Bengaluru: Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday clarified that their family would never blame the entire Muslim community for the tragic incident of their house being burnt down by the Razakars in the past.

Priyank responded sharply to Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath after he raised the childhood tragedy of Priyank’s father and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, during a rally in poll-bound Maharashtra. Adityanath had mentioned how the Hyderabad Nizam’s Razakars set fire to Mallikarjun Kharge's house in 1948, resulting in the deaths of his mother and sister.

Priyank said, despite the tragedy, his father never played the victim card and never let hatred define him. “It was the Razakars who committed this act—not the entire Muslim community. Every community has bad apples and individuals who do wrong,” he wrote on X.

The Karnataka IT-BT and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister asserted that his father, at 82, was fighting to uphold the Constitution against "tyranny and hatred”, adding that Adityanath cannot "bulldoze" Mallikarjun Kharge's principles or ideology.

Priyank further emphasised that they (Dalits) have been subjected to various forms of insult and discrimination by different communities. He called on Adityanath to address these injustices as well. He stated that they lost precious family members and their home and added that it is not for others to speak about their family affair.

"Try winning the elections on PM Narendra Modi's achievements instead of trying to sow seeds of hatred in the society for political gains," Priyank remarked.

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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.