If you remain silent under Modi regime you are a complicit in its atrocities: Kapil Sibal

News Network
October 2, 2021

Ahmadabad, Oct 2: Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Saturday said remaining silent was not an option under the BJP government as it would mean one is complicit in its atrocities.

Speaking about the turmoil within the Congress, Sibal, who is part of the so-called "G-23" group of dissidents, said he did not know if the party was ready for reforms but he can only voice his own sentiments.

“I don't want to comment on that tweet of P Chidambaram as he is a dear colleague. I can only say that in politics when I talk about Modi (government), safe harbour is not silence,” Sibal told reporters here in reply to a question on a recent tweet by the former finance minister.

“This is no time to be silent, if you are silent against the atrocities of the Modi government then you are complicit,” he added.

Chidambaram had tweeted on September 30 that he felt helpless "when we cannot start meaningful conversations within party forums" and when one sees Congress workers shouting slogans outside the residence of a colleague and MP.

“The safe harbour to which one can withdraw seems to be silence,” he had said. The tweets came after Congress workers shouted slogans against Sibal.

To a question about the G-23 group, Sibal said, “There is no G-23, you called it G-23. It is a set of people who want reforms from within, that's about it. The reforms that we want, we have spoken about in the past, there is no point in repeating it."

“I have no grievances (against the party), whatever I have said, I have said, there is nothing more that I wish to say,” Sibal said in reply to another question.

Asked if the Congress leadership was not inclined to implement the reforms suggested by the group, the Rajya Sabha member said, “I don't know if the party is ready for reforms or not, I can only voice my sentiments.”

To the question whether he thought if the party was taking a strong stand against the "atrocities" of the Modi government, Sibal said the party was speaking about it. "Rahul Gandhi has raised his voice against it, that is good of Rahul Gandhi,” he added.

When asked if the Congress had ceded the "middle ground" to the BJP and taken a left turn, Sibal said he disagreed.

"They (BJP) have changed the rules of the game. Cricket is played by the rules of the game. If you have a doubt about an LBW or a catch, the decision is to be given by the third umpire. But here they have taken over every system and they have become umpires," Sibal said.

"ED is the umpire, CBI is the umpire, they try to influence courts, they have captured the system. If you change the rules, then there will be no middle ground," the Congress leader said.

Prime Minister Modi speaks about Mahatma Gandhi and tries to appropriate him from the Congress, but "he is doing everything opposite of what Gandhi said," Sibal stated.

On the trouble within the Punjab Congress, Sibal said, “I am a party worker, if I had been a decision-maker, I would have told you. I am a worker, and I will continue to work.”

On the recent government change in the BJP-ruled Gujarat, Sibal said the chief ministers were also made to resign in Karnataka and Uttarakhand, and the saffron party also "tried to do it in Uttar Pradesh but it could not be done."

The BJP replaced governments in these states because it felt the incumbent leaders would not win it elections, the Congress leader claimed.

He credited Rahul Gandhi for the Congress" impressive performance in the 2017 Assembly polls in Gujarat, saying he came and stayed for three months and energized the party. "What is the situation now in Gujarat Congress I don't know,” he added.

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News Network
March 16,2024

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New Delhi: The 2024 general election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases from April 19, Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar said today, announcing the largest democratic exercise in the world. Results will be announced on June 4.

The seven phases: 
April 19
April 26
May 7
May 13
May 20
May 25
June 1

Simultaneous election for Lok Sabha and assembly will be held in four states -- Sikkim, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra.  

By-elections will also be held for 26 assembly seats across multiple states, including Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Mr Kumar, announcing the dates, sent out a strong message on fake news on social media, saying political parties should ensure responsible social media behaviour -- "verify before you amplify".

"Fake news will be dealt with severely as per existent laws.. Section 79 (3)(B) of the IT Act empowers nodal officers in each state to remove unlawful content," he said.

The other strong message was on violation of model code in terms of hate speeches. "There should be issue-based campaign, no hate speeches, no speeches along caste or religious lines, no criticism of anyone's personal lives," he said.

The media must clarify when they carry political adverts, those cannot masquerade as news, he said. Individual messages regarding this would be sent to the candidates, he added.

The commission has employed 2,100 advisors to keep an eye on these issues and strong action will be taken regarding this, he said.

Voters above the age of 85 years and persons with disabilities, with 40 per cent disability can vote from home, Mr Kumar said. Around 82 lakh voter are above the age of 85, he said.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Former Karnataka chief minister and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor at his residence in Bengaluru last month.

Yediyurappa, 81, was booked after a woman lodged a complaint saying that she visited his residence on February 2 seeking justice in a rape case against her daughter and sought that a special investigation team (SIT) be formed to look into the case.

According to the first information report (FIR), Yediyurappa allegedly took the minor to a room, closed the door and sexually assaulted her. The woman further alleged in the FIR that when she confronted Yediyurappa, he said that he was checking if the girl was raped or not. Yediyurappa later allegedly apologised and asked the woman not to reveal the matter to anyone.

The Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru have registered a case under Section 8 (commit sexual assault) of the Pocso Act and Section 354 (a) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Reacting to the allegations, the former CM said that around one-and-a-half months ago, they (the victim and her mother) had come to his house seeking help and he had taken them inside. 

“After listening to her, I called the city police commissioner B Dayananda over phone seeking to address her problem. Later, they spoke against me and I then suspected that there is some health problem with her. I sent them to city police commissioner’s office. I even gave her some money as they were in distress. I came to know that an FIR has been registered and will look into it. But this is what I get for helping someone,” he added.

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News Network
March 28,2024

New Delhi: After India summoned an American diplomat over their remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case, the US reiterated on Wednesday its call for "fair, transparent, timely legal processes".

We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, said US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller while responding to questions on India summoning Gloria Berbena, the US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi.

The meeting at the foreign ministry's South Block office lasted nearly 40 minutes yesterday with India objecting strongly to the US remarks on the arrest of Mr Kejriwal.

Miller also responded to a question on the Congress party's frozen bank accounts, saying, "We are also aware of the Congress party's allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections."

He said the US encourages "fair, transparent and timely legal processes" for each of these issues.

"With respect to your first question, I'm not going to talk about any private diplomatic conversations, but of course, what we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, timely legal processes. We don't think anyone should object to that," he said.

Mr Kejriwal was arrested last week by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the third Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader after Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh to be taken into custody in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.

The US State Department on Tuesday said it is monitoring reports of Mr Kejriwal's arrest and called on New Delhi to ensure "a fair and timely legal process" for the jailed Chief Minister.

India objected to it and warned of "unhealthy precedents".

"States are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others, and this responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents," the foreign ministry said.

"India's legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted," the ministry stressed.

The US remarks came days after Germany's Foreign Office stressed that Mr Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. The Indian government had reacted strongly and summoned the German envoy, labelling their remark "blatant interference in internal matters".

The excise policy was introduced to bring an overhaul to the liquor business in Delhi, but was scrapped after Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena ordered a probe into the alleged irregularities in the policy. The ED believes the bribe money from the policy was allegedly used for funding the AAP's election campaigns. It has also called Mr Kejriwal a "conspirator" in the case.

His arrest just ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election has also prompted furious protests from the opposition camp.

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