barred the indiscriminate killing of stray dogs, mandating adherence to existing laws and rules for their management. 'This is with regard to the community dogs is an earlier judgment of this court, of a bench of justices JK Maheshwari and Sanjay Karol, which says there cannot be indiscriminate killing of canines and that compassion for all living beings has to be there,' the lawyer submitted. CJI Gavai responded: 'But the other bench has already passed orders,' before assuring, 'I will look into this.' The mention comes two days after an order by a bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan directing the government and civic bodies in Delhi NCR to round up all stray dogs within eight weeks and keep them in dedicated shelters. The bench, hearing a suo motu petition on the 'alarming and disturbing' rise in stray dog attacks, also ordered the creation of shelters for at least 5,000 dogs and the setting up of helplines to ensure any dog involved in a biting incident is picked up within four hours. The court further ordered contempt proceedings against anyone obstructing the drive and criticised the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, which require sterilised dogs to be released back into the same locality, calling the provision 'unreasonable and absurd.' 'Whether sterilised or not, the society must feel free and safe. You should not have any stray dog roaming around,' the bench had observed. These directions, according to the mentioning lawyer, stood at odds with the Supreme Court's May 9, 2024, order in a long-pending batch of petitions concerning the interplay between the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Animal Birth Control Rules, and state municipal laws. In that judgment, the bench of justices Maheshwari and Karol closed the proceedings following the enactment of the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, but categorically reiterated that 'under all circumstances, there cannot be any indiscriminate killings of canines' and that authorities must act in the 'mandate and spirit' of prevailing legislation. The court stressed that compassion for all living beings is a constitutional value and that any future disputes could be pursued before appropriate constitutional courts or forums.
News18
22 minutes ago
- News18
Divya Seth On SC's Stray Dogs Directive: ‘There Was Supposed To Be Mass Sterilisation'
Last Updated: Divya Seth criticised this decision and highlighted the government's failure to implement a mass sterilisation plan. The Supreme Court's order to relocate stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to shelters within eight weeks has been criticised heavily by public figures, activists and commoners. Bollywood celebrities also jumped in to protest, urging the Supreme Court to be more empathetic towards these dogs. Among the celebrities, Jab We Met actress Divya Seth criticised this decision and highlighted the government's failure to implement a mass sterilisation plan, emphasising its role in the growing stray dog population. Divya Seth's Response to Supreme Court's Order During a debate with Times Now, Divya Seth was seen heavily criticising the Supreme Court's order. 'There was an original option, which is that every municipality in our country was given enough funding to neuter these dogs. There was supposed to be mass sterilisation, but it didn't happen; it didn't happen," the actress highlighted the government's failure to implement the right plan. 'I have rescued two dogs whose ears were clipped, but they were pregnant. So the problem began over there—that's why there is this immense population of dogs, because they were not neutered responsibly. They have to be neutered, and they have to be sterilised," she added. Known for her love for dogs Divya revealed she has five stray dogs outside her house and five in the house. 'Do you know what a superpower street dogs have? I have been rescuing them since I was a child. I have five outside and five in my house. They think your home is theirs to protect. They think your children are theirs to guard. All they ask for in return is a little bit of kindness and just a little bit of food. I understand this, with all due respect to all the people who are scared," she said. Bollywood Celebrities Express Concerns Over Supreme Court's Ruling Various Bollywood celebrities like Janhvi Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Ravina Tandon and Zeenat Aman, among others, took to social media to stand against the ruling. Janhvi Kapoor was seen sharing a petition on her Instagram story, criticising the Supreme Court's order. Varun Dhawan, who is also a pet parent, also shared the same petition, while Raveena Tandon highlighted the main issue, which lies in the government's failure to implement effective vaccination and sterilisation drives. Among other stars, singer Chinmayi Sripada, filmmaker Siddharth Anand, actor Adivi Sesh and R. Madhavan also spoke out against the ruling. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The Hindu
43 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Shelter or vaccinate? Before deciding, India must count its stray dogs accurately
On August 11, the Supreme Court directed the Delhi government and local bodies to immediately capture stray dogs and put them in shelters. The Court was hearing a suo motu case on the increasing instances of stray dog attacks on children, including infants. The Court said, 'Not a single dog picked up shall be released back on the streets/public spaces.' The order has divided public opinion. While some people agree with it given the extent of the problem of dog bites, others have questioned the effectiveness of simply relocating dogs to shelters, pointing out that Delhi lacks shelters to keep so many dogs. Whether or not India has a stray dog problem, it certainly has a dog-counting problem. Getting that right could be key to making any policy, whether it is confining dogs or vaccinating them, effective. The most recent nationwide stray dog count is the Livestock Census of 2019. In fact, reports show that the Delhi-specific dog census was conducted even earlier, in 2016. So, in 2025, policies are being framed using estimates of the dog population based on an outdated censuses. More importantly, an analysis of the 2019 Census itself raises several questions. Take the case of Tamil Nadu. In 2019, there were 4.4 lakh stray dogs in the State. In the same year, according to data from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Platform, Tamil Nadu recorded 8.3 lakh dog bites. The chart below shows the number of dog bites and stray dogs in each State in 2019 In other words, that year, there were two dog bites for every stray dog in the State. Even allowing for the possibility of the same dog biting multiple people, the number of dog bites remains staggeringly high compared to the estimated dog population. In the case of Manipur, the 2019 Livestock Census recorded no stray dogs in the State. That data point alone is hard to fathom. Yet, that same year, Manipur reported around 5,500 dog bite cases. In Odisha, there were 17.3 lakh dogs in 2019. Odisha housed the second highest number of dogs among all the States. Yet, there were only 1.7 lakh bites that year in Odisha. If the data is correct, then States such as Tamil Nadu — which suffer 'severely' from dog bites with nearly 1,900 bites for every 1,000 dogs, as shown in the chart below — could learn from States such as Odisha, which report only about 100 bites per 1,000 dogs. The chart shows the number of dog bites for every 1,000 stray dogs in each State in 2019 Such knowledge-sharing could help address the crisis. The fact that this has not happened clearly points to a data mismatch rather than ground reality. Since all dog bites will be reported by the victims due to fear of rabies, and since hospitals are required to record these cases, the data mismatch likely lies in dog population figures. With the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating that 99% of human rabies cases are caused by the bite of infected dogs, India's National Action Plan for Dog-Mediated Rabies Elimination by 2030 had proposed strategic mass dog vaccination as the way forward in 2018. The plan had stated that vaccinating 70% of dogs and sustaining the effort for three years can eliminate rabies. The WHO also recognises this as a cost-effective strategy. Evidence from a data-driven rabies elimination programme in Goa, published in the journal Nature, showed that vaccinating 70% of the State's dogs eliminated human rabies cases by 2019 and reduced monthly canine rabies cases by 92%. The chart below shows the results from a data-driven rabies elimination programme in Goa show that vaccinating dogs helps reduce human rabies cases In fact, Goa recorded the highest number of dog bites per capita in 2019. As can be seen from chart below, there were 1,412 dog bites for every 1 lakh people in Goa in 2019, the highest among all the States. The chart shows the number of stray dogs and dog bites for every 1 lakh people in each State in 2019 The data for the charts were sourced from the Livestock Census-2019, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Some of the datasets were accessed through Dataful developed by Factly
