Congress’ Chaudhary Lal Singh, noted for supporting Kathua rape accused, loses Basohli Assembly seat
Basohli: Congress leader Chaudhary Lal Singh lost the Basohli Assembly seat in Jammu and Kashmir by 16,034 votes to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Darshan Kumar, according to data from the Election Commission. Kumar secured 31,874 votes, while Singh, a former minister in the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, garnered 15,840 votes.
Singh had previously won the Basohli seat in the 2014 Assembly polls after switching from Congress to the BJP. He returned to Congress in March 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Singh’s nomination had drawn criticism due to his participation in a 2018 rally in support of the accused persons in the Kathua rape and murder case.
In September, the Constitutional Conduct Group, a collective of former civil servants, criticized the Congress for fielding Singh, stating that his candidacy contradicted the party’s stand against the politics of hate.
The 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections were the first since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. The polls were held in three phases, with a voter turnout of 63.8%. The Legislative Assembly has 119 members, including 24 designated for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and five appointed by the lieutenant governor. A party or alliance needs 48 seats for a majority when the House has 95 members.
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.
SC restrains Assam cops from coercive action against journalist Siddharth Varadarajan, others
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday restrained Assam Police from taking any coercive action against senior journalist Siddharth Varadarajan and other journalists, including consulting editor, working with web portal "The Wire" in connection with an FIR lodged against them over a news article.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi passed the order after senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for the journalists, said that Assam police was circumventing the earlier orders passed by the court.
She said Vardarajan and other journalists, including a consulting, editor have been summoned Friday for recording statements in an old FIR lodged in May and there is apprehension that they may be arrested.
The bench, while protecting the journalists, said everyone is expected to follow the law and asked the journalists to join the investigation and file a status report on the next date of hearing.
On August 12, the top court had protected Vardarajan and restrained the Assam police from taking any coercive action against him in connection with an FIR lodged against him over an article on Operation Sindoor.
