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India Today
23 minutes ago
- India Today
All parties backing Justice Varma's removal over cash row: Kiren Rijiju
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said that all political parties are on board with the move to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma, after burnt currency notes were found at the judge's residence, as reported by news agency an interview with PTI, Rijiju said, 'I have spoken to all the senior leaders of different political parties. I will also get in touch with some of the single-MP parties because I do not want to leave out any member. So it becomes a unified stand of the Parliament of India.'advertisementHe clarified that the initiative is not government-driven but comes from Members of Parliament across party lines, including from the Congress, who support the motion to remove Justice Varma. 'Corruption in the judiciary is an extremely sensitive and serious matter, because the judiciary is where people get justice. If there is corruption in the judiciary, it is a serious concern for everybody. That is why the motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma is to be signed by all the political parties,' Rijiju minister welcomed the support of the Congress, saying, 'I am happy that they understood things as they should be, because no party can be seen to be standing with a corrupt judge or protecting a corrupt judge.'He stressed the need for unity on the issue, saying, 'When it comes to corruption in the judiciary, we have to stand together. There cannot be any partisan attitude and it should not be made a political issue.'The Congress also confirmed that all its MPs will support the motion against Justice to Rijiju, a motion for a judge's removal requires signatures from at least 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha. The petition is then submitted to the chair, who will inform the House and initiate an enquiry under the Judges Inquiry process includes a three-month-long investigation, followed by a discussion in both Houses of Parliament based on the enquiry move to impeach Justice Varma follows a fire incident in March at his Lutyens' Delhi residence, which led to the discovery of sacks containing half-burnt cash in the outhouse. At the time, he served as a judge in the Delhi High Varma was later repatriated to the Allahabad High Court, but no judicial work was assigned to him. An in-house inquiry ordered by then Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna found that the judge and his family had covert or active control over the storeroom where the money was found. The panel concluded the misconduct was serious enough to warrant his Justice Varma denied any wrongdoing, the findings of the inquiry proved to former law minister Kapil Sibal's remarks comparing Justice Varma to Justice Shekhar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court—who recently made a controversial statement-Rijiju dismissed the criticism.'We will not be driven by one lawyer-MP's agenda. We are not here to set an agenda or drive an agenda. We are working purely in the interest of the country,' he Sibal 'a very average lawyer,' Rijiju added, 'He cannot guide the Parliament of India. The Parliament of India will be guided by all the members of Parliament.'He further said, 'Sibal does not realise that many MPs have gone far beyond him in terms of understanding, intellectual capability and knowledge of law.'- EndsMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Justice Yashwant Verma
The Hindu
23 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Youth Congress should protect constitutional values, remain committed to ideology, says Karnataka CM
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addressed the Youth Congress office-bearers here on Friday, and described them as soldiers committed to protect the constitutional values of socialism and secularism. He was speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of Youth Congress functionaries and the 'Yuva Shakti Pratijne 2025' event. The Chief Minister said all those who did not compromise on Congress' ideology has succeeded politically and hence urged the Youth Congress members to remain wedded to the values of the Congress and stand with the party. 'Those who compromise, do not survive or grow politically,' he added. Mr. Siddaramaiah alleged that the Sangh Parivar was conspiring to obliterate secularism and socialism from the Constitution, and said that the BJP was opposed to the concepts of social justice since its inception. 'I am confident that the youth of the State and the country will stand firm and lead the fight to defeat this conspiracy of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar,' he said. Describing the BJP as a party whose ideology was not compatible with the Indian society, the Chief Minister said that it follows a view that divides the society, while the JD(S) was not only devoid of any ideology, but had presence in only small pockets. Mr. Siddaramaiah said that it was the Congress that implemented the Mandal Commission report, and it provided reservations in education and employment while the 'Manuvadis' opposed it. He further said that it was the Congress that provided women's reservation, and while Rajiv Gandhi brought a constitutional amendment to provide 35% reservation for women, Sonia Gandhi fought hard to raise this to 50%. Speaking about India's freedom struggle, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the Congress spearheaded the movement, while the right wing forces represented by RSS and others, joined hands with the British. ''Though RSS was formed in 1925, neither Hedgewar nor Guruji (Golwalkar) took part in the freedom movement. Youth Congress members must remember this aspect of history. The political outfit of the RSS was Jan Sangh, later renamed as the BJP. These people talk aggressively about patriotism, but stayed away from the freedom struggle. They never stood for the nation,' he added. The Chief Minsiter referred to the speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the concept of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas. 'But the reality is that the BJP has never tried to take Indian society forward together. The party has 240 Members of Parliament but not a single one is from the minority communities. They never respect B.R. Ambedkar, nor honour the Constitution he gave us,' Mr. Siddaramaiah added. He said that Congress was the only party truly committed to the spirit and values of the Constitution, and urged the Youth Congress members to highlight the role of Savarkar in the defeat of Ambedkar in the 1952 elections.
The Hindu
23 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Will Mallikarjun Kharge return to State politics?
Amid Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala's series of meetings with MLAs and Ministers in the recent past, there is speculation in the Congress circles that All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge might be making his way into State politics. Mr. Kharge turns 83 on July 21. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has explicitly said that he will be in the chair for the full five-year term, but has acknowledged that the party high command will decide on the matter. Mr. Kharge, too, has said that any decision is up to the party high command. 'Power sharing' A couple of months ago, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar reportedly told the party high command that he should be given the Chief Minister's post after Mr. Siddaramaiah completes two-and-a-half years in office as per the 'power-sharing agreement' between the two during the formation of the government in May 2023. In this ongoing 'power struggle' between the Chief Minister and his deputy, some leaders in the party believe there are possibilities of Mr. Kharge returning to State politics and becoming the Chief Minister. In recent days, Mr. Kharge has vetoed some of the decisions taken by Mr. Siddaramaiah and they include the former's letter to the Chief Minister over reported lapses in the implementation of the roster point system for promotions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees in government departments and rejection of a decade-old Socio-Economic and Educational Survey (caste census), which was the pet project of the Chief Minister. Mr. Kharge also reportedly withheld the names of candidates suggested by the Chief Minister to fill the four vacancies in the Legislative Council. Gauging the mood Mr. Surjewala's one-to-one meetings with the party MLAs and Ministers have also been seen as a move to gauge the mood of the legislators and the meetings were held reportedly at the behest of Mr. Kharge and Mr. Shivakumar. Mr. Kharge, who is the second leader from Karnataka to become the AICC chief after S. Nijalingappa, is a staunch loyalist of the Sonia Gandhi family. He has missed the Chief Minister's post on a couple of occasions in the past. The veteran leader has served in various capacities, including as Union Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
