BJP’s Madhya Pradesh surprise: Mohan Yadav beats many bigwigs

News Network

December 11, 2023

New Delhi, Dec 11: Mohan Yadav has been chosen as the new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, more than two weeks after the ruling BJP routed rivals Congress to retain control of the heartland state. Mr Yadav, the Higher Education Minister in the outgoing government, was elected from the Ujjain Dakshin seat.

"I am a small party worker... I thank the party for this opportunity," Mr Yadav said.

The BJP, in a bid to contain ambitions and soothe ruffled feathers ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, also named two deputy chief ministers - Jagdish Deora and Rajesh Shukla. Mr Deora was elected from Malhagarh by nearly 60,000 votes and Mr Shukla from Rewa by around 21,000 votes.

The appointments end suspense over the identity of two of three chief ministers for the states the BJP won on December 3. Vishnu Deo Sai was named Chhattisgarh Chief Minister on Sunday.

Now, of the five states that voted in November, only Rajasthan is without a Chief Minister; the Congress, which won Telangana, has installed Revanth Reddy in the top post and, in Mizoram, the fledgling Zoram People's Movement claimed an impressive win and Lalduhoma is Chief Minister.

A three-time MLA from the Ujjain district, the appointment of Mohan Yadav, 58, has been widely seen as the end of the political road (at least in the state) for his predecessor, Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Mr Chouhan is a four-time Chief Minister and arguably the BJP's tallest leader in the state, but seemed to side-lined by his party in the run-up to the November 17 election. The party opted for a campaign based on "collective leadership" built around Prime Minister Narendra Modi's face.

The strategy reaped dividends; the BJP won 163 of 230 seats and the Congress, which actually won the 2018 election but saw its government fall two years later, was left with just 66, down from 114.

The BJP's win defied several exit polls' predictions of a tight race with the Congress.

Ex-Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, one of three former cabinet members to contest last month's election, has been made Assembly Speaker. There was speculation Mr Tomar, who led the ministry during protests against farm laws, could succeed Mr Chouhan to the top post.

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UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians

News Network

November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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