CAA: Amit Shah to address rally at Hubballi on Jan 18
Bengaluru, Jan 8: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address a huge rally at Hubballi on January 18 as part of the party's nationwide outreach programme over the Citizenship Amendment Act, the BJP's Karnataka unit said on Wednesday.
Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and Anurag Singh Thakur will also address a couple of rallies in the state in favour of CAA, the party said.
More than one lakh people are expected to attend Shah's rally in Hubballi, BJP state general secretary Mahesh Tenginkai told reporters here.
While Thakur, who is the Union Minister of State for Finance, will address rallies on January 11 at Belagavi and Chikkodi, Joshi, who is Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister, will address rallies at Kalaburagi and Yadgir on January 11 and in Raichur district on January 12.
Tenginkai claimed thousands of party workers have already knocked on the doors of as many as 4.65 lakh houses spread across 253 mandals and 21,000 booths as part of the outreach programme.
"There has been a tremendous response. Remaining 37,000 booths will be covered in the next coming days," he added.
Ravi Kumar, another general secretary, said elected members of the party starting from gram panchayats, to MLAs, MLCs and MPs have been directed to stay put in their respective constituencies and visit 100 houses on January 11 and 12 in a special effort to reach out to all sections and strata of society.
"In order to further intensify our campaign, we have planned bike rallies by Yuva Morcha workers in taluk headquarters, Bharat Mata Poojan by Mahila Morcha workers and intellectuals meet in district headquarters," a BJP statement said, quoting him.
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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.
