Kolkata’s intellectuals turn down BJP’s invite
KOLKATA : The big names in Kolkata’s world of art or culture have refused to meet BJP president Amit Shah. They include thespian Soumitra Chatterjee, former Supreme Court Judge Ashok Ganguly, activist-writer Santosh Rana, theatre stars Rudraprasad Sengupta, Chandan Sen and Manoj Mitra, singer Amar Paul and painter Samir Aich.
Mr. Shah was scheduled to meet many of them on Wednesday at a south Kolkata auditorium. Most of them acknowledged the invite, but are not ready to meet Mr. Shah or attend his lecture on writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
The State BJP officials, however, are confident that “hundreds” of the city’s intellectuals will participate in the event. The State BJP has lined up a series of programmes for Mr. Shah, who is coming here for a two-day tour of West Bengal.
Key programme
One of Mr. Shah’s key programmes on Wednesday is a lecture in memory of revered Bengali writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who penned the national song Vande Mataram. It will be hosted by Delhi-based Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation. Mr. Shah is then scheduled to meet the city’s intellectuals and civil society members.
Actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who was invited to Mr Shah’s programme by BJP’s national secretary Rahul Sinha, turned down the offer to attend both the memorial lecture and the intellectuals’ meet. Associates of the actor said that Mr. Chatterjee expressed his “particular displeasure at the demonetisation and the party’s politics of targeting communities.”
Writer, playwright and theatre director Manoj Mitra said senior BJP leader Mukul Roy met him last week. “He wanted to know more about our work and then invited me to the programme on Bankim Chandra. I found it exciting, but told him I can’t attend,” Mr. Mitra said.
Till Tuesday evening, BJP officials have refused to disclose the names of the prominent people who are likely to attend Mr. Shah’s programme or meet him during his stay here.
“We are expecting 650 intellectuals to attend Mr. Shah’s programme. But we can’t disclose their names now as there is tremendous pressure on them from the ruling party. If we disclose their names now they may be threatened,” said Pankaj Roy, the convener of BJP’s Intellectual Cell in Bengal.
courtesy : thehindu.com
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
