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PM Modi promises grand statue of Vidyasagar after his bust vandalised & EC curtailed Bengal poll campaign

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PM Modi promises grand statue of Vidyasagar after his bust vandalised & EC curtailed Bengal poll campaign

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today (Thursday, May 16) said his government would build a “grand statue” of Ishwar Chand Vidyasagar at the Vidyasagar College in Kolkata, where an existing bust of the social reformer was vandalised in clashes between BJP and Trinamool Congress workers during BJP president Amit Shah’s roadshow in the city two days ago, sparking off anger and mutual blame game between the two parties.

Vidyasagar is among Bengal’s tallest cultural icons, and a key figure in the Bengal Renaissance. He fought for remarriage of widows and abolition of Sati and initiated pathbreaking reform in traditional upper caste Hindu society.

Modi, speaking at a rally in Mau, Uttar Pradesh, this morning, Modi said, “Our government, dedicated to the vision of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, will set up a grand statue of panchdhatu (five metals) at the same spot.”

Accusing the TMC of breaking the statue, Modi said those responsible should be punished.

TMC leader Derek O’Brien responded to Modi’s proposal, calling him a “pathological liar”.

In the video footage of the incident, one clip shows a group of youths, some wearing saffron shirts and at least one sporting a saffron turban, vandalising a bust of Vidyasagar outside the Vidyasagar College hostel, reported The Indian Express (IE).

Another clip shows a separate group inside the campus hurling large stones across the wall at men wearing saffron shirts and turbans, carrying BJP flags.

Meanwhile, TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister has claimed that “Bengal is under attack” from outsiders brought in by the BJP, and called the episode a “planned criminal and communal conspiracy”.

Amid the war of words, the Election Commission yesterday, in an unprecedented decision, invoked Article 324 of the Constitution to curtail election campaigning in West Bengal by 20 hours. The poll body cited the “safety and security” of voters in the state while announcing that campaigning in all forms would end at 10 pm on Thursday in nine constituencies — Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, South and North Kolkata. These go to polls in the last phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Sunday, May 19.

The decision has invited criticism, with many questioning the time, ‘from 10 pm’ instead of immediately if the situation was so bad, asking if it was done only to allow PM Modi’s two rallies scheduled in Bengal.

Also Read: Kamal Haasan booked for Godse remark, his party says comment taken out of context

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury tweeted: “If a ban is intended for 72 hours, why is it starting at 10pm tomorrow? Is it to allow the two rallies of the PM before that?”

The EC’s decision to curtail campaigning in West Bengal was reportedly based on the report submitted by Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain, who took stock of the poll preparedness Monday, and another submitted jointly by special observers Ajay Nayak and Vivek Dubey.

Jain, in his report, had informed the Election Commissioners of a “distinct resistance and non-cooperation from the district administration and district police” in providing a “level-playing field to all candidates for campaigning” and “a fearless threat free environment to the voters”.

“The Observers pointed out that while on the surface, everything looks fine, but in their frank interactions with the public the fear psychosis that is widely prevalent comes out. They pointed out that utterances of the AITC (All India Trinamool Congress) senior leaders on the lines of ‘Central Forces will leave after the elections while we will remain’ sends a chilling message among the officers as well as voters alike,” he wrote in his report submitted to the EC.

Citing incidents of violence being reported in the state, the EC order states, “…these campaign related violent incidents are creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred in the polling areas which is affecting the overall electoral environment…”

Asked about the logic behind the EC’s decision to end campaigning at 10 pm Thursday, a senior EC official told The Indian Express, “We did not want to disrupt campaigning when it is at its peak. Moreover, this gives all political parties a chance to demonstrate their commitment to peaceful campaigning.” “The 10 pm deadline was kept keeping the Supreme Court order on the use of loudspeakers,” another senior EC official said.

Reacting to the EC’s decision, Union Minister Arun Jaitley tweeted, “A constitutional authority, the Election Commission of India, has effectively held Bengal to be a state in Anarchy…A free campaign is not possible and therefore the campaign has to be cut short. This is a classical case of breakdown of the Constitutional Machinery.”

India News

Punjab: AAP leaders Sushil Kumar Rinku, MLA Sheetal Angural join BJP

Rinku said Aam Aadmi Party lagged behind in Jalandhar on the issue of its development. He said they had not fulfilled the promises which they had made during the byelection as the AAP government did not support him. He said he was impressed by the style of working of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

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The Aam Aadmi Party had a double setback in Punjab as its lone Lok Sabha MP, Sushil Kumar Rinku from Jalandhar, and Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural joined the BJP in Delhi on Wednesday. BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde welcomed them in presence of Punjab BJP chief Sunil Kumar Jakhar and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Rinku said Aam Aadmi Party lagged behind in Jalandhar on the issue of its development. He said they had not fulfilled the promises which they had made during the byelection as the AAP government did not support him. He said he was impressed by the style of working of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. He added that whatever works related to Jalandhar he took to Delhi were granted and the Adampur airport was made operational.

Rinku said Jalandhar had been given a stop for the Vande Bharat train. He said the people of Jalandhar need over bridges in the city and in Adampur. He said he was seeing a ray of hope by joining BJP. He said he is conducting a new experiment. He said he did not have greed for himself but he had wishes for the people of Jalandhar.

The Aam Aadmi Party came to know about the joining of Rinku to BJP when he suddenly disappeared from the AAP’s election campaign after he was named the candidate. He was among the first 8 candidates announced by the Aam Aadmi Party.

 Sheetal Angural became a first time MLA in 2022. He is going to hand over his resignation from the assembly on Thursday. With his resignation, the Jalandhar (west) seat will go into elections. Angural defeated Rinku in 2022 Assembly elections when the latter was in Congress. Earlier on Tuesday BJP had poached Congress MP from Ludhiana, Ravneet Bittu.

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India News

Delhi High Court refuses to grant interim relief to CM Arvind Kejriwal, next hearing on April 3

A bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued a notice to the ED on the Delhi Chief Minister’s plea seeking immediate release and declaring his arrest and remand as illegal.

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In a major setback for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to allow any interim relief to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate. The High Court also issued notice on Kejriwal’s plea and scheduled the matter for further hearing on April 3.

A bench comprising Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued a notice to the ED on the Delhi Chief Minister’s plea seeking immediate release and declaring his arrest and remand as illegal. The High Court asked the investigation agency to file its reply within April 2.

The Delhi High Court further rejected the contention of senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi who appeared for Arvind Kejriwal and argued that no reply from ED was required. The court pointed out that it is duty-bound to hear both sides fairly keeping in mind the principles of natural justice and hence ED’s reply is essential and crucial to decide the present case.

The court remarked that having regard to the nature of issues raised in the plea, it is of the opinion that the respondent has to be granted an opportunity to file a reply, as an opportunity for effective representation. It added that declining the opportunity to the respondent to file a response would amount to denial of fair hearing as well as violation of one of the principles of natural justice, that is audi- alteram partem, which is applicable to both the parties and not one.

In addition, the ED is likely to produce Arvind Kejriwal in a court on Thursday as his present remand will conclude tomorrow. The investigation agency arrested CM Kejriwal last Thursday in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case and sought a six-day custody starting from March 22. The nodal agency may seek an extension of Kejriwal’s custodial remand or seek court directions for sending him into judicial custody.

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal said that the Chief Minister has proof and that he will reveal everything about the location of the money related to the so-called liquor policy scam in the court tomorrow. 

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ED files money laundering case against Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan

Chief Minister Vijayan had said that his daughter had started the company using his wife’s retirement funds and the allegations being levelled against him and his family were false.

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday has registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan and her IT company, Exalogic Solutions. The case relates to the alleged illegal payments made to Veena Vijayan’s firm by a mineral company. 

Reportedly, the ED has filed the case based on a complaint by the serious fraud investigation office, which had been asked to investigate the matter by the Centre. The case hogged limelight after an Income Tax Department investigation alleged that a private company called Cochin Minerals And Rutile Ltd (CMRL) made an illegal payment of Rs 1.72 crore to Veena’s company, Exalogic Solutions from 2018 to 2019. The payment was made to the IT firm of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter even though the mineral company did not provide any service to her firm. 

Furthermore, a report had also claimed that CMRL had made monthly payments to Exalogic, despite no services being provided, because of Veena Vijayan’s connection to a prominent person. 

Earlier on January 31, the Exalogic Solution moved the Karnataka High Court after the central government ordered the SFIO to investigate the matter. In its petition to the Karnataka High Court, the IT firm, Exalogic Solutions had argued that Section 212 under which the SFIO has initiated a probe was a serious provision along the lines of those under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). 

The plea added that such sections are used in serious cases involving hundreds of crores of rupees. However, the Karnataka High Court dismissed the plea the previous month. While addressing the Kerala Assembly in January, Chief Minister Vijayan had said that his daughter had started the company using his wife’s retirement funds and the allegations being levelled against him and his family were false.

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