Ahead of Monsoon Session, AAP raises Bihar electoral roll revision issue
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New Indian Express
13 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
32-hr debate on Operation Sindoor kicks off from Monday
NEW DELHI: As the stand-off between Centre and the Opposition continued on the fifth day of the Monsoon session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday convened an all-party meeting where Opposition parties agreed to the agenda of taking up a special discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor on Monday in Lok Sabha and the next day in Rajya Sabha, brightening the prospect of normalcy in both Houses. Briefing the media, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the decision to start a special discussion on the 'Terrorist attack in Pahalgam and in response to that Operation Sindoor carried out by the Indian Armed Forces' was agreed to at a meeting of leaders of different parties chaired by Speaker Om Birla. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are expected to speak in the Lok Sabha amid indications that Prime Minister Modi may use the much-anticipated debate to turn up the heat on the Opposition, which looks to corner the government over alleged intelligence failures and US President Donald Trump's claims of mediating a 'ceasefire' between India and Pakistan.
Scroll.in
13 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
Lok Sabha to take up removal motion against Justice Yashwant Varma: Centre
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said that the Lok Sabha will take up a bipartisan motion to remove Justice Yashwant Varma, The Hindu reported. The minister added that the decision to impeach the High Court judge was unanimous and that 152 MPs from the ruling coalition and the Opposition parties had signed the motion. There is consensus that the removal of Varma should be a joint effort, The Hindu quoted Rijiju as saying. He said that the Lok Sabha will take up the proceedings before they move to the Rajya Sabha in line with the Judges Inquiry Act. The minister's comment came amid a motion sponsored by the Opposition being moved in the Upper House on July 21, which was the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The process had been initiated in the Lok Sabha on the same day, The Hindu reported. The notice in the Rajya Sabha has not been admitted, the newspaper quoted unidentified officials as saying. To impeach a judge in Parliament, a removal motion is required to be signed by 100 Lok Sabha MPs or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs. If the motion is admitted, a three-member judicial committee investigates the matter. The Parliament votes on the impeachment if the committee finds misconduct. If the motion gets two-thirds of the votes, the president is advised to remove the judge. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to constitute the panel to probe the charges against Varma. Unaccounted cash was allegedly recovered at Varma's official residence in Delhi when emergency services responded to a fire there on March 14. He was a judge at the Delhi High Court at that time. The judge said that he was in Bhopal when the cash was discovered and claimed that it did not belong to him or his family. Amid the row, he was transferred to the Allahabad High Court. On March 22, the Supreme Court released a report, including a video and three photographs, showing bundles of notes that were allegedly recovered from the judge's home. The redacted report showed that Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya had written to Varma on March 21, asking him to 'account for the presence of money/cash' in a room located in his bungalow. After Varma declined to voluntarily retire or resign, Sanjiv Khanna, the chief justice at the time, sent the final in-house inquiry committee report on the incident to the president and the prime minister. The committee in its report had concluded that there was 'sufficient substance' in the charges against Varma. The report, dated May 3, held that the judge's misconduct was 'serious enough to call for initiation of proceedings for removal'. However, the report did not address questions about how the fire started, how much money was found, where the cash came from or where it is now. On July 18, Varma moved the Supreme Court against the in-house panel's findings, arguing that it creates a 'parallel, extra-constitutional mechanism' and undermines the procedure laid out in law, which vests the power to remove High Court judges in Parliament. Varma also challenged the recommendation made by Khanna to the president and the prime minister to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.
Hindustan Times
32 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
HT Archives: Key accord inked to bring peace and stability to Punjab
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Akali Dal president Sant Harchand Singh Longowal on Thursday finalised a comprehensive accord on a slew of issues concerning Punjab, marking a welcome end to the prolonged crisis in the border state that has bedevilled the nation. Then PM Rajiv Gandhi with Sant Harchand Singh Longowal in 1985. (HT Archives) The 11-point Memorandum of Settlement signed at 5.30pm in Parliament House provides for the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, two high-power commissions to decide on territorial disputes between Punjab and Haryana, a tribunal on the Ravi-Beas water systems, reference of the controversial Anandpur Sahib resolution to the Sarkaria Commission, widening of the scope of the inquiry into the November 1984 riots, rehabilitation of those discharged from the Army, and compensation to the families of all the innocent people killed in agitation and riots since August 1982. The memorandum was tabled in the Lok Sabha within 20 minutes of its signing by a beaming Prime Minister, who expressed the hope that this 'will bring to an end a very difficult period through which the nation has passed.' The five-page memorandum, signed by the two leaders, itself ends thus: 'This settlement brings to an end a period of confrontation and ushers in an era of amity, goodwill and co-operation, which will promote and strengthen the unity and integrity of India.' Members of Parliament on both sides of the aisle welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement by thumping their desks. Two senior Opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha, Prof Madhu Dandavate (Janata) and C Madhava Reddy (Telugu Desam) welcomed it immediately. The transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, as also of Hindi-speaking areas now in Punjab to Haryana is to take place simultaneously on the next Republic Day, 1986. The commission will submit its findings by December 31, 1985, which will be binding on both sides. LK Advani, leader of the BJP parliamentary party, called the pact 'a great relief', even as he underscored reservations about specific provisions of the memorandum. He also said that had the Akalis and the government shown this kind of sagacity during the tripartite conference in January 1983 'the country and Punjab might have been spared a lot of agony and bloodshed.' Talks held at the time, which included opposition parties, collapsed on January 26, with Sikh leaders resigning from the state legislatures and Parliament. It was noteworthy, he said, that at the time of the tripartite conference all Opposition parties had opposed any formal reference by the government to the Anandpur Sahib resolution, a list of demands the Akali Dal made in 1983. 'It is strange', said Mr Advani, 'that the ruling party whose principal election plank was that the Opposition parties were favouring the Anandpur Sahib resolution and it alone was resisting it, has now in an official communique signed by the Prime Minister himself formally recognised it'. The agreement provides for the rehabilitation of all those discharged from the army, through gainful employment. The jurisdiction of the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission inquiring into the November 1984 riots that followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi will be extended to cover the disturbances in Bokaro (Bihar) and Kanpur. The government agreed to consider the formulation of an All-India Gurdwara Bill. 'The legislation will be brought forward for this purpose in consultation with the Akali Dal and others concerned and after fulfilling all relevant constitutional requirements.' Under the accord, the government agreed to withdraw the notification applying the Armed Forces Special Powers Act to Punjab. The existing special courts will now try only cases relating to the offences of 'waging war' and hijacking.' All other cases will be transferred to ordinary courts and enabling legislation, if needed, will be brought forward in the current session of Parliament. The river water dispute is to be adjudicated by a tribunal headed by a Supreme Court judge. The accord provides that the report of the tribunal will be submitted within six months and will be binding on both Punjab and Haryana. Gandhi said that on the Anandpur Sahib resolution, Sant Longowal made it very clear that it was meant to be an exercise for greater autonomy within the Indian Union. Those aspects of the resolution passed by the Akali Dal first in 1973 and again in 1978, which pertain to Centre-State relations now stand transferred to the Commission on Centre-State relations headed by Mr Justice R. S. Sarkaria. The accord specifically provides for the promotion of Punjabi language. The Prime Minister will write to the chief ministers on the question of according adequate representation to the minorities in employment and other avenues. On Chandigarh, the accord provides for the city going to Punjab. The present Union Territory has some adjoining areas included both from Punjab and Haryana. The Hindi speaking areas will now be transferred to Haryana and the Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab.
