NEWS

West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday demanded that the pending bypolls in the state be held immediately as a party delegation met the chief electoral officer (CEO) in Kolkata. The TMC appealed to the poll body to finalise a date for the by-elections as the COVID-19 situation has improved in the state, said party secretary general Partha Chatterjee.

In the meeting with West Bengal CEO Aariz Aftab, the TMC urged the EC to expedite the process of holding elections and by-elections to seven assembly seats in the state. “We urged the CEO to declare a poll date and make necessary arrangements for holding elections to two seats and bypolls to five constituencies at the earliest,” Chatterjee stated.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who kicked off day six of the nine-day-long five-year celebrations of the state government with the Rojgar Divas in Surat on Friday, took a dig at the Congress for being "an army of unemployed persons", who the "state government cannot help". Rupani also recalled the slogan of 'Aaram Haram Hai' attributed to former Prime Minister Late Jawaharlal Nehru and said that Nehru gave out a "catchy slogan but never lived up to it."

Speaking at the event, where state Minister Saurabh Patel and BJP State President and MP CR Paatil, were in attendance, Rupani lashed out at the Congress for continuously protesting against the government events being held to mark the party's recent five years in power in the state.

The Supreme Court on Friday said trial court judges, especially those dealing with cases involving gangsters and high-profile people, are most vulnerable to external threats and bristled at the inaction of the CBI, Intelligence Bureau and the police in countering the threats to create a conducive atmosphere for judges to do justice without fear or favour.

A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Surya Kant said, “In criminal cases involving gangsters and high profile persons, when the accused do not get expected orders from the courts, they start maligning the judiciary. Unfortunately, this is a new trend developing in this country.”

A situation is created where the judges do not feel free to make a complaint. Even if the judges complain to the district judge, Chief Justice of the HC or the CJI, and a complaint is forwarded to the police or the CBI, they do not respond. They do not think it is a priority issue, the bench said.

The J&K administration has decided to rename government schools in the Union Territory after Army, police and CRPF personnel who laid down their lives fighting for the country.

The decision, sources said, was taken as a mark of tribute, during the celebrations of 75 years of Independence, to personnel killed in action.

The sources said the office of Divisional Commissioner has sent a letter to all Deputy Commissioners of Jammu division, asking them to identify government schools in villages and municipal wards, which can be renamed.