BigHit asks fans to refrain from sending gifts, letters to BTS member Jin during military service
New Delhi (PTI): BigHit Music, the management agency of South Korean music group BTS, on Thursday appealed to fans not to send member Jin gifts and letters as he fulfils his mandatory military service.
The 30-year-old vocalist, whose full name is Kim Seok-jin, officially enlisted for duty on December 13, 2022. According to Korean media, Jin is undergoing training at a boot camp of a front-line army division in Yeoncheon, 60 kilometres north of Seoul.
In a statement posted on fan community forum Weverse, BigHit said the influx of gifts at the training centre could lead to problems with storage and even misplacement.
"Jin is stationed at a training centre designated specifically for military training together with regular military personnel. If a large number of letters and gifts from the fans arrive at the centre all at once, it would be difficult to store them and they could be easily lost. We ask that you please refrain from sending anything by mail," the agency said in the statement.
"Please refrain from sending letters and gifts even after he has finished his military recruit training and gets stationed at his military base," it added.
ARMY -- the fan group of BTS -- can instead send messages for Jin, the eldest member of the septet, on Weverse.
"BigHit Music will assist in making sure Jin is able to personally see any kind and warm message fans leave on Weverse using the hashtag #Dear_Jin_from_ARMY," the agency said.
BigHit Music also asked for fans' cooperation during Jin's recruit training graduation ceremony.
"In order to prevent any issues that might occur from crowding, we ask fans to please refrain from visiting the site. Instead, we ask you to keep your heartwarming words of support and farewell in your hearts.
"We ask for your continued love and support for Jin until he finishes his military service and comes back. Our company will also strive to provide every support he needs during this time," it said.
In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18-28 are required to serve in the military for about two years. All BTS members had been allowed to put off starting their military service until they turned 30.
Other members -- RM, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook -- plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans.
The group, which debuted in 2013, had announced their hiatus in June 2022. They hope to reconvene as a unit around 2025 following their service commitment.
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.
Disqualification row: SC unhappy over Telangana CM's statement on bye-elections
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed its displeasure over Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's statement in the assembly that there would be no bye-elections, and said he was expected to exercise "some degree of restraint".
"Did we commit a mistake by letting him go at that time and not taking an action for contempt?" a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih asked.
The top court was perhaps referring to a separate matter in which it had last year disapproved of Reddy's comments on the top court granting bail to rival BRS leader K Kavitha in cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
The apex court's observations came during the arguments on the pleas raising the issue of alleged delay by the Telangana Assembly speaker in deciding on petitions seeking disqualification of 10 BRS MLAs who had defected to the Congress.
The bench reserved its verdict in the matter.
During the arguments, the issue over Reddy's recent statement in the assembly cropped up before the bench.
"Mr Singhvi, having experience of earlier occasion, was the chief minister not expected to at least exercise some degree of restraint?" Justice Gavai asked senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who was appearing for the assembly speaker.
Justice Gavai said the court was not bothered about statements of politicians.
"We exercise self-restraint. We respect the other two wings of the democracy. Same is expected of the other two wings also," he said.
Senior advocate C A Sundaram, representing the petitioner and BRS leader Padi Kaushik Reddy, referred to the transcripts of the chief minister's statement, calling it shocking.
A BRS MLA, the counsel said, had said in the assembly that this should not be raked up as the matter was pending before the apex court but the chief minister still made the statement.
Sundaram quoted the chief minister's statement as saying, "Mr speaker, I am telling on your behalf to everyone present in the assembly that they need not worry about any bye-elections in future. No Bye-elections will come".
Sundaram said when the chief minister made the statement, the speaker did not say anything.
During the hearing, the bench asked what would be the "reasonable period" for a speaker to decide on the disqualification petitions.
It asked whether such applications for disqualification "should be permitted to die its natural death and the Tenth Schedule be thrown in the dustbin?".
The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution deals with provisions on disqualification on the ground of defection.
Sundaram requested the bench to put a time limit for deciding the disqualification petitions, referring to it as an "extraordinary situation".
Reddy had allegedly said in the assembly on March 26 that there would be no bye-elections even if BRS members switched sides.
"If this is said on the floor of the house, your chief minister is making a mockery of the Tenth Schedule," the bench said on April 2.
The apex court had also asked the speaker why he took about 10 months to issue notices on the petitions for the disqualification of BRS MLAs who defected to the Congress.
While one of the pleas in the apex court has challenged the November 2024 order of the Telangana High Court in a matter concerning petitions seeking the disqualification of three BRS MLAs, another petition relates to the remaining seven legislators who defected.
A division bench of the high court in November last year said the Assembly speaker must decide the disqualification petitions against the three MLAs within a "reasonable time".
The division bench's verdict came on the appeals against the September 9, 2024, order of a single judge.
The single judge had directed the secretary of the Telangana Assembly to place the petition seeking the disqualifications before the speaker for fixing a schedule of hearing within four weeks.
On March 4, the apex court sought responses from the Telangana government and others on the pleas, saying a timely decision was the key and there could not be a case of "operation successful but patient is dead".
It had also sought the responses of MLAs Danam Nagender, Venkata Rao Tellam and Kadiyam Srihari in the matter.
