Rush Hour: PM claims delimitation will not be unfair, SC relief for restored Bengal voters and more
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “willing to guarantee” that no injustice will be meted out to any state through the proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies. No state’s proportion of representation in the Lower House of Parliament would be altered, he added.
When voting took place on whether to introduce the bills earlier in the day, 251 MPs voted in favour and 185 opposed it. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that there will be an “equal, 50% increase” in the strength of the Lower House of Parliament through the legislation.
The Congress alleged that the intention of the government was to introduce delimitation “through the back door”. Read on.
How Modi government aims to use women’s representation to expand Lok Sabha using 2011 census numbers
The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to publish a supplementary electoral roll in West Bengal to include voters whose appeals against deletions have been accepted by the appellate tribunals. The first phase of polling will be held on April 23 and the second on April 29, with the votes to be counted on May 4.
The bench said that persons whose appeals have been cleared by the tribunals before April 21 should be included for voting in the first phase of the Assembly elections. Those who are cleared by April 27 should be included in the final electoral rolls for the second phase of the polls, it added.
The court also clarified that filing an appeal against exclusion from the voter list in itself would not entitle a person to vote. Read on.
The United States said that it will not renew waivers that had allowed countries, including India, to purchase Iranian and Russian oil without triggering sanctions. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the waivers pertained to oil “on water prior” to March 11.
The US had on March 5 granted Indian refiners a 30-day waiver allowing them to buy Russian oil stranded at sea amid the war in West Asia. The relaxation allowed India to secure additional Russian oil supplies amid global disruptions, with refiners reportedly ordering around 30 million barrels during the period. Read on.
The Congress suspended five of its MLAs in Haryana for allegedly voting against the party’s candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections in March. The suspended members are Shalley Chaudhary, Renu Bala, Jarnail Singh, Mohammad Illyas and Mohammad Israil.
They were suspended for allegedly violating organisational discipline, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh said. The Congress has 37 MLAs in a 90-member Assembly. Read on.
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