Amid reports of fresh violence in curfew-bound Manipur, at least one person was reportedly killed and two others were injured in separate incidents that took place in Bishnupur district on May 24. Official reports said that some miscreants belonging to a particular community torched three houses at Phoubakchao in Bishnupur district on May 23. In retaliation, some youths of another community burned down four houses.
In view of the violent incidents, district authorities have cancelled the curfew relaxation in Bishnupur, Imphal East and Imphal West districts. Earlier, the curfew was relaxed from 5 a.m. to 4 pm.
Reports said that armed youths had raided some villages in Moirang, Bishnupur district early on Wednesday. On hearing the ruckus, some inmates of the relief camp at Moirang came out to see what was happening. One youth, identified as Toijam Chandramani of Churachandpur Thengra Leikai, was struck in the back by a bullet which exited through the chest. He was rushed to a private hospital in a serious condition and reportedly succumbed to the bullet wound on the way.
There was tension near the hospital where the injured youth was brought, but police and security personnel managed to control the situation. Manipur has been experiencing stray incidents of violence since May 4 following a confrontation that occurred among some persons the previous day. Though indefinite curfew was imposed and internet services were suspended, there have been reports of continued violence.
The State has requisitioned several companies of Central forces tocontrol the violence. Chief Minister N. Biren, who also holds the Home portfolio, said his government had sought 20 more companies of Central security forces to cope with the recurring violence in some areas.
19 Opposition parties, including Congress, to boycott inauguration of new Parliament building
19 Opposition parties, including the Congress, the TMC, the AAP and others on Wednesday (May 24) decided to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (May 28).
Issuing a joint statement explaining reasons for the boycott, Opposition parties said, “Prime Minister Modi’s decision to inaugurate the new Parliament building by himself, completely sidelining President Murmu, is not only a grave insult but a direct assault on our democracy which demands a commensurate response.”
“When the soul of democracy has been sucked out from the Parliament, we find no value in a new building. We announce our collective decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building. We will continue to fight — in letter, in spirit, and in substance — against this authoritarian Prime Minister and his government, and take our message directly to the people of India,” the statement added.
The signatories to the joint statement are Indian National Congress, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Janata Dal (United), Aam Aadmi Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena (UBT), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India, Indian Union Muslim League, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, National Conference, Kerala Congress (Mani), Revolutionary Socialist Party, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Rashtriya Lok Dal.
Telangana Chief Minister K. chandrashekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samiti refused to be a signatory to the joint statement, but the party too will boycott the inauguration ceremony.
Earlier on Tuesday (May 23), the Trinamool Congress, the Communist Party of India and the Aam Aadmi Party had announced that they would boycott the inauguration ceremony.
On Tuesday, sources told The Hindu that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal had reached out to other Opposition leaders to get their sense and conveyed their reservation about the Prime Minister inaugurating the building and not the President.
MPs got invites for the function on Tuesday on WhatsApp. “Perhaps they [government] will send in a formal invite. But surely they could have done better,” an Opposition MP said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on May 24 urged 19 Opposition parties to reconsider their decision to boycott the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building.
It was unfortunate that the Opposition parties were making an issue out of a non-issue as Prime Ministers had inaugurated buildings in Parliament premises on earlier occasions also, he said. “Boycotting and making an issue out of a non-issue is most unfortunate. I appeal to them to reconsider their decision and join the function,” Joshi told reporters in New Delhi on the sidelines of a national workshop on National e-Vidhan Application.
“The Lok Sabha Speaker is the custodian of Parliament and the Speaker has invited the Prime Minister,” Joshi said. The Minister said the inauguration of the new Parliament building was an historical event and it was not good to politicise every event.
“After almost a century a historical thing is happening,” Joshi said. Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had inaugurated the Parliament Annexe building on October 24, 1975 and her successor Rajiv Gandhi had laid the foundation of the Parliament library on August 15, 1987.
U.P. court acquits Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in 2019 hate speech case
An MP-MLA Magistrate Court had on October 27, 2022 sentenced Khan, the then SP MLA from the Rampur Sadar seat, in the case. Following this, Khan was disqualified as an MLA. A government counsel in the case said the special court accepted the appeal filed against Khan’s sentence.
Khan’s counsel Vinod Sharma said, “We have been acquitted in the hate speech case. We are happy that we have got justice. Our contention that we had been framed in the case has been upheld by the court, and the judgement is in our favour,” Sharma added.
After Mr. Khan’s membership to the Assembly was disqualified, a bye-election was held in the Rampur Sadar seat. BJP candidate Akash Saxena defeated the SP’s Asim Raja, a close aide of Khan, in the polls.
Subramanian Swamy opposes Rahul Gandhi’s plea for passport
Gandhi had surrendered his diplomatic passport following his disqualification as an MP on March 26. The disqualification was followed after his conviction by a court in Surat in a criminal defamation case over his ‘Modi’ surname remark.
Advocate Tarannum Cheema, who represented Gandhi, told the court that he could be granted a no-objection certificate.
Dr. Swamy, who is the complainant in the National Herald case in which Gandhi is one of the accused, told the court that as the cases were pending, allowing the applicant to travel abroad would hamper the ongoing probe.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta noted that no travel restrictions were imposed on Gandhi when he was given bail in the case in 2015. The court, however, maintained that Dr. Swamy had the right to file a reply to the applicant’s plea.
Advocate Satya Sabharwal. who assisted Dr. Swamy, told The Hindu that the BJP leader had received the notice from the court on Tuesday afternoon only. He said he sought time from the court to reply to the notice as the next hearing would take place on Friday.
Gandhi’s application for fresh passport was filed ahead of his planned visit to the U.S. during which he is expected to address a public rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden on June 4. The public rally will cap his week-long tour of the U.S., that includes a talk at Stanford University. This will be the first public rally by Gandhi in the U.S.
The National Herald case, currently being probed by the Enforcement Directorate on the orders of a trial court, is related to a private complaint filed by Dr. Swamy in 2012 in which he alleged that the assets of Associated Journals Ltd., which published the National Herald newspaper, were fraudulently acquired and transferred to Young Indian, in which Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi owned 38% shares each. Both Gandhi and his mother were granted bail in the case on December 19, 2015.
In Brief:
Turkish anti-migrant party backs President Erdogan’s rival in presidential runoff
A hard-line anti-migrant party on May 24 threw its weight behind the Opposition candidate who is running against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in this weekend’s runoff presidential race. Umit Ozdag, the leader of the far-right Victory Party, announced his support for main Opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who will be facing off against Erdogan on May 28. He said he decided to back Kilicdaroglu over his promises to repatriate millions of migrants.
Pakistan mulling possible ban on Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party: Defence Minister
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on May 24 said the government is mulling a possible ban on Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party following the attacks by his supporters on military installations after the former Prime Minister’s arrest. On May 9, violent protests erupted after the arrest of 70-year-old Mr. Khan by paramilitary Rangers. His party workers vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Lahore Corps Commander house, Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The Army headquarters in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob for the first time. Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
