Wearing black clothes, several Opposition MPs on March 27 took out a march from parliament to Vijay Chowk to protest against the government over the Adani issue and Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
The protesters, including Congress MP Sonia Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, gathered near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Parliament complex and raised slogans against the government.
Holding a huge ‘Satyamev Jayate’ banner and placards with ‘Save Democracy’ written on them, the MPs proceeded towards Vijay Chowk where they staged a sit-in.
“How has Adani’s wealth multiplied so much in the last few years? When you are going to foreign countries how many times have you taken the industrialist with you? The PM has not been able to give answers to questions raised against Adani,” Kharge told reporters at Vijay Chowk.
“We want a JPC on the Adani issue. Why is the government not agreeing to this? Why are you scared of a JPC probe... it means ‘dal mein kuchh kala hai’ [something is wrong],” he said.
The Opposition has been seeking a joint parliamentary committee probe into the allegations of corporate fraud and stock price manipulations against the Adani Group. Kharge also raised the issue of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as MP after a Surat court convicted and sentenced him in a 2019 criminal defamation case.
“You want to defame Rahul Gandhi that is why you transferred the case to Gujarat even as the comments were made in Kolar in Karnataka. Today is a black day for democracy,” Kharge said.
Kharge said Opposition MPs were dressed in black as the Prime Minister is “finishing” democracy. Trinamool Congress, which has so far stayed away from opposition protests, joined the sit-in on Monday.
Earlier, MPs of various Opposition parties, including Congress, TMC, BRS, and SP, met at the Parliament complex to discuss a strategy to take forward the Adani issue as well as Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification matter in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.
Rahul Gandhi asked to vacate official bungalow by April 22 after Lok Sabha disqualification
Disqualified Lok Sabha member Rahul Gandhi has been asked to vacate the official bungalow allotted to him by April 22, official sources said on March 27.
The notice to Gandhi to vacate the 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow was served by the Housing Committee of the Lok Sabha and follows the disqualification notice issued last week.
A local court in Gujarat had convicted Gandhi in a criminal defamation case on March 23 and sentenced him to two years in jail. The two-year jail term triggered his automatic disqualification as Lok Sabha member. A senior official said a disqualified Lok Sabha member has to vacate the official bungalow within one month of losing his membership.
Another official said that Gandhi can write to the Housing Committee seeking an extended stay, a request that can be considered by the panel. The notification issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat was marked to various departments, including the Directorate of Estates, New Delhi Municipal Council, and all the benefits available to Gandhi as a member of Parliament too are under review.
Bilkis Bano case: Supreme Court notice to Centre, Gujarat Government on plea against remission to convicts
The Supreme Court on March 27 sought a response from the Centre, Gujarat Government and others on a plea filed by Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed during the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
Bano has challenged remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the case.
While posting the matter for hearing on April 18, a Bench of Justices K.M. Joseph and B.V. Nagarathna said there is a gamut of issues involved and it needs to hear the matter in detail. The top court issued a notice to the Centre, the Gujarat Government and the convicts.
It also directed the Gujarat Government to be ready with the relevant files granting remission to the parties on the next date of the hearing. During the hearing, the Bench observed that it would not be overwhelmed by emotions in the case and would only go by the law.
On January 4, a Bench comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M. Trivedi took up the petition filed by Bano and other pleas. However, Justice Trivedi recused from hearing the case without citing any reason.
Bano had moved the apex court on November 30 last year challenging the “premature” release of 11 lifers by the State Government, saying it has “shaken the conscience of society”.
Besides the plea challenging the release of the convicts, the gang-rape survivor had also filed a separate petition seeking a review of the apex court’s May 13, 2022, order on a plea by a convict. The review plea was later dismissed in December last year. All 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat Government and released on August 15 last year.
Supreme Court reserves judgment on Tamil Nadu govt.’s plea challenging HC’s order allowing RSS to hold marches
The Supreme Court on March 27 reserved its judgment in a dispute between Tamil Nadu government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on the conduct of route marches across the State.
Appearing before a Bench led by Justice V. Ramasubramanian, the Tamil Nadu government said there is no absolute right even as there is no absolute ban to hold processions. “Is there a vested right to march across the India Gate or the Supreme Court? Can there be an absolute right to hold processions wherever an organisation wants?” senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Tamil Nadu, asked the court.
On the other hand, the Sangh stressed the right to hold peaceful assemblies in public spaces.
The State government has remained circumspect about giving a carte blanche permission. It had recently cited how rumour-mongering had triggered panic among Hindi-speaking workers in Tamil Nadu.
The State had filed a special leave petition in the apex court against a September 22, 2022 order of the Single Judge of the Madras High Court allowing RSS to conduct route marches. The Single Judge had in November imposed some conditions for the route march.
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who appeared for the RSS on March 3, said the State cannot stop an organisation from holding peaceful marches for apprehensions about a banned outfit.
RSS-affiliate group in Assam demands removal of converted tribals from Scheduled Tribe list
A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated organisation representing ethnic communities adhering to indigenous faiths has asked the government to remove from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list those who have undergone religious conversion.
The Janajati Dharma Sanskriti Suraksha Mancha (JDSSM) organised a massive rally in Guwahati on Sunday to also demand a ban on religious conversion of tribal people in Assam. Thousands of Boro, Karbi, Tiwa, Dimasa, Rabha, Mising and other tribes from 30 districts participated in the rally.
Conversion of tribal people in Assam and elsewhere in India to foreign religions has been a threat to indigenous faiths and cultures for decades. The rate of conversion has increased and the ST people fall prey to communal theocratic foreign religious groups,” Binud Kumbang, working president of the JDSSM said.
The rate of conversion can be checked if the tribal people who have converted are stripped off the ST list, he said. “The converted people completely give up their original tribal culture, customs, rituals, way of life, and traditions,” he added.
Apart from stopping “unethical conversion”, the organisation demanded an amendment to Article 342A of the Constitution, which highlights the benefits for the Scheduled Tribes. The amendment should ensure “automatic de-listing from SC/ST reservation” if such people undergo religious conversion, the organisation said.
In Brief:
Parliamentary approval for the Budget for 2023-24 was on March 27 completed after Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill with a fresh amendment and Rajya Sabha gave its nod to all the three related legislations without any debate amid continuing din over the Adani issue. First Rajya Sabha approved the ₹45 lakh-crore spending proposed in the Budget, followed by the nod to the Finance Bill that contains tax proposals. It also approved the Appropriation Bill and Demands for Grants, besides Budget for Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The nod to Finance Bill included a fresh amendment moved by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman that sought to correct the rate of STT (securities transaction tax) to be levied on trading of options and futures in the derivative market.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on March 27 appealed to President Droupadi Murmu to protect the Constitution of the country and save it from a disaster. At a civic reception of Murmu in Kolkata, Banerjee lauded her as a ‘Golden lady’ and said the country has a proud heritage of people from various communities, castes and creeds living in harmony for ages. “Madam President, you are the constitutional head of this country. I would request you to protect the Constitution and the constitutional rights of the poor people of this country. We would request you to save it from disaster,” Banerjee said at the civic reception. Murmu arrived here on Monday for a two-day visit to West Bengal.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
Published - March 27, 2023 09:29 pm IST
