AAP approaches Modi over IAS officers' 'strike'
New Delhi, June 14: Delhi's ruling AAP on Thursday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to end the "strike" by the IAS officers as there has been no communication from the Lt Governor's office over the sit-in protest by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues.
The sit-in by Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Cabinet ministers Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai at the Lt. Governor's office entered its fourth day on Thursday, after which Kejriwal wrote to Modi urging him to intervene in the matter of the "strike" by the IAS officers, accusing Lt Governor Anil Baijal of doing "nothing" in this regard.
In the letter, Kejriwal informed Modi the officers have not been attending meetings with ministers for the past three months and cited instances when the government work was affected.
He also said that he hope Modi will allow them to work for the people of Delhi, adding that "no one should be allowed to trample upon people's will".
Recalling former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said: "I hope sir that Modiji will also follow in the footsteps of Atalji, respect people's will and allow opposition-ruled states to work for the people."
On social media, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has launched a campaign #ModjiForgiveDelhi. Party members, by posting videos, are requesting Modi to let the elected government work by asking the IAS officers to join back the work.
Social Welfare and SC/ST Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam, in his video, said: "Modiji, don't take revenge from the people. Please ask your IAS officers to join back the work."
Durgesh Pathak, in-charge of the National Organisation Building Team, also posted a video saying: "Modiji, Namaste. We know that people of Delhi had defeated you very badly in the election. And you are just taking revenge from the people. This is not right. There will be elections after two years. You can contest that election. Do some good, positive work. Please ask your IAS officers to join back the work."
Atishi Marlena, who served as an advisor on education to the Delhi government for three years, said in a video: "Namaste Modiji. The people of Delhi are upset. You have ordered the strike by the IAS officers. The work related to de-silting of drains is not able to complete due to this strike. the monsoon is approaching, the roads will be flooded. So we are requesting you to order the IAS officers to call off the strike."
Similarly, Sisodia's former media advisor Arunoday Prakash and other people from the party also posted their videos.
AAP leader Dilip Pandey, in his video, asked Modi to not punish the people of Delhi.
"Punish us the way you want, but don't punish the people of Delhi. Your officers are not working, due to which the work is affected...Please ask your IAS officers to join back the work," he said.
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SC refuses to entertain plea against deletion of names from WB voter list, terms it ‘premature’
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New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea by a group of 13 people seeking its intervention in the deletion of their names from the voter list during the Special Institutional Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, where polling for the first phase of the assembly election will be held on April 23.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi termed the petition "premature", directing the aggrieved parties to approach the established appellate tribunals instead.
"Since the petitioners (Quaraisha Yeasmin and others) have already approached the appellate tribunals… in our considered view, the apprehensions expressed in the petition are premature. If the plea is allowed, then necessary consequences will follow,” the bench said in its order, adding that it has not expressed any views on the merits of the plea.
The plea alleged that the Election Commission was summarily deleting names without following due process, and that appeals against these deletions were not being heard in a timely manner.
The Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court has set up as many as 19 tribunals headed by former HC chief justices and judges to decide appeals against deletions of names of persons from the voters’ lists.
Senior advocate D S Naidu, appearing for the poll panel, informed the court that there are approximately 30 to 34 lakh appeals currently pending. "Every tribunal now has over one lakh appeals to handle," the bench said.
The petitioners’ counsel argued that the EC had failed to place necessary orders before the relevant judicial authorities and that the "freezing date" for the electoral rolls should be extended.
"If I am not allowed to argue, then what is the use? Will these appeals be decided within a timeframe or just kept extending?" the counsel asked.
Justice Bagchi, during the hearing, referred to the sanctity of the electoral process and said the right to vote is not merely a constitutional formality but a "sentimental" pillar of democracy.
"The right to vote in a country you were born in is not just constitutional, but sentimental. It is about being part of a democracy and helping elect a government," he said.
He, however, said that the tribunals, manned by former judges, cannot be overburdened by fixing the timelines for adjudications.
"It is not the end justifying the means, but the means justifying the end," Justice Bagchi said.
"We need to protect due process rights. The voter should not be sandwiched between two constitutional authorities," he said, adding that it would not interdict the election process at this stage.
Justice Bagchi noted that the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice had already formulated the manner and mode for appeals, which began on Monday.
"Unless and until an enormous number of voters are excluded or it materially affects the election... the election cannot be cancelled," the bench said, adding that judicial intervention is intended to "promote elections, not interdict them."
The CJI emphasised that the petitioners must exhaust their remedies before the appellate tribunals.
Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, and votes will be counted on May 4.
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