Tag: Constitution

Delhi HC seeks EC’s stand on plea against approval to amended AIADMK constitution

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the stand of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the AIADMK on a petition against the approval of amendments to the “original constitution” of the party.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued notice on a petition by B Ramkumar Adityan and K C Suren Palanisamy, who claimed to be primary members of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), against the ECI order which also endorsed the elevation of Edappadi K Palaniswami as party’s general secretary.
The petition said the order was “illegal” and passed without considering the petitioners’ representation.

The lawyer appearing for the petitioners told the court the amendment to the party laws was approved in a “very mechanical” manner.
“Issue notice returnable in six weeks,” the judge said and listed the case for hearing on October 10.
On April 12, the high court had asked the ECI to decide within 10 days representation by AIADMK to update in its record the party’s amended bye-laws.
The order was passed on a petition filed by AIADMK and its interim general secretary Thiru K Palaniswamy, which claimed that the records of the party were not being updated owing to certain internal disputes pending in AIADMK.
On April 20, the ECI had endorsed the elevation of Palaniswami to the top position of the AIADMK as its general secretary, thereby also acknowledging the expulsion of O Panneerselvam and his supporters from the party last year.

The EC had, however, made it clear that its decision to take on record the changes to the AIADMK’s organisational structure was subject to any further court order on the leadership dispute.
In the petition filed through lawyer Ashish Kumar Upadhyay, the petitioners said the ECI order was “illegal, ultra vires to the provisions of the Section 29A of the Representation of People Act 1951, the provisions of Original Constitution of the Respondent No.2 Party (AIADMK) and Natural Justice”.
“When there are civil suits pending before various forums challenging resolutions passed to amend the Party Constitution by the General Council on 12.09.2017, the Executive Council on 01.12.2021 and the General Council 11.07.2022 and Election of Shri. Edapadi.K.Palanisamy as the General Secretary of the Respondent No.2 Party, the Respondent has no choice to accept the Resolutions and amended Constitution of the Party on file,” the petition said.
“If the respondent has taken a decision to take the amended Constitution on file pending disposal of the civil suits, it will cause irreparable damage to functioning of the party and rights of the Primary Members,” the plea added.
AIADMK’s petition had earlier asserted that not updating the ECI records is wholly contrary to the various settled legal principles and the inaction will only cause severe disruption of the activities of the party which will in turn have a serious bearing on the democratic principles of the nation.
“The inaction of ECI has grossly violated the Article 19(1)(c) of the petitioners as petitioner no. 1 (AIADMK) is an association of persons and owing to the inaction of ECI, the petitioner no. 1 is not able to effectively carry out its functions which is the dire need of the hour especially owing to the fast approaching General Assembly Elections to Lok Sabha,” the AIADMK petition had said.
“The inaction of ECI is causing grave prejudice and hardship not only to the AIADMK party but also to the primary members of AIADMK party and entire citizenry of State of Tamil Nadu for the reason that absolute strangers to the AIADMK party are representing themselves as coordinators and other office bearers of party. They are also appointing various unknown persons to the posts of AIADMK party and such impersonation cannot be allowed in a vibrant democracy,” it said.
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#Delhi #seeks #ECs #stand #plea #approval #amended #AIADMK #constitution
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 4, 2023
Senate GOP blocks measure looking to prohibit sex discrimination in Constitution

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A later vote extended the deadline to 1982, but a sufficient number of states still did not ratify. The Senate’s resolution would remove the 1982 deadline and recognize the ERA in the Constitution.
The measure was bipartisan, sponsored by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). But all Republicans save for Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins voted against it, arguing it’s not necessary to include in the Constitution. Opponents also said it raises legal questions about Congress’ authority to remove amendment ratification deadlines or whether states can rescind it.
Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) alluded to the uphill climb for Democrats to get the measure over the finish line on Wednesday.
“It only takes 41 to block,” Thune said, implying Democrats didn’t have the votes for passage. “I think it will be a heavy lift.”
Before the vote, Schumer called the deadline to ratify the ERA “arbitrary” and said it must be passed.
“There is no good reason — none — for this chamber, this Congress, and this nation to bind itself to limitations set fifty years ago,” he said on the Senate floor. “The Constitution itself imposes no such barrier; by keeping this barrier in place — this seven year barrier — all we’re doing is needlessly obeying skewed rules set by politicians who are long gone, and whose views ought not rule the day any longer.”
“In 2023, we should move forward to ratify the ERA with all due haste, because if you look at the terrible things happening to women’s rights in this country, it’s clear that we must act,” he added.
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#Senate #GOP #blocks #measure #prohibit #sex #discrimination #Constitution
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 27, 2023
BJP govt weakening Constitution, paying lip service to Ambedkar: Cong

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New Delhi: The Congress accused the BJP-led Centre on Friday of attacking and weakening the Constitution and paying only lip service to its architect, BR Ambedkar.
On Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, senior Congress leader Kumari Selja alleged that incidents of atrocities against the members of the Scheduled Caste (SC) and tribal communities have gone up under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime, and accused the ruling party of weakening the social security of the SCs, Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
She said the Congress is committed towards ensuring social justice for the oppressed communities and promised that it will set up a national council of social justice, introduce a socio-economic caste census and bring a “Rohith Vemula Act” to protect SC, ST and OBC students in educational institutions across the country.

“Although the prime minister, the BJP and the RSS pay lip service to Babasaheb Ambedkar, they are destroying everything he worked to achieve in his life and are attacking the Constitution, weakening the economic position and social security of Dalits and backward classes, and spreading hatred,” Selja told reporters here.
“The Congress is strongly committed to social justice for all communities. In our Raipur resolution, we have committed to systematic efforts, reversing the (Narendra) Modi government’s attack on social justice through measures, including creating a new national council of social justice, conducting a socio-economic caste census along with the census every decade, passing a Rohith Vemula Act to protect SC, ST and OBC students in educational institutions and ensuring an effective implementation of the SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,” she added.
Alleging that the Constitution drafted by Ambedkar is under attack, the Congress leader said people’s issues are not being discussed in Parliament, even though crores of rupees are being spent on a new Parliament building while preventing the existing one from functioning.
“We cannot talk about any people’s issue — unemployment, inflation or the Adani scam. A budget of Rs 45 lakh crore of public money is passed without any discussion,” she said.
Selja alleged that institutions are being misused and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are being used to target the BJP’s political rivals as 95 per cent of the cases filed by these agencies are against opposition leaders.

“The BJP’s washing machine removes cases against leaders who join that party,” she said.
Claiming that pressure is being exerted on the judiciary, the Congress leader said the law minister has slowly increased his open attacks on the judicial system and now started calling retired judges “anti-national”.
“The law minister himself admitted that a former CJI had written asking for protection from online trolls. We saw the spectacle a few years ago of sitting judges warning of danger to the judiciary,” she said.
Selja said Ambedkar wanted the Constitution to reign supreme, bring equality between people belonging to all castes and communities and the government to work for the welfare of Dalits and all communities oppressed by the caste system.
She also said over the last week, people have seen how the prime minister makes a big “tamasha” of small events, including the online inauguration of a train, visiting a safari, personally giving appointment letters for positions such as train manager, ticket clerk and postal assistant.
Noting that Ambedkar had warned against this kind of hero-worship, she wondered if his last words — “in politics, bhakti is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship” — may prove prophetic and urged “bhakts” to listen to his wise words.
The Congress general secretary also claimed that cases of atrocities are rising every year under the current government as the crime rate against Dalits and adivasis has gone up by a third.
Referring to data complied by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), she said in 2021, 50,900 crimes were committed against SCs, a 32-per cent increase from 38,670 such incidents recorded in 2015, adding that there were 8,802 crimes against STs in 2021, a 34-per cent increase from 6,568 registered in 2016.
“The vicious statements against religious minorities are only step one on the BJP-RSS agenda, where minorities, Dalits, adivasis, OBCs are reduced to second-class citizens,” Selja alleged.
Dalits are bearing the brunt of the growing economic inequality under this “suit-boot sarkar” as the poor are getting poorer and the rich richer, she said, adding that the poorest 20 per cent Indians have seen their real income fall by nearly 50 per cent and the lower-middle class by 25 per cent, even as the richest 20 per cent have seen a more than 40 per cent growth in their wealth.
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#BJP #govt #weakening #Constitution #paying #lip #service #Ambedkar #Cong
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 14, 2023
Video: Sharmila offers to gift Constitution copy to Telangana CM

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Hyderabad: YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) president YS Sharmila on Friday offered to gift a copy of the Constitution to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to advise him to read it and govern the state accordingly.
While paying tributes to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Tank Bund on his birth anniversary, she lashed out at the Chief Minister for “insulting” the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb.
She slammed KCR for his utter “disregard in keeping promises” made to Dalits. She wanted to proceed to the Chief Minister’s official residence to gift him a copy of the Constitution but was stopped by the police.

“On this occasion, YSRTP is happy to gift Indian Constitution to KCR. We hope it opens his eyes and compels him to respect and implement the Constitution,” said Sharmila.
80వేల పుస్తకాలు చదివానని చెబుతున్న కేసీఆర్ గారు.. ముందుగా డా.బీఆర్ అంబేడ్కర్ గారు రచించిన రాజ్యాంగాన్ని చదవాలి. అంబేడ్కర్ గారు ప్రజలకు ఇచ్చిన హక్కులను అమలు చేయాలి. YSR తెలంగాణ పార్టీ పంపించిన ఈ పుస్తకాన్ని చదివి,తాలిబన్లలా కాకుండా ప్రజాస్వామ్యబద్ధంగా పరిపాలన చేయండి.@TelanganaCMO pic.twitter.com/Ot7Ik0KspS
— YS Sharmila (@realyssharmila) April 14, 2023
Sharmila alleged that KCR time and again insulted Babasaheb and the Constitution with his words and deeds.
“In Telangana, KCR’s constitution reigns supreme, where there is no freedom of speech and right to protest. KCR’s constitution is all about corruption, nepotism, and fake promises. From Dalit Chief Minister to Dalit Bandhu, Dalits have been cheated and neglected,” she said.
“The government has failed to keep three-acre land promise, loans and employment promises, empower SC Corporation, while atrocities and attacks on Dalits go unchecked in the state,” she claimed.

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#Video #Sharmila #offers #gift #Constitution #copy #Telangana
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 14, 2023
Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification goes against basic tenets of Constitution, says Sharad Pawar

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Mumbai: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a Lok Sabha member was against the basic tenets of the Constitution and was a “condemnable” move that highlighted the curtailment of democratic values, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has said.
Gandhi, representing Wayanad parliamentary constituency in Kerala, was on Friday disqualified from the Lok Sabha, a day after his conviction in a defamation case by a court in Surat in Gujarat.
The court sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail in a criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remarks at a 2019 poll rally in Karnataka. However, the court also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.
Commenting on the development on Friday, the NCP supremo also referred to the disqualification of his party MP from Lakshadweep Mohammed Faizal P P following the latter’s conviction in an attempt to murder case. Faizal’s conviction was later suspended by the Kerala High Court.
“The disqualification of Mr Rahul Gandhi and Mr Faizal a few months ago as MPs of the Lok Sabha are against the basic tenets of the constitution, where democratic values are being curtailed. This is condemnable and against the very principles on which the constitution is based,” Pawar tweeted.
“Our constitution guarantees the right of each Individual to fair justice; liberty of thought; equality of status and opportunity and fraternity assuring the dignity of each Indian. #RahulGandhi,” the former Union minister said in a series of tweets.
We all need to stand together to defend our democratic institutions, he added.

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#Rahul #Gandhis #disqualification #basic #tenets #Constitution #Sharad #Pawar
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 25, 2023
Rahul’s conviction proves law, Constitution above all: UP Dy CM

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Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday welcomed the two-year imprisonment awarded to senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying the “crown prince” has still not come out of his monarchical mindset.
Speaking to reporters at the state BJP office, Maurya said, “Despite being sentenced by the court, the way in which the leaders of the Congress are justifying it (Gandhi’s comment) drops enough hints about their intentions and what they think about the OBC community. The Congress ‘yuvraj’ has still not come out of his monarchical mindset.”
Gandhi was on Thursday sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark. On Friday, the Lok Sabha Secretariat disqualified him as MP from Wayanad in Kerala.
Welcoming the ruling of the Surat court, the deputy chief minister said it has applied a balm on the bruises of the backward castes.
“From the time Narendra Modi, who hails from the OBC community, became the prime minister, the Congress party, especially the Gandhi family, has been after him. The Congress and the Gandhi family are anti-OBC.. By using casteist words, they have insulted Modiji, the messiah of the poor, and the more than 55 per cent backward castes of the country,” he said.
The court’s order shows that law of the country and the Constitution are above all, and all the citizens are equal before it, Maurya added.
“Has Rahul Gandhi become bigger than the country and the Constitution that he has the right to abuse us? The way in which Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other Congress leaders are trying to justify, it shows that they consider insulting OBCs their moral duty,” he said, sharpening his attack.

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#Rahuls #conviction #proves #law #Constitution
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 24, 2023
Constitution has to evolve through Parliament, not executive or judiciary: VP Dhankhar

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New Delhi: The evolution of the Constitution has to take place in Parliament and no other “super body” or institution, including the judiciary and the executive, has any role in it, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Sunday.
It is the primacy of the Constitution that determines the stability, harmony and productivity of democratic governance and Parliament reflecting mandate of the people is the ultimate and exclusive architect of the Constitution, he said.
Dhankhar’s remarks, made at the release a memoir of former Tamil Nadu governor P S Ramamohan Rao, came a day after Law Minister Kiren Rijiju invoked the “Lakhsman Rekha” on the relationship between the executive and the judiciary.
The vice president said, “A constitution has to evolve from the people through Parliament, not from the executive. The executive has no role in evolving the Constitution and no other institution including judiciary.”
He further stressed, “The Constitution evolution has to take place in Parliament and there can be no super body to look into that…it has to end with Parliament.”
The vice president said he was making the statement “without fear of contradiction (and) having studied constituent assembly debates and examined constitutions of countries where democracy blossoms and flourishes”.
Amid a tussle between the judiciary and the government over the appointment of judges of high courts and the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said not every system is perfect but the current collegium system is the “best” mechanism developed by the judiciary to maintain its independence.
Justice Chandrachud put up a stout defence of the collegium system of judges appointing judges to higher courts while speaking at the India Today Conclave, 2023, just hours after Law Minister Rijiju at the same forum again criticised the selection process, asserting that as per the Constitution the appointment of judges is the duty of the government.

Rijiju also said the appointment of judges was not a judicial work but “purely administrative in nature”.
The minister felt that if judges got involved in administrative work, they would have to face criticism. He said the principle of justice will be compromised if a judge ends up hearing a matter of which he or she was a part.
“Suppose you are the chief justice or a judge. You are part of an administrative process that will come into question. The matter comes to your court. Can you deliver a judgment on a matter you were part of? The principle of justice itself will be compromised. That is why the Lakshman Rekha is very clear in the Constitution,” Rijiju said.
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#Constitution #evolve #Parliament #executive #judiciary #Dhankhar
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 19, 2023
MP Nishikant Dubey seeks constitution of special committee to consider expulsion of Rahul Gandhi

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New Delhi: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday demanded the constitution of a special parliamentary committee to inquire into Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “contemptuous” remarks and consider if he should be expelled from the House to give a clear message so that “no one takes the pride and respect of high institutions for a ride”.
Dubey said he is seeking the formation of a special parliamentary committee similar to the one made in 2008 on the cash-for-votes scam during the UPA-I government.
In a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Dubey said he is giving notice under Rule 223 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha on the “contemptuous and unbecoming behaviour” of the member of Parliament over his remarks at Cambridge University.
The BJP MP claimed that Gandhi said that microphones are turned off in Parliament when members from the Opposition speak there. He also claimed that the Congress leader had said why the biggest advocates of democracy like the US and the UK are silent on the developments in India on this front.
“This conduct of the Member is required to be investigated thoroughly either by the Privileges Committee or by a special committee.
“Thereafter, House should consider whether such a member should be expelled from the House to protect the esteem of parliament and other democratic institutions and give a clear message that no one takes the pride and respect of high institutions for a ride in future,” Dubey said in the letter.
He alleged that statements made by Gandhi are virulent and “systematically anti-India campaign to malign and bring disrepute and contempt of Parliament” and a concerted effort to “run down and defame our democratic institutions.”
The BJP leader also said this conduct is unworthy of a member of Parliament and clearly an affront to the dignity of the House and other highest constitutional authorities.

A Parliamentary Committee looking into the 2008 ‘cash-for-vote’ scam probed allegations by three BJP MPs that they were offered money to back the Manmohan Singh government during the crucial trust vote that year.
The Committee was set up after these BJP members displayed wads of currency notes during the debate on the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha and alleged that attempts were made to bribe them in order to enlist their support.
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#Nishikant #Dubey #seeks #constitution #special #committee #expulsion #Rahul #Gandhi
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 15, 2023
Vote to save Constitution in 2024: Akhilesh Yadav

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Bijnor: Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Monday exhorted people to vote in the 2024 general election to “save the Constitution” as he accused the BJP of rigging last assembly elections and ensuring loss of his party candidates.
“This time, you all have to vote to save the constitution. In the last assembly polls, BJP and the state administration ensured the defeat of opposition candidates, who were winning,” Yadav told reporters here.
Naemul Hasan, who contested from Dhampur seat, was winning by a margin of 203 votes but was declared defeated by the administration, he said.
On the bulldozer policy against encroachment championed by the BJP-run state administration, Yadav said in Varanasi alone there are over 20 thousand illegal constructions belonging to BJP men, but no action has been taken against them.
“In Bareilly, a petrol pump of party leader Shahzil Islam was demolished, but in the same city there are illegal nursing homes and petrol pumps belonging to BJP men and that were spared,” Yadav said, and wondered when will the government move to raze such structures owned by people from BJP.
In an apparent reference to the alleged financial irregularities committed by Adani group, Yadav said the LIC and SBI suffered losses because of it, but the Central government is still using ED and CBI to attack the opposition.
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#Vote #save #Constitution #Akhilesh #Yadav

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 13, 2023
Louisville Police Department practices violated Constitution, DOJ finds

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“This unacceptable and unconstitutional conduct erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo
The Louisville, Kentucky, city government and police department conducted practices that violated the Constitution, according to a new investigation released Wednesday by the Department of Justice.
The Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government and the Louisville Metro Police Department had patterns of unlawful practices, Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a press conference in Louisville on Wednesday. The DOJ investigation, the results of which Garland announced Wednesday, was launched after Louisville police officers shot and killed Breonna Taylor in 2020. That shooting sparked nationwide protests and calls for police reform.
In its report, the DOJ had “reasonable cause to believe” that the city government and police department engaged in “a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law.”
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#Louisville #Police #Department #practices #violated #Constitution #DOJ #finds
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 8, 2023