BJP insulted Lord Ram by saying it 'brought' him, he has always been there: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow, Feb 10: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday attacked the ruling BJP saying it insulted Lord Ram by claiming that it "brought" Ram to the temple in Ayodhya, whereas the Hindu god always lived in the people's heart.
"When Lord Ram resides in the heart, then what is the need to take the name? Ram was there earlier too," Yadav said during the budget session in the Legislative Assembly.
"Lord Ram is there even today. Lord Ram will always be there. When we were not there, Lord Ram was, and when we would no longer be there, Lord Ram would still be there. Therefore, by saying that you have brought Lord Ram, you are not only insulting Lord Ram, but also religion," he said and asked the BJP to stop doing politics in the name of religion.
Yadav also cited the Governor's address to say Rs 31,000 crore was spent on beautification of Ayodhya ahead of Ram Temple consecration.
The former UP chief minister criticised the "big budget" presented by the treasury bench, saying it means nothing if the government chooses to spend it covertly. "The government does not provide information about how much has been spent of the amount allocated."
He said, "Whether the UP budget is of 7 lakh crore or 8 lakh crore, the biggest question will always be 'what is in it for the 90 per cent of the people of the state?'"
"The policy of the BJP is not for the common public of the state. It keeps 90 per cent of the budget for the 10 per cent rich people. And only 10 per cent of the budget for the 90 per cent of the needy people."
The SP chief in his speech mentioned several issues afflicting the state, such as inflation, law and order, unemployment, and farmer distress, and asked the government if there is enough in the budget to address these issues and also asked it to reveal the allocation towards them.
"Will the farmer get the right price for his crop? Whether the income of the farmers will be doubled? Will the labourer get the right price for his hard work?" Yadav asked, and used a Hindi proverb to claim big is not always better 'Bada hua to kya hua jaise ped khajoor, panchi ko chhaaya nahi, phal lage ati door.'
"India is the fifth (largest) economy in the world, but 80 crore people of the country are dependent on government ration. There is no exemption in rail fare for senior citizens. For the youth, there is only four-year Agniveer recruitment in the Army," Yadav said.
The Uttar Pradesh government had on Monday presented a Rs 7.36 lakh crore budget for 2024-25 invoking Lord Ram and claiming to prioritise infrastructure development as well as the welfare of women, youth, and farmers.
UP's Finance Minister Suresh Khanna started his budget speech in the assembly with a verse of Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas and said that the state government is inspired by the concept of 'Ram Rajya.'
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Cruel to subject child to physical violence in name of discipline or education: Chhattisgarh HC
Bilaspur, Aug 3: It is cruel to subject a child to physical violence in school in the name of discipline or education, the Chhattisgarh High Court observed while dismissing a petition filed by a woman teacher accused of abetting the suicide of student.
An FIR was lodged at Manipur police station in February against Sister Mercy alias Elizabeth Jose (43), a teacher of Carmel Convent School in Ambikapur in Surguja District, for allegedly abetting the suicide of a girl student of Class VI, the petitioner's lawyer Rajat Agrawal said.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal made the observation while dismissing Jose's petition seeking to quash FIR and chargesheet in the abetment of suicide case.
In its order of July 29, the HC bench said "imposition of corporal punishment on the child is not in consonance with his right to life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India".
"On a larger canvass right to life includes all that which gives meaning to life and makes it wholesome and worth living. It means something more than survival or animal existence. Right to life enshrined in Article 21 also embraces any aspect of life which makes it dignified," the HC said.
"Being small does not make a child a less human being than a grown up...It is cruel to subject the child to physical violence in school in the name of discipline or education. A child being a precious national resource is to be nurtured and attended with tenderness and care and not with cruelty. Subjecting the child to corporal punishment for reforming him cannot be part of education," the HC order further stated.
Jose was arrested after the suicide note left behind by the child named her.
The petitioner's lawyer said Jose had, on the day of the incident, merely admonished the student and taken her ID card as per the usual disciplinary procedure followed in the school.
"The petitioner never had any intention to abet the suicide of the student. Police, without conducting any preliminary inquiry, registered an FIR against the petitioner based solely on the basis of the suicide note," Jose's counsel submitted.
The state counsel, however, opposed the plea to quash the chargesheet and FIR arguing the evidence of the classmates of the deceased recorded under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) showed the conduct of the petitioner was so harsh that students were in mental trauma.
Dismissing the petition, the HC said it could not delve into the defence of the accused and then proceed to examine the matter on its merit by weighing the evidence so produced.
"The disputed questions of facts in the case cannot be adjudged and adjudicated at this stage while exercising powers under Section 528 of the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) and only the prima facie prosecution case has to be looked into as it is. Evidence needs to be led to substantiate the defence of the accused," the HC said.
The court does not find any ground to quash the chargesheet and FIR against the petitioner, it said.
