Category: Politics

The Congress party has said that the country’s traditions of democracy and diversity are facing a huge threat. They accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ignoring the important values of the Constitution. On Monday, Congress will hold a rally called ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, where DR. B.R. Ambedkar was born. The party hopes to highlight social justice issues and criticize the BJP for disrespecting Ambedkar, who created the Constitution.

Many important leaders from Congress, including president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, will attend the rally. Rahul Gandhi, who has been unwell recently, will speak at the event, marking the end of the first part of Congress’s campaign to raise awareness about the insult to Ambedkar and the Constitution.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has claimed that Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas are under attack by people who have historically opposed him. Ramesh stated that some BJP members are confused about whether to support Gandhi’s values or those of his assassin, Godse. He also criticized the Union Home Minister for mocking Ambedkar in Parliament.

Ramesh believes that Modi is disrespecting the Preamble of the Constitution and damaging its important institutions. He called this a “triple threat” to the country’s democracy.

The Congress party is trying to focus more on social justice and has been vocal against attacks on the Constitution. Ramesh has called for an apology from the RSS chief for his controversial comments about the freedom movement and has criticized Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks about Ambedkar.

The rally will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Constitution’s adoption and will continue Congress’s efforts to defend Ambedkar’s legacy. In the future, Congress plans to hold marches that will focus on issues like corporate power, inequality, and rising prices. Rahul Gandhi has promised to work for social justice, including a nationwide caste census and ending the 50% limit on reservations. He assured that if Congress comes to power in Delhi, they will conduct a caste survey to ensure everyone is treated equally.

The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) had a big win in the urban local body elections in Uttarakhand, taking 10 out of 11 mayoral positions! An independent candidate won the one remaining seat. The voting happened on January 23, where about 65% of people voted. Many candidates ran for different positions, with 72 competing for the mayor’s job alone.

The cities where BJP won mayor seats include Dehradun with Saurabh Thapliyal, Rishikesh with Shambhu Paswan, and many others like Rudrapur and Haldwani. The only other winner was Arti Bhandari, who ran as an independent and won in Srinagar.

The BJP had promised voters that it would keep the state growing and developing. After the results, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami celebrated and asked the winning candidates to work hard for their areas. He wants to make Uttarakhand a clean and green place for both visitors and locals.

The state BJP president, Mahendra Bhatt, said that this victory shows the people’s trust in BJP and predicts another win for them in the upcoming assembly elections due in 2027.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav held a meeting on Saturday where he said that the BJP plans to disturb the upcoming Milkipur by-elections. He claimed they would misuse government power, just like they did in past elections. In a previous election in November, the BJP won seven out of nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, while the Samajwadi Party (SP) only won two.

Akhilesh Yadav told his supporters that village leaders are being threatened, and SP workers are facing false charges to prevent them from campaigning. However, he believes that voters will support the SP in the Milkipur bypolls, as it is important for democracy.

He criticized the BJP for not telling the truth and said their only goal is to lie and steal. Akhilesh is confident that people will defeat the BJP in the upcoming Milkipur election and also in the 2027 elections. He called the SP a party dedicated to democracy and social justice, focusing on the needs of backward communities, Dalits, and minorities.

For the February 5 bypoll, ten candidates are running for the Milkipur assembly seat in the Ayodhya district. The main rivalry is between SP’s Ajit Prasad and BJP’s Chandrabhanu Paswan. The SP wants to keep this seat after winning in Faizabad, while the BJP wants to win it back. The Milkipur seat became open after Awadhesh Prasad of the SP resigned to become an MP. In the last elections, the BJP candidate lost to Prasad.

The United States Supreme Court has decided not to hear the case of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was found guilty of being involved in the Mumbai terror attacks. This decision means he can now be sent back to India. Sanjay Raut, a leader from the Shiv Sena party, stated that it is time to also bring back other fugitives like Nirav Modi, a businessman accused of fraud, and gangsters Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon.

Hannan Mollah from the Communist Party of India welcomed the US Supreme Court’s decision. He noted that these criminals committed crimes in India, and the Indian government has asked for their return. A Shiv Sena MP, Naresh Mhaske, called this a significant win for the Indian government, as they have been trying to bring Rana back for further investigation.

Rana, who is originally from Pakistan, played a major role in planning the attacks that killed 164 people in Mumbai. He was convicted alongside David Headley, who admitted guilt and helped the authorities against Rana.

On January 21, the US Supreme Court denied Rana’s request to stop his extradition. This followed an earlier ruling from a lower court supporting his return to India. Rana was previously sentenced to 14 years in prison in the US for his actions. Throughout the extradition process, Rana has remained in custody and has lost several appeals against his extradition. Now, with the Supreme Court’s decision, it looks like he will be sent back to face charges in India.

The parliamentary meeting about the Waqf Amendment Bill turned chaotic on Friday when all the opposition members were suspended for the day. They were protesting against Committee Chairman Jagdambika Pal, saying he wasn’t letting them speak properly. The suspended members include Kalyan Banerjee, Mohammad Jawed, A Raja, Asaduddin Owaisi, Naseer Hussain, Mohibullah, Mohamed Abdullah, Arvind Sawant, Nadeem-ul Haque, and Imran Masood.

BJP member Nishikant Dubey suggested the suspension, and it was agreed upon by the committee. Another BJP member, Aparajita Sarangi, said the opposition members were behaving poorly and using bad language against Pal. The meeting started with a lot of arguing, as the opposition claimed they didn’t get enough time to review the bill properly.

Before calling in Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the religious leader of Kashmir, the committee members discussed among themselves. The opposition leaders accused the BJP of rushing the bill for political gain ahead of the Delhi elections. The argument got so heated that the meeting had to be briefly paused.

After the break, the Mirwaiz-led group spoke to the committee. Kalyan Banerjee and Naseer Hussain from the opposition left the meeting and told reporters it had become a joke. They asked to postpone a meeting planned for January 27 to look at the bill’s details, suggesting new dates of January 30 or 31.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on August 8, 2024, after being introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. This bill aims to improve the Waqf Act of 1995 to better manage waqf properties.

Manipur’s Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, spoke about the importance of being careful about illegal immigration in the state. While speaking in Tamenglong district, he promised to take care of all communities, no matter their background. He pointed out problems seen in states like Assam and Tripura, as well as the situation with Rohingyas, saying we should not ignore these issues. He stressed that if we don’t check immigration properly, we could be at risk. “We, the native people, need to stay alert. There’s no one else to support us, and our borders are not well protected,” he said.

Singh noted that trust and respect between communities in Manipur have been affected, leading to uncertainty. He believes that without equal development and mutual respect, people cannot live together peacefully. “All resources available in the valleys should also be shared with the people in the hills,” he added. This, he said, will help create a strong Manipur and a united India. He also mentioned that during the seven to eight years of the BJP government, two years were lost due to COVID-19, and another two years were affected by ongoing conflict. “We’ve only had about three years to focus on our work,” he concluded.

During a cabinet meeting held at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced several important new projects for the state.

Firstly, he revealed plans to build three new medical colleges in the districts of Hathras, Kasganj, and Baghpat. Yogi also mentioned that 62 new Industrial Training Institutes and 5 centers focused on innovation and training will be created across Uttar Pradesh.

The Chief Minister shared that the state’s Aerospace and Defence policy has been renewed after five years, along with new incentives to attract more investments.

To improve financial resources in Prayagraj, Varanasi, and Agra, municipal corporation bonds will be issued for these cities, following the success of similar bonds issued for Lucknow and Ghaziabad. Yogi described this as a great way to promote development and improve city branding.

Additionally, plans were announced for a new development region combining Prayagraj and Chitrakoot, similar to plans made for the Lucknow area. This initiative aims to enhance sustainable development in these areas.

In his speech, CM Yogi also highlighted the Ganga Expressway, which will link various locations from Prayagraj to Ghazipur, helping connect Sonbhadra to the National Highway.

On the same day, Akhilesh Yadav criticized the timing of the cabinet meeting, stating that Kumbh is not an appropriate venue for politics, and that it’s a time for devotion rather than political discussions.

Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti praised the Madhya Pradesh government’s plan to ban alcohol in religious places. She believes this is a step towards making the whole state alcohol-free. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said last week that the government is thinking about stopping the sale and consumption of liquor in cities that are important for religion. This is to keep these holy places respected.

Uma Bharti, who used to be the chief minister, has been asking for a total ban on liquor in Madhya Pradesh for years. In a post on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter), she congratulated Yadav, calling it an “unprecedented decision” to ban alcohol in religious cities. She added that this decision was good for the people and moving them closer to complete prohibition.

Yadav replied, saying that banning alcohol in religious places is important for his government. He believes it will show respect for people’s beliefs and help society in a positive way.

In 2022, Bharti made a strong point about not drinking alcohol by tying two cows outside a liquor shop in Orchha, a town famous for its temples. She encouraged people to drink milk instead of alcohol. In 2023, she spent two days at a temple in Bhopal asking for stricter rules against alcohol in the state.

The campaign for the Urban Local Body (ULB) elections in Uttarakhand finished at 5 PM on Tuesday. Voting will happen on January 23, and the results will be announced on January 25. The State Election Commission has told officials to stop all public meetings and campaigns now that voting is near.

A total of 5,404 candidates are running for election. This includes 72 people hoping to be mayors in 11 cities, and 445 candidates for chairman in 83 municipalities and Nagar Panchayats. There are also 4,888 candidates vying for the role of ward councillors and ward members in local bodies. Elections will be held for different positions in 100 local bodies.

Around 30,29,000 people are registered to vote. There are 1,515 polling centres and 3,394 booths set up across the state. To ensure everything goes smoothly, the State Election Commission will send 25,800 security personnel and 16,284 government workers.

Out of all voters, there are 14,66,151 female voters and 15,62,349 male voters. There are also 528 voters from the third gender. The most registered voters, 9,98,231, are in Dehradun. Rudraprayag, a hilly district, has only 1,82,037 voters. Pithoragarh, which shares a border with other countries, is unique because it has more female voters (30,952) than male voters (30,468).

In good news for Chhagan Bhujbal, a senior leader of the NCP party, the Supreme Court has decided not to challenge the bail that was given to him in a money laundering case. Judges Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan looked at the case but chose not to discuss the issue of his arrest right now. They said that since Bhujbal was already given bail back in 2018, there was no need to talk about whether his arrest was legal or not.

The Bombay High Court had originally granted Bhujbal bail on May 4, 2018. Bhujbal, who served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, was arrested after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) discovered that he and his associates had misused their positions and caused financial harm to the government. The ED claimed that Bhujbal awarded contracts for important construction work, such as the Maharashtra Sadan building in New Delhi, in exchange for kickbacks for himself and his family. The agency also alleged that Bhujbal and his nephew, Sameer Bhujbal, funneled the money to illegal companies they owned