SC dismisses plea questioning Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship

Agencies
May 9, 2019

New Delhi, May 9: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking direction to the Centre and the Election Commission to debar Congress President Rahul Gandhi from contesting Lok Sabha elections till the issue of his citizenship is decided.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi rejected the contention of the petitioners, who said that in a form along with the annual data of a UK-based company in 2005-06, it was allegedly mentioned that Rahul Gandhi is a British citizen. "If some company in some form mentions his nationality as British, does he become a British citizen," the bench also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna told the petitioners.

Earlier, Congress general secretary and in-charge for East UP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra rubbished the questions raised over the citizenship of Rahul Gandhi.

"The controversy about Rahul's citizenship is rubbish and drama. The whole of India knows that Rahul Gandhi is an Indian," she said.

"He was born, raised and grew up in India. What sort of rubbish is this (controversy) regarding his citizenship," Priyanka said when asked to comment.

Priyanka was here to address election meetings in support of Rahul, who is seeking re-election from Amethi.

The Congress party on Tuesday said the Home Ministry’s notice to Rahul regarding his citizenship was a ploy to divert the people’s attention from the real issues plaguing the nation.

The party accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of resorting to “a fake narrative to divert the attention of the people as he has no answers for unemployment, farmer distress, and tax terrorism unleashed on the traders of the country.”

Talking to news agency, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said: “The electoral boat of PM Modi and BJP has completely sunk. The bankruptcy of new ideas is now making them lose the political balance by resorting to such malicious allegations against Gandhi.”

“The entire country knows that he is a citizen of India. Rahul Gandhi complained to the Ethics Committee of Parliament regarding the same issue one and a half years ago. The truth is that there is no truth in the allegations,” said Surjewala.

“PM Modi raised the same issue in 2015 and again in 2017 when it approached the Home Ministry with a complaint against Rahul Gandhi. For the last five years, were the BJP leaders sleeping? Why is this topic being raised during the election season only,” he asked.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked Gandhi to respond within a 'fortnight' to the allegations.

On April 20, BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao had also raised a similar objection to Gandhi’s citizenship at a press conference.

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News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: A Delhi court Thursday issued fresh death warrants for execution of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case for March 20 at 5.30 am.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana fixed March 20 as the new date of execution after it was told by the Delhi government that the convicts have exhausted all their legal remedies.

The lawyer for the four death row convicts also told the court that there was no legal impediment for the court to proceed in fixing the date of execution.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Lucknow, Jul 2: After a video showing health workers allegedly tossing bodies of coronavirus victims in a large pit in Karnataka, BSP President Mayawati on Wednesday stated that the incident is the "height of cruelty and insult to humanity".
The former UP Chief Minister demanded that the guilty must be punished.

"The tragedy that the bodies of COVID-19 victims being thrown into trenches in Ballari, Karnataka is the height of cruelty and an insult to humanity. Though incidents related to inhuman cruelty with corona patients are rampant but guilty of Ballari must be punished by the state government," Mayawati said in a tweet.

Also, in another tweet, she asked the Central government to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

"In order to check ignominy of starvation on account of long unprecedented hardship & unemployment due to coronavirus and the subsequent nationwide lockdown, the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna must continue not till November but till the end of the pandemic, this is the demand of BSP," she tweeted. 

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Agencies
July 13,2020

New Delhi, Jul 13: The Land & Development Office, which comes under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has sent a notice to news agency PTI, demanding it to cough up more than Rs 84 crore as penalty. The notice dated July 7 says that the penalty has been imposed due to "breaches" at its office in Delhi.

The notice that sought Rs 84,48,23,281 argues that "the less will be pleased to regularise the breaches in the premises temporarily up to 14.07.2020 and withdraw the right of re-entry of the premises subject to the following conditions being fulfilled by you within 30 days from the date of issue of this letter."

The notice also stipulates that the news agency needs to give an undertaking on non-judicial stamp paper stating that it will pay the difference of "misuse/damage charges" if the land rates are revised with effect from 01.04.2016 by the government and will also remove the "breaches" by 14.07.2020 or get them regularised by paying charges.

The notice also warns that further action to execute the deed has to be subject to complete payment and putting the premise to use according to the masterplan.

The Land & Development Office so warned that an additional 10 per cent interest may need to be coughed out by PTI if it fails to furnish the concerned amount within the stipulated time period.

Additionally, if the news agency fails to comply with the terms within the said period, the concession will be withdrawn. In other words, they will have to pay the penalty up to the actual date of payment then and will also be subject to actions.

This stern notice for alleged violations by PTI comes closely on the heels of national broadcaster Prasar Bharati locking horns with PTI over its reportage that it called "anti national".

Prasar Bharti had recently sent a letter threatening to end its "relationship" with PTI after it carried an interview of Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong, where he blamed India for the India-China violent standoff that saw 20 Indian bravehearts getting martyred.

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