Rajnath taunts Kashmir separatists
Srinagar, June 7: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday taunted Kashmiri separatist leaders for praising their own children on their academic success while pushing other children into "darkness" by encouraging them to throw stones at security forces.
The Minister's taunt came days after jailed separatist leader Shabir Shah's daughter cleared her CBSE Class 12 exam and was a state topper with 97.8 per cent. Hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and other separatist leaders congratulated Shah's daughter on her success, describing her as a role model for Kashmiri youngsters.
Rajnath Singh didn't name anyone in his remarks but asked: "What kind of approach is this?.
"You congratulate your own children for doing well in examinations and push children of others into darkness by pushing them to play with fire and stones," he told reporters.
With Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti by his side, Rajnath Singh said playing politics with the future of Kashmir's children was not only deceitful but criminal as well.
The Minister is on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir to assess the security situation in the aftermath of the ongoing Ramadan ceasefire.
He said Ramadan was a holy month and those who indulge in terrorism during this month were indulging in unholy practices.
He recalled former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's approach of a insaniyat (humanity), jumhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (eclectic culture) and said: "Those who pick up guns cannot be said to be believers of democracy.
"Kashmiriyat includes both Hazratbal (the Srinagar Muslim shrine that houses the relic of Prophet) and Amarnath (the Hindu hill shrine in south Kashmir). (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi said from the Red Fort that the problem of Kashmir can be solved by embracing Kashmiris and not by abusing them."
The Home Minister said the issue of extending or calling off the ceasefire would be discussed with the Chief Minister before taking a final call. He added that nothing could be ruled out.
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Supreme Court rejects plea for reverting to ballots in elections
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking to revert to ballot paper voting in elections in the country.
"What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs (electronic voting machine) are not tampered. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered (with)," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale.
Apart from ballot paper voting, the plea sought several directions including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor or other material inducement to the voters during polls.
When petitioner-in-person K A Paul said he filed the PIL, the bench said, "You have interesting PILs. How do you get these brilliant ideas?".
The petitioner said he is the president of an organisation which has rescued over three lakh orphans and 40 lakh widows.
"Why are you getting into this political arena? Your area of work is very different," the bench retorted.
After Paul revealed he had been to over 150 countries, the bench asked him whether each of the nations had ballot paper voting or used electronic voting.
The petitioner said foreign countries had adopted ballot paper voting and India should follow suit.
"Why you don't want to be different from the rest of the world?" asked the bench.
There was corruption and this year (2024) in June, the Election Commission announced they had seized Rs 9,000 crore, Paul responded.
"But how does that make your relief which you are claiming here relevant?" asked the bench, adding "if you shift back to physical ballot, will there be no corruption?".
Paul claimed CEO and co-founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, stated that EVMs could be tampered with and added TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, the current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, and former state chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had claimed EVMs could be tampered with.
"When Chandrababu Naidu lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with. Now this time, Jagan Mohan Reddy lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with," noted the bench.
When the petitioner said everybody knew money was distributed in elections, the bench remarked, "We never received any money for any elections."
The petitioner said another prayer in his plea was the formulation of a comprehensive framework to regulate the use of money and liquor during election campaigns and ensuring such practices were prohibited and punishable under the law.
The plea further sought a direction to mandate an extensive voter education campaign to raise awareness and importance of informed decision making.
"Today, 32 per cent educated people are not casting their votes. What a tragedy. If democracy will be dying like this and we will not be able to do anything then what will happen in the years to come in future," the petitioner said.
