India

Bhopal, Dec 16 (IANS) The first day of a five-day winter session of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly only proceeded for an hour on Monday as the House was adjourned following a protest by the opposition Congress over the fertiliser issue.

As the ‘Question Hours’ session began, some legislators from both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress raised their questions on different issues. However, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) Umang Singhar demanded to hold a discussion on the fertiliser issue.

Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar assured the House that a discussion on the fertiliser issue will be held later. However, Congress MLAs created a ruckus and walked out of the Assembly as their demand was not fulfilled.

“We want to discuss the problems of farmers in the Assembly but the state government is running away from the discussion. If they don’t want to hold a discussion that is fine for us but they should provide fertilisers to the farmers,” the LoP said.

Earlier, LoP Umang Singhar reached the Assembly with empty sacks of fertilisers as a mark of their protest. The Congress MLAs also raised slogans in front of the Gandhi statue located on the premises of the state Assembly.

The proceedings of the House began with traditional rituals, paying tribute to the former Assembly members and other prominent personalities who passed away in the recent past months.

Meanwhile, two out of three newly elected MLAs - Ramakant Bhargava (Budhni) and Kamlesh Shah (Amarwara Assembly seat in Chhindwara) were sworn in as members of the state Assembly. However, newly elected Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra, who won Vijaypur bypoll defeating BJP's former minister Ramniwas Rawat, couldn't reach the house on Monday for taking oath as the Assembly member.

The five-day winter Assembly session will conclude on December 20.

--IANS

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Ranchi, Dec 16 (IANS) The Jharkhand High Court on Monday granted relief to Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a case related to his alleged non-compliance with Enforcement Directorate (ED) summonses.

During the hearing, the court extended the exemption from Soren’s personal appearance in the MP-MLA Special Court of Ranchi until January 16, 2025

Previously, the bench of Justice Anil Kumar Chaudhary had issued a notice to the ED and directed the agency to file a reply. As the ED had not submitted its response so far, the court, granting the agency another opportunity, scheduled the next hearing for January 16, 2025.

The case originates from a complaint filed by the ED on February 19, 2024, in the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s (CJM) court, accusing Soren of violating Sections 63 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and 174 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

According to the complaint, the ED issued ten summonses to Soren for questioning regarding a land scam linked to the Bargain Zone of Ranchi. Soren appeared in response to only two summonses, which the ED claimed constituted non-compliance under the law.

The CJM court took cognisance of the complaint on March 4, 2024, and subsequently transferred the matter to the MP-MLA Special Court.

On July 5, 2024, Soren filed a petition requesting an exemption from personal appearance in hearings related to the ED’s allegations of contempt of summons. This petition was rejected by Judge Sarthak Sharma of the MP-MLA Special Court.

On November 25, 2024, the MP-MLA Special Court again rejected Soren’s plea for exemption and directed him to appear before the ED on December 4, 2024.

Soren then approached the Jharkhand High Court, where his legal team, comprising advocates Piyush Chitresh, Dipankar Roy, and Shrey Mishra, argued in favour of granting relief.

The ED’s investigation pertains to alleged irregularities in land dealings within Ranchi’s Bargain Zone.

Several summonses were sent to Soren on August 19, September 1, September 17, September 26, December 11, and December 29 in 2023, followed by January 13, January 22, and January 27 in 2024. Soren was interrogated following the tenth summons on January 31, 2024.

Soren appeared in response to only two of these summonses. He was eventually questioned on January 31, 2024, and subsequently arrested and sent to jail.

The High Court’s order provides interim relief to Soren, allowing him to remain exempt from personal court appearances until mid-January 2024.

--IANS

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Chandigarh, Dec 16 (IANS) Punjab Police’s Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) in a joint operation with Mohali Police, arrested four operatives of Canada-based terrorist Arsh Dalla and another foreign based-handler and recovered three .32 calibre pistols along with 16 cartridges from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP), Gaurav Yadav, here on Monday.

Those arrested have been identified as Gagandeep Singh and Navjot Singh, both residents of Amloh in Fatehgarh Sahib, Lakhwinder Singh, a resident of Bhadson in Patiala and Vipanpreet Singh, a resident of Faridkot.

Besides recovering arms and ammunition from them, the police have also impounded their white Swift car, in which they were travelling.

DGP Yadav said the accused confessed to have fired at a car accessories showroom in Phase 11, Mohali on the intervening night of December 1 and 2 with an intention to intimidate the shop owner and extort money from him as directed by their foreign-based handler, Daljit Singh, alias Ninda.

He is a history-sheeter and fled to the US on a passport with fake particulars and is associated with a radicalised US-based gangster.

The DGP said the module was linked to radical Arsh Dalla and was planning to execute more crimes in Punjab at his behest.

All the arrested accused have an extensive criminal history with a number of cases registered against them, the DGP said, adding further investigations are ongoing to identify more people involved in this module.

Additional Director General of Police, (AGTF), Promod Ban said following the firing incident at a car accessories showroom, special teams of the AGTF under the supervision of AIG Gurmeet Chauhan and AIG Sandeep Goel in coordination with Senior Superintendent of Police (Mohali), Deepak Pareek, were formed to crack the case.

The teams gathered CCTV footages, technical inputs and evidence from the crime spot which led to identification of the accused, including the two shooters involved in the crime, he said.

Acting swiftly, the teams traced them while they were travelling in their car and arrested them from Mohali after recovering weapons used in the crime, he said.

--IANS

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Kochi, Dec 16 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Monday spoke tough as it heard a petition against CPI-M state Secretary M.V. Govindan for leading the party area conference on the main road in the state capital city and is mulling if suo moto contempt proceedings should be initiated against party leaders for this blatant violation of laws.

On December 5, hours before the meeting began in the evening, one side of the road was blocked leading to massive traffic snarls as it happened at a time when the schools had wound up for the day and the offices were closing.

What has irked the high court is this meeting venue was just opposite the Thiruvananthapuram district court and also the Vanchiyoor police station.

One reason why the court took a strong position is they noted that 40,821 road accidents occurred in the state this year up till October, in which 3,168 persons died and 45,657 persons sustained injuries.

"As per the statistics provided on the official website of Kerala Police, the number of road accidents in Kerala in the year 2024 up to October is 40,821 in which 3,168 persons died and 45, 657 persons sustained injuries. The rash and negligent driving in the state has gone to the extent of causing accidents in which even pedestrians walking through the footpaths or waiting in the pedestrian facilities of public roads sustain fatal injuries. In such circumstances the question as to whether a suo moto proceedings of contempt, under Article 215 of the Constitution of India, for openly flouting the directions contained in the order and judgment of this Court in WPC No.11886 of 2021 requires consideration," the bench said.

The state police chief on Monday submitted his report after the Court had asked for the list of people who were on the stage and who all had attended the meeting.

The court further pointed out that accidents are on the increase in the state and the construction of unauthorised structures on roads would only lead to more risks for pedestrians. It orally stated: "Person who is attending a public meeting on a stage put up on a public road has to face the consequence, or organisers and persons who attended it must face the consequences….They should face the consequences, we will see how to handle these types of issues," the court said, and posted the next hearing on Wednesday.

The tough position being taken by the court on this issue has sent shockwaves to the ruling CPI-M as this case surfaced when their party meetings have entered their last lap with 13 more district meetings, ahead of the state party conference to be held in March this year. For the CPI-M, the roads are the favourite place to show their organisational strength.

--IANS

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Jaipur, Dec 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Rajasthan on December 17 and inaugurate projects worth Rs 46, 300 crore in Jaipur.

PM Modi will participate in ‘Ek Varsh-Parinaam Utkarsh’ (completion of one year of Rajasthan government programme during which he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for 24 projects related to energy, road, railways and water worth over Rs 46,300 crores.

He will also inaugurate nine projects worth over Rs 11,000 crore which include seven Central government projects and two state government projects and will lay the foundation stone for 15 projects worth over Rs 35,300 crore which include nine Central government projects and six state government projects.

The projects being inaugurated during the event include Navnera Barrage, Smart Electricity Transmission Network and Asset Management System projects, Railway electrification of Bhildi- Samdari-Luni- Jodhpur-Merta Road-Degana - Ratangarh section and Package 12 of Delhi-Vadodara Green Field Alignment (NH-148N) (Major bridge over Mej River upto junction with SH-37A) project among other projects.

These projects will help to provide an easy commute to people and fulfil the energy needs of the state in line with the PM's vision of green energy.

Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for construction work of Ramgarh Barrage & Mahalpur Barrage and system for transfer of water from Navnera Barrage to Bisalpur Dam and Isarda Dam through aqueduct on Chambal River at a cost of over Rs 9,400 crore.

Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for installation of rooftop solar plants on government office buildings, development of one 2000 MW solar park and two phases of 1000 MW solar parks in Poogal (Bikaner) and drinking water transmission line from Saipau (Dholpur) to Bharatpur-Deeg-Kumher-Nagar-Kaman & Pahari and Chambal-Dholpur-Bharatpur retrofitting work.

The foundation stone will be laid for works related to the Luni-Samdari-Bhildi Double Line, Ajmer-Chanderiya Double Line and Jaipur-Sawai Madhopur Double Line railway project as well as other energy transmission related projects.

--IANS

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Chandigarh, Dec 16 (IANS) Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Monday held deliberations with officers on the draft of the national policy framework on agricultural marketing and decided to call a meeting with farmers and other stakeholders within this week.

Khudian, along with Additional Chief Secretary Anurag Verma, Chairman of Punjab State Farmers’ and Farm Workers’ Commission Sukhpal Singh, Secretary of the Punjab Mandi Board, Ramvir, asked the department officials to call a meeting with representatives of farmers, agriculture experts and other stakeholder immediately to analyse and consult on the draft policy shared by the Central Government.

He further said that the draft policy needs thorough analysis and consultation with stakeholders as it could have serious implications for the state and its farmers.

He said the Agriculture Department has already shot a letter to S.K. Singh, Deputy Agriculture Marketing Adviser and Convener of the Drafting Committee of the Central Government to give at least three-week time to send comments on the draft policy.

Reaffirming the Bhagwant Singh Mann-led state government’s unwavering stand for the betterment and welfare of the state farmers, the Agriculture Minister directed the officials to conduct an in-depth study of the draft policy to ensure that not a single point should be left unconsidered, which could further prove to be dearer to the farming community in the short run or in the future.

He also asked the officials concerned to lay a special focus on concerning issues such as minimum support price (MSP), market fee to further strengthen the Mandi Board in general and the state’s agriculture marketing infrastructure in specific, besides ensuring a safe environment that can safeguard farmers’ interests from big corporates.

The high-level meeting was also attended by Director (Agriculture) Jaswant Singh, Head of the Department of Economic and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Jitender Mohan Singh and senior officials of the Mandi Board and the Agriculture Department.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the issuance of pan-India safety guidelines, reforms, and measures for the protection of women.

A bench, headed by Justice Surya Kant and compromising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, issued notice and sought the response of the Union government in the matter.

"We will have to examine where we are lacking to achieve the goal of punitive and penal law. There is not something wrong with the quantity of punishment, but something else," the bench remarked.

The plea will be heard next in January 2025.

Senior advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani, appearing for the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association, said that the Parliament has enacted stringent laws but due to "unwillingness, corruption, and laxity in the police and administrative stakeholders", the timely and effective implementation of these laws doesn't take place and hence, there is no fear among the criminals.

The PIL urged the apex court to take judicial notice and frame strict guidelines with a sharper focus on its time-bound implementation to prevent incidents of sexual violence against women.

Further, it beseeched the court to invoke the doctrine of ‘parens patriae’ to safeguard the fundamental rights of women, children, and the third gender in the country, including their right to safety, a secure workplace, adequate sanitation, personal dignity, bodily integrity, and a safe environment.

The plea highlighted the macabre surge of crimes against women, girls and infants, reported across the country specifically in Kolkata, Delhi, Bihar, Karnataka, Assam, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and other parts, at the hands of carnal delinquents, paedophiles, sex maniacs, and sexual offenders.

It referred to the heart-wrenching incident of gangrape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in Kolkata of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the early hours of August 9, which has shaken the collective conscience of the country to the core and is a ghastly reminder to show that nothing has improved since 2012.

"The recent Kolkata gangrape of young lady trainee doctor is only one amongst the many which has highlighted the deep-rooted ineptness, red-tapism, bureaucratic cowardice by the law enforcement agencies, political hooliganism, and the brutal, nefarious and grisly state of affairs concerning the safety of women in India. From Nirbhaya Rape Case to Abhaya, the brutality has only manifested into an animalistic expression against women," the petition said.

It added that instead of politicising sensitive issues, the government must pay more attention to the safety of vulnerable citizens and should increase the funds allocated for the security of women, children, and third gender.

"The harsh reality is that India awakes when there is a media trial which happens only in a few horrifying rape cases which jolt and traumatise the public," the petition said.

The PIL sought directions to schools to have gender sensitivity classes along with sex education and regular workshops by qualified child psychologists and counsellors where boys and girls are taught about biological changes in the body during their teenage years and how to handle these in a healthy manner.

It said that in view of the alarming rise in adolescent-related issues relating to lack of correct knowledge about gender equity, life skills, sexual harassment and abuse, legal ages for marriage, juvenile delinquency, etc., the governments should be directed to take efforts for the development and implementation of nationwide adolescent programmes.

--IANS

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Bhopal, Dec 16 (IANS) Senior BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh cabinet minister Bhupendra Singh cornered his government over the rising crimes against female students in the state and asked the government to address the issue on priority during the Assembly winter session which began on Monday.

During the ‘Question Hours’ session, Bhupendra Singh raised questions about the sexual exploitation of minor female students in schools and demanded an answer from the Education Department.

Singh, who is the BJP MLA from the Khurai Assembly seat of Sagar district, pointed out that the rising crimes against female students at school premises need to be addressed on priority.

He also expressed his disappointment over the inadequate response from the Education Ministry, alleging that the ministry has failed to provide a reply regarding measures taken for the safety of minor school girls.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Raghogarh Jaivardhan Singh also alleged that the school education department has provided wrong information regarding the action taken against schools where female students were sexually exploited in the past one year.

Jaivardhan Singh, who is the son of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, demanded an answer from School Education Minister Uday Pradesh Singh for providing wrong information about the department.

Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, however, defended the School Education Minister Uday Pratap Singh, claiming that the department has provided answers on the basis of questions which were brought before them.

"Saying that wrong information has been provided will be wrong because the Education Department has provided answers on the basis of questions brought before it. If there is anything missing in the department’s response, it can provide further answers the next day," Shukla added.

--IANS

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Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 16 (IANS) Karnataka BJP Mahila Morcha staged a protest condemning the series of maternal deaths across the state near the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi on Monday.

BJP state Mahila President, K. Manjula, while addressing the gathering stated that the party’s workers were staging the protest to question the government on the series of post-delivery deaths.

“The maternal deaths in Ballari are Congress government sponsored deaths,” K. Manjula alleged.

“The 2,200 Primary Health Centres (PHC) in the state have failed to ensure treatment to pregnant women and in this background, they are getting admitted to the district hospitals and dying. This is the reason behind the maternal deaths in the state,” Manjula claimed.

“There are a total of 2,200 PHCs in the state. The Women and Child Welfare Ministry and the Health and Family Welfare Departments get funds from the state and the Centre.

“Through the Anganwadi and Asha workers, it is ensured that every pregnant woman in the lower strata of society is safe,” she said.

Manjula further stated, to ensure that no pregnant woman dies due to deficiency of iron and calcium, the Janani Suraksha Scheme has been implemented and ambulances arranged to take pregnant women from their homes to the hospitals.

“To ensure the health and well-being of pregnant women for nine months, the Matru Vandana scheme is implemented by the Centre. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come up with a big scheme to ensure that pregnant women do not suffer from anemia. Special care is taken to ensure iron and calcium tablets are provided to pregnant women through Family and Child Welfare Departments,” she stated.

“Not only maternal deaths, hundreds of newborn babies have died in Yadgir, Belagavi and other districts. The Congress government will be cursed by those babies and their families,” Manjula slammed.

“Pregnant women are not getting iron and calcium tablets. There is corruption and it has to be probed. The government is totally failing in ensuring the well-being of new mothers and administration of IV fluids is also the reason for the maternal deaths,” Manjula stated.

State BJP President, B.Y. Vijayendra, while addressing the protestors stated that the series of maternal deaths are due to the negligence of the state government.

Vijayendra said that the Ballari District In-Charge Minister, Health Minister and Medical Education Minister and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah did not care to visit the hospitals initially following the maternal deaths.

“This temerity is shown by the useless government due to arrogance of being in power. There is a need to raise a voice for the new mothers hailing from poor families and we need to warn Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who is showing serious irresponsibility,” he appealed.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) There are 21 “fake universities” operating in the country and the respective state governments are taking action against them, the Parliament was informed on Monday.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a reply in Lok Sabha that the list of fake universities is available on the website of the University Grants Commission (UGC) at https://www.ugc.gov.in/universitydetails/Fakeuniversity.

Out of these 21 “fake universities”, a maximum of eight are functioning in Delhi, according to the website.

The Minister said that to prevent these institutions from defrauding and cheating students by misrepresenting themselves as "Universities," the Central government has requested Chief Secretaries of all the states and Union Territories to take legal action for the closure of these institutions.

In a reply to questions from Sudheer Gupta and Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, the Minister said that apart from issuing public notices for general awareness through social media and UGC website for cautioning the general public, students, parents and other stakeholders, other steps have also been taken by the UGC/government against such “fake Universities.”

He said that FIRs have been lodged against several self-styled institutions/universities and show cause notices/warning notices have also been issued to the unauthorised institutes awarding invalid degrees.

In response to another question, Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar told the Lok Sabha that there has been an overall increase of Rs 2875.29 crore in the budget allocation to the Department of Higher Education in 2024-25 as compared to 2023-24.

The Department’s total budget in 2024-25 was Rs 47,619.77 crore as compared to Rs 44,744.48 crore in 2023-24, MoS Majumdar said in reply to a question from Dushyant Singh.

In response to a question on public expenditure on institutions of higher education in Rajasthan, the MoS said that a total of Rs 556.86 crore has been released in FY 2024-25 till November 30, 2024, to three Centrally Funded Higher Education Institutions in Rajasthan, namely IIT Jodhpur, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur and Central University of Rajasthan.

Further, Rs 535.99 crore was provided for setting up IIM Udaipur and IIIT Kota in Rajasthan, the MoS said.

--IANS

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