Lets forget past and work together for development, says Mamata in Darjeeling
Kalimpong, May 29: Citing the unprecedented violence, agitation and a prolonged shutdown in the northern West Bengal hills last year over the demands for separate state of Gorkhaland, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday urged locals to forget the past and "work together like a family" for the betterment of the people.
Claiming that the 104-day long complete shutdown in the hills of Darjeeling from mid-June to September last year had critically impacted the development and economy of the region, she said the state government and the local administrative boards like Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) have to work hand in hand to recover the lost ground.
"Whatever has happened, has happened. I want to forget that. I want that if there was any mistake from my part, we can work towards rectifying that mistake. It is important to work for the betterment of people with an honest heart to bring about the 'Acche Din' (better days)," Banerjee said at a public meeting in Darjeeling district's hill town Kalimpong.
"I want the hills to make progress. If some leaders call strike for six to eight months in the hills, the people here suffer immensely. Unemployment goes up and the developmental projects of the government come to a halt...Whichever board does better work, I will help them more. I will help the GTA too. Let's stay together like a family and work together for the betterment of hills," she said.
Congratulating the Darjeeling hills for the tourist inflow this year, the Chief Minister encouraged more numbers of tourist sectors, home stays and industries in the region. She also pointed out that special stress should be given on agriculture, horticulture and food processing.
However, the Trinamool Congress supremo asked the local developmental boards to spend the government aid properly and maintain a clean financial record.
"We gave Rs 3,804.17 crore to the previous GTA board. After the new board was formed, we have handed them Rs 705.58 crore for doing the work. Total Rs 4,509.75 crore has been given. We want the GTA and all the other boards to properly utilise the money and keep their financial records clean," Banerjee said.
She also said the state government wants to build an educational hub in Darjeeling and the process of building a state university in Mongpu under Kurseong sub-division has started.
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Bombay High Court strikes down Centre's plan to set up Fact-Check Unit
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has struck down the central government's plan to establish a fact-checking unit (FCU) under the Information Technology Amendment Rules, 2023. The decision comes in response to a petition filed by standup comedian Kunal Kamra, challenging the constitutional validity of the Centre's move.
Justice A.S. Chandurkar, delivering the final verdict, declared that the proposed IT Amendment Rules violated key provisions of the Indian Constitution, namely Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech and expression), and 19(1)(g) (right to profession).
“I have considered the matter extensively. The impugned rules are violative of Articles 14, 19, and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India,” Justice Chandurkar said in his judgment. He further remarked that terms like "fake, false, and misleading" in the IT Rules were "vague" and lacked a clear definition, making them unconstitutional.
This judgment followed a split verdict issued by a division bench of the Bombay High Court in January. The bench, consisting of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale, was divided in their opinions. While Justice Patel ruled that the IT Rules amounted to censorship and struck them down, Justice Gokhale upheld the rules, arguing that they did not pose a "chilling effect" on free speech, as the petitioners had claimed.
The matter was then referred to a third judge, leading to today's decision. The Supreme Court had previously stayed the Centre's notification that would have made the fact-checking unit operational, stating that the government could not proceed until the Bombay High Court ruled on the case.
Kunal Kamra and other petitioners had argued that the amendments posed unreasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression. They contended that the provisions would lead to government-led censorship, effectively granting the government unchecked powers to determine what constitutes 'truth' online. The petitioners further claimed that such powers would turn the government into "prosecutor, judge, and executioner" in matters of online content.
With the Bombay High Court’s ruling, the Centre's move to create fact-checking units has been effectively halted, reaffirming the importance of protecting freedom of speech and expression in the digital space.
