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Tajinder Bagga dares ‘James Bond ke Chacha’ Subramanian Swamy to prove allegations levelled against him: Here is what happened

BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga today took to Twitter to dare BJP MP Subramanian Swamy to prove the allegations levelled against him.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy stoked a controversy by claiming that Bagga had been jailed many times for committing petty crimes by New Delhi’s Mandir Marg Police.

Swamy said in the tweet, “Delhi journalists inform me that before joining BJP, Tajinder Bagga had been jailed many times for petty crimes by the New Delhi Mandir Marg Police Station. True? If so Nadda should know.”

Tajinder Bagga hit back at the allegations comparing Swamy to James Bond’s Uncle and said that instead of tweeting Swamy should call Mandir Marg Police Station, take his details and then expose him.

Bagga said, “Dr @swamy39 heard you are James Bond ke Chacha. Instead of tweeting Call Mandir Marg SHO, take details and Expose me. Giving you 48 Hours, uske baad meri turn. your time starts now”

Rajya Sabha MP Swamy is known for making controversial comments against BJP leaders. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai referred to Subramanian Swamy as a “freelance politician” for his nature of speaking against his own party and its leadership. The Karnataka CM made the remark after opposition leader Siddaramaiah cited a Subramanian Swamy’s tweet from February, in which Swamy had shared fake data about petrol prices in India.

Earlier this year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met several Union Ministers including Party President JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh and others, it triggered rumours of a cabinet shuffle. Then, several politicians who were out of favours they expected from the government started to yearn for a position. First among them was BJP politician Subramanian Swamy.

Subramanian Swamy is also accused to be a two faced and a dodgy politician who uses Facebook and Twitter as a personal diary to vent his angst and talk about why he should be made a minister.

Source: Facebook Post by Subramanian Swamy

In fact, he has often tried to insult the Prime Minister as well as other ministers in the cabinet by describing them as ‘dressed like a waiter’.

It is quite elitist of Swamy to use ‘dress like a waiter’ as an insult because a waiter does an honest day’s job to earn the money and using dressed like them as an insult reeks of privilege and elitist mentality considering the humble beginnings the Prime Minister comes from.

2000-year-old Mauryan structure discovered in Meerut, historians hopeful of finding lost Ashoka pillar site

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The Meerut circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered a structure in Meerut which they have identified as a 2000-year-old Mauryan-era brick platform.

“A large part of the structure is in the form of a 30m by 35m platform at Vikas Puri. The ancient site is undoubtedly one from the Mauryan period because the bricks are typical of the era,” Brajsundar Gadnayak, superintending archaeologist of the Meerut circle of ASI, was quoted by TOI as saying.

Despite the fact that a portion of the remains was destroyed due to the construction of a power plant, the Meerut circle of the Archaeological Survey of India has closely inspected it and its discovery has raised hopes of gaining fresh insights into the significant period of ancient Indian history that dates back to the Mauryan empire, the largest South Asian empire in history and its Emperor Ashoka.

Importantly, this platform may provide crucial information on the “lost” Ashoka Pillar site from the third century BCE.

Adding more specifics, Brajsundar Gadnayak said that the bricks used to construct the platform are unique to the Mauryan period and have a specific dimension. Their measurements are 42cm x 26cm x 8cm. He added that the department has also discovered pottery and ceramics from those times. An ancient canal path has also been uncovered, which most likely connects to the Kali river, said Gadnayak.

Throwing light on this discovery, historian Dr KK Sharma said: “The Gazetteer (of 1904) mentions the reinstallation of Meerut’s pillar at the Delhi Ridge but we have not been able to find the original site here.”

The Meerut Gazetteer mentioned by him states: “The earliest historical connection which can be made with the (Meerut) district is the erection of an Asoka pillar near Meerut … On the ridge at Dehli (Delhi) now stands a pillar which, according to Shams-i-Siraj, was removed from near the town of Meerut and set up in the Kushak Shikar or hunting palace. The site occupied by the pillar has not been identified.”

Ashoka pillar or the Delhi-Meerut pillar was carried to Delhi from Meerut by Firoz Shah and placed outside his hunting palace, between the Chauburji-Masjid and Hindu Rao Hospital, on the northern crest of Delhi. During the reign of Farrukshiar (1713–19), it was destroyed in an explosion, and five broken sections were eventually sent to the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Brought back in 1866 it was re-erected in 1887.

Man threatens Ranvir Shorey over tweet on Nehru, claims he was instructed to do so by Congress MLC Bhai Jagtap

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Actor Ranvir Shorey on Tuesday shared screenshots of threatening messages he had received from a man who identified as Suraj Thakur and claimed to have been working at the behest of Congress MLC Bhai Jagtap.

The man, who claimed himself to be Suraj Thakur, said he was instructed by Bhai Jagtap to have a discussion with the actor over a tweet posted by him in which he had supposedly made defamatory remarks against Gandhi/Nehru family. Thakur had said in the message that the tweet had hurt the sentiments of crores of citizens and Congress workers and threatened Shorey with legal consequences for using sharp remarks for a former PM.

The alleged henchman of Bhai Jagtap also asked Ranvir Shorey to immediately issue an apology and delete the content from all social media platforms or risk facing the “wrath of the consequences”.

Shorey was referring to the picture he had posted in response to a social media troll’s tweet on his Modi meme saying that the BJP was a political party born out of a torn condom. Shorey had then shared a picture of former PM Jawaharlal Nehru standing along with another man, saying that he should have used a condom.

Shorey further said in his message that he retains the right to freedom of speech bestowed by the constitution of India and will not be intimidated by threats.

“However, please be informed that I’m not a supporter of the Congress party, and I retain my right to freedom of speech as granted to me under the constitution of India. I will not be intimidated,” Shorey had said.

Ranvir Shorey shares hilarious meme, Modi-haters suffer a meltdown

Actor Ranvir Shorey has been dishing out ‘befitting replies’ to flustered trolls who were abusing him over a meme on PM Modi.

PM Modi had recently paid a surprise visit to the construction site of the new Parliament. This had not gone done well with the opposition parties and the leaders, who had been opposing the construction of the new Parliament tooth and nail. Shorey had then posted a meme of PM Modi walking at the construction site of the new Parliament with a picture depicting a bunch of opposition leaders beneath his feet.

Predictably, the sharp messaging in the meme and the not-so-parliamentary language in the tweet raised the hackles of the opposition supporters and their online supporters, who descended on Shorey’s Twitter timeline to deride him with personal attacks and choicest of abuses.

Exposing hatred against the BJP, another Twitter user said a party that came into existence because of a torn condom should not be criticising the Congress party. To this, Shorey shared a picture of Jawaharlal Nehru and said “condom should have been used by him”.

Rahul Gandhi celebrates with Jignesh and Kanhaiya while Punjab crisis turns into a circus, Kunal Kamra spotted at AICC headquarters

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The Congress party has shared a video on Twitter where senior leader Rahul Gandhi is seen celebrating with former JNU ‘student leader’ Kanhaiya Kumar and independent MLA Jignesh Mevani at Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh Park, ITO, Delhi.

In the snippet shared on the microblogging site, the trio along with Hardik Patel are seen holding each other’s hands and lifting them in the air as they sought to celebrate the formal induction of Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani in the party fold.

Jignesh Mevani confirms he is not joining party ‘officially’

There were speculations over the past few days that Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani are joining the Congress. However, now, Jignesh Mevani has officially confirmed that he is not joining the Congress formally.

Jignesh Mevani said, “I could not join the Congress formally due to technical reasons. I am an independent MLA, if I join a party, I may not continue as an MLA… I am part of the Congress ideologically, will fight the upcoming Gujarat polls from Congress symbol”.

Sharing a still from the venue, Congress tweeted: “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai (The desire for revolution is in our hearts).’

The trio along with Congress leader Hardik Patel had reached the Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Park to reportedly pay homage to Shaheed Bhagat Singh on his birth anniversary.

“During this, Shri Rahul Gandhi ji took a pledge to save the nation from divisive forces”, Tweeted Congress party.

Meanwhile, ‘comedian’ Kunal Kamra, known for his affinity towards the Congress party, was spotted at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday. While Kanhaiya Kumar has come into the party folds, Jignesh Mevani has supposedly backed out at the last moment.

‘Comedian’ Kumal Karma spotted in Congress headquarter where Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani are set to join the party

Speaking on the induction of the two new leaders into the party fold, Hardik Patel said, “We, youngsters, want to work in Congress, under a leader who talks about development and prosperity. We’ve raised voice for people of country in past, want to strengthen them &be their voice.”

Earlier in the day, posters welcoming Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Kanhaiya Kumar into the Congress had come up outside the Congress party’s office ahead of his proposed joining on Tuesday. 

Rahul Gandhi celebrates while Punjab Congress is in a state of disarray 

While Rahul Gandhi celebrates the induction of the two new leaders, the Punjab Congress is in the midst of one of its most tumultuous periods. Earlier, Navjot Singh Sidhu announced his resignation from the post of Punjab Congress chief. Sidhu addressed his letter to the party chief Sonia Gandhi, where he wrote that he is stepping down as the state president.

Prior to this, Captain Amarinder Singh was seen leaving for Delhi, amidst speculations that the disgruntled former Punjab CM will be holding a ‘series of meetings’ with BJP President JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Citing sources, Zee News had speculated that Captain Amarinder Singh might defect to the BJP and be appointed as Union Agriculture Minister. With Assembly Elections around the corner, it is also speculated that he might form a new party with the help of the BJP. 

With Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani in Congress, it has inched closer to being a Leftist party: What it means for its future

The induction of Jignesh Mevani and Kanhaiya Kumar into the Congress party has cemented the party’s transformation into a Left party from the Center-Left facade it has maintained since Narendra Modi was elected Prime Minister in 2014.

Kanhaiya Kumar contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Begusarai in Bihar on a CPI ticket and Jignesh Mevani was elected representative in the Gujarat Assembly as an independent candidate in the 2017 elections. Mevani has said that he has not formally joined the party as he would then have to resign as MLA but assured that he would contest the next elections on a Congress ticket.

Nevertheless, the inclusion of the two in the party clearly indicates where the Congress is headed. The indications were there even in 2019 when the Congress party released its manifesto before the General Elections.

The far-left Congress party manifesto in 2019

In its manifesto, the Congress party promised to “Pass regulations to stop the spread of fake news and hate speech and punish those who misuse digital and social media.” This was well before social media censorship by Big Tech platforms reached its zenith prior to the US presidential elections in 2020.

The manifesto also promised to “Omit Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (that defines the offence of ‘sedition’) that has been misused and, in any event, has become redundant because of subsequent laws.” This is straight out of the ‘JNU school of thought’, a branch of political philosophy personified by Kanhaiya Kumar, who has been the president of the JNU Students Union in the past.

Thus, quite clearly, according to the Congress party, ‘Bharat tere tukde honge’ is protected by freedom of expression but free speech on social media ought to be curbed. For obvious reasons, the Congress party is the natural home for Jignesh Mevani, Kanhaiya Kumar and their ideological compatriots.

Will Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani help revive the Congress party?

As far as electoral success is concerned, Kanhaiya and Mevani are unlikely to add to the party’s strength and if Rahul Gandhi believes that they will help revive the fortunes of the Congress party, then he is sorely mistaken.

Kumar lost spectacularly to BJP’s Giriraj Singh in Begusarai during the Lok Sabha Elections and Mevani won election to the Gujarat Assembly only from a constituency that has been known to be a Congress stronghold. Outside of Twitter, their political mettle remains to be tested.

And with the political transformation that the country has undergone since 2014, there are not sufficient takers for the JNU brand of politics as is evident from the fate of the Congress in recent times.

Nevertheless, Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani are sure to help the Congress party receive more retweets and ‘likes’ on Twitter, a metric that has become essential for the party. Indeed, the party appeared convinced they will win 2019 based on their Twitter interactions.

And as former president of the party, and possibly the next one, Rahul Gandhi appears far more concerned about his Twitter metrics than the fate of the party in states and constituencies. On that note, the party will surely receive a boost.

The brand of politics Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani will bring into the party

Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani are both extremely controversial characters, and for good reason. Mevani is known to employ crass language against his political opponents, especially the Prime Minister. He had once said that Narendra Modi should ‘go and die’. He has also been accused of inciting people to commit violence.

Kanhaiya Kumar, himself, is an accused in the JNU sedition case involving anti-national slogans at the University. He was also accused of urinating in public and flashing his private part at a woman. It is extremely unlikely that the brand of politics of the newly minted Congress leaders will change all of a sudden. It is far more likely that they will introduce their own political brand into the party.

And thus, the politics of the Congress party is likely to get much dirtier, nastier and more desperate.

The inclusion of the two comes at a time when there is a major crisis unfolding within the Congress party. In Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu has resigned as Punjab Congress Chief days after Amarinder Singh quit as the Chief Minister of the state. If reports are to be believed, Singh is meeting with senior BJP leaders.

Meanwhile, the party is suffering a series of defections. Its leaders in West Bengal and Goa are leaving the party to join the Trinamool Congress and its fortunes appear so hopeless that even Saket Gokhale, eminent Rahul Gandhi fanboy, has left them to join TMC.

Needless to say, Mevani and Kumar are not a solution to the problems that the Congress party faces. And at the end of the day, while the party might rejoice for a day or two, its senior leaders will be well aware that its political future remains in tatters.

Why the Dismantling Global Hindutva agenda to brand Narendra Modi ‘fascist’ ahead of his US trip failed

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There has been a concerted campaign against India by western countries since decades. The campaign has been underway regardless of the political party in power in the country, be it the Congress or the BJP. Since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, the allegations against the Indian dispensation have revolved around ‘fascism’ and ‘authoritarianism’ and other such matters.

Such campaigns are usually orchestrated with Indian puppets forming the vanguard. This year, in September, the propaganda took the form of a conference titled ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’. While the organisers claimed that they were against a political ideology and not a religion, before long they admitted that it is Hinduism they are against.

The timing of the conference was quite intriguing. It took place only two weeks after Joe Biden killed 10 Afghan civilians, at least 6 children among them, in an airstrike that was deemed to be a defensive move. Initially, it was claimed that the US had eliminated ISKP terrorists but eventually, even they had to admit that they had killed a bunch of unfortunate Afghan civilians.

Nevertheless, while the US bungled from one war crime after another, the panelists at the ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ conference were more concerned with alleged human rights violation in India. But there is something to be said about their utter ineffectiveness and futile endeavor.

The effort was clearly designed to spoil the India-US relationship but despite their shrill cries of tyranny, they have failed spectacularly at creating a dent in the growing relationship between the two countries. Indeed, when Prime Minister Modi visited the US recently to attend the United Nations General Assembly and the first ever in-person Quad meet, the shadow of the conference had long since receded into the dustbins of history.

The DGH Conference was only the latest effort to cast a spanner in India-US relations. Ever since Joe Biden was elected as the President of the United States, liberals in India have been praying and hoping that he would meddle with the internal affairs of India.

Thus far, Biden has been reluctant to do the same although he does appear to have taken some measures to assuage the concerns of his core left-base. Nevertheless, on major issues such as the farm laws, the Biden administration has outright refused to offer any respite to his fans in India.

Obviously incensed by the lack on enthusiasm on the part of the Biden administration, the far-left ‘activists’ in India decided to take it up several notches further. Thus, we had the Dismantling Hindutva Conference, a desperate effort to attract the attention of the powers that be in the United States.

In the end, even that desperate bid failed in monumental proportions. When the Indian Prime Minister met his counterparts from Japan, Australia and the US President for the Quad meet, the conference was a distant memory.

Why Dismantling Global Hindutva agenda against Narendra Modi failed

The campaign to discredit Narendra Modi as a ‘Hindutva fascist’ did not begin recently, it began during his time as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. In 2005, his Visa was revoked on ‘religious freedom’ grounds over the 2002 riots. When Narendra Modi became the elected head of government in India in 2014, the ban was automatically lifted.

There are good reasons why efforts to put a spanner in the India-US relations have failed despite repeated attempts to target Narendra Modi. Firstly, the USA does not care about human rights. Over the course of the 21st century, the USA has committed numerous war crimes. Women and children have been killed in Afghanistan in US drone strikes under the watch of four successive US Presidents.

Furthermore, the US allies with countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the less said about their human rights record the better. Thus, when actual human rights violations do not matter, only a fool would believe that allegations against Narendra Modi borne of figments of imagination would swing the tide against India.

It is hard to convince anyone that US cares about human rights when they kill civilians with such impunity. Secondly, the rise of China means that the US has to rely on India to negate the threat as the only country in the region that has the capability to counter the Chinese threat.

Thirdly, geopolitics is based on mutual interests. It is in the interests of both the US and India currently to develop better relations in light of the Chinese threat. Under such circumstances, it is a bit too much to expect irrelevant academics to succeed in their efforts to damage Indian interests.

Thus it happened that a couple of weeks after the DGH conference, Narendra Modi returned from his US trip with 157 artefacts and antiquities handed over the United States. The most important takeaway from the matter is, of course, that the India-US relations are unlikely to be affected by screeching from academics who have their own agenda to peddle.

‘Bhago, Modi Aaya’: Ranvir Shorey’s meme triggers haters, actor responds with befitting replies

Actor Ranvir Shorey is dishing out ‘befitting replies’ to flustered trolls who are abusing him over a meme shared by him where PM Modi could be seen trampling upon a posse of opposition leaders.

PM Modi had recently paid a surprise visit to the construction site of the new Parliament. This had not gone done well with the opposition parties and the leaders, who had been opposing the construction of the new Parliament tooth and nail. Shorey had then posted a meme of PM Modi walking at the construction site of the new Parliament with a picture depicting a bunch of opposition leaders beneath his feet.

“Bhaago, b*dwalo, Modi Aaya!” Shorey had tweeted along with the meme.

Hours after he posted the meme, Shorey apologised for the caption, stating that he could have used better language for it. But by then, opposition supporters had already lost their cool over the meme.

Predictably, the sharp messaging in the meme and the not-so-parliamentary language in the tweet raised the hackles of the opposition supporters and their online supporters, who descended on Shorey’s Twitter timeline to deride him with personal attacks and choicest of abuses.

However, Shorey is not among those who would meekly put up with the online bullying and take it lying down. Instead, he fiercely pushed back against the naysayers, often resorting to unflattering language and stinging memes to mock the trolls.

Ranvir Shorey gives befitting replies to trolls abusing him over his Modi meme

When an insufferable online troll responded with a disparaging tweet on Shorey’s meme, the actor said, “Jaa Pappu moot pee, bs*k”.

Another social media user who was upset over Shorey’s Modi meme resorted to an ad hominem attack against the actor. The Twitter user dragged Shorey’s ex-wife Konkana Sen Sharma into the conversation, stating that she did the ‘right thing’ by severing her relationship with the actor. To this tweet, Shorey shared a GIF of a bald man crying and beckoning someone to come close to him.

In response to a Twitter user who said he will use the meme to screw the happiness of PM Modi when he loses in 2024, Shorey said he will have another meme to celebrate the 24 election results.

Exposing hatred against the BJP, another Twitter user said a party that came into existence because of a torn condom should not be criticising the Congress party. To this, Shorey shared a picture of Jawaharlal Nehru and said Nehru was the one who should have used a condom.

When one Twitter user remarked he is a male Kangana, Shorey shared a popular meme from Kangana Ranaut’s blockbuster movie “Tanu weds Manu: Returns”, with Kangana’s face morphed with his own.

Then there were other befitting replies by Ranvir where he let memes do the talking.

Shortly after tweeting the Modi meme that had caused a meltdown among opposition party supporters, Shorey had offered a rationale as to why he created a meme that mocked the opposition parties. He said the opposition had nothing constructive to offer this country and that they are steadfast on just one agenda: Modi-hate.

Pakistan awards death penalty to woman who claimed to be the new prophet

Pakistan’s sessions court gave death penalty to a Muslim woman over blasphemy charges under the section 295C of Pakistan Penal Code(PPC) according to a DAWN report. FIR was registered by the Nishtar Colony police on Sept 2, 2013 against the woman after the complaint of a prayer leader named Qari Iftikhar Ahmad Raza of a local mosque.

The woman Salma Tanveer was a school principal at a private school that she also owned. She was accused of giving out photocopies that allegedly contained messages denying the the finality of prophethood and claiming herself as a prophet.

Mian Muhammad Ramzan, the woman’s counsel claimed that she was of unsound mind at the time of the incident. Ramzan stated that a mental examination of the woman as ordered by the magistrate was pending and also argued that the photocopies of the alleged writings were tampered with.

However the Additional District & Sessions Judge Mansoor Ahmad Qureshi said, “It is proved beyond reasonable doubt that accused Salma Tanveer wrote and distributed the writings which are derogatory in respect of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and she failed to prove that her case falls in exception provided by section 84 of PPC,”

Sadia Arif, the state prosecutor who was assisted by Advocate Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry, the complainant’s counsel submitted that the prosecution proved the case based on oral and documentary evidence. The prosecution claimed that the woman failed to prove that she was of unsound mind at the time of writing and distributing blasphemous material.

The Judge observed that the oral and material evidence proved that the woman herself wrote and shared those writings. But, since she was running a school single handedly before her arrest, the judge concluded that the woman was not legally insane.

The Judge said, “The question, however, that arises for consideration is whether in law such abnormality can be treated as sufficient to exculpate the accused for the serious crime committed by her, even though it falls short of legal insanity,”

The verdict stated that without any doubt the woman wrote and shared the derogatory writings and that she failed to prove that she was of unsound mind or had mental illness.

The verdict was “The convict Salma Tanveer is sentenced to death and fine Rs50,000 u/s 295-C PPC.” 

Calcutta High Court lambasts West Bengal Chief Secretary for acting as ‘servant’ of ruling TMC. Here is what happened

On Tuesday (September 28), the Calcutta High Court admonished the Chief Secretary of the West Bengal government for not acting as a public servant but a servant to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). The Court made the scathing remarks while hearing a Public Interest Litigation(PIL) against the Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi’s request to the Election Commission to expedite the by-polls in the Bhabanipur constituency.

The PIL was filed by one Sayan Banerjee and was heard by a 2-Judge Bench of Chief Justice (Acting) Rajesh Bindal and Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj. The Court noted that Dwivedi wrote to the Election Commission (EC) citing a ‘constitutional crisis’ if elections were not held in West Bengal for the Bhabanipur constituency. In a bid to convince the EC, the Chief Secretary had claimed that both the Coronavirus pandemic and the ‘flood situation’ in Kolkata was under control.

Although the Election Commission had deferred by-polls in 3 Parliamentary constituencies and 31 State Assembly constituencies, it gave in to Dwivedi’s special request to hold elections on September 30 in Bhawanipore. The petition was filed challenging that order. Though the HC dismissed the petition, it has made some scathing remarks against Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi.

Calcutta HC’s remarks on the chief secretary

The petitioner argued in Court that there was no impending ‘constitutional crisis’ even if the by-polls were not conducted. “The State Assembly consists of 293 members. The Ruling party won 213 seats. One member is not that important.

“The respondent No. 5 had lost election from Nandigram Assembly Constituency for which she had filed Election Petition in this Court, which is pending. Despite the fact that she lost in the election, she was elected as leader of the party and sworn in as the Chief Minister of the State. Merely because one person is not elected as of now will not create any constitutional crisis as any other elected member of the Assembly can be sworn in as leader of the party and consequently, the Chief Minister,” read the petition.

Observations made by the Court against West Bengal Chief Secretary

The Calcutta High Court noted that the Chief Secretary misled the Election Commission about the pandemic and flooding situation in the State so as to expedite the electoral process. “The information furnished by the Chief Secretary of the State to the Election Commission was contrary to the facts as in the State restrictions on account of COVID-19 pandemic had been extended up to September 30, 2021, vide order No. 753/IX-ISS/2M-22/2020 dated September 15, 2021,” the Court emphasised. The Judges noted that the Coronavirus situation was not under control as the State government was forced to extend restrictions on people’s movement.

They further observed, “Further the Election Commission was also misled regarding flood situation. It is known to all that there had been excessive rains in the State.” The Court held that Dwivedi had no jurisdiction to write to the Election Commission. It ruled, “Be that as it may, the most offensive part is the conduct of the Chief Secretary, who projected himself to be more as a servant of the political party in power than a public servant, whereby he stated that there would be a constitutional crisis in case election to Bhabanipur Constituency is not held from where respondent No. 5 (Mamata Banerjee) wants to contest the election.”

“What constitutional crisis the Government could face with one person losing or winning the election, was not explained. How did the Chief Secretary know that respondent No. 5 was to contest election from Bhabanipur Assembly Constituency? He was not a party spokesman or a returning officer,” the Calcutta High Court lambasted Dwivedi. The Judges refused to interfere in the proceedings of the Election Commission, who had set aside the date of September 30 to conduct the election process.

Calcutta HC’s remarks against the WB Chief Secretary

The Court concluded, “We record our strong reservation about the conduct of the Chief Secretary in writing a letter to the Election Commission stating that there would be ‘constitutional crisis’ in case by-election to the Bhabanipur Constituency is not held. He is a public servant, who is to discharge his duties in terms of provisions of law, whosoever may be in power. He is not to ensure that any particular person should come in power and in the absence there would be a ‘constitutional crisis’.

Gandhis cut short their Shimla trip after Sidhu resigns as state party chief, had gone on vacation after Capt resigned as Punjab CM

Shortly after the news of Navjot Singh Sidhu quitting as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President surfaced in the media, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were seen at Chandigarh Airport heading back to New Delhi.

Reportedly, the Gandhis who were vacationing in Shimla after the resignation of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh seem to have cut short their trip.

They were seen at the airport just a while after Amarinder Singh left for the national capital. 

It is expected that Capt may meet the BJP leaders like Party President JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah later in the day.

Amidst the political commotion, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on being asked about Sidhu’s resignation as party state president said that he has no information about the same. 

“I have full confidence & faith in (Navjot Singh) Sidhu Sahab,” he said further. We are not sure what that means.

However, after some time, he did say ‘koi gal nahi’ (it’s no problem) on being asked about Capt going to Delhi. He assumed that Capt has gone to Delhi to discuss Punjab issues after he said he was humiliated when he put his papers last weekend.

Gandhi’s vacation in Shimla

Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi had headed for a vacation to Shimla along with her son Rahul Gandhi on September 20. According to reports, the Gandhi family were at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s residence which is situated at the outskirts of Shimla. 

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was already there in her Shimla Cottage where she was later joined by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. The family decided to vacation just a day after former Punjab CM had tendered his resignation.