High Court junks plea against 'Bhoomi Pujan' for Ram temple at Ayodhya
Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a plea for stopping the August 5 "Bhoomi Pujan" ceremony for laying down the foundation stone for building a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
A bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice S D Singh dismissed the plea filed by a Mumbai based social activist, Saket Gokhale, on Thursday.
Gokhale had filed the petition seeking the court's direction to restrain the "Bhoomi Pujan" for laying down the foundation stone of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, contending that the proposed action would breach the central government's anti- COVID-19 protocol.
The petitioner argued that about 300 people have been invited at a single place on August 5 and that may cause violation of the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government anti-COVID protocol stipulating observance of social and physical distancing .
The bench, however, junked the petition, dismissing Gokhale's fear of violation of anti-COVID protocols.
"The entire petition is based on assumptions but there is no foundation for apprehending violation of the prescribed protocol, said the bench.
At present, we expect that organizers and the government of Uttar Pradesh would ensure all the protocol be applicable for social and physical distancing, it said.
In view of whatever stated above, we do not find any just reason to interfere in the matter and dismiss the petition," the bench ruled.
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Uttarakhand Assembly passes censure motion against opposition over women's reservation bill
Dehradun (PTI): The Uttarakhand Assembly passed a censure motion against the Congress and other opposition parties on Tuesday for allegedly blocking the passage of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, in Parliament.
The motion, which expressed the House's formal disapproval of the opposition's conduct, triggered a massive uproar by Congress members, leading to the adjournment of the House sine die.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Subodh Uniyal moved the censure motion, citing the "uncooperative attitude" of opposition parties toward the bill seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies.
Addressing a special daylong session convened specifically to discuss "Nari Samman -- Rights in Democracy", Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the bill's passage would have benefitted every political party.
Dhami noted that after delimitation, the number of Assembly seats in the hill state would have gone up to 105, with 35 reserved for women. He added that the number of Lok Sabha seats from Uttarakhand would have risen from five to seven or eight.
"The opposition fears that if women from ordinary households enter politics, the shops of dynastic politics run by certain parties will shut down," the chief minister claimed.
He compared the opposition's conduct in Parliament to the assembly in Mahabharat where Draupadi was insulted. Dhami further likened the opposition's behaviour to the "arrogance of Ravan".
The chief minister highlighted his government's initiatives, asserting that Uttarakhand was the first state to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to protect women's rights. He said the UCC freed Muslim women from practices like "halala", "iddat", polygamy and child marriage.
Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya questioned the technical feasibility of the bill, calling the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) claims of providing reservation by 2029 "misleading".
He argued that the bill is linked to census and delimitation processes. The Congress leader said the 2026 census would conclude by 2027 and the final data publication would take two more years.
"The delimitation process will take another six years. The actual implementation of this bill is not possible before 2034," Arya said, describing the move as a strategy to protect the BJP's "political ground".
The session also saw high drama outside the Assembly gates, where Congress MLA Virendra Jati staged a protest, demanding the payment of "outstanding" dues to farmers by sugar mills.
Jati arrived at the Assembly's main gate with a tractor-trolley loaded with sugarcane and dumped it on the road. The move brought the traffic to a halt, prompting traffic and security personnel to intervene and clear the area.
Women Congress workers also staged a demonstration against the "anti-people policies" of the state government.
