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‘Completely unacceptable, mutual respect foundation of international relationships’: India strongly objects to US remark on Kejriwal’s arrest

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Stating that India is proud of its “robust and independent” democratic institutions, the Ministry of External Affairs called the remarks by the US State Department on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as “unwarranted”, adding that any such external imputation on our electoral and legal processes is “completely unacceptable.”

This comes after the US State Department doubled down on its remarks that they encourage “fair, transparent and timely legal processes” on the issue, a day after a US diplomat was summoned to communicate India’s “strong objections” to the earlier remarks.

Addressing a weekly press briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Yesterday, India had lodged its strong objection and protest with a senior official from the US Embassy with regards to the comments made by the US State Department.”

He further emphasised that mutual respect and understanding are imperative for the foundation of international relations and urged the states to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of other countries.

“The recent remarks by the US State Department are unwarranted. Any such external imputation on our electoral and legal processes is completely unacceptable. In India, the legal process is driven only by the rule of law. Anyone who has a similar ethos, especially fair democracies, should have no objection to appreciating this fact. India is proud of its robust and independent democratic institutions,” Jaiswal said.

“We are committed to protecting them from any form of undue external influences. Mutual respect and understanding form the foundation of international relations and states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others,” he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller was asked about his response to India’s summoning US diplomat over comments on Delhi CM Kejriwal’s arrest and freezing of Congress party’s bank accounts, to which he said that they are following these actions closely.

“We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. We are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections,” Miller added.

“And we encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of these issues,” he stressed.

Prior to this, India summoned the German Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi to lodge a strong protest against their foreign office spokesperson’s remarks on the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

Last Friday, a spokesperson of the German Foreign Ministry, when questioned on the arrest of Kejriwal, said that he was entitled to a fair trial.

Making a strong statement against the German Foreign Office spokesperson’s remarks, India said that it sees these remarks as interference in India’s ‘judicial process’ and ‘undermining the independence’ of the Indian judiciary, the Ministry of External Affairs said last week.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged money laundering in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.

The Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi on Thursday extended the custodial remand of the Delhi Chief Minister by four more days till April 1.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Arvind Kejriwal turns courtroom into a saas-bahut soap, asks ASG for ‘ashirvaad’, says ED is trying to ‘crush’ AAP: Here is how the drama unfolded

On the 28th of March, Delhi CM and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal turned the courtroom into a typical saas-bahu daily soap as he asked the Additional Solicitor General SV Raju to give him “aashirwad” (blessings) adding that he should allow him to speak. In an apparent attempt to play victim, the Delhi CM also claimed that the Enforcement Directorate of trying to “crush” the Aam Aadmi Party. This comes as the ED today produced CM Kejriwal before Rouse Avenue Court seeking an extension of his remand. The court has extended Kejriwal’s ED custody till the 1st of April.

Arvind Kejriwal delivered more of a speech in the court while making his submissions himself. “This case has been going on since two years ago. The CBI case was filed on August 2022. Then ECIR file appeared. Who arrested me? No court has found me guilty nor have I been accused. ED has filed almost 25,000 pages and has killed many witnesses,” Kejriwal told Special Judge (PC Act) Kaveri Baweja in Hindi.

When the court asked him to give his statement in writing, Kejriwal insisted on being allowed to speak and said, “Mujhe bolne dein (Let me speak).”

The AAP leader further stated that his name appeared only four times in those tens of thousands of pages, one of which was C Arvind rather than Arvind Kejriwal.

C Arvind, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s secretary, has told police that Manish Sisodia, who was arrested in this case in February, handed him documents related to the newly formed and now scrapped Delhi excise policy.

“Mere Ghar pe dhero mantri aate Hain, wo aapas me khusir phusur karte Hain, documents dete Hain. Kya ye statement ek sitting CM ko arrest krne ke lie sufficient hai? (Lots of ministers come to my house daily, they talk among themselves, give me files. Is a statement like this sufficient to arrest a sitting Chief Minister?)” Kejriwal said.

As ASG SV Raju objected to this, Kejriwal said, “Raju sahab Mai aapse aashirwad chahta hu. Please mujhe bolne dein. (Raju Sahab I want your blessings. Please let me speak).”

Kejriwal also claimed that there are over 1 lakh pages of evidence in his favour at ED’s office, however, they are not being brought on record. The CM, however, did not mention how exactly he knows if there is any evidence in his favour.

“I just want to know, are these 4 statements sufficient to arrest a sitting CM? One lakh pages which are in the ED office have not been brought on record in our favour,” Kejriwal said.

The Delhi CM went on to claim that the ‘real’ liquor scam began after the Enforcement Directorate initiated the investigation. Kejriwal asserted that the ED’s sole aim is to “crush” Aam Aadmi Party.

“ED ke do maqsad the. Ek to AAP ko khatam karna.. Ek smokescreen create karna aur uske peechhe extortion racket karna jiske zariye wo paise ikathhe kar rahe hain (ED has two aims. To finish off AAP and to create a smokescreen and run an extortion racket to collect money),” Kejriwal alleged.

To back his accusation against ED, Kejriwal claimed, “Sarath Reddy ne Rs 55 crore ka donation BJP ko diya. Mere paas saboot hain ki ye racket chal raha hai. Money trail is established. He donated Rs50 crore to BJP after being arrested (Sarath Chandra Reddy (an accused in the case) donated ₹55 crore to BJP. I have evidence that a racket is running. Money trail is established. He donated 50 crore to BJP after being arrested).”

Although Kejriwal claimed that ED is aiming to “falsely” implicate him, he did not oppose ED’s request for an extension of his custody. “Hum ED ki remand oppose nahi kar rahe. Jitne din chaahe wo mujhe custody main rakh le. (I am not opposing the remand. ED can keep me in custody as long as they want),” he said.

Notably, ASG SV Raju raised a strong objection over Kejriwal addressing the court as he said, “He wants to play to the gallery by making submissions himself…If you don’t trust your lawyers, discharge them. There is a procedure in court sir which has to be followed. There cannot be a separate procedure just because he is a CM. Why this special treatment?”

Moreover, ASG SV Raju, representing the ED, stated that the probe agency needs to confront Kejriwal with statements from more people. For this, further custody of seven more days would be required.

“His statements have been recorded, he gave evasive replies. We need to confront him with some other people. Four more statements of AAP Goa candidates are being recorded. We will need to confront him with them,” ASG contended.

He further informed the court that Kejriwal was refusing to disclose the passwords of his accounts to the agency in a bid to prevent ED from accessing the digital data. He added that Kejriwal has been giving evasive responses to ED questions.

“He has not disclosed the passwords so we do not have access to digital data. He says he will speak to his lawyers and then decide whether the passwords are to be given or not. If he does not we will have to break open the passwords. He is not cooperating deliberately and not giving us the ITRs,” ASG Raju said.

ASG Raju also reiterated the allegations that Rs 100 crore were transferred through Hawala and utilised for AAP’s Goa election campaign. ASG continued that Rs 100 crores have been percolated through Hawala for Goa elections by South Group and there is a complete money chain. “Just because you make a statement saying you’re innocent does not make a difference,” Raju said.

ED asserted that they have evidence proving that Arvind Kejriwal sought a bribe of Rs 100 crore. “We have material to show that this very person demanded 100 crore kickback, Raju told the court.

The court has extended Kejriwal’s custody by four days. The Delhi CM will stay in ED’s custody till 1st April.

It is pertinent to note that the ED arrested Arvind Kejriwal on 21st March night in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case linked to a money laundering case. The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi excise policy case 2022, which was later scrapped.

Notably, two senior AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are also in judicial custody in the excise policy case. Sisodia, who was the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on 26th February 2023, following several rounds of questioning. On 5th October, last year the ED arrested Sanjay Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member.

Hyderabad: Cops nab Ali, four others for assaulting a man who was with his burqa-clad wife and their child over an alleged interfaith relationship

Special squads have been established by the South Zone police in Hyderabad to track down and apprehend those responsible for moral policing an allegedly interfaith couple near Macca Masjid in the city. A man named Ali and his companions harassed a man outside the Hyderabad Charminar after noticing that his spouse was wearing a burqa. The video went viral on social media on 26th March. The couple was their their little child.

The perpetrators questioned the young man as to why he was with a woman from a different community which led to the harassment. Despite the wife’s pleas to the accused to leave them alone, they continued to assault the pair. As the victim’s wife attempted to step in, the culprits pushed her aside, grabbed their daughter away from him and began slapping and beating him.

The man was also spotted displaying identification documentation and claimed to be married. Despite the victim’s assertions that he is a Muslim, they didn’t believe him and insisted on seeing his Aadhar card to verify his religion. The infant also started crying amidst the commotion.

Drawing from the video evidence, police launched a suo motu case, designating four individuals as Child in Conflict with Law (CCL) suspects and identifying one suspect as Ali. They were taken into custody and placed in a home for juveniles. The police assured to punish anyone attempting to disturb the calm with severe consequences. Four specialized squads were established by the police to apprehend the remaining assault suspects.

It was reported that the incident happened a few days ago and an individual named B. Rahul from Mailardevpally lodged a complaint with the Charminar police based on the clip about the occurrence that transpired in Hyderabad’s Old City.

According to a news statement from the Hyderabad police, the teams were constituted by South Zone Deputy Commissioner of Police P Sai Chaitanya in order to prevent further local issues. The incident was reported to the Charminar police, who promptly opened a case. According to the authorities, the rest of the offenders are going to be captured soon.

The Indian Penal Code’s sections 323 (voluntarily causing pain), 504 (deliberate insult to provoke) and 295 (intent to insult religion) have been invoked by the police in conjunction with the Juvenile Justice Act which was cited because some of the accused in the video appeared to be juveniles.

“To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture”: PM Modi responds to letter by prominent lawyers to CJI over attempts to undermine the judiciary’s integrity

Attacking the Congress party for its use of judiciary when the party was in power, PM Narendra Modi on Thursday said that to browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. He was referring to an open letter written by over 600 prominent lawyers expressing concern over attempts by a group to undermine the judiciary’s integrity.

Reposting a tweet talking about the letter, PM Modi said, “5 decades ago itself they had called for a “committed judiciary” – they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation.” He added, “No wonder 140 crore Indians are rejecting them.”

Notably, the term “committed judiciary” is from the Indira Gandhi era, when the judiciary was expected to be “committed” to the Indira Gandhi govt during the emergency. The term was used by late Mohan Kumaramangalam, who was a minister in the Indira Gandhi government. He had said that the govt will appoint chief justices based on the govt’s assessment of their philosophy and outlook, telling the parliament in 1973, “Certainly, we as a government have a duty to take (into consideration) the philosophy and outlook of the judge in coming to the conclusion whether he should or should not lead the Supreme Court at this time.”

This idea was implemented by the Govt when three senior-most judges were superseded to make Justice A N Ray the chief justice of India. After Ray retired in 1977, the govt again superseded seniormost candidate Justice Hans Raj Khanna to appoint Justice Mirza Hameedullah Beg.

Earlier in the day, 600 prominent lawyers, including Harish Salve, Manan Kumar Mishra, Adish Agarwala, Chetan Mittal, Pinky Anand, Hitesh Jain, Ujjwala Pawar, Uday Holla, Swaroopama Chaturvedi and others wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India, expressing their deepest concerns over the vested interest group attempting to put pressure on the Judiciary, influence the judiciary process and defame the courts based on stale political agendas and frivolous logic.

The letter further pointed out that the false narrative of a supposed “better past” and “golden period of the courts” is being created to show a “contrast” of what has been happening in the present. The letter read, “Their antics are vitiating the atmosphere of trust and harmony, which characterises the functioning of the Judiciary. Their pressure tactics are most obvious in political cases, particularly those involving political figures accused of corruption. These tactics are damaging to our courts and threaten our democratic fabric.”

The letter further added that intentional statements had been made to influence the court’s decisions and embarrass the court for political gains, and highlighted the theory of “bench fixing” created, raising concerns that it led to slanderous attacks and insinuations against the judges.

The lawyers called for a closer scrutiny of this group’s actions. They suggested that the vested interest group act strategically and choose the timing when the nation is all set to poll for Lok Sabha elections. They further added that similar attempts were made during 2019 General Elections.

‘Hindus voted for Congress hoping their miseries would end’: BJP’s T Raja Singh under house arrest; was going to meet Hindus attacked by Muslim mob on Holi

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On Thursday, March 28, BJP’s Goshamahal legislator T Raja Singh took to X to inform that the Telangana police had placed him under house arrest to prevent him from going to Chengicherla village, where Hindus had come under attack by an Islamist mob on Holi. Singh said he had plans to go there to distribute ration and groceries among the affected Hindu families.

“Police barricaded the village and didn’t allow anyone to come out. I planned to go but 8-10 police officials came and told me that I had been put under house arrest,” he said.

The BJP leader further brought attention to the police’s bias, stating that the Telangana police, acting on behalf of the ruling Congress administration, conducted a biassed inquiry into the matter even though they were aware that the victims were Hindus. Rather than pursuing legal action against the Muslim mob, the police chose to pursue legal action against the victims. Amongst the Muslim mob, the police filed cases against only seven people, he said.

Hindus mistakenly voted for Congress hoping that their miseries would end: T Raja Singh

“I urge the police department to intervene and dismiss all cases against Hindus, taking necessary action against the perpetrators. Failure to do so will result in a strong response from us,” the BJP leader added, tagging the Telangana DGP and the CMO Telangana in his post.

Urging Telangana CM and Congress leader Revanth Reddy to instruct the police to conduct a fair probe into the incident, the BJP leader said that the Hindus in Telangana were fed up with the discrimination they faced in the state when KCR-led BRS party was at the helm. They mistakenly voted for Congress hoping that their miseries would end. However, the local Hindu population was unaware that neither the BRS nor the Congress would be able to save them from their plight as AIMIM chief Assadussin Owaisi is the one who controls Telangana and whichever party come to power in the state, it will have to operate on his whims. Under Owasi’s rule, Hindus would continue to be under attack by the Muslims of the state, Singh said.

Namaz offering crowd swells into violent mob, attacks Scheduled Caste Hindu women with sticks for celebrating Holi near mosque in Telangana

Tension gripped the area of Chengicherla near Ghatkesar in Hyderabad on Sunday, 24th March, after a Muslim mob brutally attacked the local Hindu community for celebrating the festival of Holi. The incident had taken place in the Medchal-Malkagiri district of Hyderabad.

As per reports, when some local Hindus lit the traditional Holi Bhogi fire and played songs while celebrating the festival of colours, the Muslims who were offering namaz inside a mosque nearby began objecting on the grounds that Holi was being celebrated while they were praying.

The Islamists claimed that their ramzan prayers were getting disturbed due to the Holi celebrations.

Several videos of the attack did rounds on social media. The Islamists were seen wielding sticks right in the presence of the police with a clear intent to threaten and attack the Hindu community. The Islamists in the video were seen mercilessly pushing and beating Hindu girls, men and women. Notably, an Islamist could also be seen threatening the Hindu community with a sharp sword-like weapon right in front of the police.

Israel forces kill 200 Hamas terrorists holed up inside Al Shifa hospital compound in Gaza, over 500 arrested since March 18

 Israeli soldiers continued operations against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists holed up in Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital and in Khan Yunis, the Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday morning.

Israel returned to the hospital, Gaza’s largest, after receiving intelligence that senior Hamas figures were inside the compound planning attacks. Since entering the compound on March 18, Israel has killed over 200 terrorists and detained 800 terror suspects, of whom at least 500 have been confirmed as members of the Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups.

Prominent names among the 500 terrorists include:

  • Bakr Ahmed Bakr Qanita, Head of Hamas’ Security and Protection Department.
  • Radwan Younes Kamal Tafesh, Head of Department in the PIJ’s Manufacturing Unit.
  • Hashem Muhammad Hasan Albatash, PIJ’s Deputy Head of Finance.

IDF posted that the operation inside the Shifa hospital was mostly precision strikes, eliminating terrorists while ensuring that patients and facilities are not harmed. Simultaneous operations have also been continuing in Central Gaza and Al Amal.

As part of the operation, patients were moved to a designated area inside the Shifa compound for their safety. The IDF said civilians and staff have not been harmed.

The Press Service of Israel reported that in one of the hospital buildings, Hamas established a small government administration center with representatives of the government ministries, especially the ministries of education, interior, treasury and the police. On the day that Israeli forces entered the compound, Hamas was about to pay salaries to hundreds of its civil and military officials. Salaries range from USD 200 to hundreds of dollars.

In Khan Yunis, soldiers continued operations against terror infrastructure in the Al Amal and Al Qarara neighborhoods, seizing explosives and mortar shells.

In central Gaza, a Hamas squad spotted adjacent to Israeli forces was eliminated by aircraft.

Elsewhere in Gaza, fighter jets struck several tunnel shafts and an underground rocket launcher.

At least 1,200 people were killed and 240 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the remaining 134 hostages, Israel recently declared 31 of them dead.

Israel has declared an all out war against Hamas, asserting that they will finish the problem once and for all. Thousands have been killed in Gaza so far. Israel’s repeated announcement for Gaza civilians to leave have been futile as Egypt has closed and barricaded the Rafah crossing, and Hamas has been physically stopping civilians from moving to South of Gaza.

(With inputs from ANI)

PTI tweets video claiming ANI beat reporter assaulted their reporter, sources claim ANI reporter was assaulted first, matter escalated later: What we know

On the 28th of March 2024, news agency PTI tweeted a video claiming that while at a press conference in Karnakata, an ANI journalist physically assaulted and abused their female reporter. In the video, the male reporter can be seen slapping the PTI female reporter.

Tweeting the video, PTI wrote, “VIDEO | Abominable behaviour by ANI (@ANI) reporter who physically assaulted and verbally abused with sexual expletives a young PTI female reporter at a press event (@DKShivakumar @DKSureshINC) in Bengaluru today. Does ANI (@smitaprakash) condone such behaviour by its staffer? PTI management and her colleagues are outraged, and condemn this unprovoked violence in the strongest possible terms. PTI will go to any lengths to protect its employees. An FIR is being lodged over the shocking incident, which has left the reporter traumatised. PTI will also file a complaint with the National Commission for Women (@NCWIndia). @sharmarekha“.

PTI tagged ANI chief Smita Prakash asking her if she condoned the action of her beat reporter. They also said that they were in the process of filing an FIR and a complaint with the National Commission for Women.

OpIndia reached out to Smita Prakash for her comments on the matter. Prakash said that since PTI has decided to approach the police and the NCW, it would be appropriate if the agencies investigate what really happened.

After the tweet by PTI, sources reached out to OpIndia and sent two images of the ANI reporter, who is accused of assaulting the PTI reporter. In the images, the ANI reporter has a gash on his face.

Image sent to OpIndia by a source of the ANI reporter

The source has claimed that it was the ANI reporter who was first hit with a mic by the PTI female reporter, after which the matter escalated.

Trinamool Congress leaks personal information of BJP candidate and Sandeshkhali victim Rekha Patra, BJP urges EIC to take action

On 28th March, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ‘s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya called out Trinamool Congress for leaking sensitive personal information of the party’s Lok Sabha candidate Rekha Patra from Basirhat. Rekha is one of the victims in the Sandeshkhali matter and the first woman to raise her voice against the atrocities happening against women in the area.

OPIndia is using screenshots instead of embedding the posts to avoid further leakage of data. Source: X

In a post on X, Malviya quoted the post by AITC’s official handle and wrote, “Shame on Mamata Banerjee. In a bid to denigrate the protesting women of #Sandeshkhali, TMC stoops to a new low and officially leaks sensitive government data, including personal details of Rekha Patra, BJP’s candidate from Basirhat. TMC has to take the blame for any eventuality.”

He added, “The Swasthya Sathi card, referred to here, is as good as defunct. The healthcare facilities in West Bengal, under Mamata Banerjee, are abysmal, forcing lakhs of people from Bengal to seek medical care in other states. Besides, a petulant Mamata Banerjee has not allowed Prime Minister Modi’s Ayushman Bharat to be implemented in West Bengal, denying benefits to crores of people.”

Urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take cognisance of the post made by TMC and take immediate steps to ensure personal data of West Bengal residents are not leaked or misused, he wrote, “Urge ECI to take immediate steps, to ensure personal data of all residents of West Bengal is safe with the government of WB and not leaked or misused by the ruling TMC.”

TMC leaked the personal information of Rekha Patra

Earlier, TMC put up a screenshot of information from the state government database to put Rekha in a bad light. In the post, TMC claimed they caught Rekha Patra red-handed as she “enjoys benefits of Mamata Banerjee’s schemes while aligning herself with Delhi’s zamindars”. TMC wrote, “Caught red-handed! BJP’s MP candidate from Basirhat, Rekha Patra, plays the ultimate game of hypocrisy, enjoying the benefits of Smt Mamata Banerjee’s schemes while aligning herself with Delhi’s JOMIDARS. PM Narendra Modi, don’t forget to inquire about her Swasthya Sathi card the next time you call her. It might help you understand how our leader’s brainchild, Swasthya Sathi, surpasses the failed Ayushman Bharat scheme.”

OpIndia has retracted the sensitive information from the screenshot of the post by TMC. Source. X

Netizens react to Rekha Patra’s doxxing by TMC

Following the post by TMC on Rekha Patra, netizens strongly objected to doxxing of BJP’s candidate Rekha Patra. X user Shiva said, “Needs to be mass reported.. this should fall under doxxing,” and tagged Amit Malviya in his post.

Source: X

BefittingFacts wrote, “Shameful act by Trinamool Congress Party. They are not only leaking personal data of BJP MP candidate but also using govt website to set political goals. According to TMC, anyone who is beneficiary of govt schemes should not speak against govt or fight election against ruling party. If that is the case, every beneficiary if Ayushman, PM Awas, Swachh Bharat should vote for BJP?”

Source: X

X user Darshan Pathank said, “Feminist party is leaking private information of a woman BJP candidate Rekha Patra from Basirhat who is also the victim of Sandeshkhali.”

Source: X

BJP fields Rekha Patra, woman who led protests against Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali, as Basirhat candidate in LS polls

Notably, Rekha Patra was the first woman in Sandeshkhali who had raised her voice and spearheaded the protests accusing Shahjahan and his aides of land grabbing and sexual assault in Sandeshkhali. Patra was also a part of the group that met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his public meeting in Barasat on 6th March, where they discussed the challenges faced by women in Sandeshkhali with the Prime Minister. Later, she was announced as the candidate for Lok Sabha Elections 2024 from Basirhat seat.

Sandeshkhali horror

On 8th February this year, hundreds of women in Sandeshkhali took to the streets to protest against land grabbing, non-payment of wages and sexual violence committed by Trinamool Congress goon Sheikh Shahjahan and his two aides Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar.

The women attacked Shahjahan’s illicitly obtained properties and set fire to a poultry farm owned by Shiba Prasad Hazra. They also surrounded the Sandeshkali police station and demanded the immediate arrest of the trio. The agitation in the village lasted for 3 days.

During that time, the TMC goons retaliated and the police acted as mute spectators. In several cases, the cops themselves resorted to harassment of the women. It had come to light that the residents were the subject of sexual violence by the TMC for a long time.

In a bid to pacify the angry villagers of Sandeshkhali, the TMC leadership suspended Uttam Sardar from the party for six years. The suspended TMC leader and Zilla Parishad member was subsequently arrested in the Sandeshkhali police station area on 10th February 2024.

On 17th February, the police arrested TMC leader Shibu Prasad Hazra over land grabbing and sexual exploitation of women in Sandeshkhali. 

After large-scale protests and intervention of the Calcutta High Court, the primary accused Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested on 29th February.

Delhi HC dismisses PIL for Arvind Kejriwal’s removal as CM, says no scope of judicial interference and President or Governor will act if needed

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Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought removal of Arvind Kejriwal from the post of Delhi Chief Minister following his arrest by Enforcement Directorate in excise policy case and said there is no scope of judicial interference in the matter.

A bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, while dismissing the plea, said there is no scope of judicial interference and it is for the other wing of the government to examine the issue.

If there is a constitutional failure, President or Governor will act on it, the court said.

The plea, filed by one Surjit Singh Yadav through lawyer Shashi Ranjan Kumar Singh, stated that continuance of Arvind Kejriwal as the chief minister of the Government of NCT of Delhi after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam has degraded the credibility and image of the Government of NCT of Delhi in the eyes of the general public.

It said Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam. Prior to his arrest by ED, the High Court of Delhi had also refused to pass orders granting interim protection from coercive action.

The plea said Delhi Minister Atishi gave interviews to various channels on March 21, stating and affirming that Kejriwal will not resign from his post and, if needed, will run the government from jail.

The continuation of Kejriwal as the Chief Minister of Government of the NCT of Delhi will not only lead to the obstruction of due process of law and disrupt the course of justice but will also lead to the breakdown or the constitutional machinery in the state, the plea stated.

Following arrest in the Delhi excise policy case, Kejriwal was remanded to ED custody till March 28. The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi excise policy, which was later scrapped.


This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Supriya Shrinate denied ticket by Congress after she made derogatory ‘mandi’ comment against Kangana Ranaut, had fought and lost to BJP in 2019

Congress refused Supriya Shrinate a ticket from the Maharajganj constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where she was defeated in the 2019 general elections, amidst the controversy after her offensive and derogatory social media post against actress Kangana Ranaut.

On the night of 27th March, the grand old party unveiled its eighth list with the names of 14 contenders for the upcoming polls. Virendra Chaudhary replaced Supriya Shrinate in Maharajganj in the list. Incidentally, Maharajganj is close to Rae Bareilly, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s pocket burrow constituency which she would not run for this time.

Following the announcement of Kangana Ranaut’s candidacy for the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency in Himachal Pradesh, Congress leaders and party trolls attacked her on 25th March with sexist and derogatory remarks. Congress National Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate posted, “Kya bhav chal raha hai Mandi me koi batayega? (Will someone tell me what the rating system in Mandi is),” in an Instagram post alongside a photo of Kangana Ranaut.

The post was later deleted.

She later released a clarification to explain herself following intense criticism for the despicable comment from her verified social media accounts. She stated in her explanation video that it was made by “someone who had access to her account,” and promised to hold the individual responsible for the post accountable. Congressmen like Srinivas BV and Pawan Khera also spoke in support of her.

Notably, Supriya Shrinate is the daughter of former Maharajganj MP late Harsh Vardhan who was also a congress leader. The Congress chose her as its Lok Sabha candidate in 2019 from the area in place of Tanushree Tripathi who is the daughter of convicted politician Amarmani Tripathi. Interestingly, initially, both the Congress and the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia, led by Mulayam Singh Yadav’s brother Shivpal Singh Yadav, had revealed Tanushree Tripathi’s name as its candidate.

Supriya Shrinate was a journalist earlier

Supriya Shrinate who served as an Executive Editor with ET resigned from her position to join active politics and became a member of the Indian National Congress in 2019 to contest the general election from Maharajganj. “I have stepped down as Executive Editor at ET Now to pursue the next challenging phase of my life outside media. I thank The Times group for the most exciting 10 years of my journalism. Wish the channel, mgmt all my colleagues the very best. I will be taking an active plunge in politics, am grateful to Indian National Congress, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Jyotiraditya Scindia for trusting me with Maharajganj,” she wrote on social media.

However, Supriya Shrinate suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of BJP candidate Pankaj Choudhary who managed to score around 60% of the vote share while she came in the third position after the Samajwadi Party candidate Akhilesh who received 31.45% of the votes. The Congress candidate only secured 5.91% of the votes.

Source: Oneindia

Afterwards, she was appointed as the party’s spokesperson in 2022. Randeep Singh Surjewala had informed, “Sonia Gandhi has approved the appointment of Shrinate as spokesperson of the All India Congress Committee,” in an official statement. In the same year, she took over as the party’s chairperson of the social media and digital platforms in its new communications department replacing Rohan Gupta.

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