Dr G Parameshwara meets Hariprasad, says no leadership issue discussed
Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, another close confidant of Siddaramaiah, was also present in the meeting that lasted over 90 minutes. BENGALURU: Even as All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge has clarified that the party high command has not taken any decision on change in leadership in Karnataka, the Siddaramaiah camp is continuing its efforts to project the state’s Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara as the next CM. Senior Congress MLC BK Hariprasad, a permanent invitee of the Congress Working Committee and who is said to be close to Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi, seems to have entered the scene. After meeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday evening, Hariprasad held separate confabulations with Parameshwara and asked the latter to be ready to throw his hat into the ring for the CM’s post if the party top brass decides to change the leadership, sources told The New Sunday Express. Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, another close confidant of Siddaramaiah, was also present in the meeting that lasted over 90 minutes. They chalked out a plan to pitch Parameshwara for the top post under the Dalit quota if the option of making Kharge CM and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar staking claim is ruled out. Hariprasad has information that Kharge is hesitating to take up the Chief Minister post for various reasons, sources said. Parameshwara, however, on Saturday said that the discussion among the trio revolved around the outcome of the West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu Assembly polls with a little bit of Karnataka politics. “We had a good meal together. Naturally, since we are politicians, we had to discuss politics. There is nothing to hide. Since election results will be declared on Monday, we analysed the situation. We discussed what is happening in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the status of our party there. We did not discuss state politics much,” he told reporters. On internal quota for SCs, he said the entire political dynamics has changed in Karnataka and Congress is assessing how things pan out. “For the past 25 years, we have adhered to a specific ideology. Initially, the Congress included all major, minor, and backward communities. But when the Ahinda movement began, the entire dynamics changed. We are seeing developments regarding internal reservations for SC communities and adjustments in ST percentages. Many things are currently unfolding in Karnataka, and we will see what happens next,” he added. Dr G Parameshwara Courtesy : TNIE Note: This news is originally published on https:/thenewindianexpress.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Her Last Stand
Mamata Banerjee is conducting, in her own phrase, ajibaner lorai—a fight for life, against her most formidable foe, the BJP. A Mamata loss will end her career, and a saffron victory will decide the shape of a Hindu Bengal The woman in white buying vegetables does not look like a chief minister. That, of course, is precisely the point. It is past nine on a warm April evening in Bhabanipur, the south Kolkata neighbourhood where Mamata Banerjee was born, and lives in a two-room house, and has now come to fight, for the third consecutive time, for her political birthright. The crowd surrounding her is not the choreographed kind. You can tell. The faces are too excited, too lit from within. The vegetable seller, a local woman of indeterminate middle age, grins at Mamata Banerjee like a teenager. In the allegorical theatre of Indian electoral politics, symbolism is the only currency that never inflates. A fruit seller presses a box of mangoes into Didi’s hands. She refuses, then relents and accepts one. One mango. The detail is so perfectly calibrated, so exquisitely Bengali in its domestic frugality that you have to remind yourself it is happening on a campaign trail, not in a kitchen. “This is the difference between her and Modi,” says Hiran Majumdar, who manages the constituency, with the serene confidence of a man who believes Bengal has already endorsed his argument. “Narendra Modi eats jhalmuri in a fully stuffed shop for a pre-arranged photo op. Didi buys vegetables from a roadside stall.” Mamata Banerjee is not merely campaigning here. She is claiming ground. Bhabanipur is also where Suvendu Adhikari—her former protégé, now her most implacable tormentor—held a rally the previous evening. He is the man who bested her in Nandigram in 2021, the wound she has never publicly acknowledged and cannot stop picking at. This time, he has come for her on her own street, in her own constituency, with the easy confidence of a man who believes he has both God and Amit Shah on his side. Nandigram is where Mamata’s political career was reborn, and Bhabanipur is where she was born and lives, even after becoming the CM. Suvendu looks every inch a man at war. Going by the warmth of the greeting he receives on stage—“Swagatha, swagatham, Suvenduda swagatham”—and the composition of the men on stage, there is a certain resonant quality about him. Bhabanipur is a small constituency with a big chunk of different faiths: Bengali Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Marwaris, and also migrants from Odisha, Jharkhand, and Bihar; the stage is representative of the place except for the absence of Muslims. Suvendu’s speech emphasises on one of the BJP’s main planks—protect women, end TMC rule, and bring Sanatan Dharma to Bengal. It is a no-holds-barred war in which Suvendu could maybe come close to winning. The crowd at Suvendu’s rally that night was worked up by a speaker named Mohan Patel, a tall, athletic, conspicuously bearded figure, who rolled up his sleeves and delivered his warning—“Hindus would become a persecuted minority at the mercy of Muslims.” The speech was entirely in Hindi, in a city that has composed its most important thoughts in Bengali for three centuries. The assembly roared, “Bharat Mata ki jai,” and “Jai Shri Ram” in response. Nobody seemed to notice his language. That same evening a Mamata rally was going on in a parallel street; it was disrupted by BJP volunteers turning the blaring loudspeakers in her direction. The CM left, calling her walk-out an act of resistance. Those two nights at Bhabanipur brought in the essential difference between TMC’s Bengal-ism and BJP’s idea of Bharat. This is the essential grammar of the 2026 Bengal Assembly elections: the BJP’s Shri Ram taking on the TMC’s Joi Bangla—pan-Indian Hindu nationalism versus exclusive Bengali cultural identity. Delhi’s idea of what India should be versus a three-term chief minister’s insistence that Bengal is not a province of India so much as a civilisation that has graciously agreed to share a border with it. Modi speaks at Bengal. Mamata speaks from it. The distinction is not rhetorical. It is everything. This is the difference between Mamata Banerjee and Modi. Narendra Modi eats jhalmuri in a fully stuffed shop for a pre-arranged photo op. Didi buys vegetables from a roadside stall. Hiran Majumdar, who manages the Bhabanipur constituency To understand Bengali politics, you must first understand the bohiragato—the outsider. Bengal’s relationship with the rest of India has always been marked by a proud, sometimes ferociously prickly sense of cultural distinction. This is, after all, the land of Tagore and Nazrul Islam, of Satyajit Ray and Subhas Chandra Bose, of a Renaissance that preceded Indian independence and in many ways made it imaginable. Bengalis believe, not without evidence, that they invented modern Indian intellectual life and a cuisine so precisely regional that the distinction between ilish and chital is not a food preference, but a declaration of who you are and where you come from. The consequence of this pride is a deep, instinctive suspicion of the outsider who arrives, however well-intentioned, to tell Bengal what Bengal should be. The Left understood this and draped its ideology in Bengali cultural attire for 34 years. Mamata Banerjee understood it even better and weaponised it into something more raw and personal. The BJP, relatively new to the state’s complicated emotional weather, has repeatedly underestimated it and paid the price. The TMC masterstroke in 2021 was not any single policy or personality. It was a slogan ‘Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chai’—Bengal Wants Its Own Daughter. The BJP campaign that year was led largely by leaders parachuted in from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, whose sloganeering about Ram and borders landed in Bengal like a foreigner’s mispronunciation—technically legible, tonally catastrophic. The result was 213 seats for the TMC, 77 for the BJP: a rout so complete it prompted, by all accounts, a brutally honest internal post-mortem. The BJP is not an organisation that repeats its mistakes without attempting, at minimum,
Great Nicobar project faces fresh questions on ecology, tribal consent and feasibility: Jairam Ramesh
Congress party general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh says the press note, issued three days after Rahul Gandhi’s April 28 visit to Great Nicobar, is part of ‘damage control’ The Congress on Sunday questioned the Centre’s response on the Great Nicobar Island Development Project, saying the Government’s clarification, issued after the recent visit of Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, does not address the serious concerns raised over ecology, tribal rights, environmental clearances and financial viability. Senior Congress leader and party general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the press note, issued three days after Rahul Gandhi’s April 28 visit to Great Nicobar, was part of “damage control” and ignored detailed objections already submitted to the Environment Ministry in 2024. He said the issues raised related to the ecological sensitivity of the island, legality of approvals and the economic assumptions behind the project. “The Government’s press note does not address any of the serious concerns that have been raised,” Ramesh said. The Great Nicobar Island Development Project includes a transshipment port, airport, township and tourism infrastructure in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Ramesh said the claim that only 1.82 per cent of island land is being used was misleading as it ignored the ecological value of Great Nicobar as a distinct and fragile ecosystem. He said nearly 50 new species of birds, reptiles, crabs and other fauna had been recorded from the island in recent years, underlining its biodiversity. On Galathea Bay, the proposed site of the port, Ramesh said it fell under Coastal Regulation Zone-1A where such construction is not permitted. He said the area had over 20,000 coral colonies and was a major nesting site of the endangered Giant Leatherback turtle. He also questioned the environmental clearance process, alleging conflict of interest involving institutions such as the Wildlife Institute of India and the Zoological Survey of India, which were part of the clearance process and later involved in monitoring roles. Ramesh said compensatory afforestation proposed in Haryana could not replace forest loss in Nicobar. “A forest ecosystem cannot be substituted by plantation in a completely different ecological zone,” he said. He pointed to inconsistent official figures on tree felling, saying estimates had ranged from 8.52 lakh to 9.64 lakh and now 7.11 lakh trees. He said this raised questions over the accuracy of baseline assessments, adding that ANIIDCO had also invited tenders for enumeration and felling, indicating the absence of a final verified count. On tribal rights, Ramesh said the Nicobarese community withdrew consent in 2022, alleging they were pressured during the clearance process. He also raised concerns over the Shompen tribe, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, saying there is no clarity on how informed consent was obtained. He said Forest Rights Act procedures were completed in less than 20 days and without mandatory tribal representation, raising concerns over legality. On financial viability, Ramesh said projections of 10 million passengers annually at the proposed airport appeared unrealistic compared to Port Blair’s current traffic of around 1.8 million. He also referred to internal Government discussions that have flagged concerns over the viability of the transshipment port, which would need to compete with established regional hubs without a strong industrial base. Ramesh said key documents related to the project, including environmental management plans and committee reports, had not been made public. He also cited concerns raised by former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash, who said security requirements should not be linked to the development project. Ramesh said security considerations should not be used to restrict scrutiny of a project with major ecological and social implications in one of India’s most sensitive island regions. Article_Author Shekhar Singh Courtesy : The Tribune Note: This news is originally published on https:/thetribune.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Obscenity against Dalit girl in Kannauj: Accused sentenced to 5 years in prison, fined ₹10,000 under the POCSO Act
The court has sentenced the accused to 5 years in prison for sexually assaulting a Dalit girl in Kannauj district. A fine of ₹10,000 has also been imposed on the accused, which will be given to the victim as compensation. This incident occurred in Rooppur village, under the jurisdiction of the Saurikh police station. On September 10, 2020, Pappu Sharma, a resident of the village, lured a Dalit girl to his home. The accused stripped naked in front of the girl and sexually assaulted her. When the girl screamed, her mother arrived and managed to rescue him. When she protested, the accused also abused her mother. Subsequently, the victim’s mother filed a complaint against Pappu Sharma at the Saurikh police station under sections of the POCSO and SC/ST Acts. During the court hearing, accused Pappu Sharma defended himself, saying that he had not stripped naked in front of the girl, but that his towel had come loose. Government advocate Brijesh Shukla stated that based on the evidence and witness statements, Special Judge Ram Gopal Singh sentenced Pappu Sharma to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 rupees. However, due to lack of evidence, he was acquitted under the SC/ST Act. Vikas Awasthi | Kannauj Courtesy : Hindi News
Three tombs demolished at the Balmiki community crematorium in Aligarh: Police file case against four people, including two women, for illegal encroachment.
A case of illegal encroachment has come to light at the Balmiki community crematorium in Dhori village, Akrabad, Aligarh. It is alleged that on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, a neighboring farm owner demolished three tombs with a JCB machine and annexed the crematorium land to his own. Police have filed a case against four people, including two women. Surendra Kumar Balmiki, a resident of Akrabad town, and his colleagues filed a complaint with the police. He explained that the Balmiki community has a centuries-old crematorium behind the Indian Gas warehouse in Dhori village. Previously, there were five permanent and two temporary tombs. According to Surendra Kumar, the neighboring farm owner took advantage of the darkness of the night and demolished the three tombs using a JCB machine. Subsequently, the cremation ground land was merged with their farm. Acting on a complaint from the Balmiki community, the police have registered a case number 201/2026 under sections 329(3), 301, and 324(4) against Ajay and Akhilesh (sons of Vinod Kumar), residents of village Dhori, Tulsi Devi (wife of Vinod Kumar), and Mithlesh Devi (wife of Tulsidas, resident of Badhari Khurd, Manaina Ummedpur, Aligarh). Station in-charge Vinod Kumar stated that it has been confirmed that a neighboring farm owner operated a JCB machine at the Balmiki community cremation ground. He added that a complaint was received against four people for demolishing three tombs, based on which a case has been registered and an investigation has been initiated. Zainul Abedin Khan | Akrabad (Kol), Aligarh Courtesy: Hindi News
Call to bring in law to end caste bias on campuses gets louder in Kerala
Higher Education Minister R Bindu said that a legal solution for all these issues was part of the University Laws Amendment Bill brought in by the LDF government, which had not been signed by the Governor. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: One hartal and 19 days after the suicide of Nithin Raj, the BDS student from Anjarakandy Dental College, discussions seem to revolve around the incident alone, rather than the repeated incidents of caste-slurs and discrimination being faced by students in the higher education sector. Calling caste discrimination in higher education institutions a problem with multiple aspects involved, Kerala State Higher Education Council member secretary Rajan Varughese said that there is a critical legislative vacuum to prevent atrocities against students coming from marginalised communities inside college campuses. “The Rohith Vemula Act, which could have been a one-stop solution to all such issues, has been stayed by the Supreme Court after protests by people with supposed vested interests. Even though Kerala has a gross enrolment ratio of SC/ST students way higher than the national average, we cannot be certain that discriminatory practices do not exist in our higher education institutions — be it private or public,” he said. Pointing out that the Karnataka government passed the Rohith Vemula Prevention of Discrimination, Exclusion or Injustice) (Right to Education and Dignity) Bill, less than two weeks ago, Dalit activist K Santhosh Kumar questioned what is stopping Kerala from implementing such a legal framework in the state. “A legislative reform is the immediate solution, but it cannot be a silver bullet to eradicate the issue. But beyond that, the system needs to democratise higher education institutions by ensuring proper representation of people from all communities, which should not just be limited to students, but extended to teachers, non-teaching staff, and even those in the administration. If we are able to bring this to the aided sector as well, the representation itself can ensure justice,” he said. Santhosh also added that the number of SC/ST suicides in Kerala’s campuses may not be an alarming figure, but the number of dropouts from these communities, particularly from professional colleges, is a matter of concern. However, Higher Education Minister R Bindu said that a legal solution for all these issues was part of the University Laws Amendment Bill brought in by the LDF government, which had not been signed by the Governor. “The bill had put forward key suggestions, which also carry the spirit of addressing issues of students from marginalised communities. It suggested the mandatory formation of a Students’ Grievance Redressal Cell at both the university and institution levels, including self-financing colleges. Along with this, a Students’ Charter of Rights was also part of the bill presented in the legislative assembly,” Despite the emergence of multiple cases and allegations at different points in time, conclusive data on discriminatory incidents against students from SC/ST groups are not available. Officials from the SC/ST welfare departments said consolidated data is not available about atrocities against college students. “Even at the national level, we just monitor the number of campus suicides. No separate provision has been allocated to monitor the caste-based deaths,” a top official working in the higher education department said. However, some Dalit organisations claim that at least 12 students from backward communities were found dead in the state’s colleges in the last 10 years. Aswin Asok Kumar Courtesy : TNIE Note: This news is originally published on https:/thenewindianexpress.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
No immediate CM change in Karnataka as Congress may stay focused on Kerala
The Siddaramaiah camp had been trying to pitch Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara as the future CM under the Dalit quota. BENGALURU: The Congress high command is likely to remain cautious with regard to a change in leadership in Karnataka, keeping in mind the 2028 assembly polls, winning which will mean first overcoming anti-incumbency. The party leadership is unlikely to accede to pressure from either of the camps headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and DCM DK Shivakumar, and is likely to work out a formula based on caste combination and winnability, according to sources. The top brass, including Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, will weigh the options, including that of maintaining status quo by keeping Siddaramaiah as the AHINDA face of the party and DK Shivakumar as KPCC president, besides sending AICC President Mallikarjuna Kharge as consensus CM candidate, sources added. The outcome of the May 4 results of five state assemblies will also have a bearing on the decision. The party high command is likely to get busy if it wins Keralam, where it appears to have an edge, and forms the UDF government. “They have to resolve the issue of the Keralam chief minister if UDF gets a majority, so dealing with Karnataka’s leadership issue will not be a priority,” a Congress leader remarked. The Siddaramaiah camp had been trying to pitch Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara as the future CM under the Dalit quota. A couple of days ago, the latter had welcomed the idea of Kharge becoming the CM, saying party leaders would accept him, given his seniority. Kharge had also clarified that the high command has not taken any decision on the Karnataka issue. “He (Kharge) has said that for now, there is a chief minister, and the question of changing him does not arise at the moment. In our party, the AICC president is the supreme authority, along with Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and others. When word comes from the high command, we not only give respect but also accept the order,” Parameshwara told reporters on Friday, adding, “When he (Kharge) says there is no change, it is a full stop (for change in leadership).” He said that since the statement came from Kharge, it is assumed that the top brass must have held deliberations over the issue. “The decision of Kharge, Sonia and Rahul is like ‘prasada’ (sacred offering) to us which we accept,” said DCM DK Shivakumar, reiterating his unwavering loyalty to the Congress leadership. “As a Congressman, I have been very loyal to the party. Our party leaders’ words are very important. We will go by the party’s directions,” he told reporters. Devaraj B Hirehalli Courtesy : TNIE Note: This news is originally published on https:/thenewindianexpress.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Sirsa becomes the first district in Haryana to have the transgender community as “special invitees” to ward committee meetings.
The transgender community living in the ward areas will now be invited as special invitees to all ward committee meetings. This information was provided by District Municipal Commissioner Virendra Sehrawat. Sirsa: Taking a significant step towards inclusive and participatory governance in Haryana, Sirsa district has become the first district in the state to have the transgender community as “special invitees” to ward committee meetings. This initiative aims to empower the voice of every segment of society by involving them in local administrative processes. The transgender community is happy with this decision and expresses their commitment to being able to express their views to the administration and the government. District Municipal Commissioner Virendra Sehrawat provided this information. Providing information on this, District Municipal Commissioner Virendra Sehrawat stated that the objective of this initiative is to ensure the participation of all segments in the work of ward committees and to ensure adequate representation of local issues in the administrative system. This decision has been taken with this in mind. The transgender community living in the ward areas will now be invited as special invitees to all ward committee meetings. This move will provide the transgender community with an opportunity to directly raise their issues and ensure participation in the decision-making process. Transgender community extremely happy with the decision District Municipal Commissioner Virendra Sehrawat stated that this initiative will not only empower the transgender community but will also make the decision-making process at the local level more inclusive, transparent, and effective. This initiative is being considered a commendable step towards social harmony and equal rights, and can serve as an inspiration for other districts. Expressing happiness over this, members of the transgender community have called it a good initiative and said that now they will also be able to raise their concerns and make their voices heard by the government and the administration. They said they will raise their voice for the eradication of drug abuse and will contribute to eliminating it from Sirsa district. Report – Vikram Bhatia, Sirsa, Edited By: Mangal Yadav @MangalyYadav Courtesy: Hindi News
A team arrived in Prayagraj to clear railway land: Dalits living in the slum protested, police dispersed them; heavy force deployed
The team that arrived to vacate railway land in Gaughat, Prayagraj, was met with protests by Dalits living in the slum. A large crowd gathered. The team, accompanied by a large force and the Railway Protection Force (RPF), began having laborers demolish the Dalits’ mud houses. Residents of the slum protested, creating a ruckus. The slum dwellers shouted slogans. When the demolition was stopped, a scuffle broke out. Police and RPF personnel first tried to reason with them, then began to disperse them, leading to a stampede. They forced everyone out of the slum and then began demolition. People living in the slum for hundreds of years Women living in the slum say, “Our families have been living here for hundreds of years. The Railway Department has always harassed us. Where will we, the nearly destitute, take our families and small children?” Our mud houses are being demolished. Many families have been left on the streets. They have no place to live, no support. During the rains, hundreds of families will have to live on the open road. Railway property had been occupied for a long time. According to railway officials, Dalits had occupied both sides of this railway land in Gaughat by building a settlement. A densely populated area had been encroached under the old Yamuna Bridge in Gaughat. Notices and notices were issued several times to vacate the settlement, but the number of people living there continued to grow. The roads were also encroached upon by filling them with garbage. Railway PRO said, “Several attempts were made to vacate the occupation.” North Central Railway Public Relations Officer (PRO) Amit Singh said that people had been living in the settlement by occupying railway property for a long time. Several attempts were made to evict them. As per railway orders, a team and force are working to clear the settlement. Mithilesh Tripathi | Karchana Courtesy: Hindi News
‘Why Hindu, Dalit, OBC Not Covered’: Tejasvi Surya On Karnataka’s Rs 600 Crore Minority Scheme
Tejasvi Surya questions Karnataka governments Rs 600 crore plan for minority colonies, alleging religious discrimination, ghettoisation, and violation of Articles 14 and 15 Questioning the Karnataka government’s decision to approve Rs 600 crore for development of minorities’ colonies, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said, “Under which constitutional provision can public money be earmarked exclusively for “minority colonies” based on religion rather than for all poor and deprived localities based on objective socio-economic criteria?” He further went on to say, “Individuals may have a religion – but since when did roads, drains, streets, and neighbourhoods acquire a religion? On what constitutional basis is the government assigning religious identity to geographies as ‘minority colonies’ and then distributing public money accordingly? Is this not active promotion of ghettoisation on religious lines by the state?” he added. Conducted by the Election Commission of India, SIR is essentially a ground-up verification exercise to ensure that every eligible citizen is on the voter list and every ineligible or duplicate entry is removed. (Image: PTI) “How does a Rs 600 crore religion-linked package comply with Article 14 and Article 15 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before law and prohibit discrimination by the State on grounds of religion?” Surya questioned, adding, “If the real objective is development of backward areas, why are equally poor Hindu, Dalit, SC/ST, OBC and other underdeveloped colonies not covered under the same framework instead of creating a religion-specific scheme?” Published By : Amrit Burman Courtesy : News18 Note: This news is originally published on https:/news18.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights