Rahul launches Congress campaign in Bihar
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the Narendra Modi government would grab farmers' land if the National Democratic Alliance came to power in Bihar. Launching the Congress’ campaign for the upcoming assembly elections in the state, Gandhi said that his party had formed an alliance with the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal to “protect the poor, the weak and the oppressed” from “Modiji and his friends”. Calling the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA a “club of the rich”, Gandhi said that the JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance was a “pro-poor and pro-farmer” alliance. The Congress leader’s remarks have come a day ahead of a farmers’ rally planned by the opposition party in the national capital.
Hardik arrested, Gujarat bans net services
Patidar community leader Hardik Patel was arrested by the Gujarat police on Saturday as he attempted to hold a protest march to demand reservations for the community. Officials said that a First Information Report had been registered against the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader, who was detained along with 78 other protesters. Clashes between community demonstrators and security forces were reported from various parts of the state following Patel’s arrest. The Gujarat government has banned mobile internet services across the state “for an indefinite period”.
Netaji was ‘alive after 1945’, researchers say
Researchers on freedom-fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose have said that the surveillance carried out on his family proved that he was “alive after 1945”, when he was said to have died in an air crash in Taiwan. Chandrachur Ghose, the founder of an organisation dedicated to getting the government to declassify files related to Bose, said that the Justice MK Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry had concluded in 2006 that Bose did not die in the air crash. Author Jayanta Chowdhury added that there were more than a dozen reports claiming that Netaji died before 1945, adding that the reports made it “quite natural” for both British and Indian authorities to not believe the “Taihoku plane crash theory”. Nearly 13,000 pages of information on Bose and his family were made public by the West Bengal government on Friday.
Parties criticise Sharma for Kalam remarks
Several political parties on Friday criticised Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma’s remarks that former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was a “nationalist and a humanist despite being a Muslim”. While the Congress accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of following a “divide and rule policy” by “distributing certificates of patriotism”, Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member Brinda Karat said that it was “a shame that a minister” was making such remarks. Muslim outfits also condemned Sharma’s remarks. A spokesperson for the Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawrat saying that the minister was speaking like a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Supreme Court launches portal on pending cases
The Supreme Court on Saturday launched a portal to provide information on all pending cases in local courts. Officials said that the National Judicial Data Grid already had information on 1.94 crore out of the nearly 2.7 crore court cases pending in all district courts. The officials said that statistics would be updated by district court offices on a daily basis, with cases being classified according to their type and the number of years for which they have been pending in a particular court.
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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the Narendra Modi government would grab farmers' land if the National Democratic Alliance came to power in Bihar. Launching the Congress’ campaign for the upcoming assembly elections in the state, Gandhi said that his party had formed an alliance with the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal to “protect the poor, the weak and the oppressed” from “Modiji and his friends”. Calling the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA a “club of the rich”, Gandhi said that the JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance was a “pro-poor and pro-farmer” alliance. The Congress leader’s remarks have come a day ahead of a farmers’ rally planned by the opposition party in the national capital.
Hardik arrested, Gujarat bans net services
Patidar community leader Hardik Patel was arrested by the Gujarat police on Saturday as he attempted to hold a protest march to demand reservations for the community. Officials said that a First Information Report had been registered against the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader, who was detained along with 78 other protesters. Clashes between community demonstrators and security forces were reported from various parts of the state following Patel’s arrest. The Gujarat government has banned mobile internet services across the state “for an indefinite period”.
Netaji was ‘alive after 1945’, researchers say
Researchers on freedom-fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose have said that the surveillance carried out on his family proved that he was “alive after 1945”, when he was said to have died in an air crash in Taiwan. Chandrachur Ghose, the founder of an organisation dedicated to getting the government to declassify files related to Bose, said that the Justice MK Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry had concluded in 2006 that Bose did not die in the air crash. Author Jayanta Chowdhury added that there were more than a dozen reports claiming that Netaji died before 1945, adding that the reports made it “quite natural” for both British and Indian authorities to not believe the “Taihoku plane crash theory”. Nearly 13,000 pages of information on Bose and his family were made public by the West Bengal government on Friday.
Parties criticise Sharma for Kalam remarks
Several political parties on Friday criticised Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma’s remarks that former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was a “nationalist and a humanist despite being a Muslim”. While the Congress accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of following a “divide and rule policy” by “distributing certificates of patriotism”, Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member Brinda Karat said that it was “a shame that a minister” was making such remarks. Muslim outfits also condemned Sharma’s remarks. A spokesperson for the Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawrat saying that the minister was speaking like a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Supreme Court launches portal on pending cases
The Supreme Court on Saturday launched a portal to provide information on all pending cases in local courts. Officials said that the National Judicial Data Grid already had information on 1.94 crore out of the nearly 2.7 crore court cases pending in all district courts. The officials said that statistics would be updated by district court offices on a daily basis, with cases being classified according to their type and the number of years for which they have been pending in a particular court.