Numbers stack up favourably for NDA in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi: A steady exodus of opposition MPs has made the numbers in Rajya Sabha more favourable than ever for the Modi government as the ruling NDA is now barely short of a majority and is comfortably placed with the support of friendly regional parties.
One more Congress MP quit his party on Wednesday and BJP sources said they expect more desertion from opposition ranks as political parties gear up for Parliament's Winter Session.
After a united opposition managed to thwart its legislative agenda in the House often during much of the first term, the ruling BJP negated the opposition's numerical superiority by wooing its members and coopting fence-sitters in Parliament's first session when it came back to power with a stronger mandate
With the Congress MP from Karnataka, K C Ramamurthy, quitting the party on Wednesday, its strength in Rajya Sabha has come down to 45 and the BJP, due to its bigger numbers in the state assembly, is likely to grab the seat when the bypoll is held there, taking its tally to 83 in the 245-member.
Ramamurthy also tendered his resignation from the House and is likely to join the BJP. The Upper House now has five vacancies and the combined strength of the ruling NDA is around 106.
The AIADMK, which is not officially an NDA constituent but has mostly backed the government, has 11 members along with seven of the BJD, six of the TRS and two of the YSR Congress, three other regional parties with a record of supporting the Modi government on key issues.
BJP managers are of the view that a few more opposition MPs will leave their parties in the coming weeks in states where it has the numbers to grab the seats during bypolls.
Fresh off its big win in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the BJP worked on a number of MPs from parties like the Congress, TDP and Samajwadi Party to win them over to its side to ensure that the Modi government in its second term does not face the same hurdles in the Upper House that it did in its first stint.
A united opposition, which enjoyed numerical advantage over the NDA, had often frustrated its legislative agenda during the first term by blocking its bills.
However, boosted by its bigger mandate in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP successfully broke the opposition's ranks.
Many regional parties, which were not officially aligned with either of the two main blocs in the House, also rallied around the saffron ranks, resulting in the passage of the contentious triple talaq bill and the resolution to nullify provisions of Article 370.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
