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The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
No scope for third-party intervention, but India, Pakistan should start diplomatic initiatives: CPI(M)
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M.A. Baby on Wednesday (June 11, 2025) warned against third-party intervention in Jammu and Kashmir and instead pitched for India and Pakistan to begin direct negotiations. The Left party also pushed for the restoration of Article 370 of the Constitution and the Statehood of J&K. Speaking at the party's one-day convention at Srinagar's Tagore Hall, Mr. Baby said: 'Administrative, political and diplomatic initiatives are needed to sort out problems. When we speak about dealing with terrorism, military options are limited. Certain steps have been taken [during Operation Sindoor]. We have to put a stop to it now. The negotiation should start between both countries and there should not be any third-party intervention. People like [U.S. President] Donald Trump should not be allowed to interfere in our affairs.' Mr. Baby is part of the CPI (M) delegation visiting J&K, along with MPs Amra Ram, Bikash Ranjan Battacharya, John Brittas, A.A. Ahmad, Su Venkatesan, and K. Radhakrishnan. 'Restore Article 370, Statehood' Criticising the Union government for abrogating provisions of Article 370 and downgrading J&K into a Union Territory in 2019, Mr. Baby said, 'If we have to fight terrorism in Kashmir, we have to ensure that the democratic rights taken away by cancelling Article 370 be restored, along with Statehood. Restoring legitimate constitutional rights will pave the way for building confidence among the people of J&K, which is quite necessary for peace in the area.' He said that after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April, the CPI (M) had demanded that a special session of Parliament be convened to discuss the current security situation in J&K and the emerging escalation between the two neighbouring countries, but noted that 'the government seems to be reluctant to face the Opposition'. Fixing responsibility for Pahalgam Terming the Pahalgam terror attack as unfortunate and horrendous, the CPI (M) general secretary said the attackers wanted to divide people. 'The people of Kashmir and the people of India refused to succumb to the design of dividing people. They remained united. Now there is a ceasefire on the borders, this is the time to reflect on who allowed the dastardly murder of tourists in Pahalgam. The Central government is ruling J&K, even local police are under the Lieutenant Governor, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. All these matters need to be discussed in the Parliament,' he added. Mr. Baby highlighted the fact that J&K's elected Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was not allowed to sit in a recent Unified Headquarters meeting, which reviews the security of J&K. 'The CM was not allowed to sit there. An L-G appointed by the Centre presides over such meetings. What will the people of Kashmir think?' he added. He reiterated that the ₹1.30 lakh compensation announced for J&K families affected by enemy shelling was 'meagre and inadequate'. He added: 'Besides, there has to be enough bunkers. Shifted people are not living in proper conditions. The government must act.' 'Undemocratic acts' In his speech, the CPI (M)'s Kulgam MLA M.Y. Tarigami said the abrogation of Article 370 and downgrading of the State into two separate Union Territories 'unilaterally was a direct assault on the bond of relationship of J&K with the Union of India'. 'This is the sole example in the country where the boundaries of the State were changed by imposing curfew, restrictions on media and press, detaining of the political leadership and activists,' Mr. Tarigami said. He urged the people of J&K to stand together to raise their voices against the government's undemocratic acts and to fight for the restoration of the constitutional rights which were snatched away on August 5, 2019. 'Respect J&K mandate' 'The Government of India must respect the mandate of J&K people and stick to its commitment given on the floor of the Parliament for restoration of full Statehood soon after the Assembly elections,' Mr. Tarigami said. He said that the unabated arrests of youth need to be stopped in J&K. 'Raids and detentions without FIRs are against the Constitution. Our MPs must raise it in the Parliament. Dossiers under the Public Safety Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act are prepared for those who dare to write. Then they claim to be makers of new India,' he added. Referring to the UT status of J&K, Mr. Tarigami warned that what started in J&K could be repeated in other parts of the country. 'If voices are not raised now, it will be injustice to the democratic order of the country,' he said.
Hans India
04-06-2025
- General
- Hans India
City police expands jurisdiction with addition of three stations
Bengaluru: In a significant administrative move, three rural police stations—Kumbalagod and Avalahalli in Ramanagara district, and Hebbagodi in Bengaluru Rural district—have been officially brought under the jurisdiction of the Bengaluru City Police. The handover of powers is expected shortly, according to DG & IGP Dr. M.A. Salim. The decision, formalised through a government order on February 6, comes as these regions have experienced increased urbanisation and a shift in the nature of criminal activity. Until now, the stations operated under district-level administration, but with the jurisdictional change, the Circle Police Inspectors (CPCs) and Police Sub-Inspectors (PSIs) of these stations will be realigned under the city limits. To ensure a smooth transition, officers from Bengaluru and Ramanagara districts will work on an Out-of-District (OOD) basis for one month before full administrative control is transferred to the city police. Additionally, there are ongoing discussions about integrating urbanized areas of Madanayakanahalli and Vishwanathpura police stations—currently part of Bengaluru Rural district—into the Bengaluru City Police structure. Political and departmental lobbying has also surfaced, pushing for more stations to be merged into the city limits. Areas under consideration include Vijayapura and Rajanukunte in the north, Bannerghatta, Jigani, Surya Nagar, and Sarjapur in the south and southeast. These regions are rapidly urbanising, with local bodies like Sarjapur and Jigani also being considered for inclusion under the Greater Bengaluru Administration Bill, 2024. However, sources confirm that no formal proposal has yet been submitted regarding these additional stations.
Indian Express
03-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Technical glitch complaints on day 1 of SPPU online entrance exam
Applicants appearing for the online entrance exams for postgraduate courses at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) complained of technical glitches on the online portal. The examination was conducted in a home-based proctored mode and the applicants alleged that the glitches resulted in them losing out on time in the 2 hour exam. Appearing for the M.A. Philosophy entrance exam at 8 am, Pune-based Kalpesh Wagh said, 'The exam portal kept logging me out and I had to login again each time. I got logged out at least 10-12 times during the exam. At the beginning it wouldn't log in at all, when I finally managed to log in the website kept kicking me out during the exam. Thankfully the timer paused when it kicked me out and resumed when I logged in. But still, even if you assume I lost two minutes per log-out when the portal got stuck, I lost at least 20-30 minutes of my time for the paper.' Another Pune applicant Onkar Binawde, who appeared for the M.A. Marathi entrance exam, said that the exam was originally scheduled for 11 am but he was informed that it was pushed to 11:30 am. But even the delayed exam was rife with technical irregularities. 'When the exam began, the portal was very buggy and kept logging me out. When I was solving the questions it logged me out multiple times. I lost around 20 minutes out of the 2 hour paper due to this,' he said. Pranay Dhoke from Nagpur, who appeared for M.A. in Social and Public policy paper which was also rescheduled to 11:30, said, 'In the beginning the camera system was not able to capture properly. It took me half an hour to begin the paper. When I logged in at 11:30 the portal kept buffering and would not load. My network was fine but only this site was not working. I lost half an hour over this. I did not contact anyone as I was focused on getting the site to work, complaining would have led to even more.' An applicant who appeared for the M.A. Sociology entrance exam at 4 pm said he did not face any technical glitches but alleged that six questions in his paper were repeated. Siddhant Jambhulkar of the National Student Union of India, said that such instances bring disrepute to the college. 'The admission process and examinations at Savitribai Phule Pune University often appear disorganised, causing students to face unnecessary technical difficulties. The university's ranking is not affected due to student protests or activism, but because of such issues and the administration's negligence,' said. Deputy Registrar of SPPU Munjaji Rasve admitted to technical glitches for the 8 am paper but denied having received any complaints for the 11:30 am paper. He told The Indian Express, 'There were technical glitches during the 8 am paper, therefore we extended the time of the examination. Due to this extension, we had to push the 11 am paper to 11:30 am. However, no technical difficulties have been brought to us regarding the 11:30 am paper.' Soham is a Correspondent with the Indian Express in Pune. A journalism graduate, he was a fact-checker before joining the Express. Soham currently covers education and is also interested in civic issues, health, human rights, and politics. ... Read More
The Hindu
30-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Sri Lankan refugee remanded on return to Jaffna
A 75-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil refugee, who returned from India after decades of displacement during the civil war, was on Thursday (May 29, 2025) detained by Sri Lankan authorities at the Palaly airport in the northern Jaffna district, on charges of having left the country without a valid passport. Subsequently, a magistrate court in Mallakam town remanded him to custody for a week, despite him obtaining necessary clearance from relevant agencies and being certified a 'refugee' by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), according to a social media post by senior lawyer and former Jaffna MP M.A. Sumanthiran, who appeared for the man. 'Is this a move by the government to frighten 10k others who've registered to return?' he asked on X. Sri Lanka crisis: Refugees in Tamil Nadu were dreaming of returning to their island nation Apparently responding to the post, which was picked up by local media, Cabinet Minister and Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake said the remand was due to the automatic application of law to persons who had emigrated through a 'non-legalised' port. 'This law could have [been] changed after the war easily if concerned people had worked on it,' he said on X, assuring that he had spoken to the subject Minister, and that immediate action would be taken to change the policy. 'This is not government policy,' he said, recalling his visit to refugee camps in India with a colleague in 2007, and his party, the JVP's (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna) subsequent efforts to pass a law granting citizenship to 28,500 persons living in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu. Over the last two years, over 700 refugees who were living in camps have returned to Sri Lanka, according to S. Sooriyakumari, president, OfERR (Organisation for Eelam Refugees' Rehabilitation) Ceylon, a non-profit organisation working with Sri Lankan refugee communities in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. 'Most of them have returned without any issue, so when we heard about this senior person's experience at Palaly, it was concerning. For many years now, our founder S.C. Chandrahasan and our organisation have been asking for a comprehensive package and programme for refugees seeking to return to Sri Lanka and re-start their lives,' Ms. Sooriyakumari told The Hindu. 'A structured policy and a clear programme should be devised in consultation with the law enforcement agencies so there is a shared understanding of this issue,' she added. Also read: Sri Lankan refugees | The long wait for Indian citizenship Nearly 58,000 Sri Lankans, who fled the raging civil war and its aftermath, live across refugee camps in Tamil Nadu. An estimated 40,000 persons live outside the camps and are said to have integrated with the local community. At least 10,000 persons have expressed interest to return to Sri Lanka, Ms. Sooriyakumari said.
The Hindu
05-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bihar polls will be the first test of the call to defeat BJP: CPI(M)‘s M.A. Baby
Efforts will be made to chalk out a strategy for the Mahagathbandhan to defeat the BJP in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, said Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M.A. Baby, who was in Bihar on Monday (May 5, 2025) ahead of the polls due in October-November this year. This was Mr. Baby's first visit to the State following his election to the CPI(M) top post. In 2020 polls to the 243-member Bihar Assembly, CPI(M) contested four seats and won two of them. Party candidates Ajay Kumar and Satyendra Yadav won from Bibhutipur (Samastipur district) and Manjhi (Saran district) respectively. Before leaving for Kerala, Mr. Baby is scheduled to visit Madhubani on Tuesday (May 6) to meet district-level party leaders and workers. 'CPI(M)'s 24th Congress was held at Madurai in the first week of April, where party leaders gave a call to defeat the RSS-controlled BJP and its allies by forging the broadest possible unity of the Left, democratic and secular forces all over India. The first test of this call will come in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections,' he said. Call for nationwide strike 'CPI(M) welcomes the fact that Mahagathbandhan of Bihar has already begun united and serious preparations to achieve this aim,' he said, while appreciating that 'Mahagathbandhan of Bihar has whole heartedly given a call to make the May 20 nationwide strike with a great success'. The Left parties and Samyukta Kisan Morcha have given a call for a nationwide strike on May 20 against 'anti-workers, anti-peasants and pro-corporate policies of PM Modi-led Central government'. Also read | Tejashwi is the CM face of the Mahagathbandhan: Manoj Jha In the 2020 polls in the State, the Left parties — Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI(M) and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) [CPI(M-L)] — altogether contested from 29 seats and won 16 of them: CPI(M-L) won 12 seats and CPI and CPI(M) won two each. CPI(M-L) had contested on 19 seats, CPI on six and CPI(M) on four. At a Mahagathbandhan meeting in Patna on Sunday (May 4), CPI(M-L) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya extended support to the nationwide bandh on May 20. 'May 20 will be a day for workers' rights and all constituents of the Mahagathbandhan will stand together on the day. It will be a show of unity ahead of Assembly elections in Bihar,' Mr. Bhattacharya said. Earlier, a meeting of Bihar CPI(M) State secretariat was held under the guidance of party's national general secretary M.A. Baby and Polit Bureau member Ashok Dhawale in Patna, said State secretary of the party Lalan Choudhary.
