Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill on Wednesday tendered his resignation as the national spokesperson of the party claiming that the vision of the decision-makers no longer was in sync with the aspirations of the youth.
He also said that self-serving interests were gaining precedence while public and national interests were being ignored. Shergill sent his letter to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi.
“The primary reason being that the ideology and the vision of the current decision-makers of the Indian National Congress is no longer in sync with the aspirations of the youth and modern India,” Shergill said in his letter.
“Furthermore, it pains me to say that decision-making is no longer for the interest of the public and the country. Rather it is influenced by the self-serving interests of individuals indulging in sychophancy and consistently ignoring on ground reality. This is something I cannot morally accept or continue to work with,” he added.
Shergill is a lawyer by profession and was one of the prominent ones among young Congress leaders. He hails from Punjab.
Shergill’s resignation comes at a time when Congress has seen several of his promising young leaders leave the party. Among the prominent Congress leaders who have left the party are Jyotiraditiya Scindia, who is now a Union minister and Jitin Prasada. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janta Party’s Vijay Kumar Sinha on Wednesday resigned as the Speaker of the Bihar Assembly ahead of a floor test to prove the majority of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ alliance government led by the chief minister Nitish Kumar.
JD(U)’s Narendra Narayan Yadav, whose name was recommended by Sinha will chair the floor test now. Sinha’s resignation came after a no-confidence motion against him was moved by the MLAs of the ruling coalition.
Sinha had earlier said the notice for the motion, received at the Vidhan Sabha secretariat was unclear and did not follow the rules and regulations.
“I would like to tell you that your no-confidence motion is unclear. Eight of the nine letters, which were received were not as per rule,” said Sinha.
He also said that casting allegations on the Chair would send out a negative message to the public.
“The Chair is ‘Panch Parmeshwar’. What message do you want to give by casting suspicions on the Chair? People will make a decision,” the BJP leader said addressing the House
MLAs from BJP protested outside Bihar Assembly, ahead of the floor test of Nitish Kumar-led government.
Ex-Deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad said, “We’ve come here for the Assembly Session.”
Meanwhile, earlier today, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided the residences of leaders of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) reportedly in connection with the “land for jobs” scam.
The raids were conducted at the properties linked to RJD MLC Sunil Singh and three MPs Ashfaque Karim, Faiyaz Ahmed and Subodh Roy.
The RJD has questioned the timing of the raids on the day when the newly formed Bihar government faces a trust vote on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha. Manoj Jha, RJD MP said the raids were done on purpose to intimidate the party’s legislators.
“It is being done intentionally. There is no meaning to it. They are doing it thinking that out of fear, MLAs will come in their favour,” said Singh, RJD MLC and Chairman of Bihar state co-operative marketing union ltd. (BISCOMAUN) whose house was raided.
RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said, “Useless to say that it is a raid by ED or IT or CBI, it is a raid by Bharatiya Janata Party. They work under BJP now, their offices run with BJP script. Today is Floor Test (in Bihar Assembly) & what’s happening here? It has become predictable,” said.
Opposition MLAs also gathered outside Bihar Assembly to demand the resignation of Speaker VK Sinha
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar faces a trust vote on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha. The Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader had stepped down as Bihar CM after exiting from the BJP-led NDA alliance and joining hands with the RJD. He was sworn in as the chief minister for a record eighth time.
The Grand alliance Bihar government comprises JD(U), RJD, Congress, CPI(ML), CPI and CPI(M) and has a combined strength of more than 160 in the 243-strong House. (ANI)
Congress General Secretary in charge Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said that the party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi will be travelling abroad for her medical check-up along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
“Congress President Sonia Gandhi, along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, will be travelling abroad for medical check-ups. Party MP Rahul Gandhi will address ‘Mehangai Par Halla Bol’ rally in Delhi on September 4,” Ramesh said in a statement. Party MP Rahul Gandhi will address the ‘Mehangai Par Halla Bol’ rally in Delhi on September 4.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi will also visit her ailing mother before she returns to Delhi, he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met the newly elected President of India Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.
Sonia Gandhi paid a visit to President Murmu amidst the ongoing internal differences in the Congress party.
Recently, Congress senior leader Anand Sharma announced his resignation from the chairmanship of the party’s steering committee for the state, saying he was left with no choice after the continuing exclusion and insults.
Meanwhile, the AICC in charge of Himachal Pradesh, Rajeev Shukla was sent to pacify him. After his meeting with Anand Sharma, Shukla travelled to Delhi to meet Sonia Gandhi.
Reportedly, Sonia Gandhi recently tested positive for Covid-19. (ANI)
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday raided the residences of leaders of the Rashtriya Janata Dal reportedly in connection with the “land for jobs” scam.
The raids were conducted at the properties linked to RJD MLC Sunil Singh and three MPs Ashfaque Karim, Faiyaz Ahmed and Subodh Roy. The RJD has questioned the timing of the raids on the day when newly formed Bihar government faces a trust vote on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha. Manoj Jha, RJD MP said the raids were done on purpose to intimidate the party’s legislators.
“It is being done intentionally. There is no meaning to it. They are doing it thinking that out of fear, MLAs will come in their favour,” said Singh, RJD MLC and Chairman of Bihar state co-operative marketing union ltd. (BISCOMAUN) whose house was raided today.
RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said, “Useless to say that it is a raid by ED or IT or CBI, it is a raid by Bharatiya Janata Party. They work under BJP now, their offices run with BJP script. Today is Floor Test (in Bihar Assembly) & what’s happening here? It has become predictable,” said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar faces a trust vote on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha. The Janata Dal United (JDU) leader had stepped down as Bihar CM after exiting from the BJP-led NDA alliance and joined hands with the RJD . He was sworn in as the chief minister for a record eighth time after the JDU teamed up with the RJD and Congress to form the government.
Jha further said, ‘ Our Deputy CM had said in the meeting yesterday that they will reach this level now. It didn’t take even 24 hours. They stooped even lower. What is this anger? That a Government did not run according to your wishes? That it changed the alliance for public welfare?”
JDU MLC Neeraj Kumar said that the BJP-led government is misusing the central investigative agencies
“The central government has used CBI and ED as government instruments. Today, the state government is about to prove its majority and you (BJP) sent CBI and ED for ‘Shakti Parikshan’. Bihar is the land of democracy and does not matter if you send dozen agencies, there is no one to create pressure on Mahagathbandhan’s MLAs,” the JDU MLC said.
This May, the CBI had filed an FIR in the “land for railway job” case and named Lalu Yadav, his wife and daughters among several others as accused in the case. CBI conducted searches at 17 locations belonging to Lalu Yadav and his family members in Delhi and Bihar in May.
The CBI had in July arrested Bhola Yadav, who used to be the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Lalu Prasad Yadav when he was railway minister, in the alleged land-for-job case.
The case relates to alleges irregularities during Lalu Yadav’s tenure as Railway minister (2004-2009). It is alleged that Lalu Yadav and his family members received land and properties as bribe for giving out railway jobs. (ANI)
The central disciplinary committee of the Bharatiya Janata party has suspended its Telangana leader T Raja Singh over his comments on the Prophet Muhammad.
Earlier today, he was booked for his alleged derogatory comments and later taken into custody. The FIR was registered against him at the Dabeerpura Police Station under sections 153a, 295, and 505 of the Indian Penal Code. The party said that his remarks were against the party’s line.
The suspension letter issued to Raja read, “You have expressed views contrary to the Party’s position on various matters, which is in clear violation of Rule XXV. 10 (a) of the constitution of the Bharatiya Janata Party.”
The suspension letter written by the head of the disciplinary committee Om Pathak said, “I have been directed to convey to you that pending further inquiry, you are suspended from the party and from your responsibilities/assignments if any, with immediate effect. Please also show cause within 10 days from the date of this notice as to why should you not be expelled from the party. Your detailed reply must reach the undersigned no later than 2nd of September 2022.”
Raja released a 10-minute video making derogatory statements against the Prophet which led to a huge furore demanding action against him.
The earlier suspension happened for two BJP national spokespersons, Nupur Sharma for commenting against the prophet and Delhi leader Naveen Jindal for similar remarks.
On August 19, the BJP MLA was put under house arrest after he opposed the show that was held by standup comedian Munawar Faruqui in Hyderabad on August 20.
Raja Singh made a video claiming that Hyderabad Police had given protection to the stand-up artiste and helped to make his show successful.
The BJP MLA alleged that Faruqui had made certain remarks that hurt religious sentiments and used foul language for him.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad police have increased the security and have deployed forces out of the Hyderabad police commissioner’s office. Police have also increased security in parts of the city. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Thursday referred to a five-judge Constitution bench the issues involved in the petition filed by rival groups of Shiv Sena in connection with the Maharashtra political crisis.
A bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli referred the petitions to a five-judge bench and said the case will be heard on August 25 by the bench. The apex court also ordered the Election Commission of India not to decide till August 25 the application filed by Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Eknath Shinde camp for recognition as the ‘real Shiv Sena’ party and allotment of the bow and arrow symbol to it.
The top court, on the request of senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the Thackeray camp, posted the matter before the Constitution bench on Thursday for interim relief on Shiv Sena’s symbol issue.
Uddhav Thackeray-led camp of Shiv Sena had sought stay on the proceedings before the Election Commission of India on Eknath Shinde group’s claim for recognition as the ‘real’ Shiv Sena.
The order of apex court came on several pleas filed by both the factions of Shiv Sena.
Earlier, the Supreme Court three-judge bench had said that some of the issues involved in the Maharashtra political crisis may require a larger Constitutional bench for consideration.
It had also asked the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Rahul Narwekar not to take any action on the new disqualification notices issued against the members of Shiv Sena.
There are various petitions pending before the apex court filed by both the factions of Shiv Sena.
Uddhav Thackeray-led faction had approached the top court challenging the Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari’s decision to invite Eknath Shinde to form the government and also the Speaker’s election and floor test. Recently they had challenged Shinde group approaching the poll panel claiming they are ‘real Shiv Sena’.
They had also challenged the newly appointed Maharashtra Assembly Speaker’s action recognising the whip of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde group as the whip of Shiv Sena. The plea said the newly appointed Speaker has no jurisdiction to recognise whips nominated by Shinde as Uddhav Thackeray is still the head of Shiv Sena official party.
Thackeray camp’s Sunil Prabhu had filed a plea seeking suspension from Maharashtra Assembly of new Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and 15 rebel MLAs against whom disqualification pleas are pending.
The Shinde group challenged the disqualification notices issued by the Deputy Speaker to 16 rebel MLAs as well as the appointment of Ajay Choudhary as Shiv Sena Legislature Party leader, is also pending before the apex court.
On June 29, the top court gave a go-ahead to the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly on June 30. Refusing to stay the Maharashtra Governor’s direction to the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority support on the floor of the House on June 30, the bench had issued notice on Prabhu’s plea against floor test.
After the apex court’s order, Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation as the Chief Minister and Eknath Shinde was later sworn in as the Chief Minister.
On June 27, the top court had granted interim relief to Shinde and other rebel MLAs to file their reply on disqualification notices issued to them by Deputy Speaker by July 12, 5.30 pm. Earlier, Deputy Speaker had granted them time to file reply by June 27, 5.30 pm. (ANI)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested seven more accused during an ongoing investigation of a case related to the death of 10 persons as their houses were set on fire at Bogtui village in West Bengal Birbhum earlier this year.
The arrested accused were produced today before the ACJM Court, Rampurhat and were remanded to 10 days of policecustody. The alleged role of these arrested accused emerged during further investigation, informed the CBI.
The arrested accused were produced today before the ACJM Court, Rampurhat (West Bengal) and were remanded to 10 days Police Custody. The arrested people are Bikir Ali, Noor Ali, Sher Ali alias Kalo, Asif Sk, Joshif Hossain, Jamirul SK alias Ujir, Khairul Sk.
During further investigation, the alleged role of these seven accused also emerged in the case. They were arrested yesterday.
CBI had registered a case on March 25 against 22 accused and others in compliance of the orders of the High Court, Calcutta in connection with WPA 130, 124,125,126, 129 and 133 of 2022 and taken over the investigation of FIR No 169/2022 on March 22, earlier registered at Police Station Rampurhat, District Birbhum (West Bengal) on a complaint against 22 accused and others.
CBI filed chargesheet on June 20 against 16 accused before the Competent Court and also submitted a report against two Children in Conflict of Law (CCL) in the Court of Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board, Suri, Birbhum. Further investigation was continuing regarding the involvement of other accused and to unearth the larger conspiracy in the matter.
The Birbhum massacre took place on 21 March 2022. It was alleged that Bhadu Sheikh of village-Bogtui, Upa Pradhan(Dy.Pradhan) of Barshal GP was murdered by inflicting bomb blast injuries, at Bogtui Morh on NH-60. After the incident, serious tension cropped up at Bogtui Morh on NH-60 and surrounding areas over the issue of said murder. It was further alleged that the followers and associates of slain Bhadu Sheikh, ransacked the houses of rival groups at village Bogtui and set them on fire with a view to kill the persons inside and their family inmates. As a result of which, seven persons were charred to death and four other persons also sustained severe burn injuries. Identities of the deceased persons could not be established. Later on, out of four injured victims; one lady succumbed to her injuries at Rampurhat Medical College and Hospital.
The State Police arrested 21 suspected persons.
After taking over the investigation as per the Orders of the Calcutta High Court, a large team of CBI including experts from CFSL immediately reached Rampurhat. Vital physical and biological evidence were collected by the CFSL team. The Dead bodies recovered were completely charred and beyond recognition. The biological samples of these victims as preserved during post-mortem examination along with the blood samples of the probable direct relatives of the victims were sent for DNA profiling. With the help of DNA profiling, the identity of all the seven victims was established. Later, two more victims succumbed to their burn injuries taking the death toll to ten.
During the investigation, CBI collected sufficient evidence using scientific methods. In the initial stage of the investigation, village was almost deserted and no witnesses were forthcoming due to fear. Many witnesses had taken shelter in other villages. After sustained efforts, several witnesses came forward and the statement was recorded. It was found that there was a long-standing rivalry in the village between two groups. One group was led by late Bhadu SK, while other group was led by a member of one of the victims’ families and others.
CBI earlier arrested six people during the investigation. Four of them were arrested in Mumbai.
Further investigation is continuing regarding the involvement of other accused and to unearth the larger conspiracy involved.
A charge sheet was filed in the case related to the death of 10 persons at Bogtui Village, Bhirbhum District (West Bengal) Under Section 120-B r/w 147, 148, 149, 302, 307, 435, 436, 460, 201, and 109 of IPC. (ANI)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday claimed that his deputy Manish Sisodia is likely to be arrested in the next few days.
“We heard that they (CBI) will arrest Manish Sisodia within the next 10 days, but now I feel that they will arrest him in the next 2-3 days,” Aam Aadmi Party national convener Kejriwal said addressing a public meet in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar. This came when Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are on their two-day visit to Gujarat ahead of the state assembly polls.
On August 19, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched Sisodia’s home and carried out raids at several places in connection with the alleged corruption in the implementation of Delhi’s excise policy.
Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia talked about the ‘development’ in the city, and said, “We have given 2 lakh government jobs and 10 lakh private jobs… This rapidly growing enthusiasm among people across the country is what is making CBI tighten the noose on me. I want to say that I am an honest person and I am not afraid of CBI.”
During the Gujarat visit, on Monday, Kejriwal sought to put up a strong defence for his deputy and said Sisodia had done what others could not achieve in seven decades.
The AAP chief has made several promises to the people of Gujarat, where Assembly elections are due later this year.
“We’re guaranteeing that we’ll provide free and best health treatment to all Gujaratis. Like Mohalla clinics, health clinics will be opened in cities and villages. We’ll improve govt hospitals and new government hospitals will be opened if needed,” Kejriwal said.
The Delhi CM further demanded that the Gujarat government also provide an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to police personnel who lay down their lives in the line of duty as is done for army personnel.
Notably, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) suspended the then Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna and Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari days after Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena approved the suspension and initiation of disciplinary proceedings for “serious lapses” against 11 officers in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, officials said on Monday.
Amid an intensifying face-off between Raj Niwas and the Delhi government over the Delhi Excise Policy, Saxena on August 6 approved the suspension of 11 officers of the Excise department including Krishna and Tiwari. (ANI)
‘Amrit Kaal ka Amrit Mahotsav’. Remembrance of things past. And remembrance of things future.
So let us remember, for a change, in the 75th year of Independence, the fearless women who fought for India’s Independence.
Let us remember many others too, who have sacrificed, and continue to sacrifice, for a secular and egalitarian India, and its constitutional democracy. So that memory arrives as resurrection and optimism, and the festering wounds turn into a dream, like that immortal Sahir song: Woh Subah kabhi to ayegi...
This is because, it was the dream of this utopian Subah, which charged up so many women across the vast, invisible and undulating Indian landscape, against the British; little girls, young women, sisters, mothers, grandmothers. Some were shot, some spent years in dark and dingy prisons, some died unsung, discarded and forsaken by a ‘free India’, some lived to tell the tale.
Hence, let us listen to their tales: told, untold.
The book is: Her Name was Freedom: 35 Fearless Women Who Fought for India’s Independence. It is written by America-based writer Anu Kumar. The cover and other sensitive illustrations in the book are by Mistunee Chowdhury and the cover design by Sharanya Kunnath (Hachette India, Children’s Books, pg 222, 2022). The book is for children, but high time adults read it as well.
Especially those who did not fight in the freedom movement or have any creative memory or inheritance of it; or those who have ‘no or little’ historical understanding of how India fought a protracted and peaceful struggle for several years, including armed, underground revolutionary actions; or, those who were glorifying Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust while millions of Jews were being gas-chambered in the heart of Europe, and while thousands of freedom fighters and revolutionaries were being tortured, or rotting in jail and in Kala Pani, or were being hanged in India.
The youngest of them, Khudiram Bose, 18, hanged; his young revolutionary friend, Prafulla Chaki, shot himself – he did not want to be captured alive. And how old was Bhagat Singh when he was hanged, along with Sukhdev and Rajguru, while reading Lenin in his last moments: just about 23.
However, here we are remembering 35 fearless women. We know the stories of many of them since our childhood, when history was not being re-written. Others we came to know and admired as we grew up: Rani Lakshmibai, Savitribai Phule, Debi Chudhurani, Annie Besant, Bhikaji Cama, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Durgabai Deshmukh, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, Lakshmi Sehgal, Sarojini Naidu.
But few of us know about Rani Chennamma, Muthulakshmi Reddi, Hansa Mehta, Pritlata Waddedar and Kalpana Datta, Yashodhara Dasappa, Begum Qudsia Rasul, Rani Gaidinliu, Dashayani Velayudhan, Dhanvanthi Rama Rau, Annie Mascarene and Matangini Hazra. This beautiful book tells us their brave stories also, as much as that of the famous women, with its text and images sparkling with infinite energy, courage, sacrifice and idealism.
In this column, thereby, I can only speak of some of these unknown and great freedom fighters. They shine like morning stars.
Writes Anu Kumar: “A young teen hero from Nagaland, Rani Gaidinliu fiercely led the Zeliangrong Naga community in its fight for freedom against British rule. As an advocate of traditional Naga practices, she continued to protect the culture and customs of people till the very end.”
Writer Anu Kumar (right) and the cover (right) designed by Sharanya Kunnath
Born on January 26, 1915, she fought a fierce battle in the village of Hangrum. “In 1932, this village became the site of a fierce battle between guerilla forces, led by 16-year-old Gaidinliu, and British soldiers…To evade the British authorities and their spies, Gaidinliu went underground to direct and organize the rebellion… At this time the movement spread far beyond the borders of Manipur and caused tremendous anxiety to the British… A reward of a princely Rs 200 announced for Gaidinliu’s arrest, was soon raised to Rs 500…”
This protracted struggle in the hills of Cachar, Manipur and Nagaland continued, with the soldiers armed with guns, and the guerillas with spears and arrows, walking miles in the dense forests to hide and attack again.
When she was finally arrested, she was taken to Kohima on foot and then to Imphal. In March, 1933, she was sentenced to life imprisonment. In1937, Jawaharlal Nehru met her in Shillong jail, but his campaign for her release did not move the British. Nehru gave her the title ‘Rani’. She was finally released in 1947, after India attained Independence, after spending a hard 14 years in jail.
The story of Pritilata Waddedar and Kalpana Dutta, both revolutionaries in Chittagong, in what was East Bengal, since they were teenagers, as young students in Calcutta, and as underground revolutionaries led by Master Surya Sen, the leader of the Chittagong Rebellion and the famous Armoury Raid, is extraordinary in terms of unimaginable bravery. It is also replete with tragedy, suffering and sacrifice.
They lived in hiding for years, moving in difficult terrains and from one location to another while being chased by the police, mobilizing people, attacking the British, distributing subversive literature, collecting arms and explosives, strategizing how to free their comrades from the prison. They gave their childhood and youth to the struggle for freedom from the brutal British empire. How many of us remember them today and their comrades, so many of them tortured, imprisoned and killed?
The revolutionaries made a plan to attack the Pahartali Railway Officers Club in Chitttagong, where the white gentry and officers would party. A signboard hung outside the club said no entry to ‘dogs and Indians’.
“On the night of September 24, 1932, a group of about a dozen young people, trained in the use of arms and led by Pritilata, met at the club. It was nine at night when shots rang out. Bombs were thrown into the compound. Those inside rushed to escape from the windows but retreated in panic as they realized they were under attack. The operation lasted barely a quarter of an hour… The police stationed at the club fired back. Pritilata, positioned at the very front of the attack, was struck on the chest by a bullet. The wound was sharp and serious, and Pritilata, not wishing to hold up her companions, consumed poison and died a few moments later. She was only 21…”
Three months later, in May 1933, Kalpana Datta, on the run, was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. “She was merely 18 at that time, and too young to receive a death sentence. In May 1939, following popular pressure on the government from CF Andrews, Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhi himself, who came to meet her in prison, Kalpana was released… In March 2012, 80 years after her tragic death, the University of Kolkata posthumously awarded Pritilata her long-pending degree…”
Then there was Yashodhara Dasappa, who started a peaceful revolution in the small village of Vidurashwatha in Karnataka. On April 25, 1938, several villagers defied the British and started a movement which spread like fire across the region. “Their mission: to hoist the flag of their choice. This was not the flag of the princely state of Mysore, but that of the Indian National Congress…”
Or Begum Hazrat Mahal: “This brave queen of Avadh came from humble beginnings but had an extraordinary life. She refused to surrender to the British in 1956 in what is known as India’s first war of Independence…”
Not everyone could be recorded in this book. There are many other brave icons still waiting to be documented in the Indian history of freedom. Among others is Shanti Ghosh and Suniti Choudhury from Comilla in East Bengal; both 16, school girls, and involved in the underground revolutionary movement. They shot dead the notorious Britisher called Charles Stevens, on December 14, 1931, the cruel district magistrate of Comilla, in his office, as revenge for the hanging of Bhagat Singh in a Lahore jail in March. These girls were sentenced to life.
After the verdict, a flyer was reportedly found by the police in Rajshahi in East Bengal. It had pictures of Shanti and Suniti along with two lines from the poem of Robert Burns:
The remission granted by the Gujarat government to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case was challenged before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
A bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana agreed to look into the matter after advocate Aparna Bhat mentioned the matter seeking an urgent listing on Wednesday. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal also mentioned the matter and said, “The Supreme Court gave a discretion to the government to consider it. We are challenging the remission, not the order of Supreme Court”.
The plea before the apex court was filed by members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul, and social activist and professor Roop Rekha Verma.
Earlier on August 19, Telangana MLC K Kavitha wrote a letter to Chief Justice of India, NV Ramana urging the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter of the release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano rape case under the remission policy of the Gujarat government.
The Gujarat government released the 11 convicts, who were sentenced to life imprisonment, on August 15.
Meanwhile, all the 11 life-term convicts in the case were released as per the remission policy prevalent in Gujarat at the time of their conviction in 2008.
In March 2002 during the post-Godhra riots, Bano was allegedly gang-raped and left to die with 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter. She was five months pregnant when rioters attacked her family in Vadodara. (ANI)
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