Latest news with #Sengol
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Maharashtra: Opposition slams absence of national emblem on entry passes to legislative building
The Opposition slammed the absence of the national emblem on entry passes to the legislative building on Monday, the first day of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly. Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad tried to raise the issue in the House before the Speaker presented a condolence motion but was asked to raise it later. 'I wanted to raise it today itself. However, today's business was limited to passing condolence motion. I wanted to highlight how the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is undermining the Constitution and national emblem. How can they remove the emblem from the entry pass?' asked Awhad. The opposition said that it will raise the issue aggressively on Tuesday. However, according to sources within the state legislative building, it was an attempt to 'safeguard' the national emblem. 'The entry pass, after its use, either gets thrown into the garbage or torn into pieces. It leads to the insult of the national emblem. Therefore, it was not printed on the entry pass,' said the official. In a similar incident, during the two-day National Conference of Chairpersons of Estimates Committees of Parliament and State / UT Legislatures held in Mumbai. the national emblem was missing, and the Sengol was used instead.
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Sangh backed Emergency under Deoras' leadership, says Maha Cong chief Sapkal
Nagpur: Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Wednesday accused BJP of whitewashing its ideological past while launching selective attacks on the 1975 Emergency. On its 50th anniversary, Sapkal pointed to the documented support of then RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras for Emergency and questioned why BJP distances itself from that legacy. "Balasaheb Deoras not only supported the Emergency, but even publicly disassociated the Sangh from the JP movement. Does BJP disown his stand now," Sapkal asked at a press meet. He argued that former premier Indira Gandhi's decision was taken within constitutional bounds to prevent national unrest and contrasted it with what he termed an "undeclared Emergency" under the current regime. Sharply reacting to the allegation, RSS publicity head Sunil Ambekar said thousands of Sangh volunteers were jailed and tortured during the Emergency. "Around 100 of them died in custody or due to the trauma of incarceration. Pandurang Kshirsagar Ji, then head of our national management committee, was among them. The Emergency remains a black spot on Indian democracy," he told TOI. BJP's national vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe told a packed audience in Nagpur that the "satyagraha movement by RSS and leaders like JP Narayan" was a reality check for Indira Gandhi, who was under the impression that people had accepted the Emergency. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo "Of the 1.3lakh people who joined the movement, 1.1lakh were from RSS and its affiliates," he said. Defending Indira Gandhi, Sapkal, however, said, "She lifted the Emergency, called for elections, and accepted defeat. Unlike today's govt, she didn't sell off national assets to corporate cronies," he said, referring to the privatisation of ports, airports, banks, mines, and Dharavi land over the past 11 years. Sapkal also criticised a recent govt ad campaign to exclude the national emblem while prominently featuring the 'Sengol'. "This is a symbolic attack on the Constitution. The ultimate goal is to replace it with Golwalkar's bunch of thoughts and create a theocratic state cloaked in cultural motifs," he alleged. Congress has released a special issue of 'Janmanasachi Shidori' featuring counter-narratives from authors like Pupul Jayakar, Kumar Ketkar, and Sena MP Sanjay Raut, aimed at presenting "the truth of the Emergency beyond BJP's propaganda. He further demanded a probe into alleged voter list manipulation in Nagpur South West, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's home constituency.
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Call for official celebration of VP Singh's birth anniv
1 2 Lucknow: A demand was made to officially observe former Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh's birth anniversary by the govt, similar to celebrations for other former PMs and CMs. The appeal was made by general secretary Mandal Masiha VP Singh society, Abdul Naseer while chairing a programme organised to commemorate VP Singh's 94th birth anniversary in the city on Wednesday. Naseer urged the central and state govts to implement all recommendations of the Mandal Commission in full. Chief guest, former minister and Mohanlalganj MP R K Chaudhary said: "Singh's historic work on social justice must be enforced completely. Today, democracy is in danger, and it is our collective responsibility to protect it. Parliament is the temple of democracy and the Constitution, not the Sengol, should be its centrepiece." Speakers stressed that representation—not just reservation—is necessary across all sectors, including top-level services, private jobs, ownership, contracts and leases.
The Hindu
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Maharashtra emblem replaced with Sengol in government advertisements on Emergency: Congress
The Maharashtra Congress slammed the government on Wednesday (June 25, 2025), claiming that it had replaced the State emblem with the Sengol in its advertisements on the Emergency. In response, the Maharashtra government told The Hindu that it does not use State emblems in government advertisements anyway. The Congress also came down heavily on the State Government over reports of meals being served on silver plates to members of the Estimates Committees of Parliament and State governments during their recent conference in Mumbai. Speaking at a press briefing in Mumbai on Wednesday (June 25, 2025), Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Mr. Sapkal said, 'The Government spent crores of rupees on propaganda. The State emblem is missing in the advertisements issued by the State government, and a Sengol is displayed instead. This is not just symbolic but is part of a larger conspiracy to alter the Constitution.' The 'Sengol' is a historical sceptre from Tamil Nadu, which has been installed in the new Parliament building. It was given by the British to the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to represent the transfer of power. 'Indira Gandhi's decision to impose the Emergency was constitutional, but what about the undeclared Emergency going on in the country for the past 11 years?' he asked, claiming that the BJP was pushing RSS ideologue M S Golwalkar's 'bunch of thoughts' over constitutional values. He said that former RSS Sarsanghachalak Balasaheb Deoras had supported the Emergency and publicly distanced the RSS from Jayaprakash Narayan's movement. He asked if the BJP today agreed with his stance. Brijesh Singh, Principal Secretary, Maharashtra Directorate General of Information and Public Relations, told The Hindu, 'We don't use emblems in government advertisements. This has been used as a cultural symbol of democracy.' Feast on silver plates Reacting to media reports on members of the Parliamentary panels being served on silver plates, Mr. Sapkal said, 'Members of the Parliamentary and Legislative Estimate Committees enjoyed a royal feast costing ₹5,000 per head, served on silver plates rented at ₹550 each. Was this extravagance funded from the Estimate Committee's money, found in Room 102 of Dhule Rest House?' (Reference to the allegations of bribery against the current chairperson of the Estimates Committee of Maharashtra legislature). 'The government claims that there are no funds for farm loan waivers or to increase the stipend under the Ladki Bahin scheme to ₹2,100, but there's ample money for such extravaganza,' Mr. Sapkal said. The Congress released a special 'Emergency' edition of its official publication Janmanasachi Shidori, featuring articles by Indira Gandhi, Pupul Jayakar, senior journalist Kumar Ketkar, and Saamana editor and MP Sanjay Raut, among other well known writers.
New Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Maharashtra Congress releases special issue of its monthly magazine defending Emergency
Interestingly, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has also contributed to this special issue of the magazine with his article, 'Emergency in 1975 and Emergency in 2014 to 2025.' The Shidori issue includes several articles by top Congress leaders about what they called the 'prevailing undeclared Emergency' since 2014. The magazine's working editor, Duttatray Khandge, wrote the editorial defending the Emergency, saying that during this period, 20 great programmes were implemented, such as the nationalisation of banks. Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal claimed that it was due to the then-prevailing circumstances in the country that Indira Gandhi had to decide to impose the Emergency. 'However, later, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi admitted that certain administrative errors occurred during that time. But the BJP continues to raise a hue and cry about it. RSS Sarsanghchalak Balasaheb Deoras supported the Emergency and even publicly distanced the RSS from Jayaprakash Narayan's movement. BJP should clarify whether they accept the stand taken by RSS leader Balasaheb,' he asked. He further explained, 'The decision to impose Emergency in 1975 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was constitutional. Certain forces were attempting to create chaos in the country. Later, the Emergency was lifted, elections were held, and democratic processes were restored. During the Emergency, Indira Gandhi didn't sell the country's assets or hand over public sector enterprises to industrialists." "But for the past 11 years, there has been an undeclared Emergency in the country. Airports, ports, mines, banks, and government lands are being sold off to favoured industrialists. Even Dharavi's land has been sold,' the Congress leader alleged. He alleged that the BJP is trying to replace the national emblem with Sengol, pointing out government-issued advertisements. 'In the government ads, the national emblem is missing, replaced by the Sengol. There's no need to elaborate what Sengol symbolizes. The BJP wants to dismantle democracy and the Constitution and implement Golwalkar's 'Bunch of Thoughts',' alleged Sapkal.
