Minority identification: SC expresses displeasure over 6 states for not giving comments to Centre
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed displeasure over six states and Union Territories (UTs), including Jammu and Kashmir, not yet giving their comments to the Centre on the issue of identification of minorities at the state level.
"We fail to appreciate why these states should not respond. We give last opportunity to the Central government to obtain their responses failing which we will presume that they have nothing to say," said a bench comprising Justices S K Kaul, A S Oka and J B Pardiwala.
Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, referred to the recent status report filed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs which said that 24 states and six UTs have so far furnished their comments on the issue.
The status report, filed in the apex court last week, said that comments from six states and UTs -- Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan and Telangana -- are still awaited.
When Venkataramani told the bench that six states and UTs have not yet given their comments on the issue, the bench said, "They cannot keep on not giving their responses. We will presume that they do not want to give responses".
The counsel appearing for one of the petitioners said that in Jammu and Kashmir, Hindus are in minority.
The bench observed that UTs are being administered by the Centre.
Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who is one of the petitioners in the case, said it is an important matter.
The bench posted the matter for hearing on March 21.
On November 22 last year, the Centre had told the top court that it has held consultative meetings with all the state governments, UTs and other stake holders on the issue of identification of minorities at the state level and 14 states have furnished their views so far.
In its recent status report, the ministry has said that "last reminder" was sent on December 21 last year to these six states and UTs which have so far not given their comments.
It said in one the petitions, "the petitioner has prayed to put restrain on the Government of India from placing reliance/acting upon and implementing the Sachar Committee report, submitted on November 17, 2006, for running/initiating any scheme/s in favour of Muslim community or for any other purpose".
The status report said that a petition with the same subject matter is pending adjudication before the apex court.
The ministry has said that apart from state governments and UTs, it held consultative meetings with other stakeholders including the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Education, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) and National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI).
"All the ministries/departments have sent their views/comments," said the status report which also annexed the copy of replies received from these ministries or departments.
"The 24 state governments namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Odisha, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Goa, West Bengal, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and six Union Territories namely Ladakh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Chandigarh, NCT of Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar islands and Puducherry have furnished their comments/views," the ministry said.
The status report was filed on the pleas, including the one filed by Upadhyay who has sought directions for framing guidelines for identification of minorities at the state level, contending that Hindus are in minority in 10 states.
The apex court was hearing the pleas, including the one filed by Upadhyay which has sought directions for framing guidelines for identification of minorities at the state level, contending that Hindus are in minority in 10 states.
During the earlier hearing, Upadhyay had told the bench that he has challenged the validity of section 2(f) of the National Commission for Minority Education Institution Act, 2004.
Terming section 2(f) of the Act, which empowers the Centre to identify and notify minority communities in India, as "manifestly arbitrary, irrational, and offending", his plea has alleged that it gives unbridled power to the Centre.
Upadhyay had earlier referred to a 2007 judgement of the Allahabad High Court on a plea seeking quashing of the May 2004 order passed by the state of Uttar Pradesh recognising 67 madrassas for grant-in-aid.
He had said the high court verdict of 2007 has not been challenged.
"Can minority status be decided district-wise? How can that be done," the bench had earlier observed during the hearing.
On May 10 last year, the apex court had expressed displeasure over the Centre's shifting stand on the issue of identification of minorities, including Hindus, at the state level and directed it to hold consultations with the states within three months.
In supersession of its earlier stand, the Centre had told the apex court that power to notify minorities is vested with the Union government and any decision with regard to the issue will be taken after discussion with states and other stake holders.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
