SC dismisses PIL for 'renaming commission' to restore 'original' names of ancient, religious places
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking constituting of a 'renaming commission' to restore "original" names of ancient, cultural and religious places "renamed" by invaders, saying India can't be a prisoner of the past.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna questioned the motive of the PIL filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, saying it will bring alive those issues, "which would keep the country on boil".
The bench said, "This is a fact that our country was invaded and ruled by a foreign power. We cannot wish out selected part of our history".
The top court told Upadhyay, "our country is secular and Hinduism is a way of life, which has assimilated everyone and there is no bigotry in it".
It also said the history of the country should not haunt its present and future generations.
Upadhyay had earlier this month filed the PIL, seeking a direction to the Centre to constitute a 'renaming commission' to restore the "original" names of ancient historical, cultural and religious places which were "renamed" by foreign invaders.
While Mughal Garden was recently renamed Amrit Udyan, the government did nothing to rename the roads named after invaders, the PIL said and contended that the continuation of these names is against the sovereignty and other civil rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
The PIL said alternatively, the court may direct the Archaeological Survey of India to research and publish the initial names of ancient historical and cultural religious places, which were renamed by "barbaric foreign invaders" to secure the Right to Information under the Constitution.
The PIL said, "We are celebrating the 75th anniversary of independence but there are many ancient historical cultural religious places in the name of brutal foreign invaders, their servants and family members".
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
