Kharge again, for fifth time, declines to attend Lokpal selection panel meet
New Delhi, Sep 4 : Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge again -- for the fifth time this year -- declined to attend the Tuesday meeting of a committee to select the Lokpal, saying he wouldn't do so until he gets the status of a full-fledged member instead of a 'Special Invitee'.
In a letter, his fifth, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 2, Khage said: "The government continues to invite me as a special invitee to the Selection Committee despite being aware of the fact that there is no provision under section 4 of the Lokpal Act, 2013."
Kharge wrote to the Prime Minister on February 28, April 10, July 18 and August 18 this year.
"Accepting this invitation to attend as a 'Special Invitee' without rights of participation, recording of opinion and voting in the procedure would be violative of both the letter and spirit of the Lokpal Act," the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha said in his September 2 letter.
"I am therefore, forced, once again to respectfully decline the invitation to attend the meeting of the Selection Committee untill the Leader of Single Largest Opposition party is conferred the status of a full-fledged member as envisioned in the Lokpal Act, 2013," he said.
Kharge said he was aware that the government was using the opportunity to spread a canard that the opposition was not cooperating in implementing the Lokpal Act despite the fact that the government itself maintained that he was not a member of the selection committee.
"The very fact that the government was forced to act by the Supreme Court indicates the lack of seriousness and sincerity of the government in implementing the Lokpal Act," he added.
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
