Jain Community Celebrates Mahavir Jayanti
Members of Jain community celebrate the birth of Lord Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, with a “Rath Yatra” in New Delhi on Wednesday.
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Month: April 2019
EC, ED, I-T Compromised, Says Kanimozhi
A day after her house was raided by Income Tax, DMK leader Kanimozhi on Wednesday said it was political vendetta and alleged that a “compromised” Election Commission was acting at the behest of BJP to target opposition leaders.
Speaking to ANI, Kanimozhi said: “Over the last five years, practically every government agency has been exploited and they have become the part of BJP and its whims and fancies. CBI, ED, Election Commission all have been compromised and only opposition leaders have been targeted repeatedly.”
Terming Tuesday’s raid on her house as political vendetta, she said, “After the announcement of elections, only opposition leaders and candidates are being raided. This has created doubts in my mind.”
“When IT officials came to my house yesterday, they repeatedly said that they had come to raid candidate. It is very clear that they had come to raid, because I am a candidate from the opposition party. It is a political vendetta,” the DMK candidate from Thootukudi.
Kanimozhi also slammed the apex poll commission for rescinding the Vellore polls and questioned the timing of the announcement, after all election campaigning had come to an end.
“I don’t understand on what basis they have cancelled the election. Repeatedly the EC said that they had not written to the President to cancel the election but suddenly after campaigning got over in Tamil Nadu, they announced that Vellore election was cancelled. This is completely against democracy,” she said.
Exuding confidence about Congress- DMK alliance faring well in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, Kanimozhi accused her rivals of distributing money to lure voters.
“There was a large amount of money found at Attappadi and also an AIDMK candidate was caught on a recording talking about money distribution. This shows that the AIADMK and BJP are distributing money and there is no action being taken”, said Kanomozhi.
The DMK candidate from Thoothukudi Lok Sabha seat, Kanimozhi is the sister of party Chief MK Stalin and daughter of Dravidian mascot M Karunanidhi. Her house at Thoothukudi was raided by the IT department on Tuesday.
(ANI)
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Sadhvi Pragya to contest against Digvijay
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, who formally joined the BJP, will contest against senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh from Bhopal parliamentary constituency, the BJP announced Wednesday.
“I am ready (to fight the election). There are some formalities which will be completed very soon,” she told ANI after the announcement.
Sadhvi Pragya said she is confident of winning the elections against Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP and two time Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
The 2008 Malegaon blast accused had joined the BJP on Tuesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, Sadhvi Pragya, a Hindu hardliner, met with senior BJP leaders including Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ramlal, Anil Jain, Narottam Mishra, and Prabhat Jha at the state party headquarters in Bhopal.
After the meeting, Sadhvi Pragya said, “We will unitedly fight against the people who are conspiring against the nation. We will win this ‘Dharm Yuddh’ (crusade).”
“After spending 10 years in jail due to Congress conspiracy, I have come here to fight the political and religious war,” she said.
Thakur is among the seven accused facing trial in the Malegaon blast case, wherein six people were killed and a dozen others were injured when a bomb placed on a motorcycle exploded in Maharashtra’s Malegaon on September 29, 2008.
Apart from Sadhvi Pragya, the party has announced its candidates from three other seats — KP Singh from Guna, Raj Bahadur Singh from Sagar, and Ramakant Bhargav from Vidisha, the constituency represented by outgoing Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Polling in Madhya Pradesh will be held in the last four phases of elections and counting of votes will take place on May 23.
(ANI)
EC Officials Watch Narendra Modi Biopic
Acting on the directions of the Supreme Court, officials of the Election Commission on Wednesday watched a special screening of Vivek Oberoi-starrer biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A total of seven officials of a committee set up for the purpose were present for the screening of the biopic titled ‘PM Narendra Modi’.
The apex court had directed the EC to watch the full biopic and take an informed decision on banning its pan India release by April 19.
The ECI officials who watched the screening included Deputy Commissioner Umesh Sinha, Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Saxena, one senior deputy Election Commissioner, three Director General level officers. Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh was also present at the screening.
A top court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, comprising Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, asked the EC to watch the Narendra Modi biopic and submit its view to the court by April 22 in a sealed cover.
On April 12, the makers of the Vivek Oberoi-starrer had moved the apex court, challenging the stay of the film’s release. The producer of the film, Sandip Ssingh, had said that the poll panel banned the movie without watching it.
The film was scheduled to release on April 11, coinciding with the commencement of the Lok Sabha elections in the country. However, on April 10, the EC stayed the release of the biopic till national elections culminate, stating that the film disturbs the level-playing field.
On April 9, the apex court had dismissed a plea on the release of the film and said that the responsibility will lie on the shoulders of the EC to decide whether the film is in violation of the model code of conduct.
The movie is directed by Omung Kumar and includes Vivek Oberoi, Zarina Wahab, and Barkha Bisht Sengupta. (ANI)
I-T Raids Kanimozhi House, DMK Protests
Officials of the Income Tax (I-T) department on Tuesday evening carried out searches at a house in which DMK leader Kanimozhi is staying, sources said. She is the sister of party president MK Stalin.
“Raids are being carried out at a house Kanimozhi,” sources in the I-T department said late Tuesday evening. The searches come before all Tamil Nadu goes to polls on April 18 for 39 seats.
The DMK candidate from Thoothukudi Lok Sabha seat, Kanimozhi is the daughter of Dravidian mascot late M Karunanidhi.
Even as the house was being searched a posse of DMK supporters gathered outside and staged a demonstration raising anti-Modi slogans.
Reacting to the raids, DMK president Stalin said: “I got a message that Kanimozhi’s premises is being raided. BJP candidate Tamilisai Soundarajan’s premises has crores and crores of rupees kept there. Why no raids there? Who will take action? Modi used I-T department, Central Bureau of Investigation, Judiciary and latest in the row is Election Commission of India to interfere in the electoral process.”
Stalin said, “They are doing this because of the fear of losing.”
“This is basically murder of democracy. Rs 2000 note is being widely offered in the elections, will you report this? In Theni constituency, Rs 1000 note is being offered to voters, what about that? Tamil Nadu minister Velumani is accused of distributing money, his close aide Sabesan’s premises is raided, no one reported, no news on this,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu’s chief electoral officer said that the Income Tax (IT) department and Election Commission (EC) had recovered Rs 135.41 crore from raids conducted across Tamil Nadu till Tuesday.
Sahoo said 1022 kilograms gold and 645 kilograms of silver have been recovered in the raids which took place all over the state and are still ongoing in many areas, bringing the total value of precious metals recovered to Rs 294.38 crore.
Meanwhile voting has been cancelled in the state’s Vellore Lok Sabha constituency, in the wake of seizures of large amounts of unaccounted cash. (ANI)
Olympian Rathore Files Poll Papers From Jaipur Rural
BJP candidate for Jaipur (Rural) seat Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore files his nomination for the upcoming Lok Sabha in Jaipur on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev.
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Yadav Scions Put Up A United Show
Former deputy chief minister of Bihar and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav addresses media persons while as he arrives at his brother and MLA Tej Pratap Yadav’s Patna residence to wish him on his birthday on Tuesday.
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Kamal Haasan's Election Campaign Draws To An End
Makkal Needhi Maiam founder and president Kamal Haasan on the last day of election campaign ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha election polls in Chennai on Tuesday.
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SC Hears Plea On Women Entry In Masjid
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the Centre, National Commission for Women, Central Waqf Council and All India Muslim Personal Law Board on a plea seeking entry of women into mosques in order to offer prayers.
The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice SA Bobde and comprising Justice S Abdul Naseer admitted the plea of a Pune-based Muslim couple asking to lift the prohibition on entry of Muslim women into mosques.
The apex court said, “The only reason we may hear you is because of our judgment in Sabarimala temple.”
On September 28 last year, the Supreme Court had lifted the ban on the entry of women aged between 10 and 50 years into the premises of Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, Kerala.
ALSO READ: A Critical Analysis Of SC Verdict In Sabarimala Verdict
The petition filed before the top court also sought direction to declare the prohibition on entry of Muslim women into mosques in the country as “illegal and unconstitutional” because it violates the fundamental rights of women.
During the hearing, the court asked the petitioner’s advocate Ashutosh Dubey, “Who denied entry to the women in mosque? Have you tried to enter and anybody denied it?”
“Can an individual assert his or her right to equality against a non-state player? Is a mosque or temple or church a state?” asked the bench.
It further said, “If a person refuses to let you enter his house can you seek police help for it?”
In his argument, the petitioner’s counsel told the court, “A mosque is not an individual person. There are no records stating that the Holy Quran and Prophet Muhammad had opposed women entering mosques and offering prayers…Like men, women also have the constitutional rights to offer worship according to their belief.”
The counsel further said: “At present, women are allowed to offer prayers at mosques under Jamaat-e-Islami and Mujahid denominations, while they are barred from mosques under the predominant Sunni faction.
The petitioner citing the Sabarimala judgement stated, “This Court in the case of Sabarimala held that “religion cannot be used as cover to deny rights of worship to women and it is also against human dignity. Prohibition on women is due to non-religious reasons and it is a grim shadow of discrimination going on for centuries.”
Talking to ANI, Pramod Dubey said, “Our plea to Supreme Court was in respect of Muslim women who were not allowed to enter into mosques. The petitioners are Zuber Peerzade and Yasmin Peerzade from Pune. Yasmin was refused to enter a Mosque and then she took the step of filing a plea in the Apex Court under article 32. The lawyer also said, “Equal rights should be given to all. Ban on women entry in Mosques should be removed. Women should be allowed to enter and pray in Mosques.”
(ANI)
]]>Now, Sidhu Asks Muslims To Vote En Bloc
Punjab Minister and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on
Tuesday warned Muslims not to split their votes and instead defeat BJP by
voting against it unitedly.
His comments come in the wake of Election Commission’s recent gag order on BSP chief Mayawati for similar remarks made at a rally in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh.
“I am here to warn my Muslim brothers. They (BJP) are dividing you. By bringing people like (Asaduddin) Owaisi in here (Katihar), by making a new party stand for elections, they want to divide your vote for winning. If you people unite and vote unitedly then everything will overturn and Modi will be finished,” said Sidhu.
“This will be a sixer. Hit such a sixer that Modi is sent out of the boundary,” Sidhu added by invoking reference of cricket, a sport which he had retired from after playing in the national team.
Meanwhile, the BJP said it has approached the Election Commission against Sidhu. “We met Election Commission and made them aware of Navjot Singh Sidhu’s statement made at a rally in Katihar, earlier in the day,” Bihar BJP Vice President Devesh Kumar said. “They said they have seen the footage and have assured us that necessary action will be taken,” he said.
At a press conference in New Delhi Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also called out the cricketer-turned-politician for his polarising comments.
Earlier on April 11, Sidhu had slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the country will get finished if he becomes the Prime Minister for the second term. “If Modi comes to power for the second term, then the country would be finished,” Sidhu had said.
Lok Sabha elections in Bihar are being held in all seven phases where grand alliance of . The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
(ANI)
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