Malik takes oath as J&K Governor, Vohra skips ceremony
Srinagar, Aug 23 : Veteran politician Satya Pal Malik on Thursday took oath of office as the 13th Governor of Jammu and Kashmir here at a ceremony, which was skipped by outgoing Governor N.N. Vohra, who had held the post since 2008.
Chief Justice Gita Mittal administered the oath to Malik, 72, at the sprawling lawns of the Raj Bhavan.
His warrant of appointment by President Ram Nath Kovind was read out by Chief Secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam.
Former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, Union Minister of state (PMO) Jitender Singh, Speaker of Legislative Assembly Dr Nirmal Singh, judges of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, MPs, legislators, senior civil and Army officers, heads of constitutional bodies, Governor's Advisors -- B. B. Vyas, K. Vijay Kumar and Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, and Director General of Police S.P. Vaid attended the event.
When the media approached Malik for comments on his appointment, he said: "The Governor does not speak."
Born on July 24, 1946 to a family of agriculturists in Uttar Pradesh, Malik was previously the Governor of Bihar and Odisha, and was appointed Jammu and Kashmir Governor by the President on August 21.
He was a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly during 1974-77. He was also the member of the 9th Lok Sabha and represented Aligarh Constituency from 1989 to 1991. He was member of the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh for two terms -- 1980-86 and 1986-1992.
Malik served as Union Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism, from April 21, 1990 to November 10, 1990. He has been member of several parliamentary committees including Panel of Chairman, General Purposes Committee, Business Advisory Committee, Chairman, Joint Sub Committee on Telecasting of Proceedings of both Houses of Parliament, Chairman, Committee on Papers Laid on the Table, and Parliamentary Consultative Committee.
A poet and author, Malik has authored two books on poetry and a political commentary.
Having special interest in history and archaeology, Malik is also known for his social activities including establishing day-care centres for the children of poor labourers. He has also organised several farmer and youth movements during his political career stretching over six decades.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
