PM Modi does not have guts to speak to students on economy: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, Jan 13: Amid an unrest on campuses such as the JNU and Jamia Millia, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not have the guts to face students and challenged him to visit any university in the country without police and talk to students on the state of the economy and joblessness.
Modi was "doing the biggest disservice" to the nation by dividing it and distracting the attention of people by raising issues such as the CAA and the NRC and not the key matters of the economy and unemployment, he said.
The former Congress president alleged that the prime minister did not have the guts to face students and talk to them on the state of the economy and that was why he crushed them using the police.
The voice of the youth was legitimate and should be heard, he said on the student protests across the country.
There is anger among youngsters due to the prevailing economic situation and the problem of unemployment as they see that their future is bleak, Gandhi told reporters here after a meeting of the Opposition convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi that was attended by the leaders of 20 parties.
"The fact (is) that thousands and thousands of students across the country, (from) all religions, all communities, have come out. There is a feeling of anger and fear in our students, in the weaker sections, in the farmers," Gandhi said.
The reason behind this fear was a complete failure of the government on the economic and employment front, he added.
"Narendra Modi should stand up and have the courage to speak to the youngsters in these universities and tell them why the Indian economy has become a disaster. Why it has become a basket case and why we have the highest unemployment in 50 years," Gandhi said.
"I challenge the prime minister right now to go to any university, stand over there without his police, without his infrastructure and tell the people what is he going to do for this country," he added.
Asserting that the opportunity India had was lost, the former Congress chief said everything except the main issue of joblessness and economic strength was being discussed.
The economy of the country was destroyed by Modi through "demonetization part-I and part-II", Gandhi said, referring to the note ban of 2016 and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) -- exercises that he recently termed "notebandi no. 2".
The government's job was to provide a vision to the country but it had failed in doing this and hence, the anger was rising in the universities, among youngsters and farmers, Gandhi said, adding that instead of addressing these issues, Modi was trying to distract and divide the country.
But the people of the country understood that Modi had failed on economy, on employment, on securing the future of India, he claimed.
The prime minister should answer the questions about the future of the country, how youngsters would get employment and how the Indian economy would be back on track once again, Gandhi said.
Stating that the "spirit of resistance has awoken", the opposition parties called for repealing the CAA and "immediate stoppage of the NRC/NPR" as the "package" was unconstitutional and targeted the poor and downtrodden.
The meeting saw chinks in the opposition ranks with six major parties -- DMK, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiv Sena -- choosing to stay away from it.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren of the JMM and LJD chief Sharad Yadav were among those who attended the meeting.
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
