Rush Hour: SC raps Rahul Gandhi for China incursion remark, Jharkhand ex-CM Shibu Soren dead & more
The Supreme Court told Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that a 'true Indian' would not make remarks such as the ones he made in 2022 about alleged Chinese incursions into Indian territory. However, the court stayed the defamation proceedings against him for three weeks.
The case pertains to comments made by Gandhi in December 16 about a clash between the Indian and Chinese armies along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang.
In response to the court's remark, Gandhi's counsel Abhishek Singhvi said that it was also possible for a 'true Indian' to express concern about the deaths of soldiers during clashes between India and China in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley in June 2020.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and AG Masih, however, asked the Opposition leader how he had verified claims that 2,000 sq km of Indian territory had been occupied by China. Datta asked why the Congress leader had made the allegations on social media instead of raising questions in Parliament. Read more.
Jharkhand's former Chief Minister Shibu Soren died on Monday. He was 81. Soren was admitted to a hospital in New Delhi for more than a month and was undergoing treatment for kidney-related ailments.
Soren was the founder of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the party's chief for 38 years.
He served as the chief minister for 10 days in March 2005, for five months between August 2008 and January 2009, and between December 2009 and May 2010. Read more.
The Supreme Court questioned the 'tearing hurry' of the Uttar Pradesh government in passing an ordinance that allows it to take over the management of the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi expressed disapproval of the 'clandestine manner' in which the government had secured permission to use temple funds for a Rs 500-crore corridor project. The permission was secured through a May 15 judgement of the Supreme Court, which allowed the state to acquire five acres of land with temple funds.
The bench verbally proposed recalling the May 15 verdict and forming a committee, headed by a retired High Court judge, to oversee the temple's management while the validity of the ordinance was being decided.
The Tamil Nadu government moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order restraining it from naming welfare schemes after living politicians and using the photographs of former chief ministers, ideological leaders and political party symbols in advertisements of the schemes.
On Thursday, the High Court passed the order on a plea filed by an All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP, who had sought directions to stop the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government from using Chief Minister MK Stalin's name in public outreach programmes such as Ungaludan Stalin.
The petitioner had argued that the practice violated the Supreme Court's earlier directions and the 2014 Government Advertisement Content Regulation Guidelines.
The High Court had referred to a Supreme Court ruling that allowed the use of the current chief minister's photo in government advertisements, but ruled that including former leaders or party icons could be seen as political misuse of public funds.
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Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
CM Yogi launches UP's first integrated township in Meerut
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday flayed the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) for protecting criminal networks as he specifically referred to the 2008 Malegaon blast case. The CM said the Congress falsely implicated Hindus in the Malegaon blast case as he demanded an apology for what he called their 'anti-India and anti-Sanatan' actions. UP CM Yogi Adityanath dedicated ₹ 2,570 crore integrated township in Meerut to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. (Sourced) 'Congress never acted on terrorist incidents. In the Malegaon case, it shamelessly pursued a false agenda against Hindus. When will they apologise to the nation for their sins,' he said, citing the recent acquittal of all accused in the case as proof of 'Satyamev Jayate' (truth prevails). The CM was speaking during the foundation laying ceremony of Uttar Pradesh's first integrated township in Meerut's Mohiuddinpur. Yogi said the Congress and the SP divided the society along the caste lines, incited riots and shielded criminal markets like Sotiganj, a former hub for stolen vehicle parts in Meerut. 'Freedom fighters didn't sacrifice their lives for us to be divided by caste and caught in riots. Sotiganj was the identity of the Congress and the SP; our identity is development,' he said. Yogi further said now Meerut has a new identity in the form of the Meerut expressway, rapid rail and the state's first sports university. On the occasion, the CM dedicated the ₹2,570 crore, 295-hectare integrated township to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, emphasising its potential to generate employment, attract industries and include schools, a medical college and consolidated divisional offices. 'This township will redefine Meerut with residential, industrial and commercial zones, offering affordable housing for NCR residents and connectivity via the rapid rail corridor,' he said. Yogi also highlighted plans to enhance tourism at Bhola Ki Jhaal, a water body in Meerut, and redevelop the Circuit House. The CM praised PM Narendra Modi's vision for promoting indigenous goods, urging citizens to avoid foreign products that could fund terrorism. 'Your money should not end up in the hands of terrorists. This is new India and new Uttar Pradesh — no place for mafia or crime,' he said. Yogi also announced progress on India's largest expressway from Meerut to Prayagraj, set to reduce travel time to Lucknow to six hours and revealed plans for a new expressway to Haridwar and approval for Meerut's inner road projects. Targeting the opposition further, he likened those dividing society on caste lines to 'termites' and criticised their hypocrisy. 'They send their children abroad but feel pain when the poor get better facilities. They want you to travel by bullock cart,' the CM said.
Mint
29 minutes ago
- Mint
Russian oil import cuts could hit Indian OMCs GRM by $1–1.5/bbl, says report
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NDTV
29 minutes ago
- NDTV
Trump Threatens To "Substantially" Raise Tariffs On India Over Russian Oil
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