Congress says it will not participate in Exit Polls debates
New Delhi: The Indian National Congress (INC) has announced that it will not participate in any debates or discussions related to exit polls ahead of the official election results scheduled for June 4th. This statement was made by Pawan Khera, Chairman of the Media and Publicity Department of the Congress party.
In a formal announcement, the party stated, "Voters have cast their votes and their verdict has been secured. The results will be out on June 4th. Prior to that, we do not see any reason to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRP."
The Congress party emphasized that the primary purpose of debates should be to inform the public and indicated their willingness to engage in such discussions after the official results are declared. "We will happily partake in debates from June 4th onwards," the statement concluded.
The decision has been interpreted as a move to avoid the often contentious and speculative nature of exit poll discussions, which frequently dominate media coverage in the period between voting and the official results.
Our statement on the reason for not participating in #ExitPolls
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) May 31, 2024
Voters have cast their votes and their verdict has been secured.
The results will be out on 4th June. Prior to that, we do not see any reason to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRP.
The Indian National…
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SC to hear pleas for reviewing wages of priests, temple staff
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the wages and other benefits given to priests, 'sevadars' and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta is likely to hear the PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, seeks directions to the Centre and states to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the remuneration and other benefits given to the priests and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
"Petitioner also seeks a declaration that priests and temple staff are employee' under Section 2(k) of the Code on Wages, 2019. Petitioner submits that once the State assumes the administrative, economic and financial control over temples, an employer-employee relationship arises and denial of dignified wages to priests and temple staff violates the right to livelihood guaranteed under Article 21," it said.
Upadhyay said the cause of action accrued on April 4, when he went to Varanasi to attend a public programme and after performing 'Rudrabhishek' in the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which is controlled by the state, he came to know that even the minimum wages to live with dignity are not given to the priests and temple staff.
"Recently, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, priests and temple staff organised a large-scale protest demanding the minimum wages. Priests and temple staff are not getting even the minimum wage prescribed by the State for unskilled and semi-skilled workers. This is a systemic exploitation. State is acting as a model employer through the endowments department, but violating the minimum wages Act and the directive principles of state policy (Article 43)," it said.
The plea further said the continued refusal to meet the minimum wages with the 2026 inflation-adjusted cost of living index has forced the petitioner to seek judicial intervention to prevent the further marginalisation of priests and temple staff.
Upadhyay further said the precarious nature of livelihood was starkly exposed on February 7, 2025, when a Tamil Nadu department issued a circular at the 'Dandayuthapani Swami Temple' in Madurai, strictly prohibiting priests from accepting 'dakshina' in 'aarti plates'.
"It is necessary to state that priests in such temples often receive no formal salary from the State and rely entirely on 'Dakshina'; the State's administrative order directly threatened them with starvation. Although withdrawn due to public outrage, the incident highlights the State's arbitrary power over the survival of the priests. This is also a bitter truth that States are controlling lakhs of temples but not a single mosque or church," the PIL claimed.
The petition, alternatively, sought direction to the Centre and states to take appropriate steps for the welfare of priests, sevadars and other temple staff in the spirit of the Allahabad High Court's earlier judgments.
