'...The fundamental difference between the gross abuse of the constitution, especially witnessed under Indira Gandhi, and that is being seen under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah over the last five years, is that while the former was seen with anger and revulsion, the latter is adoringly termed as Chanakyaniti. It is this shift in language and discourse that is the most dangerous for Indian democracy – every act of brazen challenge to the constitution is normalised and projected as brilliant political masterstrokes. It is why Amit Shah is eulogised by the mainstream television media.
'AN FIR was registered in Varanasi against Samajwadi Party (SP) leader I P Singh for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by referring to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath by his old name, Ajay Singh Bisht, on Twitter. Singh was booked under section 67 (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act. The FIR was lodged late Monday evening at Shivpur police station in Varanasi...
'Over three months after he was first arrested by the CBI, former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The bail is in the case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate. He is expected to come out of prison shortly... According to reports, Chidambaram reiterated in court that others named in the case have either not been arrested or had received bail. In October, the Supreme Court had granted bail to Chidambaram in connection with the INX Media case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
'It has been 100 days since the made-for-television arrest of former home and finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram in the INX-Media matter... So after 100 days of ‘rigorous custodial interrogation’, what have the CBI and the ED been able to prove? How have their cases improved? Is custodial interrogation relevant for cases which largely rely on documentary evidence where fear of tampering is unsubstantiated? These are logical questions that must be raised and answered...'
'...The two candidates with the highest number of cases filed against them are both from the BJP. Both face murder charges. BJP’s Panki candidate Kushwaha Shashi Bhushan Mehta has 11 cases filed against him, including murder, attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, evidence tampering, and undue influence and personation at an election.
'The Bengaluru Police registered a case of sedition on Wednesday against former Karnataka Chief Ministers Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy, along with 23 other Congress and JD(S) politicians and nine police officials for protesting outside the Income Tax Department Office in Bengaluru ahead of the Lok Sabha elections...
'Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Shiv Sena, skipped a joint sitting of both houses of parliament on Constitution Day on Tuesday to mark their protest against the BJP’s alleged high-handedness in Maharashtra. Upset over political developments in the state, the opposition parties, including the DMK, the SP, NCP and the Left parties, boycotted Constitution Day celebrations in the central hall of parliament and held a joint protest in front of the Ambedkar statue inside parliament complex. In a first, the Shiv Sena supported the Congress in the protest.
'NCP leader Ajit Pawar sparked alarm, controversy and furious debate in Maharashtra this morning after leading his party in support of the BJP in its bid to retain power in Maharashtra. Mr Pawar, who was last month named by the Enforcement Directorate in the Rs. 25,000-crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank Ltd. scam, was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister. Seconds earlier the BJP's Devendra Fadnavis, whose government had repeatedly attacked Ajit Pawar over alleged corruption charges, had been sworn in as Chief Minister for a second term.
'The February 2002 Sabarmati train fire, which killed 59 kar sevaks and triggered large-scale riots, was part of a "conspiracy" hatched by Congress's elected members from Godhra, according to a reference book on political history of Gujarat published by a state board... The book, titled ''Gujarat Ni Rajkiya Gatha'' (Political Saga of Gujarat) and published in December 2018, is edited by Bhavnaben Dave, a former BJP MP and current vice-chairperson of the board... "To destabilise a stable government, a conspiracy was hatched on February 27, 2002.
'Portions of the November 15 order of the Delhi High Court dismissing the bail plea of Congress leader P Chidambaram in the INX Media money laundering case, it has emerged, bear striking resemblance to both a previous High Court order as well as a Supreme Court decision on the bail plea of lawyer Rohit Tandon, arrested in several money laundering cases (he is currently out on bail).
