Smriti Irani takes dig at Rahul Gandhi's PM wish after 2019 polls
Shillong, May 29: Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday pooh-poohed Congress President Rahul Gandhi's statement that he was ready to be the Prime Minister in case the Congress emerged as the single largest party after the 2019 general elections.
"I do politics in the area where Rahul Gandhi also does politics. In Amethi, he has lost every Assembly and local election in four years. How can a person not guaranteed to get re-elected in his own constituency have chances of returning to power in the country," she told journalists in the Meghalaya capital.
"People in Amethi are not happy and he is talking of development in different parts of the country. It was during our tenure that Passport Office, Chief Medical Officer's office and District Collector's office in Amethi were inaugurated, while the Congress did nothing in its own bastion. How can he talk of development in the country?" the Bharatiya Janata Party leader added.
Noting that the earlier United Progressive Alliance government left behind a legacy of apathy, she said: "This is a 48-year-old legacy of apathy of one family versus 48 months of good governance under (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi," Irani said.
"I would like to remind you that when we came to power and got the opportunity to serve the people, the economic condition of the country was poor. The government had to address the financial challenges in every sector, especially pertaining to the scams and debts incurred under the UPA rule," she said.
Evading a direct reply to queries on fuel price hike and black money, Irani assured the people that her colleagues in the government and party President Amit Shah would offer a "time-bound solution" to the issues soon.
On Congress claims that the NDA government was inaugurating projects in the northeast which were initiated in the UPA rule, the Union Minister pointed out that the NITI Aayog, Mudra loans and the Jan Dhan Yojana were initiated by the current dispensation.
A NITI forum for the northeast was formed and its first meeting was held on May 10.
"The northeast is an area of prime focus as the Prime Minister has given a clarion call for its all-round development. A forum had been set up under the NITI Aayog to work to this end...," the Minister said.
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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.
