Congress, TMC members walk out of LS, demand discussion on Sino-Indian border issue
New Delhi(PTI): Congress Lok Sabha MPs, led by party leader Sonia Gandhi, and Trinamool Congress lawmakers on Wednesday walked out of the House, accusing the government of not allowing a discussion on the sensitive India-China border issue.
As soon as the Question Hour ended, Congress' Leader of the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demanded that a discussion on the "Indo-China border situation be held", saying late Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had allowed a discussion in Lok Sabha on the India-China war in 1962.
"We have been demanding a discussion on India-China border situation. In 1962, when India-China war took place, Jawaharlal Nehru, in this House, had given 165 MPs chance to speak, and a decision was taken on what to do only after that," Chowdhury said.
Responding to the Congress leader's demand, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said a decision will be taken on it in the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee.
As the Speaker went ahead with the proceedings of the House, the Congress, as well as the TMC, staged a walkout in protest and accused the government of not allowing a discussion on the India-China border issue.
TMC member Sudip Bandyopadhyay, also raising the demand for a discussion in the House, said his party members were staging a walkout in protest against the "attitude" of the government.
Earlier in the day, Opposition members had walked out of Lok Sabha in protest against various issues.
As soon as the House met for the day, members from the Congress and the DMK wanted to raise certain issues.
One of the members displayed a printout with the words "Justice for Stan Swamy".
The Speaker told the protesting members that the Question Hour was important and it was for them. However, they sought to raise various issues. Later, members of the Congress, DMK, NCP and the NC among others walked out of the House during the Question Hour. Some of them were heard shouting "nahi chalega (this will not do)".
Some of them, however, returned to the House after some time.
On Tuesday, a US-based forensic firm claimed that digital evidence used to arrest Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy in the Bhima-Koregaon case was "planted" on his computer's hard drive.
Swamy, 84, who was an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, died in July 2021, while waiting for interim bail on medical grounds.
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NIA court to complete framing of charges against 2010 hand-chopping case accused on May 15
Kochi (PTI): A special court here will complete proceedings for framing charges against the prime accused in the 2010 hand-chopping case involving professor T J Joseph, in which PFI activists were accused of attacking him at Muvattupuzha.
Ernakulam Special Court for NIA cases judge P K Mohandas, on April 30, heard the arguments of counsel for accused Savad and Shafeer C and decided to proceed with framing charges against the duo.
A group chopped off Thodupuzha Newman College professor Joseph's right hand in July 2010, accusing him of religious blasphemy in a question paper he had prepared.
The case, later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), resulted in the conviction of 19 accused.
The first accused, Savad, who allegedly chopped off Joseph’s palm, was arrested in Berram in Mattannur, Kannur, in January 2024, where he had allegedly been hiding under the pseudonym Shajahan.
The NIA also arrested Shafeer, who allegedly arranged shelter and provided logistical support to Savad at Chakkad and Mattannur in Kannur since 2020.
On April 30, the court heard the counsel for the accused and the NIA prosecutor on framing charges against the duo.
"On going through the documents and evidence in the case and on hearing the counsel for the accused and the prosecutor, I am of the opinion that there are grounds for presuming that the first accused has committed offences punishable under provisions of the IPC, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and that the second accused has committed offences punishable under the IPC and the UAPA, and there are materials for framing charges under these provisions against the accused," the court said.
The court directed that Savad be produced and Shafeer, who is on bail, appear before it on May 15 for recording their pleas as part of the charge-framing process.
After framing the charges, the court will schedule the trial in the case.
