Imran Masood returns to Congress, party hails it as 'ghar wapsi'
New Delhi (PTI): Imran Masood, an ex-MLA from western Uttar Pradesh who was expelled by the BSP in August, returned to the Congress on Saturday with the party describing it as "ghar wapsi".
Just before the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections last year, Masood had joined the Samajwadi Party in January 2022 and later moved to the BSP after the polls.
Masood, who has contested multiple times from Saharanpur and was elected MLA from Muzaffarabad seat in Saharanpur district in 2007, asserted that he had told his supporters that he would now not leave the Congress "till going to the grave".
He also said he would apologize to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for letting her down.
Masood said Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra was transformational for politics and following the cross-country march, the Congress won Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, and now was going to win in four states.
Welcoming Masood into the party, Congress Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Shukla said this was Masood's "ghar wapsi (homecoming)" and he has now vowed to never leave the party.
Shukla also asserted that the Congress would win in at least four states in the upcoming assembly elections.
Elections are set to take place this year in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram.
Masood thanked Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal for inducting him back in the party.
An influential Muslim leader from Saharanpur, Masood was arrested in March 2014 on charges of hate speech after he threatened to "chop" Narendra Modi, who was the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, "into pieces".
Masood, who was Congress candidate from Saharanpur for the Lok Sabha polls that year, made the remark during the election campaign.
Many political observers see Masood's return to the Congress fold as giving the party credence in laying claim to the Saharanpur seat in seat-sharing talks among Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners.
Asked about how many seats the Congress would contest in the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, state unit chief Ajay Rai said at the presser that as the party's chief, he is strengthening the organisation in all 80 seats and it was up to the central leadership to decide on seat sharing within an alliance.
Shukla said opposition unity was strong and seat sharing would be done amicably closer to polls.
A nephew of former Union minister late Rasheed Masood, Imran Masood was elected MLA from Muzaffarabad seat (Behat seat after delimitation) in Saharanpur district in 2007 state elections.
He had also contested the Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket in 2014 and 2019 from Saharanpur.
Announcing Masood's expulsion in August, BSP Saharanpur district unit president Janeshwar Prasad had said he was warned on several occasions not to indulge in "anti-party activities and indiscipline" but it did not yield any result, following which he had to be expelled.
Masood had questioned the district unit's authority to expel him. "I was included in the party by the BSP supremo (Mayawati). How can the district unit president expel me?" he had told reporters in Saharanpur.
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera also welcomed Masood into the party at the press conference along with
AICC secretary Pradeep Narwal.
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SC to hear plea on air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR on Dec 17
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday said it will list for hearing on December 17 a plea related to worsening air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pamcholi took note of the submissions of senior advocate Aprajita Singh, who is assisting it as an amicus curiae, that though the preventive measures are there in place but the key issue was of their poor implementation by the authorities.
Singh said till this court directs something, the authorities do not comply with the protocols which are already there.
“This is coming up before a three judges bench on Wednesday. It will come up,” the CJI said.
Another lawyer referred to an application relating to the health issue of children, and said schools, despite the earlier orders, are holding outdoor sports activities.
“Despite the order of this court, Schools have found ways and means to have these sporting activities.. it is taking place. The CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) is again citing the order of this court,” the amicus also said.
“We know the problem and let us pass orders which can be complied with. There are some directions which can be forcibly imposed. In these urban metropolitan cities people have their own lifestyle. But the poor…,” the CJI said.
The amicus said the poor labourers are the worst ones to suffer.
Earlier the bench had said the plea against air pollution cannot be treated as a "customary" case to be listed only during the winter months only.
It had said the case will be taken twice in a month to find out short and long-term solutions to the menace.
Delhi on Monday choked under a thick blanket of smog, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 498, which falls in the higher spectrum of 'severe' category.
The air quality was 'severe' at 38 stations while it was 'very poor' at two stations. Jahangirpuri, which recorded an AQI of 498, recorded the worst air quality amongst all 40 stations.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.
The AQI in Delhi had climbed to 461 on Sunday and marked the city's most polluted day this winter and the second-worst December air quality day on record, as weak winds and low temperatures trapped pollutants close to the surface.
