NEW DELHI: Rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday attacked Congress for its opposition to changes in the rural employment guarantee scheme. He reminded them that they failed to organise the agitation demanding restoration of MGNREGA.“Congress declared that it would launch a ‘maha sangram’ and many dates were announced…, but no ‘sangram’ was visible,” Chouhan said, claiming that the protest failed to get public support because of awareness that the new law was better.“We, saw two ‘maha mazdoors’… wearing ‘gamcha’ on their heads, carrying axes on shoulders, but wearing jeans…,” Chouhan said as he showed photos of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.Chouhan took on the claim that the VB-GRAMG patternwhere states are required to fund 40% would kill the scheme as states are “cash strapped”. He said states had made necessary provisions.

NEW DELHI: With the Centre seeking the support of Congress for possible amendments to the women’s reservation law, it called on the Modi govt to chair an all-party meeting by PM Narendra Modi to discuss the subject.Govt sources said they have already taken the initiative by reaching out to different opposition parties, including Congress. “It is govt’s prerogative to decide the manner of its agenda,” a senior functionary said on the demand for the meeting regarding the law that provides women 33% reservation in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.The outreach comes amid growing indication that the govt is planning to amend the Women’s Reservation Act to ensure early implementation by possibly delinking it from the delimitation exercise. This would follow the decennial Census, which is currently at an early stage of its implementation.Delimitation is not going to be a quick exercise. There could be resistance from southern states that fear allocation of Lok Sabha seats among states based on their respective populations will see their representation in the lower House shrinking.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju in response to the latter’s letter seeking a discussion on the “Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam”. He told Rijiju that he had already conveyed to him Congress’s view that the govt should convene an all-party meeting to discuss the roadmap for the bill’s implementation. He also expressed hope that such a meeting would be called at the earliest.

New Delhi: Attorney general R Venkataramani Tuesday told a nine-judge SC bench govt’s sovereign functions, fulfillment of constitutional obligations and implementation of social welfare schemes cannot be corralled under the expansive definition of ‘industry’ framed nearly 50 years ago by a seven-judge Supreme Court bench.Venkataramani told the CJI Surya Kant-led bench that on many occasions in exercise of sovereign functions related to defence or economy or to fulfill constitutional and statutory obligations, such as laying of roads and railway tracks and establishing hospitals, schools, colleges and universities, the govt may undertake certain works. “An approach that mechanically attempts to sever the ‘industrial’ element of a governmental activity from its broader sovereign or welfare objective risks producing results that may also be both doctrinally unsound and practically unworkable,” he said.Additional solicitor general K M Nataraj and senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, appearing for UP and Maharashtra, respectively, said if the activity undertaken by a govt is not rooted in commerce or involved ‘profit earning’, it should not be classified as industry.

NEW DELHI: Over 200 retired armed forces officers, former civil servants, diplomats and lawyers Tuesday accused leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of violating parliamentary decorum during the opposition’s protest and demanded his apology.“Rahul Gandhi, along with several MPs, was seen sitting on the steps of Parliament having tea and biscuits in a manner that was wholly unbecoming of members of the nation’s highest legislative body. The steps of Parliament are not a venue for spectacle or political theatre,” they said in an open letter endorsed by 204 signatories.They alleged that Rahul’s action within the Parliament complex amounted to a deliberate defiance of the chair and showed disregard for parliamentary authority. “It shows an attitude of arrogance and entitlement,” they added.They said Speaker Om Birla had issued an explicit instruction against demonstrations or protests within Parliament premises but the opposition, led by Rahul, disregarded the directive.“Rahul must apologise to the nation for this behaviour and introspect the attitude that produced it, so that the solemnity, authority and institutional sanctity of the Parliament remain preserved,” they said.

NEW DELHI: BJP on Tuesday hit out at Congress for “endorsing” the USCIRF report recommending sanctions on RSS and RAW and said in their antagonism to govt and PM Narendra Modi, the opposition party and Rahul Gandhi are standing against India.BJP dismissed the report as ‘baseless’ and said it is based on non-credible sources, as it cited the response of MEA, which has rejected the report. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said RAW, India’s external spy agency, should not be subject of commentary or calls for sanctions by any foreign commission. “While govt has responded strongly, Congress is speaking against RAW and standing with this commission,” Patra added.Noting that the official handle of the opposition party had endorsed the report, he said it shows the extent to which the party can go against the country “at the instance of Rahul”.Patra said a Pakistani-American, Asif Mohammed, serves as vice-chair and commissioner in USCIRF, alleging that his influence was behind the report’s criticism of India.“Whenever Rahul travels abroad, he associates with such individuals and leaves no opportunity to tarnish India’s image or harm the country’s reputation,” he alleged.

NEW DELHI: After the revocation of their suspension on Tuesday, Congress MPs insisted that their “dignified” protest was for the demand that leader of opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and other opposition members be given the right to speak in Parliament.Congress MP Manickam Tagore said, “Parliamentary traditions and rules must apply equally to everyone and not selectively to Opposition MPs. The Lakshman Rekha must include maintaining the dignity of the Leader of Opposition.”He said the opposition MPs protested only after LoP was not allowed to speak on the motion of thanks to the President and then representatives of 240 Opposition MPs were also “silenced”.Amarinder Raja Warring, another MP who was suspended, said the suspension period was too long. “We feel there is discrimination in the house. There is no equality. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey is given an opportunity whenever he wants. There is a free mandate for Nishikant, Anurag Thakur, Ravneet Bittu, but there is no free mandate for LoP. The Speaker sometimes discriminates, he makes biased decisions, and we feel bad,” he said.Following the withdrawal of their suspension on Tuesday afternoon, MPs Tagore, Warring, Hibi Eden, Prashant Padole, Kiran Reddy, Gurjeet Aujla, Dean Kuriakose paid obeisance to Mahatma Gandhi at his statue in the Parliament complex.

NEW DELHI: Ensuring good nutrition for a child is an investment in human capital, President Droupadi Murmu said Tuesday emphasising that children are not merely beneficiaries of the midday meal programme in schools, rather they are the architects of the nation’s bright future.Murmu was speaking at an event to commemorate the the milestone of serving 5 billion meals and 25 years of service to the cause by Akshaya Patra Foundation at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre. The President said that serving five billion meals in advancement of educational objectives is a remarkable achievement of the not-for-profit organisation.As an implementing partner of the govt of India’s flagship PM POSHAN initiative, Akshaya Patra has been serving fresh, nutritious meals to millions of children studying in govt schools across India. Murmu added that theme of the event, ‘From a Well-Nourished and Well-Educated India to a Developed India’, underscores the significance of a nourished and educated society in realising the national resolve to build ‘Viksit Bharat’ by the year 2047.In a symbolic gesture, the President also served food to a group of children. Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Akshaya Patra Foundation’s founder and chairman Madhu Pandit Dasa co-founder and vice-chairman Chanchalapathi Dasa were present on the occasion.“Children are not just beneficiaries of the free school lunch programme; they are the drivers of a productive, competitive future workforce to ensure a $30 trillion economy by 2047. Every meal is an investment in our nation’s human capital, resulting in a healthy, educated youth demographic dividend that will contribute to the socio-economic growth of a new and developed India,” she added.Murmu commended Akshaya Patra for working continuously to address the issue of malnutrition among children and encourage them to pursue education by delivering mid-day meals to schools for the past 25 years.Education minister Pradhan said, “Unless our children and youth are well-nourished, India cannot fully realise its potential.”

NEW DELHI: Govt on Tuesday withdrew a proposed legislation – Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025 – from the Lok Sabha seeking to amend certain enactments for decriminalising and rationalising offences to further enhance trust-based governance.Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal moved the bill for withdrawal, which was approved by the House with a voice vote. The withdrawal of the bill was moved as reported by a select committee. The bill is expected to be reintroduced after incorporating recommendations of the select committee.A pending bill can be withdrawn after seeking permission of the House.

SRINAGAR: Environmentalist and Leh Apex Body (LAB) member Sonam Wangchuk on Tuesday likened his arrest to a “non-fiction thriller” that could be turned into a film but declared he was ready to move past his jail experience for a meaningful dialogue, as reflected in the Centre’s recent revocation of his detention under National Security Act (NSA).Three days after release from Jodhpur jail where he had been lodged following his arrest in Sept last year from Leh over violence during protests for Ladakh’s statehood and Sixth Schedule status, Wangchuk called for “constructive dialogue”. This, he said, could ensure a “win-win-win” situation not just for him but for Ladakh and the govt.

Addressing a presser in Delhi alongside his lawyer Vivek Tankha, Wangchuk said the revocation of NSA, along with the Centre’s reference to a meaningful dialogue, reflected what he and the others had been striving for through prolonged protests. He recalled that he had earlier walked from Leh to Delhi, undertook long hunger strikes and even went to jail for dialogue.

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Wangchuk hoped Supreme Court, where his NSA detention was challenged, would still record a judgment despite the revocation so that it could guide future executive action, especially on use of such stringent laws.He stressed that public sentiment in Ladakh was for dialogue. “Even in yesterday’s (Monday’s) rallies (for statehood and Sixth Schedule), the demand was to resume talks. Where do you find such a place and such people? Normally you find people leaving the dialogue table and picking up guns. Here are people appealing to the govt asking it to come to the discussion table.”Wangchuk expressed hope that he would return to Ladakh soon to consult leaders in LAB and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), and have “positive developments to share in the coming days”. “Talks are a give-and-take process, and both sides must be considerate and flexible,” Wangchuk said.