Vijay condemns arrest of Rahul for ‘vote chori' protest
Free and fair elections should be conducted to instill a sense of confidence in democracy," Vijay posted on X. "I had insisted that the backbone of democracy is free and fair elections," he said recalling the speech he made at a book release function last year.
Meanwhile, TN Congress Committee president K Selvaperunthagai, along with Congress functionaries, protested the arrest of Rahul Gandhi in Chennai and were detained.
At the protest, Selvaperunthagai told reporters, "BJP govt at Centre and Delhi police behaved in a fascist manner by arresting the leader of the opposition along with the MPs of the INDIA bloc. We strongly condemn this. PM Modi is answerable for this."
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Regarding the complaints of Rahul Gandhi, Selvaperunthagai said, "Rahul Gandhi has exposed the conspiracy of BJP and ECI against the people with the help of data and evidence. Instead of responding to him, they are attempting to silence the voices by arresting."
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Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- Indian Express
J&K nominated MLAs: Centre says ‘no bearing or co-relation with formation of govt'
THE Centre has described the power vested in the Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor to nominate five members to its Legislative Assembly as 'discretionary', and exercisable by him without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers in the Union Territory. In an affidavit in the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, the Union Home Ministry has also said that this nomination has 'no bearing or co-relation with the formation of the government'. The affidavit was in response to a question framed by the court as to whether Sections 15, 15-A and 15-B of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, providing for nomination of members to the UT's Legislative Assembly over and above its sanctioned strength – which could potentially convert a minority government into a majority government, and vice-a-versa – were in violation of basic structure of the Constitution. Senior Congress leader and its chief spokesperson Ravinder Kumar Sharma had filed a PIL in the High Court, challenging the provisions. Just before results were declared for the first elections held to the J&K Assembly following the abrogation of Article 370, in October 2024, non-BJP parties had expressed apprehension over the L-G's powers to nominate members. This fear was accentuated by claims of a BJP leader that all five would be BJP leaders, and that L-G Manoj Sinha would name them in consultation with the Centre. Opposition parties had demanded that the nominations be made only on 'the aid and advice' of the government that was due to take over, and not precede it. With five nominated members, the strength of the J&K Assembly would be 95, making the majority mark 48. It was feared that the Opposition would not reach this mark, and the BJP would tilt the scales in its favour with the nominated MLAs. Eventually, however, the L-G did not make any nominations before the results, and the National Conference-Congress combine won with 47 MLAs (NC 41 and Congress 6), apart from enjoying the support of four Independents and a CPI(M) MLA. In its affidavit in the High Court, the Union Home Ministry has noted that while Section 15 was part of the original 2019 Reorganization Act, Sections 15A and 15B were added through an amendment in 2023. Section 15A empowers the Lt Governor to nominate two members, one of whom shall be a woman, from the Kashmiri migrant community, while Section 15B provides for nomination of one member from persons displaced from Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). Speaking about Section 15, the Centre's affidavit says that the provision in it for nomination of two women MLAs was similar to an Article in the Constitution of the erstwhile J&K state, before its special status was scrapped. Then the Governor had the power to nominate up to two women members if women were not adequately represented in the Assembly. '(It) is an act of affirmative action, in support of promoting and ensuring female representation.' A 'plain reading' of the statute shows that 'it is a nomination which is to take place at any juncture post-elections, and has no bearing or co-relation with the formation of the government, inasmuch as the standard in the section is representation of women in the Assembly, and not in the government', says the affidavit. On Section 15A, the affidavit refers to the Supreme Court's verdict upholding the abrogation of Article 370 in which Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul wrote an epilogue on the migration of Kashmiri Pandits. 'In order to move forward, the wounds need healing… The first step towards this is to achieve a collective understanding of the human rights violations perpetrated both by State and non-State actors, against peoples of the region,' Justice Kaul wrote. The Centre's affidavit says that it is a matter of record that multiple regions of Kashmir have remained disturbed for decades, leading to extensive displacement of civilians. 'Accordingly, the nomination of two members from the Kashmiri Migrant community under Section 15A serves the objective of providing them with adequate representation, ensuring their voice is heard in the legislative process, and safeguarding their rights and interests,'' it says. Similarly, the affidavit talks of Section 15B providing representation to those displaced from PoJK, in 1947 and during the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971. 'It is evident that displacement of these communities prevents them from their democratic participation… thereby necessitating the appointment of a nominated representative to ensure that their interests are not entirely excluded from governance.' Therefore, the affidavit says, the legislative intent behind these provisions is 'well-founded in law and equity', ensuring that voices of the displaced are neither ignored nor marginalised. On whether the J&K Lt Governor has to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers or has discretionary powers to nominate the five members, the affidavit says that this stands conclusively settled with respect to the Assemblies of both Puducherry and the Municipal Corporation in NCT of Delhi – the other two UTs with Assemblies. Sections 15, 15A and 15B specifically recognise the authority of the Lt Governor to nominate Assembly members, the affidavit says, adding that there can be no doubt that he has to exercise this duty in his discretion as a statutory functionary and not as an extension of the government – and thus, act without aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.
Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Citizenship is in Parliament's domain, but ECI can include citizens and exclude non-citizens as voters: SC
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The top court said that self-declaration of citizenship may lead to legal complications and added that the ECI can verify their authenticity. The remarks came as senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for some petitioners, told the bench also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi that it was not within the remit of the ECI to decide on citizenship. Singhvi questioned the ECI's reluctance to consider Aadhaar and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) and said, 'very clear that ECI does not want to look at them because they say it's insufficient for determining citizenship. Otherwise, there's no reason.' Justice Kant pointed out that it's not the ECI but the Aadhaar Act which says that the unique identification number is not proof of citizenship. Singhvi said, 'This entire exercise is without jurisdiction. Because the ECI has converted itself into an agency that flags citizenship.' The senior counsel said, 'My proposition is determination of citizenship is an exercise which does not fall in domain of the ECI at all. They can't say before 2 months in a 9-10 crore (voter) election, we are doing SIR and we will remove you on the grounds of citizenship. It is true that you have to decide citizenship to be ultimately on the roll. But 5 crore people are already in the roll after 2003 (revision). Their removal on grounds of citizenship or lack of it has to follow a procedure, which is not with them…The argument is that from 2003-2025, there is 'presumptive exclusion' unless ECI on the basis of its test finds them to be citizens. Presumptively, you are held not to be a citizen till you show otherwise,' he added. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, also appearing for the petitioners, said, 'They (ECI) admit that no inquiry was conducted to ascertain whether these people (who are exempted from the draft roll on the ground of death, migration to other places, etc) are indeed dead or migrated.' Sibal added that these are people who were there in the 2003 rolls drawn up after a revision. 'And since then 22 lakh have died!' he said. Justice Bagchi, however, said, 'There is a degree of intensity in a summary revision vis-à-vis an intensive revision. So inclusion in a summary revision role does not give you a carte blanche to be in an intensive revision draft roll.' On Aadhaar and ration cards, Justice Kant said, 'One is furnishing of documents. Second is verification. Today if I attach a fake Aadhar or a fake ration card, they have a right to verify…'. Sibal said prima facie, there is an assumption in favour of the person submitting them that these are valid documents. 'Yes, but if you attach a document, it requires consideration, verification,' said Justice Kant. Referring to those who have been left out of the draft roll, Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), pointed out that the ECI had said in its affidavit that 'we have given some of this information to the booth-level agents (BLAs) of recognised political parties'. 'They say they are not obliged to give to anyone else,' he added. Bhushan further said, 'Today, what they have done is something mischievous. Until August 4, the draft of the roll was searchable. After August 4, the document is not searchable. They say, go and ask the BLAs of the political party. Why should I, as a citizen, not know from their document and should ask an agent of the political party?' Justice Kant agreed that 'voters and all bona fide citizens have a right' to know. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, said ADR had filed a 'speculative petition'. 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Justice Kant said, 'If they declare 5 crore people invalid, we are sitting here. We would definitely like to examine.' Praying for an interim relief, Singvi said, 'We estimate that if you ask for certificates…maybe 1, maybe 2 crore will be invalid. Now we can't wait till we come back in September and Your Lordships is told now the Model Code of Conduct is in force, elections are around the corner. They are in a scrambling mode.' Justice Kant said the process can be invalidated even in September if the court finds it is not lawful. 'So what? Can't we set it aside even in September even if we have a lurking suspicion about the procedure followed by the ECI?' Bhushan said, 'What we have shown (in the petition) is that a very large number of people who find themselves in the draft roll are dead persons, 300 people living in one house, etc. Now they are saying those who are not in the draft list, they will have to fill up a Form 6.' Bhushan said, 'Earlier, even if someone was applying as a fresh voter, they only have to give a self-declaration that they are citizens. Thereafter, if someone challenges and produces some material, they can remove. That's all. They do not have to give any document for showing that he or she is a citizen.' Justice Kant said, 'That may be legally difficult, that simply somebody says that I am writing that I am a citizen.' The judge said the litigation 'largely' seemed to be 'a case of trust deficiency'. Activist and psephologist Yogendra Yadav, who also addressed the court, said, 'This is the first revision exercise in the whole country where there is zero addition and there are only omissions.' He said Bihar has an adult population of 8.18 crore and that when there should have been more voters, 65 lakhs have been excluded. Yadav contended that mass disenfranchisement has already taken place, adding that it did not happen due to the failure of the SIR but that the process was designed for the purpose. 'With one stroke, the percentage of adults eligible to vote in Bihar has come down to 88 per cent already. There would be further deletions now,' he contended. Yadav added that the number of women voters who have been excluded is more than that of men.
The Hindu
12 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Owaisi blames BJP for mob desecrating tomb in Fatehpur, alleges environment of hatred against Muslims in UP
Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi blamed the 'atmosphere of hatred created by the BJP' that led to a mob desecrating the tomb of Nawab Abdul Samad in Fatehpur. Mr. Owaisi, who is the president of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, while speaking to the media alleged that anti-social elements belonging to Hindutva groups, have been enjoying a free run in states like Uttar Pradesh. He further alleged such miscreants remain unchecked when they attack any site connected to the Muslim community. 'This is a result of the environment of hatred that the BJP has created. Especially in UP, they have a free run. Anything connected to Muslim culture, or history, any religious place, you are permitted to attack it, and take law in your hands. And the UP government will close its eyes and ears,' he said. He questioned why the police did not play a proactive role in stopping these miscreants. 'In the presence of police, graves are being destroyed and vandalised, and police does nothing. If the same people were from the Muslim community, then imagine what would have happened?' Mr. Owaisi claimed that 'the use of law' is based on religion and political ideology. 'This is a conspicuous example of the hatred against Muslims and to oppress them,' he said. 'What is astha then? Your astha is neither in rule of law, nor to keep the peace. You have one agenda, whether it be in Assam or UP, you want to target Muslims. You want to use bulldozers and render them homeless, or attack masjids or dargahs,' he said.
