Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has invoked the case of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal getting bail to campaign ahead of India's general elections, as he complained before the Supreme Court about the mistreatment meted to him in jail.
Former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, Kerala BJP leader C Sadanandan Master and Delhi-based historian Meenakshi Jain have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP also wrote to the EC, urging it to postpone the date of counting as Sunday is a sacred day for Christians, and the entire day is devoted to church services throughout the state.
"I'm taking all responsibility (of the country). Please cooperate," he said in a televised address amid reports that Hasina has left the country.
Two women candidates; Lok Sabha Speakers; Chief Justices; A Chief Election Commissioner; drafters of the Constitution; the RBI's first Indian governor; a farm leader who unsuccessfully contested four times; an iconic Bharata Natyam dancer...
The court had appointed former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi as the administrator-cum-returning officer to conduct the fresh polls to the sports body.
Navin Chawla is the other Election Commissioner.
Ahmedabad civic authorities launched a massive demolition drive on Tuesday, razing over 2,000 illegally constructed houses and properties in the Chandola Lake area. The operation, which involved around 50 teams equipped with earthmovers and 2,000 police personnel, was carried out days after illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were detained from these settlements. The Gujarat High Court declined to stay the action, observing that the dwellings were situated on the periphery of the water body and therefore subject to demolition under the Land Revenue Code. Authorities also demolished the illegal farmhouse of Lalu Pathan, alleged mastermind behind the encroachments, who is suspected to have helped illegal immigrants obtain rental accommodation and Aadhaar cards.
So, he approached Rajiv Gandhi and the then president Venkataraman and was advised by both to accept it only if no other job was available.
The Election Commission on Sunday called on President Pranab Mukherjee and handed over the list of 543 newly-elected members of Lok Sabha that will enable him initiate the formal process of new government formation.
The meeting will focus on the current internal security scenario in the state, with a special emphasis on anti-Maoist operations, the release added.
The Election Commission arrived in Gujarat on Sunday on a routine visit ahead of the state assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year, official sources said. The commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath, Election Commissioner H S Brahma, Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi and other officials, arrived in Ahmedabad on Sunday evening.
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday invoked the constitutional 'Lakshman Rekha' guiding different institutions, including the executive and the judiciary, and wondered that if judges become part of administrative appointments, who would carry out judicial work.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla recognised Rahul Gandhi as the leader of opposition on Wednesday, a day after the Congress communicated its decision to name him for the position to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Based on a private complaint filed under Section 200 of the CrPC by Raghavendra Raju, the judicial officer "acted in undue haste" without conducting any preliminary enquiry and without recording the statement of the complainant, the high court said.
The new rules have given discretion to government to decide on allowances or service conditions not specifically covered by the 2019 rules which would be 'binding'.
Making citizens queue to vote just when the disease is declining, but is still in the air, could just cause a fresh spurt. The logic for this scheduling is inexplicable, especially since the entire process could so easily have been pushed back by three weeks, argues David Devadas.
Bidhuri, the BJP MP from South Delhi, had faced strong criticism over his "derogatory" comments against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali in the Lok Sabha.
They said there was "genuine concern" that if the present ruling dispensation loses people's mandate, the transition of power may not be smooth and there could be a constitutional crisis.
The Congress on Wednesday demanded a thorough probe into 'discrepancies' found in some Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the counting of votes of the Haryana assembly polls and demanded that such EVMs should be sealed and secured pending the inquiry.
In its complaint against Shah, the Congress told the EC that the home minister claimed in a speech in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon on October 16 that "...Bhupesh Baghel's government, for appeasement politics and vote bank politics, lynched Chhattisgarh's son Bhuneshwar Sahoo and got him killed..."
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission on Friday asked parties and their leaders to refrain from seeking votes on the basis of caste, religion and language, and not insult the devotee-deity relation or make any suggestion of a divine censure.
"For the Lok Sabha elections, we are making meticulous planning on all fronts including electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT)," he said.
However, Rajya Sabha being a continuing chamber is not subject to dissolution, and bills introduced and pending in this House remain on the live register, unless withdrawn by the government.
Lavasa said, 'My view is very clear that transparency is important ... minority view should be included and there should be time-bound procedures'.
During a review, the EC found that the performance of some officers was "unsatisfactory" and they were found "complacent, if not complicit" in various matters, including the illegal supply of liquor as a possible poll inducement, sources said.
The Delimitation Commission, mandated to redraw the assembly constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir, is set to submit its report to the government next week, sources said on Thursday.
