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Haryana Assembly Elections 2024: In Congress’s Brief 2nd List, Trigger For Legacy War In Tosham

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Ex-MP Shruti Choudhry will face off with her lesser-known cousin Anirudh Chaudhry in former Haryana CM and strongman Bansi Lal’s family bastion
Former Hisar MP Brijendra Singh, who is respected farmers’ champion Sir Chhotu Ram’s great grandson and former Union minister Birender Singh’s son, will lock horns with former Dy CM and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala from Uchana Kalan
Three senior leaders, who lost the last assembly elections in 2019, renominated from the same constituencies

Awaiting outcome of seat-sharing negotiations with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress is holding back naming of a large chunk of its nominees, even as the last day for filing of nominations for the October 5 assembly election in Haryana is just three days away (Sept 12).

The party, sensing that the prevailing political situation in the state has given it some momentum, and desperate to capitalise on it to wrest back power from the BJP after 10 years, on Sunday night released a second list of just nine nominees to add to the 32 names it released in two parts in the first list.

After seemingly unending talks, Congress is learnt to have served a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum to AAP on Sunday to accept a handful of specific constituencies being offered to it, or there is no-deal.

Some senior AAP leaders, like Somnath Bharti, are not keen on a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Haryana, considering that the experiment proved disastrous for the party in the recent Lok Sabha elections in Delhi. They argue that while the AAP leadership put its heart into campaigning for Congress candidates, there was little reciprocal support from the Congress leadership for AAP candidates.

One of the most interesting aspects of Congress’ second list is that the party has tried to invoke the legacies of two tall leaders from the state’s past – Sir Chhotu Ram, well respected champion of farmers’ cause; and former chief minister for multiple tenures and Haryana strongman Bansi Lal – to counter the BJP.

Bansi Lal’s grandchildren to face off in Tosham

After Bansi Lal’s daughter-in-law Kiran Choudhry, widow of his younger son and minister Surender Singh; and her daughter Shruti Choudhry, a former Lok Sabha MP from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, left the Congress and joined the BJP earlier this year, Congress was looking for another face from the family to challenge Kiran-Shruti combine.

Kiran Choudhry was recently elected Rajya Sabha MP from the state as a BJP nominee and Shruti has been named as the party nominee to contest the assembly elections from Tosham in Bhiwani district, the pocket borough of the Bansi Lal family.

To counter Shruti Choudhry, Congress has named Bansi Lal’s grandson Anirudh Chaudhry, from his elder son Ranbir Singh Mahendra, as its nominee from Tosham. Little is known about Anirudh’s exploits in politics, through he has been a cricketer and treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI). His father Ranbir Singh Mahendra has also remained president and secretary of the governing body of cricket in India in the early 2000s.

Mahendra has also remained MLA from Mundhal Khurd constituency, the last one before it ceased to exist after the 2008 delimitation exercise undertaken by the Election Commission of India. Its erstwhile territories were redistributed among other constituencies.

Bansi Lal’s elder son also contested the last assembly elections from Badhra in Charkhi Dadri district as Congress candidate in 2019, but lost to JJP’s Naina Singh Chautala, wife of party’s national president Ajay Singh Chautala and mother of former deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala.

Tosham constituency has been represented for most part since 1967 by the Bansi Lal family – Bansi Lal himself, his younger son Surender Singh and daughter-in-law Kiran Choudhry.

Upholding Bansi Lal’s legacy, Kiran Choudhry has uninterruptedly held the seat since 2005 when she won a by-poll, necessitated by the death of her then minister husband Surender Singh in a chopper crash along with another minister and noted industrialist OP Jindal.

Tosham also falls in the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha constituency, which Shruti Choudhry represented as a Congressperson from 2009 to 2014, after which it has been served without interruption by Dharambir Singh Chaudhary of the BJP.

Encashing Sir Chhotu Ram’s legacy in Uchana Kalan

To contest from Uchana Kalan in Jind district on the party ticket, Congress has chosen Brijendra Singh, ex-IAS officer and former BJP Lok Sabha member from Hisar, who switched over to the Congress in March ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Brijendra is great grandson of Sir Chhotu Ram, the champion of farmers; and son of former Haryana finance minister in the Congress government Birender Singh, who had switched over the BJP and found a berth in the Union council of ministers and is now back in the Congress.

Brijendra will be pitted against incumbent Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) MLA and former deputy chief minister in the now broken BJP-JJP coalition government Dushyant Chautala, who too will be banking on the legacy of his great grandfather, former Dy PM Devi Lal.

In the past, the constituency has been represented four times by Brijendra’s father Birender Singh and once by his mother Prem Lata. Dushyant’s grandfather and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala has represented it once before he himself.

Others in the list

Among others named in Congress’ second list are Balram Dangi, son of former minister Anand Singh Dangi from Meham assembly constituency in Rohtak district; Manju Choudhary, wife of Gujjar leader Mula Ram, from Nangal Chaudhary constituency in Mahendragarh district; and former Haryana ministers Ashok Arora and Paramvir Singh from Thanesar (Kurukshetra district) and Tohana (Fatehabad district) assembly constituencies, respectively, despite both having lost the last elections from the same constituencies in 2019.

Former Haryana assembly speaker Kuldeep Sharma is the party’s nominee from Ganaur assembly seat in Sonipat district from where he won twice, in 2009 and 2014, but lost in 2019 to BJP’s Nirmal Rani.

From Gurugram district, two new faces – Mohit Grover from Gurugram constituency and Vardhan Yadav from Badshahpur constituency – have been given the party tickets.

Mohit Grover, son of party’s former district president Madan Lal Grover, as Congress rebel (independent) candidate in the 2019 assembly elections had polled more than 25% of the votes, against official Congress candidate Sukhbir Kataria’s dismal 12% voters. He had, however, lost the elections to BJP’s Sudhir Singla, who polled more than 43% votes, by a big margin.

Vardhan Yadav, a member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), faces a daunting task of vastly improving the party’s dismal performance in Badshahpur constituency in the 2019 assembly elections. The elections had been won by independent candidate Rakesh Daultabad, a businessman and committed social worker, who defeated BJP candidate Manish Yadav by more than 10,000 votes. Congress finished among the also rans.

Though he won as an independent, defeating the BJP candidate, Daultabad steadfastly supported the BJP-JJP coalition government in the state led by Manohar Lal and later BJP government led by Nayab Singh Saini. He passed away due to cardiac arrest at an early age of 44 years in May this year.

Kolkata’s Heritage Sweets Shop Prepares 500-kg Giant ‘Laddoo’ On Ganesh Chaturthi

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Sudip Mullick of Kolkata's heritage sweets shop Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick unveiling the 500-kg laddoo in Bhowanipore area of the city
In Hyderabad, the famous Khairatabad Ganesha idol reaches a towering 70-ft height, up from 63 feet last year

As the fervour of celebrations for Ganesh Chaturthi sweeps across different parts of the country, a heritage sweets maker in the Bhowanipore area of Kolkata, West Bengal has done what it always does differently, create something special. This time they thought up and prepared a massive 500-kilogram laddoo to celebrate the festival.

According to The Telegraph, Sudip Mullick, the owner of the nearly century-and-a-half-old Bengali sweet shop Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick (or simply Balaram’s, incepted in 1885), on Saturday proudly presented a 500-kg laddoo decorated with myriad kinds of dry fruits and kaju barfis. A small idol of Ganesh finds pride of place atop the giant sweet.

The so-called ‘biggest laddoo’, up for sale, priced at Rs 1 lakh, has become a big attraction for visitors to the busy shop, famous for its classical Bengali sweet offerings like Korapak and Nolen Gur (Guli Sandesh).

70-ft Lord Ganesha idol unveiled in Hyderabad

Meanwhile the famous Khairatabad Ganesha idol in Hyderabad this year is a towering 70-feet tall, up from 63 feet last year, to commemorate 70 years since its organisers, the Sri Ganesh Utsav Committee (SGUC), Khairatabad, first installed a one-foot idol in 1954.

Since then, every year the committee has been raising the height of the idol. This year, at 70 feet, the Ganesha idol is claimed to the highest Ganesha idol in Telangana, if not in the country.

This year’s idol, called Saptamukha Maha Shakti Ganapati, has seven faces, seven snake canopy and 14 hands. Organisers have tried to keep it as ecofriendly as possible, with 25 tonnes inner core of steel and the rest of the idol made from 35 tonnes of clay mixed with straw, rice husk and other ingredients.

The famous Khairatabad Ganesha idol in Hyderabad this year stands at a towering 70 feet height

Randhir Singh Becomes First Ever Indian To Be Elected Oly Council Of Asia (OCA) Chief

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Randhir Singh acknowledges the applause after being confirmed as unanimously elected president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in its General Assembly held in New Delhi on Sunday (08.09.2024) Photo credit: https://oca.asia/
Scion of the erstwhile Patiala royals, who nurtured the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), right from Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, who first became IOA president in 1928

One of the most influential Indian sports administrators of the country, and a scion of the erstwhile royal family of Patiala, Randhir Singh has become the first Indian ever to be elected president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

The appointment was made official at the 44th OCA General Assembly held at the Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, on Sunday. Sports leaders from all 45 countries of Asia were present.

Randhir Singh was unanimously elected by the OCA representatives for the top post when he emerged as the sole candidate contesting for the position earlier this year.

The 77-year-old’s tenure as OCA president will run till 2028.

Randhir Singh has been serving as the acting president of the OCA since 2021, stepping in for Kuwait’s Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who received a 15-year ban from sports administration earlier this year due to ethics violations.

Prior to this he was appointed as the Secretary General of OCA in 1991 and held the position till 2015, before taking on the role of life vice-president which he held till 2021.

For his services to sports, Randhir Singh was conferred the OCA Award of Merit in 2005, the Merit Award from Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in 2006 and the Olympic Order, Silver in 2014.

Olympic trap & skeet shooter

A five-time Olympic trap & skeet shooter, who became the first Indian shooter to win a gold medal in Asian Games (at the 1978 Asiad), Randhir Singh received the Arjuna Award in 1979 for his achievements in shooting. He retired as a sports shooter in 1994.

In domestic sports administration, Randhir Singh’s remained secretary general of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) from 1987 to 2012. He is known to have played a major role in bringing the 2010 Commonwealth Games to Delhi.

Family nurtured IOA

Randhir Singh’s family has been deeply rooted in sports. He is grandson of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who served as IOA president from 1928-1938.

Randhir’s elder paternal uncle, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, the last maharaja of Patiala, was a Test cricketer and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, who succeeded his father as IOA President, serving in that capacity from 1938 to 1960. The maharaja is learnt to have played a prominent role in lobbying for and organising the first Asian Games, held in Delhi in 1951.

Randhir’s father, Bhalindra Singh, also a first-class cricketer, served as an IOC member from 1947 to 1992 and IOA president from 1980 to 1984 (taking over from his elder brother). His role was crucial in bringing the 1982 Asian Games to Delhi.

All the election results

OCA President: Randhir Singh (India)

OCA Vice Presidents

East Asia: Timothy Fok (Hong Kong, China)
Southeast Asia: Dr Norza Zakaria (Malaysia)
South Asia: HRH Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck (Bhutan)
West Asia: Dr Thani Al-Kuwari (Qatar)
Central Asia: Otabek Umarov (Uzbekistan)

Executive Board members:

East Asia: Ms. Mikako Kotani (Japan)
Southeast Asia: Prof. Dr. Supitr Samahito (Thailand)
Central Asia: Ms. Olga Rybakova (Kazakhstan)
West Asia: Noora Al Jasmi (United Arab Emirates)
South Asia: no candidate

Wow, Thai Firm! Paid Leave, Premium Tinder Subscription For Romantic Dates!

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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A Thai marketing agency, with 200 employees in its Bangkok office (as stated on its website), has thought of a novel way to ensure well-being of its younger staff for better productivity.

According to 9News Australia, the agency Whiteline Group is offering its employees, who have either passed probation, or who join between July and December this year, paid Tinder leave during working hours and six months of paid-for subscriptions of Tinder dating app’s premium products like Tinder Platinum and Tinder Gold with enhanced features to date someone they love or like to spend their time with.

The company shared this announcement, apparently made at a company event, on LinkedIn in August, 9News said.

It said the eligible staff was required to give one-week advance notice to avail of Tinder leave, according to the translated message on LinkedIn.

It did not, however, state the number of days employees could avail such leave.

Meanwhile, in this context Indian digital media platform The Tatva has said research supports the company’s approach, indicating that those in relationships are happier, which leads to higher job performance.

The Tatva mentioned that Brendon McConnell of the University of Southampton conducted a study in 2023 that found a “marriage wage premium,” in which married people often earn more than their single colleagues. This tendency can be related to the enhanced happiness and stability that come with being married, the media platform quoted him as stating from his research.

Boeing’s Spacecraft Returns Home, But Sans Indian Origin Sunita Williams And Her Co-Astronaut

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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TV grab of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft undocking from the International Space Station (ISS). The glitch prone capsule returned home in autonomous mode without the two astronauts whom it had carried to the ISS
The astronauts had to stay back at the International Space Station as carrying them home on the glitch prone Starliner was considered too much of a risk
They will now return in a SpaceX Crew Dragon, but for which they will have to wait till February next year
What was supposed to be an eight-day stay at the space station will now be extended to eight months

The glitch prone Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which carried Nasa’s astronauts – Indian origin Sunita (short name Suni) Williams and Butch Wilmore – to the multi-nation joint International Space Station (ISS) returned safely to earth on Saturday, but without its astronauts.

After undocking from ISS, the capsule made its journey back to earth in autonomous mode.

The astronauts had to stay back at the space station as carrying them home on the Starliner was considered too much of a risk.

They will now return in a SpaceX Crew Dragon, for which they will however have to wait till February next year. What was supposed to be an eight-day stay at the ISS will now be extended to eight months.

Pleased with the successful landing, a Nasa spokesman however wished the mission could have gone as originally planned.

Nasa has claimed that Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are in good spirits. Photo credit: Nasa

Earlier, Nasa had informed that that Butch and Suni were in good spirits and in regular contact with their families.

On its first test flight with astronauts on board, Boeing’s Starliner was plagued with problems from the time it blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA on June 5 this year.

The capsule experienced several technical glitches, including leaks of helium, which pushes fuel into the propulsion system, and several of its thrusters malfunctioned.

Experts at Boeing and Nasa made concerted efforts over the months to get to the root of these technical issues, but by end of August Nasa decided not to risk the astronauts’ life by bringing them home in the Starliner, even when the Boeing team differed, expressing confidence that it would be safe for the astronauts to return in the capsule.

The absence of two Boeing representatives from the post landing news briefing organised by Nasa, was jarring.

Instead, in a statement, Boeing said it will “review the data and determine the next steps” forward for the programme.

Nasa administrator Bill Nelson has also expressed 100% certainty that Boeing’s Starliner, despite its technical issues, would again fly with a crew onboard.

 

 

 

Haryana Assembly Elections 2024: In First List, Congress Plays Safe

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda: Gets lion's share in the first list of candidates released by Congress for the October 5 elections to the state assembly
From 32 nominees, 28 are sitting MLAs
Hooda, Udai Bhan, former Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat in first list
Sitting MLA Mewa Singh to take on CM Saini in Ladwa

The Congress party, eyeing a comeback in Haryana after 10 years, appears to be treading its path carefully while choosing its candidates for the October 5 assembly elections in the state.

In the first list of 32 candidates released by the party in two parts (31+1) late on Friday evening, the party has fielded all 28 sitting MLAs so as not to rock the boat at a time when the sailing appears to be smooth for it.

As expected, former chief minister for two consecutive terms (2005-2014) Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is also the incumbent Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, has picked up a lion’s share with former Union minister and sitting MP from Sirsa-SC, Kumari Sejla also getting a few candidates from her camp included in the first list.

Even after following a cautious and laboured process of selecting candidates, involving three meeting of the central election committee (CEC) of the party, preceded by four rounds of meetings of the screening committee for the assembly elections in the state, the party leadership has had the confidence to name its nominees to just one-third of the seats in the 90-member House in the first go.

According to reports, to iron out the irritants, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi stepped in during the last CEC meeting before the first list was released.

Among others who attended the meeting were Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party general secretary in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Hooda again from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi

As per the list, Hooda, who is also the incumbent leader of the opposition in the House, will again be repeated from his traditional Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency in Rohtak district.

State party president Udai Bhan, a close associate of Hooda, despite losing the last elections held in 2019, gets another chance to redeem himself from Hodal constituency in Palwal district.

The party has decided to field Vinesh Phogat, who along with her co-Olympian wrestler Bajrang Punia, had joined the Congress hours before the release of the first list, from Julana constituency in Jind district. Her husband Somvir Rathee’s family hails from here.

Mewa Singh to take on CM Saini

The Congress has reposed faith in its sitting MLA Mewa Singh to take on Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini from Lawda constituency in Kurukshetra district.

The party is keeping its cards close to its chest regarding the possibility of its two other prominent leaders from the state – former Union Minister and Current MP from Sirsa-SC Kumari Selja and Rajya Sabha member and former Haryana minister Randeep Singh Surjewala – being fielded in the very crucial assembly elections for the party.

Both have been projecting themselves as chief ministerial candidates in the past, but Hooda, who commands a mass base across the state, has so far been able to keep them at bay.

Recent joiners too get tickets

Party tickets in two constituencies reserved for scheduled castes have been given to sitting MLAs who had joined the party at different times this year.

Independent MLA Dharampal Gonder, who joined the party in May, has got the party nod to recontest from Nilokheri constituency in Karnal district. Rebel Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) MLA Ramkaran Kala, who joined the Congress just weeks ago in August, also gets to recontest from Shahbad constituency in Kurukshetra district.

Support for MLAs under ED scanner

In an apparent reiteration of the party’s support for loyalists through thick and thin, it has repeated its three MLAs who are under the radar of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of money laundering. The MLAs are Surender Panwar (Sonipat), Dharam Singh Chhoker (Samalkha in Panipat district) and Rao Dan Singh (Mahendragarh).

As MLA, Rao Dan Singh had also unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, losing to incumbent BJP MP Dharambir Singh by over 41,500 votes.

Haryana goes to the polls on October 5 and counting of votes is slated for October 8.

The Congress list (incomplete)

Sakshi Malik’s Fears Over Co-Olympians Vinesh & Bajrang Joining Congress

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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A beaming Vinesh Phogat (right), along with Bajrang Punia (left) strike a celebratory pose with Congress general secretary in charge of organisation KC Venugopal after joining the party in New Delhi on 06.09.2024
Issues public appeal not to suspect the motivation behind their 20 months long agitation against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

As was being expected, Olympian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were at the core of a long-drawn agitation over women wrestlers’ sexual harassment charges against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, on Friday joined the Congress party a month ahead of polling for the Haryana assembly elections.

Late evening, in the first list of candidates for the Haryana elections released by the party, Vinesh’s name appeared as the party nominee from Julana constituency in Jind district, from where her in-laws hail. In a separate letter issued by the party, Bajrang was given a national responsibility as Working Chairman of the All India Kisan Congress.

The move has apparently got co-Olympian Sakshi Malik, who was in the thick of the ongoing agitation with them, worried over its possible fallout on the agitation.

Moments before the two wrestlers formally joined the Congress, Sakshi, the first ever woman wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics (a bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics), while describing their decision as a “personal choice”, said their protest should not be “misinterpreted” and given a “wrong colour” in the light of Vinesh and Bajrang joining the Congress.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Malik reaffirmed her commitment to the cause, stating, “From my end, the agitation continues…I have always thought about wrestling and had worked for it and will continue to do so. I too had received offers (from political parties), but I wanted to take the protest, which I have started for good reasons, till the end, until the Federation is cleansed, and the exploitation of women ends, my fight will continue…The fight is genuine, and it will continue …”

The former WFI president is facing a trial after the court found sufficient material on record to frame charges against him for offences under Section 354 (outraging modesty of woman) and 354A (sexual harassment) under the old Indian Penal Code.

Vishesh, Bajrang lash out at BJP

Earlier, joining the Congress in the presence of party General Secretary in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal in New Delhi, Vinesh Phogat lashed out at the BJP over the treatment of wrestlers during their protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was then a BJP MP as well. “When we were being dragged on the roads, every party except the BJP was with us. Other parties were able to understand our pain and our tears,” she said in anguish.

Bajrang Punia also attacked the BJP and said the wrestlers had invited women MPs from the party during the protest, but “they didn’t stand with the daughters”.

After her nightmarish disqualification ahead of her gold medal bout in the Paris Olympics on grounds of being just 100 grams over the weight ceiling in her weight category during the weigh-in on the morning of the bout, and being deprived of a medal in the process, Vinesh had indicated ending her wrestling career for good.

But did she have a political career in mind when posting an anguished message on social media addressed to her mother then, will remain a matter of speculation.

Congress wants to cash in

In this election, Congress is determined to wrest back power from the BJP after 10 years. By fielding Vinesh, the party is trying to cash in on the tremendous public support she received despite being disqualified after becoming the first ever Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final. She received a hero’s welcome on her return to the state from Paris.

Being a wrestling hub of the country, Haryana is also angry at the BJP, which is the ruling party both in the state and the Centre, for its handling of the wrestlers’ agitation (started in January 2023), during which they staged a couple of prolonged sit-ins at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital.

The ruling party was already on the backfoot for giving a cold shoulder to the farmers in their ongoing agitation and paid a heavy price, losing five of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the recently concluded elections, after winning all 10 seats in the previous two elections in 2014 and 2019.

BJP denies ticket to Babita, Yogeshwar

Facing a backlash, and rural Haryana becoming literally out of bounds for its leaders, BJP has denied tickets to two former top wrestlers who are in the party’s fold – Vinesh’s cousin sister Babita Phogat, Commonwealth Games gold medallist and daughter of her paternal uncle and former coach Mahavir Phogat; and Olympic bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt, both having already unsuccessfully contested one and two elections respectively.

 

BJP Names 67 In First List of Candidates For 2024 Elections To 90-Member Haryana Assembly

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini
CM Nayab Singh Saini will contest from Ladwa (Kurukshetra distt) | Former Home Minister Anil Vij from Ambala Cantt | Former Rohtak MP Dr Arvind Sharma from Gohana (Sonipat distt) | Former finance minister Capt Abhimanyu from Narnaund (Hisar distt) | Speaker Gian Chand Sharma from Panchkula
Among others former minister Vinod Sharma’s wife Shakti Rani Sharma from Kalka (Panchkula distt) | former MP from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Shruti Choudhry from Tosham (Bhiwani distt) | Sitting MLA Bhavya Bishnoi from Adampur (Hisar distt)
Mix of experience and youth | 25 new faces | 8 ministers repeated | 5 tickets given to candidates who had lost the 2019 assembly election | Seats of two MLAs changed | 2 ministers, 9 MLAs ignored | 17 seats to OBCs, 13 seats each to jats and SCs (out of 17 seats reserved for SCs) | 8 women candidates in first list | 10 who have crossed over from other parties

In announcing its first list of 67 candidates for the 2024 elections to the 90-seat Haryana Vidhan Sabha, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), eyeing a record third consecutive term in the state despite facing a strong anti-incumbency backlash and internal strife, has settled for a mix of experience and youth.

BJP Central Election Committee meeting for Haryana assembly elections 2024 in progress

The expectation that the party will replace sitting MLAs on a large scale in an effort to reduce the impact of the anti-incumbency factor has been belied. Given its difficult position, the party appears to have decided to play safe, and not antagonise too many senior leaders.

According to the list, approved by the party’s central election committee, and posted on the official party X handle on Wednesday evening, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini will contest the election from Ladwa in Kurukshetra district.

Former home minister Anil Vij is being repeated from Ambala Cantt, as is Vidhan Sabha speaker Gian Chand Gupta from Panchkula.

Former state BJP president Om Prakash Dhankar has been fielded from Badli (Jhajjar distt), former speaker Kanwar Pal Gurjar from Jagadhri (Yamunanagar distt), and former Sirsa MP Sunita Duggal from Ratia (Sirsa distt).

Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh’s daughter Arti Singh Rao will contest from Ateli (Mahendragarh distt).

The Haryana assembly elections are scheduled to be held on October 5, and the counting of votes will take place on October 8.

The candidates can file their nomination papers till September 12 and withdraw by September 16.

The BJP’s list comes the same day its former post-poll ally, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), released the first list of 19 candidates in alliance with Azad Samaj Party (ASP). Former deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala will contest from Uchana Kalan (Jind distt), from where he is a sitting MLA. While 15 candidates on the list are from the JJP, four are from the Chandra Shekhar Azad-led ASP.

A resurgent Congress is leaving no stone unturned to wrest power from the BJP after 10 years. Since every seat is important, it is also in last minute talks with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to contest the assembly elections together.

THE LIST

SC Judge Reflects: The Summer Vacation Salary Guilt

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Justice BV Nagarathna
‘I feel so bad to get my salary during the summer vacation because I know we have not worked then,’ Justice BV Nagarathna has said. As per current projections of seniority, she is billed to become the first woman CJI in the future, for a brief period though.

A Supreme Court judge recently made a very candid admission of a sense of guilt she felt while drawing salary for the court vacations, when judges do not conduct hearings. The admission is startling especially in the light of the undying debate over the very rationale behind the vacations.

The candid remarks by Justice BV Nagarathna came in a moment of personal reflection while invoking ethical issues and refusing to grant back salaries to four civil judges, whose services were terminated by the Madhya Pradesh government on the recommendations of an administrative performance review by the state high court, but later reinstated on the intervention of the Apex court.

Declining to grant the relief of back salaries by invoking the principle of no work, no pay, Justice Nagarathna stated that since the judges did not work during their termination, granting back wages would not be appropriate. “The kind of work judges do… those being reinstated cannot expect back wages. When they did not work as judges, we cannot grant back wages. Our conscience does not permit it,” she remarked.

Her personal admission of guilt was made in the context of this firm stand. “I feel so bad to get my salary during the summer vacation because I know we have not worked then,” Justice Nagarathna shared in the court.

Prior to this, Senior Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, acting as amicus curiae (or friend of the court – an individual or organisation not a party to a legal case, but appointed by a court to assist it in the case), submitted before the bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh that the Madhya Pradesh High Court had reinstated four of the six dismissed judges, while the termination of the other two was upheld by the full court of the High Court.

Following this, Senior Advocate R Basant had requested the Court to consider granting back wages for the period the judges were out of service, which was declined.

The matter

The matter pertained to 6 female civil judges appointed to the Judicial Services of the State of Madhya Pradesh whose services were terminated by the Madhya Pradesh government in June 2023. The State government’s decision was preceded by the meeting of the Administrative Committee of the High Court recommending the termination of these judicial officers on account of unsatisfactory performance during their probation period.

The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter in January this year and during a February hearing the bench had orally asked the High Court whether it was willing to reconsider its decision. In July, the bench again asked the Madhya Pradesh High Court to reexamine its decision and directed that the full court of the High Court take a call on the representations of the affected judges, afresh, within a month.

Pursuant to that, the High Court in its full court meeting held in July decided to reinstate four of the six judges.

In its September 3 order, the SC bench directed the Madhya Pradesh High Court to issue orders promptly to allow the four reinstated judges to rejoin their duties. “These officers will be given continuity in service. The suo motu writ with respect to officers whose termination is upheld will survive, while the suo motu concerning the four who have been inducted back is disposed of,” the Court ordered.

CJI’s recent take on the undying debate over court vacations

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud earlier this year spoke about the continuing debate over the number of vacation days awarded to Indian judges.

In an event in Prayagraj, he was quoted as saying, “All of us are criticised for the vacations we have. They all say, ‘inko chutti bahut jyada milti hai‘ (they get a lot of holidays). People don’t understand that judges work all seven days of the week. Our district judges work every single day, even on Saturdays and Sundays they have to do legal aid camps or they have to do other administrative work.”

However, the debate keeps reemerging from time to time, and Justice BV Nagarathna’s recent admission of a sense of guilt over drawing salaries during the vacation period could be one such trigger.

New Stricter Bengal Anti-Rape Bill Passed: Effort To Gag Reporting Of Court Proceedings?

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
-
0
TV grab of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee speaking on the new anti-rape bill in a special session of the state assembly on 03.09.2024

West Bengal’s highest selling English daily newspaper, ‘The Telegraph’ has highlighted a very significant aspect of the new anti-rape bill, passed unanimously by voice vote after much drama in the state assembly during a special session called on Tuesday, that seeks to limit reporting on judicial proceedings in rape cases.

This aspect assumes importance in the wake of the state government receiving flak from the Calcutta High Court and Supreme Court judges over its handling of the recent horrific RG Kar rape and murder case of a junior doctor in the state-run medical college and hospital in Kolkata.

The newspaper report, posted on its website, pointed out that both the Calcutta HC and the Supreme Court have live-streamed the proceedings, the clips of which have gone viral on social media, adding to the Bengal government’s discomfort.

The Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024 proposes legislation seeking capital punishment for persons convicted of rape if their actions result in the victim’s death or leave the victim in a vegetative state. Additionally, it stipulates a life sentence without parole for those convicted of rape and gang rape.

Explaining the rationale behind tabling the bill before it was passed in the assembly, Leader of the House, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the anti-rape bill aimed at quick investigation, fast justice delivery and enhanced punishment. It seeks to abolish certain portions of the new Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Act 2023 that too deal with the rape of minors. Bengal was not consulted before passing BNS, though the state government wanted discussions on it after new govt formation, she added.

She urged the Opposition to impress upon the Governor to sign the Bill without delay while asserting that it would be the state government’s responsibility for its effective enactment following the assent of Raj Bhavan and the President.

Leader of the Opposition in the House Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, who spoke before the chief minister, sought amendments in the bill such as strict punishments for officers if allegations of evidence tampering are found to be true, and if investigating officers change their statements. He also asked that the bill should stipulate a 30-day deadline for punishment. All amendments suggested by him were not accepted by the House.

Main provisions of the bill

  • Probes into rape cases to be completed within 21 days of the initial report (a reduction from the previous two-month deadline), fast-track courts for rape cases, and a special task force where women officers will lead investigations.
  • Amend provisions of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, “in their application to the state of West Bengal to enhance punishment and to constitute the framework for… expeditious investigation and trial of the heinous act of violence against women and children.”
  • Fast-track courts for rape cases to be equipped with the necessary resources and expertise to handle cases of rape of women and sexual offenses against children efficiently, effectively, and timely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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