by Editor | Sep 6, 2024 | Economy, News
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to list for an early hearing the appeal of US-based creditor Glas Trust Company LLC against a judgment of the NCLAT, which had stayed insolvency proceedings against ed-tech firm BYJU’s and approving its Rs 158.9 crore dues settlement with the BCCI.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was urged by senior advocate NK Kaul, appearing for the ed-tech major, that the case needed to be heard at the earliest.
Kaul said, “The only funding was done by the promoters and today no one has brought any external borrowing. We have to show today how malafide the petition (of US firm) is.”
“I will get it listed as early as possible,” the CJI, who was indisposed and in quarantine for the last few days, said.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the US-based creditor, said it also wanted an early hearing.
Earlier on August 22, the bench had refused to pass an interim order to ensure that the committee of creditors (CoC) does not hold any meeting in pursuance of the insolvency proceedings against the embattled ed-tech firm.
by Editor | Sep 5, 2024 | News, Politics
JAMMU – Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday that the BJP was spreading hate and fear in the country and that the Congress would defeat it with love.
He said the Congress-NC alliance will form the government in J&K. Addressing an election Rally in the Sangaldan area of Ramban district in Jammu while campaigning for Congress candidate Vikar Rasool Wani, Rahul Gandhi said, “This place is so beautiful that I don’t want to go to the second poll meeting. You have put me in a dilemma. I want to spend a few days with you people here only.”
Wani is the Congress candidate in the Banihal constituency of the district. Rahul Gandhi alleged that the BJP and the RSS were spreading fear, hate and violence in the country, but assured the people that the Congress would defeat this design with love.
“Thus the fight is between two ideologies, on one side there is fear, hate and violence and on the other side is love, honour and respect. We travelled 4,000 Km on foot from Kanyakumari to Kashmir telling people that in the hate bazaar spread by the BJP, we have come to trade in love. They (BJP) want to divide while we want to unite,” he said.
The Congress leader said there should be no doubt in anybody’s mind that the Congress is going to form the next government in J&K in alliance. “This is inevitable and this is happening,” he said. He said previously, “PM Narendra Modi used to enter with a broad chest and now he comes with drooping shoulders. This time he entered the Parliament carrying a copy of the constitution on his head.”
Gandhi emphasized that for the first time in India’s history, statehood has been snatched from a region leaving the people without their rights.
“Not only has your statehood been snatched away, but your rights, your wealth, everything is being taken away from you. In the past, states were divided to make two states, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Chhattisgarh are all examples of new states carved out of one state, but never before was a state divided and broken into two union territories as was done to J&K. First priority is to restore statehood to J&K. After 1947, we removed kings and established democratic government and today, J&K is ruled by a king. He is called the L-G, but in reality, he is a King,” Gandhi said.
“We wanted the statehood to be restored before the elections, but the BJP said first elections and then statehood. Whether BJP wants it or not, the INDIA bloc will put so much pressure on the BJP so that your statehood is restored,” Rahul Gandhi said.
He said power projects are made in J&K, but the people never get the benefit of those power projects. He alleged that J&K has more unemployment than the rest of the country. He appealed to people to vote for Vikar Rasool Wani, the Congress candidate from Banihal constituency.
Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, party general secretary Bharatsinh Solanki and JKPCC president, Tariq Hameed Karra were accompanying Rahul Gandhi during the visit. Congress and NC have announced a pre-poll alliance according to which the NC will fight on 52 seats and the Congress on 31 seats. Two seats, one for CPI(M) and one for Panthers Party have been left by the alliance. In five seats of Nagrota, Bhaderwah, Banihal and Doda in the Jammu division and Sopore in the Valley both parties will field candidates against each other in what the alliance calls ‘a friendly contest’.
J&K has 90 Assembly seats, 47 in the Valley and 43 in Jammu. Out of these, nine are reserved as ST seats and seven are reserved for SC.
by Editor | Sep 5, 2024 | News, Politics
One of the major issues during the last General Elections (April-May 2024) was about conducting a caste census. The INDIA Alliance put it forward very strongly, while BJP is opposing it. This opposition is very clear-cut and unambiguous. The issue of caste has been the core issue in strengthening of Hindu right wing politics. The awareness of exploitation by the downtrodden was recognized by the likes of Jotirao Phule and Bhimrao Ambedkar. In response to this the upper caste formations started articulating the glorious past, the concept of Hindu nation and Manusmriti’s values formed the core of their agenda. In due course, particularly during the last few decades the narrative promoted by RSS was that all castes were equal and their ideologues did come out with a number of books on different castes showing their past history of being equal.
The RSS leaders claimed that these castes had come into existence due to atrocities by foreign invaders and did not exist in Hindu religion earlier. “Three top RSS leaders have sought to attribute the genesis of Dalits, tribals and many other groups to “Muslim invasion” in medieval times.” According to Bhaiyyaji Joshi, a top leader in RSS hierarchy, ‘shudras’ were never untouchables in Hindu scriptures. ‘Islamic atrocities’ during the medieval age resulted in the emergence of untouchables, Dalits. Joshi further elaborated, “To violate Hindu swabhiman (dignity) of Chanwarvanshiya kshatriyas (a caste in Hinduism), foreign invaders from Arab, Muslim rulers and beef-eaters, forced them to do abominable works like killing cows, skinning them and throwing their carcasses in deserted places. Foreign invaders thus created a caste of charma-karma (dealing with skin) by giving such works as punishment to proud Hindu prisoners.”
Now carrying on from here there is a renewed attempt to present the caste system in a positive light and as a savior of this nation (Hindu). As the demand for caste census is picking up RSS’s mouthpiece Panchjanya in its August 5 (2024) has published an article by Hitesh Shankar (HS), “A Netaji: Kaun jaat ho” (Oh Leader, to which caste you belong). This article argues that the foreign aggressors could not break the caste curtains and so could not do the conversions. The caste has the major basis of Hindu society and has kept the nation in the pink of health despite the foreign aggressors. This article approvingly quotes an earlier ex-Bishop of Bombay, Louis George Milne’s book, ‘Mission to Hindus: A contribution to the study of Missionary methods’. The quote is “…then it (caste, added) is necessarily a part of social structure. Still for all practical purposes it constructs religion for millions…It acts as a link between one’s nature and Religion.” (Translated from Hindi Article).
As per the author what was pinching the Missionaries then is pinching the Indian National Congress (INC) which is the inheritor of East India Company and Lord A O Hume. Further it points out that as the aggressors could not break the caste fortress they (Muslims) forced the uptight castes for manual scavenging; as such there is no mention of this system in earlier society. As per the missionaries they attribute backwardness of society to the caste system. As per the HS, like British, INC also looks at the caste as a thorn in the system.
This article is a compilation of a bundle of the lies. To begin with the caste system was articulated strongly in Manu Smriti (2nd Century AD, much before foreign aggressors came) and many Holy books stated that the low caste should remain away from the upper caste and this was the root of untouchability, and manual scavenging is the expression of the same. This is inherent in purity-pollution practices and also in the theories of rebirth. Earlier references of this are found in Narada Samhita and Vajasaneyi Samhita. In Narada Samhita 15 duties listed for untouchables, one is the removal of human excreta. In Vajasaneyi Samhita, Chandals are referred to as slaves engaged in disposal of Human excreta.
Dr. Ambedkar viewed caste as a Brahminical imposition on society. While the whole article of RSS mouthpiece is singing praise for the caste system. Radical dalit intellectuals and activists have seen this as a major ill of Hindu society. It is here that Ambedkar in several of his writings calls for ‘annihilation of caste’.
While proportionate representation and caste census is an eyesore for Hindu Nationalists, led by RSS, its beginnings are in Poona Pact between Gandhi and Ambedkar and later it found its place in Indian Constitution. To oppose this in subtle and direct forms there were riots in Ahmedabad in 1980 and then 1985. Ram Temple movement became more aggressive when Mandal Commission recommendations were implemented in 1990.
As far as INC being an inheritor of East India Company and Hume’s legacy is concerned, this is a concoction which only those can formulate who were away from Freedom Movement and now are opposed to the idea of India as a plural; diverse country. INC from Tilak to Gandhi was totally against the British rule of which Hume was a part. Hume conceived of it as a safety valve, it is alleged. Going deeper one will see that emerging India National organizations like, Madras Mahajan Sabha (founder Panapakkam Anandacharlu), Bombay Association ( founder Jagannath Shankarshet) and Poona Sarvajanik Sabha (founder M.G. Ranade) were looking for a political platform to reach their demands for British rule. They responded to this call of INC as they saw and did actualize to make it a national platform to put forward demands of emerging India. This initially called for opening centers of ICS in India, INC called for restrictions of landlords so that the captive labor power is released and demanded more facilities for rising industrialization.
The same organization (INC) in due course called for ‘Total Independence’ and ‘British Quit India’! The same Congress whom Panchjanya is targeting led the national movement, taking along the issue of social justice, which was strongly put forward by Ambedkar.
As such the contrast between Ambedkar, who represents the values of Indian Constitution, and RSS, which represents Hindu Nationalism, are stark. Ambedkar burnt Mannusmriti; RSS upholds the values of caste inequality given in this holy book. Ambedkar drafted the Indian Constitution and RSS opposed it directly for a long time and indirectly at present!
by Editor | Sep 5, 2024 | News, Politics
BENGALURU : Commenting on withholding for now the ‘Best Principal Award’ to the Kundapur Government Pre-University College principal for making girl students wearing hijab stand in the Sun, Karnataka Minister for Education Madhu Bangarappa stated on Thursday that the way the principal treated the children was the issue.
Following a social media campaign against BG Ramakrishna, the principal of Government Pre-University College in Udupi district, the Karnataka government withheld the award till further notice.
Ramakrishna had courted controversy by allegedly asking Muslim girl students wearing hijab to stand in the Sun outside the classroom for months in 2021, at the height of the hijab row in the state.
The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) had slammed the state government for announcing an award for Ramakrishna and ran a campaign against him.
Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Thursday, Minister Bangarappa, while answering a question by the media that the principal was just carrying out government orders, said, “The way he treated the children is the issue, that’s all. If there is no problem, we will take a call. If he was following any government order, it had to be carried out in a certain manner. If it is not in a certain manner, then it will be questioned. So let me check the details. The department will check. It is not me who will take the call, the committee will make a decision in this regard.”
When asked whether the government was practicing vindictive politics, Minister Bangarappa stated, “Don’t politicise the issue. No vindictive politics is happening.”
“There is a district committee for the selection of names of deserving candidates when someone applies for the award. The committee will send it to the head office and at the head office there is another committee to look into it. In this particular issue they overlooked certain things. Once the issue came forward regarding the award, the decision was withheld for some time for clarity,” he maintained.
“The details are in public domain and no decision has been taken over withdrawing the award for now. I will have to look into the matter. It is withheld for now. I have asked authorities to recheck and get back. I don’t do that job, the committee will take a call,” he stated.
“Normally, the committee verifies everything and sends it to us. Usually the list which comes is cleared. However, once the matter has come into public domain and also to our knowledge about objections being raised, we have to put it on hold for now and later we will take a decision,” he stated. The development is likely to trigger a major controversy in the state. —
by Editor | Sep 5, 2024 | News, Politics
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will decide on Thursday if Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should be released on bail in connection with the corruption case linked to the alleged liquor policy scam.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan will resume to hear his petition challenging arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as well as his distinct plea seeking bail.
Recently, the top court allowed bail pleas of senior AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia, BRS leader K. Kavitha, and AAP’s former communication-in-charge Vijay Nair in the excise policy case.
In his special leave petition filed before the Supreme Court, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor has challenged his arrest and subsequent remand orders while also pressing for bail in the corruption case. On the other hand, seeking dismissal of CM Kejriwal’s plea, the CBI said that the AAP supremo was simply attempting to politically sensationalise the matter, despite repeated orders passed by various courts being prima facie satisfied with the commission of the offences, for which cognisance already has been taken.
