“Petitioner Trying To Create Row”: Centre Defends Poll Commissioners' Appointment

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 20, 2024 | top-stories

New Delhi:

The government has opposed any stay on the law to appoint election commissioners, arguing that any challenges to the legislation are politically motivated and “created only on basis of unsupported and pernicious statements”. The government also pointed out challenges to the Chief Election Commissioners Act did not question credentials of persons appointed to the Election Commission.

Responding to the petitioners, the government on Wednesday underlined the point that no objection had been raised about the competence or eligibility of either of the two new appointees. “Instead, a political controversy is sought to be created… only on the basis of bare, unsupported, and pernicious statements about vague and unspecified motives…” the government said.

The government also said the petitioners had failed to submit objections about the qualification of any candidate to hold a Constitutional post, and that, on this ground alone, it should be dismissed.

The CEC Act removes the Chief Justice of India from a high-level panel to select members of the Election Commission; under this law the three-member committee now includes the Prime Minister, a member of the union cabinet, and the Leader of the Opposition. The removal of the Chief Justice – seen as an impartial vote – has given rise to concerns the government can force-pick its nominees.

However, the government today argued independence of the ECI – tasked with organising polls- does not follow because a member of the judiciary is on the panel that selects the commissioners.

READ | Supreme Court Refuses To Stay Law To Appoint Election Commissioners

Individuals holding such high office are “presumed to act fairly”, the government said.

The Supreme Court is hearing yet another petition challenging exclusion of the Chief Justice from the panel that appoints election commissioners. Last month it refused, for a second time, to ban the law.

All of this comes with the Lok Sabha election now less than a month away.

READ | Petition In Top Court To Restrain Centre From Appointing Poll Officers

The CEC Act came into sharp focus after two new Election Commissioners were appointed this month, days before the ECI announced dates for the Lok Sabha and four Assembly polls.

Arun Goel stepped down from the panel earlier this month and Anup Chandra Pandey retired last month, leaving only Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on the three-member panel.

READ | Why Election Commissioner Arun Goel Resigned Weeks Before 2024 Polls

The appointments of Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were promptly challenged, but have not, so far, been struck down or stayed by the Supreme Court.

The most recent petition against the CEC Act has been filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, or ADR, an apolitical and non-partisan non-profit organisation working electoral and political reforms.

Last year, a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled top poll officials must be appointed on the recommendation of a committee comprising the Chief Justice, the PM and the Leader of the Opposition.

Months later, the government passed a legislation dropping the Chief Justice from the selection panel and replacing him/her with a Union Minister, effectively giving itself a 2:1 majority.

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No Voting Arrangement So Far For Those Displaced In Manipur: Official

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 19, 2024 | top-stories

People have taken shelter in relief camps since May las year over ongoing violence.

Aizawl:

Thousands of Kuki-Zo community people of Manipur, who have taken shelter in Mizoram following the ethnic violence in their home state, may not be able to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha polls, an official said on Tuesday.

No voting arrangement has been made for these Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from Manipur till now, an Election Commission official said.

According to Mizoram Home Department’s data accessed by PTI, altogether 9,196 adults and children from neighbouring Manipur have taken shelter in different parts of the state.

“A discussion is on among officials of the Election Commission to enable the Manipuris, displaced in different parts of the country, to exercise their franchise in the upcoming polls. However, till now, there is no plan to make special arrangements for them,” the official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

The two Manipur Lok Sabha seats will go to polls on April 19.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar recently said that the EC has drawn up a scheme to allow displaced people in Manipur to cast their votes from the camps where they are staying.

Manipur’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pradeep Kumar Jha had told reporters that the scheme is limited to the state’s territorial jurisdiction.

According to a tribal organisation of Manipur’s Churachandpur district, the Kuki-Zo people are also staying in Delhi and other cities across the country, besides Mizoram.

In the past, the Election Commission had allowed the IDPs to exercise their franchise from the host states.

Mizoram’s Bru people who fled to Tripura due to ethnic tension in 1997 were allowed to vote through postal ballots in Tripura’s relief camps. In 2018, however, exclusive polling stations were set up at a village on the Mizoram-Tripura border following opposition by Mizoram civil society groups that the Bru people should not vote in the relief camps.

The Kashmiri IDPs living in Delhi have been allowed to vote from Delhi.

Of the 9,196 people of Manipur who are staying in Mizoram, 1,340 are in 26 relief camps, while 7,856 are outside relief camps, the data said.

Aizawl district hosts the highest number of displaced Manipuris at 4,446, followed by Kolasib district at 2,674 and Saitual district at 1,275, it said.

The Manipuris, who took shelter in Mizoram mostly belong to the minority Kuki-Zo community, who share ethnic ties with the Mizos.

They have taken shelter in the northeastern state since May last year due to the ongoing ethnic violence in the neighbouring state.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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“Ploy To Sell Our Mountains”: Activist On Union Territory Tag For Ladakh

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 18, 2024 | top-stories

New Delhi:

Disillusionment and anger are palpable on the freezing streets of Ladakh capital Leh, where climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has been sitting on fast for nearly two weeks. “People are asking whether declaring Ladakh a Union Territory was a ploy to sell of our mountains to industrial lobby and mining companies,” he told NDTV.

The BJP, Mr Wangchuk said, had promised — not once but twice — that their demands will be met. “It was one of their poll promises. They promised us that they would protect the identity of Ladakh under the sixth schedule. But sadly, promises have not been kept. Ladakh has no democratic representation,” he added.

Mr Wangchuk also claimed the morale of the soldiers was at its weakest. “The morale of Ladakhi soldiers is broken because Ladakh has neither democracy (Assembly) nor reservation (for locals),” he said.

Almost five years ago, when Ladakh was declared a separate Union Territory, the people had celebrated. But now, “People in Ladakh are disillusioned and feel they have been taken for a ride. I can only say that they (the BJP) only think about elections and how many seats they can get, but forget about people,” he added.

“We want reassurance from the Centre that even though they have failed to live upto their promise up till now, they will not do so again,” he said. The people, he added, now want a multi-party legally binding agreement.

“We want to educate people in other parts of the country about how false promises were made to us. But we are not just fighting for Ladakh. It is for our nation,” he added.

People from 20 cities spread across India — including Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad — have come out in support of Ladakh. Huge protests have been planned on March 20 and again on March 24. “We are also asking international communities to come out and support our cause,” he added.

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Chain Snatchers Target Delhi's Encounter Specialist. This Happens Next

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 18, 2024 | top-stories

New Delhi:

The Delhi Police have arrested two chain snatchers, who targeted a jogger at Nehru Park in the Chanakyapuri area of the national capital on Saturday evening. The snatchers pulled out a pistol and threatened to shoot if the man didn’t give away his gold chain. The two snapped the chain and tried to run towards the entry gate.

Little did they know that the man they targeted was none other than Vinod Badola, an “encounter specialist” in Delhi Police’s Special Cell who was also skilled in the martial arts form Krav Maga.

Mr Badola chased the two snatchers and disarmed the one with the pistol after a violent exchange. The second accused, according to the FIR, was able to escape. Mr Badola then called 112 and informed the PCR. He continued searching for the second accused with the help of the local police. The criminal tried to escape by blending in with the crowd and sitting near a fountain. However, he was located and caught.

DCP (New Delhi) Devesh Mahla told The Times of India (TOI) that the two snatchers were identified as Gaurav and Pawan Dev Both have been charged under sections for robbery with intent to cause death. The police have collected CCTV footage from the area and increased patrolling around the spot.

Vinod Badola has led numerous high-profile missions. In October 2013, he and his team found gangster Nitu Dabodia and shot him in an encounter near a hotel in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj.

After that, Mr Badola participated in other counterterrorism operations, one of which earned him the Union Home Minister’s Special Operations Medal.

Mr Badola and his team unearthed a new method used by a Taliban-backed group to smuggle narcotics in India. They discovered that gang members were travelling by land from Afghanistan via Iran before sailing to ports in western India. Approximately 330 kilos of heroin valued at ₹1,320 crore was found. At the time, this seizure was the biggest in Delhi Police’s history.

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Rahul Gandhi's Big Opposition Unity Push In Mumbai Weeks Before Elections

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 17, 2024 | top-stories

Leaders of the INDIA bloc meet in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park

Mumbai:

A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi ended his 63-day-long Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai, members of the opposition bloc INDIA also met in the city today, where they stressed on the need for a “national Mahagathbandhan”. The yatra had started from violence-hit Manipur.

“We are not fighting against a person or a party. There is a word ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism. We are fighting against that Shakti,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Targeting the BJP-led Centre for its alleged use of central agencies and EVMs (electronic voting machines) against the opposition, he said the ruling party won’t be able to win the Lok Sabha elections without “EVMs, ED (Enforcement Directorate) and CBI”.

The event at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park helmed by Rahul Gandhi saw several Opposition leaders in attendance, including Tejashwi Yadav, MK Stalin, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Uddhav Thackeray, and Mehbooba Mufti.

“Election dates have been announced… We have all come to Mumbai today. Rahul Gandhi had sent an invitation,” Tejashwi Yadav said.

The Opposition rally at Shivaji Park is being billed as the biggest-ever show of strength of the INDIA bloc, in the presence of the entire Gandhi family, to launch the bloc’s campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, citing presidential elections in Russia, said, “Putin is contesting an election in Russia but no one is in front of him. They (the BJP) want to create a similar situation here”.

Today was the final day of the Russian presidential election that is guaranteed to cement Vladimir Putin’s rule.

Addressing the gathering, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said, “The BJP speaks of winning more than 400 Lok Sabha seats in order to change the Constitution… People in the BJP are afraid of Gandhi in Rahul Gandhi’s name.”

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken a swipe at the Congress while campaigning for the BJP in Andhra Pradesh. PM Modi, alluding to the INDIA bloc’s meeting in Mumbai, said the Congress’s agenda is to “use and throw” its partners.

“In the NDA (National Democratic Alliance), we take everyone along, but on the other hand the Congress party’s only agenda is to use and throw allies. Today, the Congress had to make the INDIA bloc out of compulsion, but their thinking is that only,” PM Modi said.

When his turn came to speak at Shivaji Parj, the Rashtriya Janaya Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav said the INDIA bloc’s fight is not against PM Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah personally, but against the “ideology of hate.”

Sharad Pawar, who now heads the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), said Mahatma Gandhi gave the ‘Quit India’ call from Mumbai, and so INDIA bloc’s leaders should do the same from Mumbai to oust the BJP from power.

Uddhav Thackeray launched a direct attack, “When people unite, dictatorship ends.”

Voting for the Lok Sabha elections will begin on April 19 and end on June 1; counting is on June 4.

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Which State Will Vote In How Many Phases? See Details Here

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 16, 2024 | top-stories

Almost all UTs will vote in a single phase, except Jammu & Kashmir (Representational)

The Chief Election Commissioner today announced dates for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. The elections across all states and union territories will be held in seven phases, starting from April 19.

While a total of 22 states and UTs will undergo voting in just one poll day, three states will conduct voting in all seven phases. The states with most poll dates include Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

Almost all UTs will vote in a single phase, except Jammu and Kashmir, which will vote on five poll dates.

Here’s a breakdown of which state, UT will vote in how many phases:

States and UTs with one poll date (22):

Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar island, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

States and UTs with two poll dates (4):

Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tripura, Manipur

States and UTs with three poll dates (2):

Chhattisgarh, Assam

States and UTs with four poll dates (3):

Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand

States and UTs with five poll dates (2):

Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir

States and UTs with seven poll dates (3):

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal

The phase 1 voting will take place on April 19, phase 2 voting on April 26, phase 3 voting on May 7, phase 4 voting on May 13, phase 5 voting on May 20, phase 6 voting on May 25 and phase 7 voting on June 1.

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