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Govt decides to shield convicted MPs, MLAs

September 25, 2013

Govtshield_convictedNew Delhi, Sep 25: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday decided to promulgate an ordinance to negate a Supreme Court order which sought to disqualify an MP or an MLA/MLC convicted for crimes with jail term of two years or more.

An immediate beneficiary of this ordinance could be Congress MP Rasheed Masood who was convicted by a CBI court in a corruption case. The court is set to pronounce the quantum of punishment next month.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a fodder scam case involving Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on September 30. He also faces the prospect of disqualification as Parliament could not pass the Representation of the People (Second Amendment and Validation) Bill during the Monsoon Session.

At an all-party meeting, political parties had agreed to pass the bill, but differences cropped up when it was introduced in the Rajya Sabha. Some political parties were skeptical on rushing through the legislation fearing a public backlash.

The Supreme Court said on July 10 that lawmakers convicted of crimes with jail term of two years or more face immediate disqualification.

The ordinance seeks to negate the apex court judgment from the day it was pronounced if the lawmaker concerned appeals against his conviction within 90 days and gets a stay from a higher court.

However, the lawmaker will not be eligible to vote in Parliament or legislature of a state or draw salary and allowances till his conviction is set aside by the court.

He may continue to take part in the proceedings of the House. The government had also filed a review petition in the Supreme Court in connection with the July 10 judgment after consultations with the attorney general. But it was strongly felt that a bill be brought in Parliament to negate the apex court ruling without waiting for the outcome of the review petition given parties demand.

Congress spokesman P C Chacko defended the decision to promulgate an ordinance and rejected suggestions that the government was resorting to “backdoor methods” to shield convicted MPs.

“Ordinance is not an undemocratic act by the government. It is not a backdoor method. It has to have the nod of Parliament. It will be placed before Parliament in the very next session,” he said.

BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman slammed the government for deciding to promulgate the ordinance to protect convicted MPs and MLAs.

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April 20,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 20: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday alleged that efforts were being made to undermine the achievements of the state government in its fight against Covid-19 and said he was "ignoring" them as it was not the time for controversies.

The Opposition Congress has been raising allegations that a US-based company had been entrusted with the task of collecting data regarding the virus-infected patients in the state, in violation of fundamental rights.

"Many developed nations are in awe of the achievements of Kerala in its fight against Covid-19 pandemic. This is the speciality of Kerala model," Vijayan said. Referring to the data collection charge levelled by the opposition parties, Vijayan said some were engaged in slandering the state government.

"Those who think that the government should not have a reputation for effectively handling the coronavirus outbreak are engaged in slandering the state government. It has happened before, it's happening now also. This is not the time to go behind controversies. People are watching and they will evaluate," Vijayan said in his weekly interactive programme 'Naam munnott'.

He said he had decided to ignore such controversies. The ward-level committees, set up by the government for the anti-coronavirus fight, was collecting information of those under home isolation, elderly persons and those at the risk of the disease using a questionnaire in this regard and upload it on the server of the private agency. The Congress has alleged that the data, collected through the government machinery, was being uploaded not on the government server but on that of the foreign company.

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News Network
February 16,2020

New Delhi, Feb 16: Just an hour ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Arvind Kejriwal invited the people of Delhi again for his oath-taking ceremony at Ramlila Maidan today.

Referring himself as "son of Delhi", the AAP convener today tweeted saying, "Delhiites, your son is going to take oath as Delhi chief minister for the third time. You must come to bless your son".

The AAP national convener will be sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the third time in a row.

Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to take oath along with other ministers at Ramlila Maidan.

On Saturday, Kejriwal, through a tweet, has said that autorickshaw drivers, students, teachers, doctors, labourers, etc will be the "chief guests".

The guest list put out by the AAP includes ''Delhi ke Nirmata''- people who contributed to the development of the city during the last five years.

These include Sumit Nagal, a Delhi government school student and an international Tennis player, Laxman Chaudhry an auto driver, Manu Gulati a teacher and "one of the many architects of Delhi Governance Model", Dalbir Singh a farmer, Ratan Jamshed Batliboi - the architect of the famous Signature Bridge among others.

By winning 62 seats by cashing in on the plank of development, his party nearly repeated its 2015 performance, sweeping the Assembly polls in the face of a high-voltage campaign by the BJP, which had fielded a battery of Union Ministers and Chief Ministers in its electioneering, spearheaded by Home Minister Amit Shah.

The BJP marginally improved its tally, managing just eight seats from its 2015''s tally of three seats. The Congress failed to open its account in the second successive election.

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News Network
March 23,2020

New Delhi, Mar 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday appealed to state governments to ensure that rules and regulations of the coronavirus lockdown are enforced as he noted that many people are not taking the measure seriously.

"Many people are still not taking the lockdown seriously. Please save yourself, save your family, follow the instructions seriously. I request state governments to ensure rules and laws are followed," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

The Centre and state governments have decided to completely lock down 80 districts across the country where coronavirus cases have been reported.

Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala announced lockdown in many districts.

Delhi will be locked down from 6 am on March 23 till midnight on March 31.

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