India News
Gujarat govt won’t have to pay for repair of shrines damaged in 2002 riots: rules SC

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Over 500 religious structures – a majority of them being mosques and Islamic shrines – were damaged in the post-Godhra pogrom of 2002. The Apex court accepted Gujarat government’s contention that spending public money for repair and maintenance of a religious structure will be against the country’s secular fabric
The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, set aside Gujarat High Court’s order, which had asked the state government to pay for repair of religious structures, mostly mosques and Islamic shrines, which were damaged during the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
A bench of Chief Justice Deepak Misra and Justice PC Pant, however, said that the state government’s scheme of paying (ex-gratia) compensation of Rs 50,000 for the repair of damaged residential and commercial structures will be applicable for the religious structures too.
Observing that the order of the Gujarat High Court was ‘not tenable in law’, the bench asked the state to release funds according to its ex-gratia scheme and not as per the HC order, which had also sought an assessment of actual cost of restoration according to which the state government had to provide funds.
Appearing for the state government, Additional Solicitor General (ASG), Tushar Mehta had reasoned that a judicial order directing use of public money for construction of places of worship will be “against the secular fabric of the country”.
Mehta informed the top court that state government was willing to pay from its ex-gratia scheme for repair and reconstruction works of various structures, shops and houses which were damaged.
After the Bench passed its order, Mehta told reporters: “Our plea (seeking quashing of the Gujarat HC order) has been allowed…This ex-gratia scheme (of the Gujarat government) has been accepted by the SC.”
In an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the parties in the case if it would be proper in a secular State to order compensation for rebuilding places of worship. “Money is required for economic growth… individual injury is a different thing where compensation is granted under Article 21 (right to life and liberty) of the Constitution. Can it happen in a diversified country that a state is distributing public money to build religious places?” it said.
Citing Article 27 in the Constitution, Mehta had told the SC that there was a prohibition against compelling people “to pay any taxes, the proceeds of which are specifically appropriated in payment of expenses for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination”.
Mehta maintained before the court: “What is prohibited, therefore, is use of state fund, which consists of payment of various taxes by citizens, for repair /reconstruction/construction of any place of worship of any religion.”
Considered one of the worst riots that took place in India in the post-independence era, the 2002 pogrom claimed the lives of over 800 Muslims and around 250 Hindus, as per official figures. Those who have worked in the riot-affected areas, activists and social commentators, have for long claimed that the official death toll of the 2002 riots betrayed facts and that the actual number of killings exceeded 2000 people, mostly Muslims.
The riots have been seen as a reaction by Hindu radicals to the death of 57 Hindu pilgrims who lost their lives when a train they were travelling in was set on fire in Gujarat’s Godhra. The riots have been the biggest scar on the political innings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then the Gujarat chief minister. Activists, a section of the media and legal commentators have, since 2002, spoken about the complicity of the then Gujarat government in allowing the Hindu rioters to kill Muslims. The then junior minister for home in Gujarat, and now BJP national president Amit Shah along with several BJP leaders were accused in various cases related to the riots.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
India News
On completing nine years in office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he’ll continue to improve lives
The BJP has planned a special contact campaign across the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government, which completed nine years in office on May 30, will continue to take decisions to improve the lives of people like it had over the last nine years.
In a tweet, the PM said he was filled with humility and gratitude on the ninth anniversary of his government. He said he would continue to work harder towards the vision of a developed India.
The BJP has planned a special contact campaign across the country. The party said in a statement the country had seen unprecedented growth and development in every sector with the mantra of Nation First over the past nine years. It was due to the efforts of the government that the world was saying the 21st century belongs to India.
Comments on the tweet have not stopped coming in. One user said PM Modi’s vision had made India the fifth largest economy in the world. Many infrastructure projects had been pushed, toilet, gas and water connections were on the priority list of the Modi government. Article 370 had been revoked in Jammu & Kashmir and women had been empowered during the time.
Not to to be outdone, a critic of the government noted the Modi government had gifted India the highest unemployment rate, the highest cost of living and the highest debt. The user said women’s empowerment was hypocrisy as women wrestlers were being treated like criminals for protesting against the wrestling body chief, who continues to enjoy support of the Modi government.
But overall, the mood has been congratulatory with the odd critique here and there. On May 28, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building while the Opposition boycotted it. He described the new Parliament as a temple of democracy, felicitated some workers involved in its construction.
The real test of the Modi government will come next year when the country will vote in the next Lok Sabha.
India News
Please don’t go: Go Air ready to pay Rs 1 lakh more to pilots, Rs 50,000 more to first officers in retention effort
This retention allowance will be effective June 1. The offer will also be extended to those who had left the airline and willing to return, if they rescind their resignations before June 15.

Go Air, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, is taking the retention allowance route to prevent its employees from leaving en masse. It has announced an increase in salary of Rs 1 lakh a month for captains and half that for first officers to retain employees.
This retention allowance will be effective June 1. The offer will also be extended to those who had left the airline and willing to return, if they rescind their resignations before June 15.
Not just this, the company, which had undergone a rebranding exercise from Go Air to Go First a few years ago, will also offer a longevity bonus to staff who had served longer with the airline. Reports said Go Air Pilots get approx Rs 5,30,000 a month, which is much less when compared to pilots of Spice Jet, who draw Rs 7,50,000 a month since a double hike in their salaries in recent months.
With a month’s deadline from the airline industry regulator on revival plan submission, Go Air is pulling out all stops to present a working face. In its email sent to employees, the airline said it had put together a plan for progress and if everything goes as per plan, then it would not be too long before it would return to the skies that and would return to being regular on salary payments.
Staff from Go Air have plenty of options elsewhere since there has been a shortage of airline staff after the Coronavirus pandemic globally. For instance in India, India’s largest carrier IndiGo is looking to hire 5,000 workers in 2024 and Air India, under the ownership of the Tata Group, plans has some 4,200 cabin crew jobs and needs 900 pilots this year.
India News
How dare you disturb my sleep: Retired BSF man shoots at UP sanitation worker for playing Swachhta song, arrested
The accused has identified as Tauheed Ali, 48, a resident of Kanchan Park, Ghaziabad is a retired Border Security Force personnel, was later arrested by the police.

In an eerie turn of events, a man in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad allegedly shoots two sanitation workers over the disturbance of his sleep by the Swacchta song being played in their waste collection vehicle.
The incident took place on Sunday morning when the accused came out complaining disturbance from the song and fired several round on the cleaning staff.
The accused has identified as Tauheed Ali, 48, a resident of Kanchan Park, Ghaziabad is a retired Border Security Force personnel, was later arrested by the police.
An FIR under section 307(attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against Ali.
The victim have been identified as Rohit Kumar and co-driver Raj Kumar.
As per the police, the incident took place at around 7:30 am when a waste collection vehicle was passing by Ali’s house and the vehicle had two cleaning staff driver Rohit Kumar and Raj Kumar.
Rohit said, Ali had earlier requested him to turn the song when the vehicle passes by his house.
Rohit said, when the vehicle was passing Ali’s house, he objected to it and after several attempts to explain him that turning off the jingle would prevent other residents from informing about the vehicle, he did not understood and started abusing him and Raj.
He added, Ali then went inside his house and came back with a revolver in his hands to fire two rounds on them, on which they fled from the scene leaving the vehicle.
Assitant Commissioner of Police Rajneesh Kumar Upadhyaya said Ali used his licensed revolver and informed that the police will recommend to revoke his arms license.
ACP Upadhyaya said Ali to be a retired BSF man and he claimed disturbance from the song played by waste collection vehicle.
Swacchta song is a jingle usually played in every waste collection vehicle, it helps to alert the neighborhood to come out of their homes and throw garbage into it.
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