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Supreme Court judge recuses, hearing of contempt plea against ex-Kolkata police chief put off

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Supreme Court today (Wednesday, Feb 20) put off proceedings in contempt plea against former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar and two other Bengal officials after Supreme Court judge, Justice L Nageswara Rao, on Wednesday recused himself from the case.

Justice Rao said he had appeared for Bengal as a lawyer and therefore cannot hear the case. The Supreme Court has now posted the matter for hearing on February 26.

The contempt case was filed in the apex court by the premier investigation agency on February 4 in the aftermath of the huge controversy that had broken out a day earlier when a team of CBI sleuths had arrived unannounced in Kolkata, allegedly to arrest Kumar. The CBI accused the officers of obstructing its probe into the multi-crore Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund scams and alleged that electronic evidence was tampered with in the case.

The court had issued the contempt notices against West Bengal Chief secretary Malay Kumar De, DGP Virendera Kumar and then Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar on the CBI’s plea.

The three officers have refuted the CBI’s allegations in their affidavits. They tendered “unconditional apology” to the court but said that the Bengal government and the state police never denied cooperation to CBI or obstructed probe.

The Bengal police said that the CBI forcefully tried to enter the then Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s residence on February 3 without valid papers.

The CBI’s move was dubbed by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as ‘political intimidation and witch-hunt’ at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Banerjee had sat on an impromptu dharna against the CBI’s action even as the Supreme Court had stayed the arrest or any coercive action by the agency against Kumar while directing the Kolkata top cop to present himself before the bureau for questioning.

Kumar had later appeared before a CBI team, in Shillong, for interrogation. Earlier this week, the West Bengal government had transferred Kumar, conferring on him the twin designations of Additional Director General (ADG) of Police and Inspector General (in-charge of the State’s Crime Investigation Department).

On February 5, the bench had issued notices to the Chief Secretary of West Bengal, the state’s and Kumar on the CBI’s contempt plea and asked the officers to submit their responses to the court by February 18. The bench had said that, following perusal of the responses submitted by the three senior officials, the court may require their personal appearance on February 20 when the contempt case comes up for further hearing.

On Wednesday, even as the Supreme Court deferred the hearing in the case till February 26, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kumar, informed the bench headed by Chief Justice Gogoi that an additional affidavit had been filed by the CBI in the contempt proceedings. Singhvi opposed the fresh affidavit saying claiming that the agency filed it “without any orders of the court, in direct violation of the rules.”

Singhvi said that as per the “Rules to Regulate Proceedings for the Contempt of the Supreme Court”, fresh affidavits and documents cannot be filed in an ongoing matter once the person charged of the offence of contempt has filed his reply. The senior advocate said that the response of Kumar and the Bengal chief secretary and DGP had been filed with the top court before the agency submitted the additional affidavit on February 18.

Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, however, told the bench that the agency must be given a chance to respond to the charge levelled by Singhvi as this was a “very serious matter”.

The court took Singhvi and Venugopal’s submissions on record and posted the matter for further hearing on next Tuesday when a new bench will be constituted by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi to hear the case.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

2024 Lok Sabha Elections

PM Modi says Congress leaders consider themselves above Lord Ram

PM Modi slammed Congress during a rally in Chhattisgarh, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress party for declining to attend the pran pratishtha ritual at the Ayodhya Ram temple on January 22 this year.

The prime minister said Congress leaders consider themselves above Lord Ram and denied invitation for Pran Pratishtha at Ram Temple, while speaking at a rally in Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh. The PM question the people present at the rally that is it not a disrespect of Mata Shabri? Congress leaders inclination toward appeasement politics runs in their family.

For political appeasement, they won’t think twice about stealing the rights of Adivasis, the poor, and Dalits. Poor, young, and women are BJP’s top priorities, Modi said.

PM Modi criticized the Congress again during the rally for claiming that the BJP would alter the constitution.

The leaders of Congress recite the same old phrases whenever an election is about to happen, the PM said. He also said they claim that if the BJP wins power, it will renounce the constitution and abolish reservations. For how long will you continue selling lies?” he asked.

The prime minister continued saying that nobody can change the Constitution, even if Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar were to come and insist on it, it wouldn’t happen.

Those in the Congress threaten to break Modi’s head. Nobody can harm Modi as long as the mothers and sisters of this county stands by him. These mothers and sisters are Raksha Kavach, Modi remarked.

The prime minister further attacked the Congress after Viriato Fernandes, the party’s candidate for South Goa, asserted that Goa was forced to adopt the Indian Constitution.

Referring to his conversation with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Fernandes said he had told him, when Goa was liberated in the year 1961, the Indian Constitution was forced upon us.

The prime minister said, Congress candidate from Goa says Constitution was forced upon Goans; is this not an insult of Ambedkar and Constitution.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Amit Shah says neither Congress nor Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee can interfere with CAA

Amit Shah revealed the BJP’s target for West Bengal and said they have set a target of winning 35 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal.

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Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said neither Congress nor Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee can interfere with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He was speaking at the Karandighi rally in West Bengal where he also made the prediction as to how many seats BJP will win in the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal.

The union home minister asked the masses to cut the money culture. Amit Shah revealed the BJP’s target for West Bengal and said they have set a target of winning 35 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections the BJP had won 18 out of 42 seats in West Bengal. He asked Mamata Banerjee, what problem will she have if the Buddhist and Hindu refugees from Bangladesh get citizenship in India?

Shah further added if the people of West Bengal want to stop infiltration in the state, then they will have to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister of India again. He said if the people of West Bengal want to free Bengal of violence, stop infiltration in the state, give citizenship to refugees, to stop disrespecting mothers and sisters of the state as it happened in Sandeshkhali, then  only way is to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister.

Amit Shah said that PM Modi had sent Rs 7 lakh crore to West Bengal but the TMC indulged in corruption. He said one can see the houses of Trinamool Congress leaders; 10 years ago they used to live in a hut, moved on cycle and now all of them have 4-storey houses and move around in big cars. He added this is the money of people of West Bengal.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), will make it easier for non-Muslim refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh to get Indian citizenship, was enacted in 2019. But the rules were notified in March this year by the Centre.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says listening to Hanuman Chalisa under Congress rule is a crime

PM Modi was addressing an election rally in Rajasthan’s Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, on a day as India celebrates Hanuman Jayanti.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out at the Congress and said even listening to Hanuman Chalisa has become a crime under the party’s rule. The Prime Minister also said it was difficult to follow one’s faith under the party and accused it of hatching a deep conspiracy to snatch people’s wealth and distribute it among selected few people in the society. PM Modi was addressing an election rally in Rajasthan’s Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, on a day as India celebrates Hanuman Jayanti.

PM Modi said in a state like Rajasthan where people chant Ram-Ram, Congress banned Ram Navami. He reffered to the redistribution of wealth remarks he had made during a rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara on Sunday and said it has angered the Congress and INDI Alliance so much that they have started throwing abuses at Modi everywhere.

The Prime Minister said that Congress has written in their manifesto that they will survey the wealth. He said the Congress leadership had said in a speech that an X-ray of wealth will be done. He added when Modi exposed the secret then the hidden agenda came out and this has left the people trembling. PM Modi further added that the Congress party has played with the Constitution of the India.

He said when the Constitution was drafted, reservations based on religion were opposed, so that Scheduled Casts (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) could get protection. He said former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had said that Muslims have the first right to the country’s resources.  The prime minister further added Congress’s ideology has always been of appeasement and vote bank politics. He said stones would still be pelted in Jammu and Kashmir, and enemies would still be cutting off the heads of India’s soldiers had Congress been in power.

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