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AAP suspends Punjab MLA Vijay Pratap Singh for 5 years over ‘anti-party activities'

AAP suspends Punjab MLA Vijay Pratap Singh for 5 years over ‘anti-party activities'

India Today20 hours ago

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday suspended Amritsar-North MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh for five years, citing anti-party activities. The decision was approved by the party's Political Affairs Committee and announced by its Punjab unit.The suspension follows his recent criticism of the AAP-led Punjab government, particularly over the arrest of Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia. Vijay Pratap Singh had publicly raised questions about the handling of Majithia's arrest in a disproportionate assets case, calling the early-morning Vigilance Bureau raid "against ethical principles" and criticising the government for not securing a remand or conducting an interrogation while Majithia was in jail.advertisementAAP spokesperson Neel Garg said, "No political party can work without discipline. Recently, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau nabbed Bikram Majithia and people are applauding the effort, but MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh publicly opposed this and raised questions on the timing of the arrest. This is not tolerable. If he had any objection, then he could have raised it on party platform. So the Political Affairs Committee of the party suspended the MLA for five years."
The party emphasised that it would not tolerate any "politics on drugs" and reiterated that those obstructing anti-drug efforts have no place in AAP.AAP leader Manish Sisodia, supporting the party's decision, said, "AAP is a party of discipline. It is a party of public interest. Anyone who breaks that discipline and does something that is not in the pub for personal ego will face consequences."advertisementWhile the suspended MLA did not respond to calls or messages, he posted on Facebook indicating that he remained undeterred by the suspension, stating he does not fear consequences. His post, written in Punjabi, said "Kabir, that death which the world fears — to my mind, it brings bliss."
Vijay Pratap Singh's Facebook post indicates that he remains undeterred.
Reacting to the suspension, senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa criticised the AAP's move, calling it punitive against a whistleblower."Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh is an honest and courageous MLA. He has been punished for speaking the truth. This suspension is a badge of honour for standing with Punjab," Bajwa said.When @Kvijaypratap joined @AamAadmiParty, @ArvindKejriwal made BIG promises:'We will bring the culprits of Bargari to justice.''We will wipe out the drug mafia.''We stand for Punjab & Punjabiyat.'But what is the reality today?Kunwar Vijay Pratap — one of pic.twitter.com/gMIvFkODF1— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) June 29, 2025Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh is a former IPS officer of 1998-batch, had resigned from police service in 2021 to join AAP and was later elected as MLA from Amritsar (North). His induction into the party was marked by considerable fanfare and strategic emphasis on clean governance.He has previously voiced criticism of his own party's government on multiple occasions, marking a pattern of dissent that the party now deems unacceptable.- EndsMust Watch

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Stop action against Dalits immediately: K'taka BJP to CM Siddaramaiah
Stop action against Dalits immediately: K'taka BJP to CM Siddaramaiah

Hans India

timean hour ago

  • Hans India

Stop action against Dalits immediately: K'taka BJP to CM Siddaramaiah

The Karnataka BJP, on Monday, demanded that the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should immediately stop the ongoing government action against Dalits in Kadugodi area of Bengaluru. Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Karnataka Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, has alleged that CM Siddaramaiah-led state government under the Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre, is attempting to "strangle the livelihoods" of Dalits. Speaking during a protest held near the Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha, Narayanaswamy said that the Forest Department is trying to take over valuable agricultural land cultivated by Dalits in Dinnoor village in Kadugodi of Mahadevapura constituency in Bengaluru Urban district. He accused Minister Khandre of leading this operation and called it an act of economic strangulation targeting Dalits. He alleged that instead of carrying out its designated duties, the Forest department is now focused on seizing valuable land. Despite multiple attempts, they were unable to get an appointment with the Chief Minister, he said. Therefore, the Karnataka BJP have submitted a memorandum to the Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh and also handed over a petition to the Chief Minister's Secretary. LoP Narayanaswamy also said that there were 711 acres in Dinnoor, of which 278 acres were given to the Railways, around 3 acres to a temple, 13 acres for roads, 13 guntas for an Indira Canteen, 20 acres for housing in Dinnoor Colony, 2.5 acres for a crematorium, 32 acres for layout development, and 4.5 acres for a police station. Of the total, 125 acres were under cultivation, and 45 acres were handed over for the Metro project. He said that the government had granted the land to farmers as far back as 1950, and since then, they had been engaged in agriculture on that land. He demanded that the attacks on Dalits must be stopped and condemned the arrests and intimidation tactics being used by the police. BJP leader Narayanaswamy noted that there is a stay order in place against the eviction, yet attempts are still being made, which he termed condemnable. While acknowledging that the matter is sub-judice, he criticised the state government for claiming it was only following a "task" assigned to them, calling such statements ridiculous. He also said that the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) had acquired land from farmers in 1982 and had provided compensation accordingly. Former BJP MP, S. Muniswamy, who also spoke at the protest, accused the Congress-led state government of targeting Dalit farmers by evicting them from their lands. He said that violence, false cases and harassment were being inflicted upon the community, and this was unacceptable. He asked whether only Dalit farmers were subject to the law. "If all of that land belongs to the Forest Department, then why hasn't the government cleared the lands given to the Railways? Why hasn't the KIADB's land been taken back? Why are Metro, police station, and other allocations untouched?" he asked. Participating in the protest were Legislative Council Chief Whip N. Ravikumar, MLC Keshav Prasad, MLA Cement Manjunath, former MP S. Muniswamy, and former MLAs Y. Sampangi, Y. Ramakka, S. Balaraju, among other leaders. Earlier, a Karnataka BJP delegation led by Opposition leader Narayanaswamy met Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh at her office on Monday and submitted a memorandum regarding the eviction of residents from the Kadugodi area in Bengaluru. BJP leader Narayanaswamy said that it is shameful and unfortunate that farmers and local residents, who have been living and cultivating land for decades in the Kadugodi locality in Bengaluru Urban district, are being evicted. He added that evicting the poorest and most destitute people -- who survive by tilling the land -- without any prior notice and without implementing any rehabilitation measures is unacceptable. BJP leader Narayanaswamy urged that the matter should be carefully examined in accordance with the Supreme Court's directions and existing government provisions, and appropriate action should be taken. "I appeal that until the government announces a decision to protect these people, the eviction process should be halted," he said. "Survey Number 1 in Kadugodi comprises 711 acres of land, including 35 acres of agricultural land. This land is being cultivated by people belonging to the Scheduled Caste community. The farmers have been tilling the land since 1950 and possess government documents proving ownership," he added.

Iran-Israel ceasefire, 50 years of Emergency, Axiom-4 mission, and more: The week in 5 charts
Iran-Israel ceasefire, 50 years of Emergency, Axiom-4 mission, and more: The week in 5 charts

The Hindu

timean hour ago

  • The Hindu

Iran-Israel ceasefire, 50 years of Emergency, Axiom-4 mission, and more: The week in 5 charts

(1) Shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to hold U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was 'in effect', after the truce, which he announced early morning, seemed unravelling following accusations of violations from both sides, prompting Mr. Trump to curse them and issue a rare public demand to Israel to stand down. The day witnessed dramatic developments as both Israel and Iran carried out massive strikes against each other in the final hours before the intended start of a 7 a.m. ceasefire (Doha time), announced by Mr. Trump. The Israeli Defence Forces said it struck eight Iranian ballistic missile launchers in western Iran. Tehran fired at least 20 ballistic missiles in six barrages, which started at 5 a.m. local time. Four people were killed and at least 22 others injured in Iran's missile attacks. Here is a brief timeline on how the 12-day war panned out (2) Revisiting the Emergency One of the turning points of Indian politics, the Emergency was set in motion by the Indira Gandhi government on June 25, 1975, and remained in place for 21 months till its withdrawal on March 21, 1977. The order gave Indira Gandhi, India's first woman Prime Minister, the authority to rule by decree and saw the large-scale curbing of civil liberties. The then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed announced a nationwide state of emergency, citing 'an imminent danger to the security of India being threatened by internal disturbances,' particularly after the war with Pakistan and the liberation of Bangladesh. It was imposed just days after Indira Gandhi was convicted by Allahabad High Court for electoral malpractice in a case filed by socialist leader Raj Narain who challenged her win from Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat. The conviction led to her disqualification as an MP and Emergency allowed her to continue as Prime Minister. The oppressive Maintenance of Internal Security Act was passed during the Emergency era. There was large-scale suspension of fundamental rights for the citizenry, detention and arrest of Opposition leaders and critics, and press censorship. The 38th Amendment Act of 1975 also made declaration of a national emergency immune to judicial review (this was later removed by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978). (3) Results of 5 Assembly bye-elections: AAP wins 2, BJP, Congress, and TMC secure 1 each After the drubbing in the Delhi Assembly polls earlier this year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was in for a good news on Monday as the party managed to retain Punjab's Ludhiana West and Gujarat's Visavadar seats in the Assembly bypolls. 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CM Siddaramaiah to meet farmers protesting against land acquisition near Devanahalli
CM Siddaramaiah to meet farmers protesting against land acquisition near Devanahalli

Indian Express

time2 hours ago

  • Indian Express

CM Siddaramaiah to meet farmers protesting against land acquisition near Devanahalli

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will on July 4 meet farmers protesting against the acquisition of 1,777 acres of land, spread across 13 villages in rural Bengaluru, by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), and discuss the matter at a Cabinet meeting on July 2. Around 800 families from these villages in the Devanahalli-Channarayapatna region in rural Bengaluru have been protesting since 2022 against the acquisition of land by KIADB for a high-tech defence and aerospace sector park. The original decision for the land acquisition was taken in January 2022 by the BJP government headed by Basavaraj Bommai. Amid the protests, Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil said last week that '495 acres of land belonging to three villages in Channarayapatna Hobli have been excluded from acquisition for the proposed hi-tech Defence and Aerospace Park'. 'Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will hold a meeting with Devanahalli-Channarayapatna farmer activists and leaders of the struggle on July 4. He will hold a comprehensive meeting on the demands and problems of the farmers,' the chief minister's office said after farmer leaders met him last week. The issue reached a flash point on June 25 after the police dispersed a protest, and arrested some leaders. Several national farmers' unions, including the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, objected to the use of police force to disperse protesters on June 25. 'KIADB had already acquired 6,000 acres from surrounding villages for the Haralur Industrial Area. Thousands of farmers and villagers were evicted in those earlier acquisitions, but no rightful compensation was awarded to them. In this context, the farmers firmly opposed the acquisition attempt for another 1,777 acres from the beginning under the banner of 'KIADB Land Acquisition Resistance Struggle Committee',' SKM said in a statement. The farmer unions have accused the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government of following in the footsteps of the BJP government despite an assurance made ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls to withdraw the notification for the land acquisition if the Congress were to be voted to power. 'This is a gross violation of the 'Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act -2013' brought by the UPA2 govt led by Congress,' SKM said in the statement last week. The Kisan Sangharsh Samiti has expressed confidence in a resolution emerging when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah meets the farmers on July 4, 'by taking the Channarayapatna farmers into confidence and engaging in dialogue with the protesters'. Large and Medium Industries Minister Patil and K H Muniyappa, the minister in charge of the Bengaluru rural region, said at a press briefing that the preliminary notification for acquiring 1,772.2 acres of land from 13 villages in Channarayapatna Hobli was issued on August 27, 2021, followed by a government order on February 15, 2022. 'However, it was observed that farmers from this region had already lost land twice earlier for industrial projects. Taking this into account, along with the fact that the land included irrigated farmland and human habitation, the government decided to exclude 231.23 acres in Channarayapatna, 185.18 acres in Mattibarlu, and 78.21 acres in Shrotriya Tellohalli from the acquisition process,' Patil said. The industries minister further said the KIADB acquisition of the remaining 1,232 acres across 10 villages — Palya, Haraluru, Polanahalli, Gokare Bachchenahalli, Nalluru, Mallepura, Nallappanahalli, Cheemachanahalli, Muddenahalli, and Hadayala — would proceed. 'Compensation for the acquired land will be determined by the district commissioner. Additionally, land losers will have the option to receive 10,771 sq ft of developed land per acre, which they can use for commercial purposes,' the minister said. 'With this decision, the government has honoured the demands of the farmers. The protest should now come to an end. We must strike a balance between industrial growth and agricultural welfare,' he added. 'There is no precedent for the exclusion of land once notified for acquisition for such a purpose. But in this case, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Patil have made a pro-farmer decision. This gesture should be acknowledged, and the protest should be stopped,' Muniyappa said.

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