QBullet: Clean Chit to CJI Gogoi; Mayawati Hints at PM Ambitions
From CJI Gogoi getting a clean chit to Mayawati hinting at PM ambitions, here are the top stories of the day.
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1. Supreme Court Justices Declare in One Voice: Chief Is Innocent
A three-member in-house committee of Supreme Court judges led by justice SA Bobde on Monday unanimously cleared Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment charges levelled by a former court employee, in a decision that was criticised by several leading lawyers for its lack of transparency and process.
The proceedings were ex parte (without the party concerned) after the complainant walked out of her third meeting with the panel citing lack of procedure.
The committee submitted its report to justice Arun Mishra, but refused to share its findings with even the complainant. It also cited a 2003 judgement in a case filed by lawyer Indira Jaising seeking the report of an in-house committee that looked into allegations of sexual harassment against judges of the Karnataka High Court.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. ‘56-Inch Boxer Punched His Coach LK Advani in Face,’ Says Rahul Gandhi
In one of his sharpest attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi called him a “56-inch boxer” who was elected to fight the country’s problems but he instead began delivering punches to the country’s farmers and traders in the form of schemes such as Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetisation.
The Congress president made these comments during his ‘Ab Hoga Nyay’ rally in Haryana’s Bhiwani district in support of Congress Lok Sabha candidate Shruti Choudhry.
Calling Bhiwani district the upcoming boxing capital of the world – Olympian and Congress’s Delhi candidate Vijender Singh belongs from here – Rahul Gandhi said the country also elected a “56-inch boxer” during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections to fight unemployment and corruption.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. As Voting for Round 5 Ends, 118 Seats Remain
The fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections witnessed a 63.24% turnout as 51 constituencies went to polls across seven states on Monday, according to the Election Commission (EC) of India’s Voter Turnout mobile app. Barring seven parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal and Anantnag and Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, this phase of election was entirely in Hindi speaking states.
The turnout for corresponding constituencies in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections was 61.75%, according to data provided by the EC.
Two explosions at polling stations in Pulwama in Kashmir and clashes in West Bengal were reported during Monday’s voting.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. "If All Goes Well...": Mayawati's First Big Hint About Being PM Contender
Mayawati, flashing her prime ministerial ambitions in a neon sign, has said that she "may have to" contest the Lok Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkar Nagar "if all goes well". The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, addressing a rally, has given the clearest signal yet that she wants the top job.
"If all goes well, I may have to seek election from here because the road to national politics passes through Ambedkar Nagar," she said, addressing a public rally against a giant cutout of herself in front of the parliament building, captioned "Prime Minister".
Mayawati, 63, has won four Lok Sabha elections from the area, which was Akbarpur before delimitation in 2008, when the Ambedkar Nagar constituency was carved out.
(Source: NDTV)
5. "Ban PM Modi Rallies Over Rajiv Gandhi Remark": Congress To Election Body
A delegation of senior Congress leaders today met Election Commission officials to demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi be banned from campaigning as penalty for denigrating late premier Rajiv Gandhi at a recent rally.
"We have apprised the Election Commission of a very serious statement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Rajiv Gandhi. It seems like the person who made such statements has no knowledge or understanding of Indian culture and tradition. The Prime Minister and the BJP chief are continuously making statements that violate the law," news agency ANI quoted Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi as telling mediapersons after the meeting.
"We have appealed to the Election Commission to impose an immediate campaigning prohibition on PM Modi. We have asked them to decide on the matter within 48 hours," he added. Besides Mr Singhvi, senior Congress leaders Rajiv Shukla and Salman Khurshid were also part of the delegation.
(Source: NDTV)
6. Om Prakash Rajbhar Resigns as UP Minister
Disgruntled Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar said on Monday he had resigned from the Yogi Adityanath government and alleged that its ally BJP was misusing his party’s name and flag while campaigning for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
“I tendered resignation as minister on April 13. It is up to the BJP to decide whether to accept or reject it. I have nothing to do with the government now,” PTI quoted Rajbhar as saying.
After discussions on seat sharing failed with the BJP, the SBSP decided to go it alone in the state and fielded its candidates in 39 seats. SBSP had said the alliance could not be forged for the Lok Sabha elections as the BJP wanted SBSP candidates to contest on their symbol.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. Karnataka NEET Aspirants Who Missed Exam Due to Train Delay to Get Another Chance
Hundreds of aspiring doctors from Karnataka who missed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) due to a train delay on Sunday will get a second chance for the same, according to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD).
“Happy to announce that Karnataka students who missed NEET exam due to railway delay will get another chance,” Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted.
Reacting to the development “that brings much respite to many”, a candidate from Bellary who had her test centre at Devamata Central School in Vidyaranyapura told indianexpress.com that the government needs to chalk out an alternative plan to ensure that candidates should not be blamed further for such delays.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Second AAP Lawmaker Joins BJP, Days After Arvind Kejriwal's Challenge
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s Devinder Singh Sehrawat joined the BJP on Monday, becoming the second lawmaker of the party to switch in less than a week. Earlier, another lawmaker, Anil Bajpai, had crossed over from AAP to the BJP.
Like his colleague, Devinder Singh Sehrawat also joined in the presence of Union Minister Vijay Goel. The lawmaker from Delhi's Bijwasan constituency said he felt slighted in the party he helped set up.
"I am one of the founding members of AAP. One of the executives. In the last three years, I was insulted and the needs of my constituency were neglected," Retd Colonel Sehrawat said.
(Source: NDTV)
9. CBSE Class X Results: 2.3 Lakh Get 90%, 95 Percenters Double
The dizzying upward march of marks in board exams continued on Monday when the CBSE Class X exam results were declared. Of the 17.6 lakh students who appeared for the tests, a record 2.25 lakh scored 90% and above, with as many as 57,256 scoring 95% and above in aggregate.
The number of high scorers nearly doubled from 2018, the year when the Class X Board made a comeback. As against four all-India toppers last year, there were 13 students who topped scoring 499 out of 500 followed by 25 students who got 498 and 59 who scored 497. The results were announced 32 days after the completion of the exam.
(Source: The Times of India)
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