Rush Hour: Police crack down on posts about EC, US says report on Iran talks ‘speculative’ and more
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The Kerala Police ordered social media platforms to remove posts about a letter issued by the Election Commission bearing the seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit. A row had erupted in the state on Monday, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) alleging that “seals are being casually swapped”.
The Election Commission attributed this to a clerical error.
The police are reporting to the Election Commission as the Model Code of Conduct is in force in the state ahead of the Assembly polls. In their order, the police alleged that the posts ordered to be taken down “blatantly insult” the poll panel and “propagate content that undermines communal harmony”.
Social media platform X informed several users, including journalists and leaders of Opposition parties, that it had been directed by the police to remove posts based on claims that the content violated Indian law. An Instagram post by Scroll about the controversy was also blocked. Read on.
Only persons belonging to the Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh faiths can claim the Scheduled Caste status, said the Supreme Court. It added that a Dalit person converting to any religion other than the three loses his or her Scheduled Caste status, regardless of the status at birth.
The order came on an appeal filed by a pastor against an Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling from April. The pastor alleged that he had faced caste discrimination and abuse. The High Court had quashed the case, observing that the complaint no longer had the Scheduled Caste status after converting to Christianity. Read on.
The White House said that it did not have concrete comments to make on reports that the United States will hold talks with Iran in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad later this week. The comments came after the Financial Times reported that Pakistan was pitching Islamabad as a possible venue for negotiations.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that he had spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, but did not mention whether they had discussed the proposed talks.
Meanwhile, global oil prices remained high amid supply concerns, although there was a marginal drop in the rates. The Indian stock market improved marginally on Tuesday after Trump indicated that US, Israel and Iran could negotiate an end to the conflict. Read on.
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If reports suggesting that Pakistan may be acting as an intermediary in communications between the US, Israel and Iran are true, it would mark a “severe setback” for India, said the Congress. Party leader Jairam Ramesh said that “it is all attributable to the self-styled Vishwaguru”, in an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress leader also criticised Modi’s recent visit to Israel on February 25 and February 26, just two days before the US-Israel attacks on Iran began. Read on.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has moved the Supreme Court against the bail granted to two men accused of sexually assaulting and parading two Kuki women naked during the 2023 ethnic violence in Manipur. In September, the Gauhati High Court granted bail to the two men, noting that there was a significant delay in the trial, largely because of the lapses by the CBI.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, and Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh issued notice to the two men and sought their response. Read on.
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