Court issues notice to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul in National Herald case
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court issued a notice on Friday to Congress functionaries Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and others in a money-laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper. The court observed that the right to be heard at any stage of proceedings breathes life into the right to a fair trial. The court of special judge Vishal Gogne was hearing arguments on whether a notice is required to be issued to the accused in view of the proviso to BNSS Section 223. “The right of the accused to be heard at the cognisance stage must be liberally applied to proceedings under PMLA before the special court as a continuation of the recent jurisprudence on PMLA, which has read the constitutional mandate and rights into PMLA,” the judge said. The case is at the stage of consideration regarding notice. On April 25, additional solicitor general SV Raju, appearing for ED, submitted that under the new legal provisions cognisance of the chargesheet cannot be taken without first hearing the accused. On April 9, ED filed a chargesheet before the court that mentions Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as accused numbers 1 and 2 under Secs 3 and 4 (which deal with money-laundering and its punishment) and Sec 70 (offences by companies) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The charges, if proved, attract a maximum imprisonment of seven years. The chargesheet names seven accused – five individuals and two private companies – Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian, and Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd. On Friday, during the hearing, the ASG submitted before the court that in an ED case where notice was not issued, it was taken to the Supreme Court and SC had stayed the proceedings. The judge, taking note that the proviso to BNSS Sec 223 is a salutary provision in furtherance of the right to be heard as part of a fair trial, said, “It is designed to protect accused persons against improper implication by permitting them to make submissions prior to the court taking cognisance of the offences in question. The BNSS is therefore a progressive legislation in this regard and records among its objectives and reasons a ‘citizens-centric criminal procedure’ as the ‘need of the hour’.” This benevolent intent of BNSS should be read in favour of the accused rather than the investigation agencies when a right to be heard is to be accorded at any stage of the proceedings, the judge said. The court said it does not come to any “detriment” if the accused is permitted to make submissions on the question of cognisance. “In this adherence to the principles of fair hearing, the right to be heard is not inconsistent with any of the powers vested in the ED for investigation or the presumptions as well as the burden of proof stipulated under the PMLA,” said the court. The court also noted the submissions of the ASG that ED is not opposing such a notice precisely because it is a votary of a fair trial. The court listed various reasons for issuing notice, including that the proviso to BNSS Sec 223 creates a sui generis right of the accused to be heard at the cognisance stage and is not inconsistent with the complaint procedure or other provisions under PMLA. “Such a right does not defeat or diminish the operation of any provision of PMLA. The proviso to BNSS Sec 223… is required to be read in favour of the proposed accused persons,” the court said. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https://timesofindia.com/ and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
Rahul Gandhi forced PM Modi’s hand on caste census, claims Congress
NEW DELHI: As Congress toasted Rahul Gandhi for championing the “caste census” which forced Modi govt to accept the demand after 11 years of “stubborn refusal”, the Gandhi scion Friday told Congress Working Committee the party should take up an issue and stick to it for sustained periods to bring about a change. It is learnt Congress will centre stage its role in making caste enumeration a reality during ongoing “samvidhan bachao rallies” at state, district and assembly-levels. The party is also likely to mount a strong campaign for caste quotas in private educational institutions under Article 15(5), and a constitutional amendment to remove the 50% cap on reservations. Calling for urgent action on the decennial census as the govt has not given a timeline or budget for conducting it, CWC sought an “immediate debate in Parliament”. It cautioned that caste enumeration should not become “a jumla like women’s quota”. CWC brainstormed over Centre’s decision to enumerate caste in the next decennial census and celebrated Rahul as “strongest and most consistent voice demanding a nationwide caste census.” The CWC resolution noted that Rahul raised the issue at 2022 Udaipur session and Raipur plenary in 2023. “In Parliament, in speeches across the country, and during the Bharat Jodo Yatras, Rahul has asserted that caste enumeration was essential for deepening social justice,” it said. With Congress exuding a sense of victory, Rahul is learnt to have told the gathering the party should adopt action-oriented programmes, so the campaigns yield results Briefing reporters, Sachin Pilot and MP Saptgiri Ulaka took potshots at PM Modi by saying, “A big leader said ‘bantenge to katenge’ and called Congress ‘urban naxal’. They called caste enumeration a poison for society. But under Congress and Rahul’s pressure, Modi govt understood that public sentiment was with Congress.” Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https://timesofindia.com/ and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
Jyotirmath Shankaracharya ‘expels’ Rahul Gandhi from Hinduism for his remarks on Manusmriti in Parliament
DEHRADUN: Jyotirmath Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwarananda Saraswati Saturday ‘excommunicated’ Congress MP Rahul Gandhi from Hinduism, saying his remarks on Manusmriti in Parliament ‘insulted Sanatan Dharma’ and the Congress leader had failed to reply to requests for clarification sent three months ago. In an announcement at the Shankaracharya Ashram in Badrinath, the seer said he waited three months for a reply from Gandhi after he claimed that Manusmriti “protects rapists” during a speech in Parliament. The Shankaracharya added that a reminder had also been sent, but no response came. “During his speech, he first targeted ruling party members and then made the comment against Manusmriti. It is our dharm-grantha (religious text). Pointing a finger at the ruling party’s benches, Gandhi had said it is written in ‘your book’, which means he does not regard himself as a Hindu. A person who does not regard Manusmriti as his text cannot be a Hindu.” The Shankaracharya said Gandhi was acting against Hinduism. “We took a decision that he should be banned from temples and priests should not perform pooja for him,” he said. Incidentally, the Shankaracharya had last year come out in support of Gandhi’s comments in Lok Sabha, which had sparked controversy. In his first speech in Parliament as leader of the opposition, the Congress leader had accused BJP leaders of dividing people along communal lines during the debate on the Motion of Thanks for the President’s address. In response, PM Modi claimed that Gandhi had referred to the “entire Hindu community as violent.” To this, Rahul Gandhi replied, “Narendra Modi ji is not the entire Hindu community, BJP is not the entire Hindu community, RSS is not the entire Hindu community”. Swami Avimukteshwarananda had at the time asserted that Gandhi’s speech did not contradict Hinduism “We heard Rahul Gandhi’s entire speech. He is clearly saying that there is no place for violence in Hinduism. There is nothing wrong in that,” the seer had said. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Shankaracharya said that the sanctity of the pilgrimage sites must be protected and only ‘Sanatan Dharma’ followers should undertake the Char Dham yatra. “People should not come for leisure. If they come with a pure heart, they will gain spiritual benefits. Non-believers should be barred from entering the four dhams,” he said. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https://timesofindia.com/ and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
Inside rural India’s movement for gendered property rights
Three years ago, Arvind Hamdapurkar, a social worker from Pathri in Parbhani district, unintentionally scared his wife, Jayshree, by transferring the house he bought with his life savings of Rs 1.5 lakh to her name. “She thought I was planning to leave her,” laughs Hamdapurkar, who began to rethink his views on women’s rights after joining a course run by the NGO CORO India. “I used to wonder if women could handle the process,” he admits, until a book called ‘Stree Purush Tulna’ opened his eyes to his own ingrained misogyny. While friends from Marathwada questioned why he didn’t opt for a joint name, a certificate he received on April 28 reaffirmed his conviction: “I feel proud of doing the right thing.” That certificate was awarded at Siddharth College of Commerce and Economics in Fort, where Hamdapurkar was one of 28 participants—including 24 women, three men, and one transgender person—to complete CORO India’s year-long grassroots course on women’s property rights. Organised in collaboration with the Womanity Foundation, the event brought together activists, lawyers, civil servants, and writers to celebrate the culmination of a programme that not only educated but transformed lives. The training, which began in January 2024, reached rural pockets and had a real-world impact. “It wasn’t just about sections and penal codes but about the process behind the making of the laws,” said Hamdapurkar, recalling why the course piqued his interest. Participants didn’t just learn. They acted. Several began acquiring property in their own names. A transgender participant, for instance, started the process of transferring property to their disciple. Programme head Amita Jadhav explained the motivation behind the initiative by referencing the Manusmriti. “About the rights of women, Manusmriti says ‘father in childhood, husband in youth and son in old age takes care of woman.’ So a woman is not independent. Since a woman is secondary on so many levels, she should be entitled to certain rights.” Panellist Sanjay Phunde, senior health officer at the BMC, highlighted the chasm between legal rights and lived realities. “When women lack documentation of marriage, inheritance or land, their rights tend to be overlooked,” he said. He also called for gender-neutral language in governance and social discourse. “‘Meri beti yani ki paraya dhan’—this Indian mindset of men being assets and women being liabilities needs to change.” Advocate Ashvin Thool stressed the need to challenge not just laws, but also patriarchal practices and mentalities. He cited the frequent omission of marriage registration, particularly in child marriages, which complicates legal recourse. Jayashri Kurane, a social worker from Kolhapur, emphasized strengthening partnerships with gram panchayats to raise awareness, while senior writer Sandhya Pawar offered a historical perspective: “The system women are demanding property rights from once considered women as property.” Transgender rights were also a key focus. “When we talk about property rights, often only women are considered. But transgender persons also have rights,” said a participant. “Families often don’t accept them or transfer property to their names. Though legal reforms exist, awareness is low. If we truly want to create an inclusive society, we must recognise the rights of all genders. Property rights belong to everyone.” The discussions covered a wide range of issues: inheritance rights, land under lease, property claims of forest dwellers, and the legal status of child marriages without documentation. Resolutions were adopted, including proposals to add transgender representation in the Maharashtra Revenue Act, 1966, mandate registration of children in ancestral property, simplify documents for nomadic communities, and ensure separate registration for single women in local records. Participants also advocated that spouses should be automatically enrolled as heirs to each other’s self-earned property. The ceremony concluded with certificates distributed by dignitaries like Shivani Gupta, Sujata Khandekar, and Mumtaz Shaikh. Gupta applauded the commitment of the participants, while Khandekar voiced hope for a wider movement across Maharashtra. Mahindra Rokde summed up the collective spirit: “You are working to break the yoke that Manusmriti imposed.” Courtesy: Times of India Note: This news is originally published on https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
Victory for campus justice: SC orders TISS to reinstate suspended dalit scholar immediately
After 380 days of fight, left student leader regains educational rights in a landmark ruling Ramadas, who comes from Kerala’s Wayanad and studies Development Studies at TISS Mumbai, began his legal battle in May 2024. A year after his controversial suspension, Dalit PhD scholar and left student leader Ramadas KS has won his legal battle against the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). According to Maktoob Media, the Supreme Court of India today, Friday, May 2, directed TISS to reinstate Ramadas as a student with immediate effect while hearing his petition challenging the two-year suspension and ban on entry to any TISS campus. “Today, the Honourable Supreme Court has ordered TISS to reinstate me as a student with immediate effect, hearing my petition against the two-year suspension and debarring entry to any TISS campuses in three different states,” Ramadas shared in a Facebook post. Reflecting on his journey, he added: “On the 366th day of legal proceedings since approaching the High Court, I am officially a student again -from Today- at the very institution that denied me education 380 days ago.” Ramadas, who comes from Kerala’s Wayanad and studies Development Studies at TISS Mumbai, began his legal battle in May 2024. He argued that the university imposed the suspension without properly considering his explanations, while the institution justified its actions based on an Empowered Committee’s findings regarding his conduct, including participation in protests. A former general secretary of the Progressive Students’ Forum (PSF) at TISS Mumbai, Ramadas is now a member of the Central Executive Committee of Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Joint Secretary of SFI Maharashtra. He has been a vocal critic of the institute administration’s policies. In his statement, Ramadas connected his struggle to broader issues: “The denial of education to any student was never about affecting just one individual- it was about the fundamental rights of countless students and the question of campus democracy in our higher education system.” Courtesy: Edex Live Note: This news is originally published on https://www.edexlive.com/news and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
Beyond Bihar, Caste Census is Meant to Woo Estranged OBCs & Dalits in UP
The somersault on caste survey may be calculated to alter a growing sense of duplicity by BJP among OBCs & Dalits. The Narendra Modi government’s decision to concede the longstanding demand of Opposition parties and some of its own National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies for a caste census is guided by pressing electoral compulsions. It underlines the anxiety to woo Other Backward Castes (OBC) and Scheduled Caste (SC) voters by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), both resistant for long to the collection of caste demographic data on the plea this would divide Hindu society. The immediate trigger may well be the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls, to be held within a few months. But the ruling party is even more worried about its prospects in the country’s most populous and politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh where it got a drubbing last year in national elections largely because of disenchantment among OBCs and Dalits, whose support had been critical to ensure the BJP’s remarkable winning run in the recent past. Two Birds with One Stone The 2024 Lok Sabha results in Uttar Pradesh stunned the ruling party, which had earlier swept the state in successive Parliamentary and Assembly polls. Since then, the top leadership in both the BJP and the RSS have been preoccupied with strategising on how to reverse its waning support among OBC and Dalit voters. According to the usually reliable CSDS-Lokniti post-poll survey, the BJP-led NDA votes slid by 19 percent among the powerful Kurmi-Koeri backward caste and 13 percent among other non-Yadav OBCs in 2024 as compared to Lok Sabha election from five years ago. The party also lost 19 percent of the non-Jatav Dalit vote in 2024. This is what then led to the dismal fall of the NDA from 64 to 36 out of 80 Parliamentary seats from one election to the other. The BJP did manage to significantly wrest back the initiative in Uttar Pradesh by choosing as many as four OBCs and one Dalit of the eight party candidates in Assembly bypolls in the state in late November, winning a majority of them. However, considerable disquiet remains within the party and the RSS leadership with regard to reconsolidating the BJP’s shrinking OBC-Dalit voter base. Surrendering to one of its key demands of a comprehensive caste survey along with the long-delayed national census due to start this year illustrates this very fact. In a recent article, Swarajya, a pro-BJP magazine, carried an extensive report pointing out that “without a clear strategy to regain OBC support, the BJP faces a tough challenge in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The UP unit of the BJP has much to worry about with respect to winning back the trust of OBC voters after the 2024 Lok Sabha election setback.” The article also added, “Moreover, the narrative of ‘Thakurvaad’ (favouritism for Thakur or Rajput castes) under UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who belonged to the Thakur community before joining the Gorakhnath monastic order, does not appear to be helping the BJP.” Although Adityanath, along with all other BJP luminaries, has publicly fallen in line with the Centre’s decision to carry out a caste census, the saffron-clad monk-turned Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh had until recently been a fierce opponent of such a move. Just a few months ago in an excusive interview with Network18 TV channel at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, when asked about the caste census demanded by the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, Adityanath warned “followers of Sanatan Dharma” to be cautious of “those trying to divide people”. “Dividing the society for your political interest, or in the name of caste, region, or language is nothing less than treason.” Yogi Adityanath (to Network18) Last year, while campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls, the CM castigated the demand by Opposition parties for a caste census, calling them “jaati ke saudagar (merchants of caste)” and cautioned his audience that “such elements would trade your interests for the sake of castes and then vanish.” OBC Leaders Close Ranks as Dalits Remain Estranged Interestingly, in sharp contrast to Adityanath, his Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya and Minister of State in the Modi government Anupriya Patel, leader of a key BJP ally in UP, Apna Dal (Soneylal), both OBC leaders, have for long demanded a caste census in defiance of the official stand of the BJP. The two are reportedly keen to puncture the CM’s all-powerful status in the state with the quiet backing of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Last year, Patel openly criticised the state government for outsourcing government jobs dodging reservation, which she said could become transparent after a caste census. A few months ago, BJP’s OBC legislator and anti-cow slaughter activist Nand Lal Gurjar created a public furore about the Yogi government being full of corrupt officials led by the chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh. He alleged that when he tried to complain about the officials, most of them upper caste, they had ordered the police to manhandle him. He has been served a notice by the party but has reportedly the private support of Keshav Maurya. The BJP’s caste conundrum has been compounded by its growing alienation from Dalits in the state. Over the past decade, the ruling party had managed, apart from enlisting significant support from non-Yadav backward castes, to make significant inroads among the Dalit electorate, particularly those belonging to non-Jatav sub-castes, both providing the extra electoral ballast to consolidate support from the upper castes to ensure the BJP a comfortable victory. Desperate attempts by the Yogi government to woo back the estranged Dalit community by celebrating, for the first time, Babasaheb’s birth anniversary with much public pomp and fanfare, badly backfired. In fact, the widespread vandalising of BR Ambedkar’s statues on his birth anniversary last month by upper caste villagers, with the open connivance of the police, has led to further alienation among Dalits from the BJP. Both OBCs and Dalits are also
Centre’s caste census move may alter UP’s political dynamics
The move is likely to give momentum to long-pending demands from BJP allies in the state for a sub-quota within the OBC and SC/ST categories. The Centre’s decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census is set to create political ripples in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most politically significant state. LUCKNOW: The Centre’s decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census is set to create political ripples in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most politically significant state, by reshaping caste-based alignments that dominate its political landscape. The move is likely to accelerate long-pending demands from BJP allies in the state for a sub-quota within the OBC and SC/ST categories. Parties such as Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), Dr Sanjay Nishad’s NISHAD Party and Anupriya Patel’s Apna Dal (S) have consistently advocated the division of broader caste groups into sub-categories to ensure equitable distribution of reservation benefits. The demand for “quota within quota” stems from the findings of the Rohini Commission, constituted in 2017 to examine sub-categorisation of OBCs. Headed by Justice G Rohini, retired Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, the four-member panel submitted its report in 2023, recommending a fairer allocation of reservation based on internal disparities among OBC communities. This argument for equitable distribution was previously echoed in Uttar Pradesh when the state government set up a social justice committee under retired judge Justice Raghvendra Kumar. The committee, in its 2018 report, recommended dividing OBCs into three groups: backward (12 sub-castes), more backward (59 sub-castes) and most backward (79 sub-castes). Similarly, the Dalits were also split into three groups: Dalit (4 sub-castes), Ati Dalit (31) and Maha Dalit (46). While Apna Dal (S), largely representing the backward Kurmi community, supported the caste census, it remained lukewarm to the committee’s recommendations, possibly fearing a backlash from socially dominant Kurmis. To push the agenda further, SBSP chief and Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday. According to SBSP national general secretary Arun Rajbhar, the issue remains high on the party’s agenda. It is worth noting that SBSP had allied with the BJP during the 2017 assembly elections, and OP Rajbhar was inducted into the Yogi Adityanath cabinet. However, the party later parted ways in 2019 over the non-implementation of the social justice committee’s recommendations. “The party is thankful to PM Modi and the BJP’s central leadership for deciding in favour of caste census to help determine the social, economic, and political position of various OBCs and the SC population, ensuring a better distribution of resources leading to social justice in the true sense,” said Rajbhar. Political experts believe that while the Centre’s move could strengthen the BJP’s grip over its smaller allies, who frequently invoke the sub-quota demand to stay relevant, it may also intensify caste-based mobilisation. The sub-categorisation could potentially alter electoral calculations by directing more quota benefits towards marginalised sub-castes. Rajbhar added that the social justice committee’s report was a “clear reflection of the socio-economic conditions of the oppressed classes.” Sources indicated that the SBSP continues to press for factoring in the committee’s recommendations to carve out quotas within the broader OBC and SC/ST categories. Courtesy: New Indian Express Note: This news is originally published on https://www.newindianexpress.com and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
Revanth to Centre: Form GoM, expert panel for caste census
Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy has urged the Centre to constitute a Group of Ministers (GoM) and an experts committee for caste census across the country. He also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set a clear timeframe to complete the exercise, preferably within a year. Welcoming the Centre’s decision to include caste data in the next census, Revanth thanked the PM and emphasised that the Telangana govt was ready to cooperate, offering insights from its own caste survey without seeking political mileage. He said Telangana has become a role model in conducting such surveys. “The GoM and experts committee should be constituted separately to visit various states and hold consultations with political parties, stakeholders, and civil society on the caste census,” Revanth said at a press conference at his Jubilee Hills residence on Thursday. He explained that Telangana’s GoM and experts committee had visited every district, interacted with stakeholders, and collected representations from the public during its caste survey. Highlighting regional variations in caste classification, the CM said the experts committee must consider state-wise differences. “For instance, the Boya community is classified as OBC in Telangana but as ST in Karnataka. Similarly, Lambadas are tribals in Telangana but considered OBC in Maharashtra. There needs to be a consensus on these differences,” he said. When asked if the Centre’s move was politically motivated, particularly in light of the Bihar elections, Revanth refrained from making direct allegations. “I do not want to get into political accusations, especially when the move benefits people. But it’s clear that the BJP govt was compelled to act,” he said. He credited Rahul Gandhi for initiating the talk around caste census, asserting that the Congress leader promised a caste survey in Telangana and fulfilled the promise. “The credit goes to Rahul Gandhi,” he added. The CM said the state govt has already submitted its report to the Centre. “If needed, an official delegation is ready to go to Delhi to make a Power-Point presentation,” he said. On whether the Centre’s caste census data would override Telangana’s findings, Revanth clarified, “Central data prevails. However, Telangana’s survey was carried out systematically and scientifically, with a GoM and experts committee guiding the process.” He detailed the scale of the Telangana survey stating that 57 questions, spanning eight pages, were asked, with 95,000 enumerators covering every household in the state within 90 days. The process was supervised by top govt officials and the state-level GoM. “Telangana has shown the way. This is a historic exercise pending for nearly 100 years,” the CM claimed. Commenting on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Revanth claimed that the Congress had warned the public about the BJP’s alleged intent to remove reservations and alter the Constitution. “The people didn’t give the BJP a clear majority. With only 240 seats, their plans have been stalled,” he said. He also questioned why BJP-ruled states undertook caste surveys if the BJP opposed them. “The BJP has been in power for 11 years and governs 16–17 states. Why were caste surveys conducted only recently,” he wondered. Revanth said the BJP, despite its initial opposition, had been forced to support caste census due to Congress’s pressure. He recalled the Congress-led protest at Jantar Mantar, where leaders from most parties participated, except the NDA allies. Regarding the stalling of ‘Operation Kagar’ in Chhattisgarh, the CM said: “There is no place for violence in a civilised society. The party believes in dialogue with Maoists, and a policy decision will be taken soon.” Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https://timesofindia.com and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
Rajiv Gandhi had opposed in Parliament
Rajiv Gandhi’s speech and the Congress’s stance damaged the party’s popularity among OBC communities. As a result, the Congress’ political base in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar weakened, and the party never again got an absolute majority at the Centre. Rajiv Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha that the government had decided to implement the Mandal Commission report at a time when the country already had a lot of serious problems. He said, ‘The problems of Kashmir have been solved by the government. The situation has never been this bad since independence. The situation in Punjab is also very bad. Assam is also on the same path. Tamil Nadu is also close to it. The Prime Minister himself had said that the country should be prepared for war… Apart from this, tension is increasing between the North and the South over language…” He said that there are many similarities between that time and today. There was peace in Kashmir for some time, but now tension has increased again. The government is having a dispute with the southern states over language. The government has not ‘prepared the ground’ for this big decision. He said, ‘The proof of this is that people are being killed, buses are being burnt, trains are being burnt and buildings are being demolished.’ He said that on one hand the Prime Minister is asking the country to be ready for war, and on the other hand he is dividing our society. Then Congress gave reservation After 16 years, the Congress UPA government took another step to implement the Mandal Commission report. They reserved 27% seats for OBCs in colleges like AIIMS, IIT and IIM. This decision was also opposed a lot. Upper caste people said that the government is eliminating merit and is doing this only for votes. What was BJP’s stand? At that time BJP was in the opposition. BJP supported reservation, but said that the benefit of reservation should also be given to poor people, irrespective of their caste. BJP also said that creamy layer i.e. rich people of backward classes should not get reservation. What is the connection with Jammu and Kashmir? After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, the Modi cabinet has taken a big decision on caste census. 26 people were killed in this attack. The tension between India and Pakistan has increased a lot. Common people Want a response to this attack. In 1990, when the Mandal Commission recommendations were implemented, there was a similar atmosphere. Actually, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was bad in those days too. Terrorism had increased a lot. Many Hindus were targeted and killed. Lakhs of Hindu families were forced to migrate from Kashmir. VP Singh was under a lot of pressure regarding the situation in Kashmir. About the author Anubhav Shakya After studying journalism from IIMC in 2021, he entered journalism with Zee News. Born in Etah, UP but studied in Aligarh. After writing national and international news there for about one and a half years, he is now working in the news team at Navbharat Times. Courtesy : Anubhav Shakya, NBT, Hindi News
‘If you wanted caste-based census so badly, you should have done earlier’: Chirag Paswan slams Congress
NEW DELHI: Union minister Chirag Paswan on Thursday directed his attack on the Congress party, accusing it of using the caste census as a “political weapon to incite people’s sentiments.” He questioned the party’s intent, saying that if Congress was genuinely committed to a caste-based census, it should have implemented it during its long tenure in power. “Today, Rahul Gandhi wants to take credit for this, saying that this happened under my pressure. Your party’s government remained in the centre for a long time. Leave the party aside, there have been three Prime Ministers from your family. If you wanted a caste-based census in the country so badly, then you should have got it done earlier. But you used it as a political weapon and only worked to incite people’s sentiments,” Paswan told reporters. He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking decisive action, saying, “Today, our government has fulfilled this demand. My Prime Minister is known for taking the right decisions at the right time. The opposition is saying that we have taken this decision in view of the Bihar elections, but if this decision had to be taken from the point of view of elections, then we would have taken this decision before the Lok Sabha elections…” Paswan further highlighted ongoing national priorities, assuring that the government remains focused on critical issues, including national security concerns, which is at the centre of discussion after terrorist attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam. “We have taken this decision, and there is still more work to be done. There are many important issues related to national security on which we have to work…my Prime Minister will definitely take every decision which is related to the sentiments of the country,” he said. The Cabinet Committee on political affairs, headed by PM Modi, recently approved a caste census to be conducted alongside the national census. However, no official date for the exercise has been announced yet. This announcement comes just months before the upcoming Bihar assembly elections. Bihar, notably, was the first state to initiate and conduct a caste-based survey in 2022. According to Article 246 of the Constitution, the census is a Union subject and is listed at number 69 in the Union List under the Seventh Schedule. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https://timesofindia.com and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.