Rajya Sabha Monsoon Session Day 2: Dhankhar resigns, Opposition pushes Bihar electoral rolls, Crash
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Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Justice Varma's removal: Process to begin soon, LS Speaker to name probe panel
The process of removal of Justice Yashwant Varma will be set in motion in the Lok Sabha soon with Speaker Om Birla expected to soon announce the constitution of a statutory committee to investigate the grounds on which the removal of the judge is sought, The Indian Expres has learned. Birla and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh met Wednesday with Secretaries General of both the Houses and the officials discussed the modalities to finalise the procedure. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also joined the meeting later. The discussions took place on a day the Supreme Court said it will set up a bench to hear Justice Varma's plea challenging the legal validity of the in-house inquiry committee which confirmed charges of recovery of unaccounted cash from his official residence in Delhi. This comes in the shadow of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar's surprise resignation Monday evening and, as The Indian Express reported Tuesday, hours after his decision to accept the Opposition's notice on Justice Varma had rubbed the government the wrong way. This had created 'confusion,' government sources said, because Birla had received a similar notice from Lok Sabha MPs with 145 signatures around 12.30 pm Monday, hours before Dhankhar made the reference to the Opposition notice in the Rajya Sabha. 'The Speaker received the notices from the Lok Sabha MPs and he had told us that he would constitute a committee. That's what the law says,' said a senior BJP MP who was part of the group that submitted the notice. BJP sources said that Dhankhar, who resigned as vice president and Rajya Sabha chairman, did not 'admit' the Opposition's notice. Pointing out that 63 Rajya Sabha MPs, from various Opposition parties, gave a notice for the removal of Justice Varma, Dhankhar did mention on Monday that it met the 'numerical requirement of signing' by MPs for 'setting in motion a process of removal of a High Court judge. But he added that according to the Judges (Inquiry) Act, when notices of a motion are submitted on the same day in both the Houses of Parliament, a committee to examine the charges levelled against the judge will be constituted by the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman.' Former Lok Sabha Secretary PDT Achary said that when the Speaker received the notice from Lok Sabha MPs, the process of removal was set in motion. 'The Speaker has to admit it. Then the Speaker will appoint a statutory committee, the Speaker does not have to bring it before the House. Because the House has no role at that stage,' Achary said. According to Achary, Dhankhar did not seem to have admitted the motion. 'The Rajya Sabha Chairman has to admit the motion and then if simultaneously moved in both the Houses, the presiding officers would together constitute the statutory committee. But Dhankhar just mentioned about the notice in the House on Monday, he had to admit it as per the law, which perhaps has not taken place,' Achary added. However, a senior minister said that the Rajya Sabha chair, now deputy chairman Harivansh officiating as chairman, would be consulted for the constitution of the committee because Dhankhar had mentioned it being in the chair. Sources said the statutory committee – with one judge of the Supreme Court, one from the High Courts, and a distinguished jurist – will be announced soon. The committee will probe the charges against Justice Varma and submit a report to the Lok Sabha Speaker. If the committee finds him guilty, a motion will be taken up in the Lok Sabha and it will be discussed in detail. The motion will be put to vote and it requires a two-third majority to be passed. Once the process is over the same, will be repeated in the Rajya Sabha. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Wednesday said it would constitute a bench to hear Justice Varma's plea seeking to invalidate a report by an in-house inquiry panel, which found him guilty of misconduct in the cash discovery row. Justice Varma has also sought quashing of the May 8 recommendation by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna urging Parliament to initiate impeachment against him. Justice Varma also challenged the conclusions of the report by the three-member in-house judicial panel. The three-judge panel, headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, conducted the inquiry for 10 days, examined 55 witnesses and visited the scene of the fire that started at around 11.35 pm on March 14 at the official residence of Justice Varma, then a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court and now in the Allahabad High Court. Acting on the report, then CJI Khanna wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommending the judge's impeachment.
Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- Indian Express
First announced in Budget 2008-09, 58-km railway project in Bihar's Kosi-Seemanchal region to finally get started
The Ministry of Railways has decided to commence the 58-km Kursela-Bihariganj New Line project, which falls in the Kosi-Seemanchal region of Bihar, 17 years after it was first announced. In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the project could not be taken up earlier because of low traffic projection. 'Kursela-Bihariganj (58 Km) New Line and Jalalgarh-Kishanganj (51.87 km) New Line projects were included in the Budget 2008-09. However execution of these projects could not be taken up due to low traffic projections. Subsequently, several representations were received to revive these two projects and after sanction of Bikramshila-Katarea New Line project, Kursela-Bihariganj New Line has become an operational requirement. As such, it has been decided to take up these projects,' said Vaishnaw. Officials said that an allocation of Rs 170.8 crore has been provided in the financial year 2025-26 for these projects. The 26.23-km Bikramshila-Katreah project with a bridge over river Ganga was sanctioned in August 2024. The total cost of the project is Rs 2,549 crore. This project is in the vicinity of Tejnarayanpur-Sahibganj (35 km) which could not be taken forward due to low traffic projections. The outlay for the project has been kept as Rs 64.05 crore in FY26. Vaishnaw added that a survey for 92-km Bihariganj-Virpur via Murliganj, Triveniganj, Bhimnagar new line project has been taken up and field survey has been completed. In response to another question in the Lok Sabha, Union minister Vaishnaw said a total of eight surveys, covering a length of 1,351 km, have been taken up to improve the connectivity in Bihar. This includes Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Kiul third and fourth line, Chhapra-Katihar third and fourth line, Bihta-Aurangabad new line, Rampurhat-Dumka-Bhagalpur doubling, and Bakhtiyarpur-Tilaiya doubling, among others. Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Bharat jhukega nahi': Ravi Kishan recalls PM Modi's words as he tried to touch his feet; says he was told to ‘stay away from controversies'
Although actor Ravi Kishan commenced his political journey with Congress, he jumped ship in 2017 and joined the BJP, and has been the ruling party's MP from Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency since 2019. An ardent admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the actor-politician recently opened up about the PM's invaluable advice to him. Ravi also maintained that most BJP leaders are following Modi as an example and trying to emulate his nature. Infamous for not mincing his words when commenting on various topics, he stated that he piped down a bit as per PM Modi's instructions. Maintaining that he used to get involved in a lot of controversies initially, he said during an appearance on Raj Shamani's podcast, 'In fact, the Prime Minister himself asked me not to do that. He said, 'You are a celebrity as well. So, speak only after giving it a lot of thought. The lesser you appear before the media, the better. Avoid getting embroiled in controversies as much as possible.' He said those things in the very best words. From that day onwards, I have never made any loose talk just to create headlines.' Pointing out that he has something he likes to call the 'Ravi Kishan ras (essence)', the actor said there have been occasions when remarks infused with it have gone viral. He added, however, that such moments usually happen unintentionally, and emphasised that he stopped trying to generate headlines deliberately after receiving that advice from Modi. 'There were a lot of issues going on, including the Marathi-Bhojpuri controversy (that I could have commented on). But the best thing to do is, do your work, stay quiet and don't beat the drum. The entire country is watching you. Also, people know everything, including the smallest details about you, such as your car, bungalow, success et al. Keep your head down and be natural,' he added. He also mentioned that people like him have to always respect others and listen to them. 'There have been times when people stopped my car, asking about the drainage in their area, and even requesting me to book train tickets for them. You have to sit there and book tickets for them. As an MP, I have to. They complain to me about water not coming from roadside taps. I fought the election, and it's my job to look into that as well. Don't make faces; don't get angry,' Kishan emphasised. Dubbing Modi as 'Niswarth Sant', he recalled an incident where he was about to touch the PM's feet, but the latter stopped him immediately. 'Even Yogiji (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) is following Modiji's path. In fact, all of us are. Every BJP leader is following Modiji. As a star campaigner for the party, I can say with confidence that all BJP CMs are following his lead. He is so virat (huge) and so is his work… He works for 18 hours or so every day after getting up at 4.30 in the morning… He never takes leave, even if he is ill. I have never heard that he's sick or that he's on a holiday. He has been working 24×7 for so many years. Yogiji is the same. They function on just 4-5 hours of sleep. They are 'niswarth sant (selfless saints)'. We get such people only once in centuries,' he pointed out. Kishan continued, 'After I won my first election, I went to meet Modiji in his cabin to seek his blessings. Looking at me, he asked, 'So, how's your Mahadev?' I went fully blank. I usually don't fall on people's feet. But, upon seeing him, my hands went straight for his feet to touch them. He immediately held my hands and said, 'Bharat jhukega nahi (India will not bow down)'. That was the line for me.'
