Tejasvi Surya to head parliamentary panel on Jan Vishwas Bill
Baijayant Panda to chair select committee on IBC
New Delhi (PTI): BJP leader Tejasvi Surya was on Wednesday appointed the chairman of the select parliamentary panel to examine the Jan Vishwas Bill.
BJP leader Baijayant Panda has been appointed chairman of the select committee to examine the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill, while the chairpersons of almost all the department-related parliamentary panels, including Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, have been re-nominated to their respective positions.
Earlier, Panda chaired the parliamentary committee that examined the Income Tax Bill, which was passed by Parliament during the Monsoon Session.
The appointment of Surya, the two-term sitting Lok Sabha member from Bangalore South, as the chairman of the select committee on The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill is considered in Parliament circles as a vote of confidence of the BJP top brass in the young leader.
There was no word yet on the constitution of the parliamentary committee to examine the three Home Ministry Bills, including the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill.
At least three political parties -- Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena-UBT and Aam Aadmi Party -- have announced that their representatives will not be part of the panel.
Congress too appears disinclined to join the committee to examine bills that seek the ouster of prime minister, chief ministers and ministers under arrest for 30 days.
BJP leaders Nishikant Dubey and Bhartruhari Matab will continue as chairmen of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communication and Information Technology; and Finance, respectively, while DMK leader Kanimozhi will head the committee on consumer affairs, food and public distribution, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said.
Congress leaders Tharoor and Charanjit Singh Channi will continue to head the committees on external affairs and agriculture, respectively.
Trinamool leader Mahua Moitra, who was earlier a member of the Dubey-led parliamentary committee on communication and IT, has been made a member of the committee on defence, chaired by BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh.
Moitra and Dubey have been at loggerheads, and the Trinamool had written to the Lok Sabha Speaker to shift her to a different parliamentary panel.
Trinamool leaders Dola Sen and Kirti Azad have been renominated to the committees on commerce; and chemicals and fertilisers, respectively.
BJP leader Anurag Thakur will chair the committee on coal, mines and steel, while BJP leader Radha Mohan Das Agarwal will be at the helm of the panel on home affairs.
Among the BJP allies, JD(U) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha has been reappointed as the chairman of the committee on transport, tourism and culture, while NCP leader Sunil Tatkare heads the panel on petroleum and natural gas.
Shiv Sena leader Shrirang Appa Barne heads the committee on energy.
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.
Justice must be seen to be done: Kejriwal on refusal to appear in excise case before HC judge
New Delhi (PTI): Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has written to Delhi High Court Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, saying he will not appear in the excise case personally or through a lawyer before her, the party said on Monday.
Pointing to a "grave miscarriage of justice", Kejriwal, in a four-page letter, said he has "serious and unreconciled" concerns regarding the matter.
"I have decided that I shall not participate in the further proceedings in this matter, either in person or through counsel. I do not take this step lightly," Kejriwal added.
In his letter, Kejriwal further said that "justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done".
"The principle that justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done, is among the most sacred assurances that a court gives to a citizen in a democracy," he said.
The assurance cannot be dishonoured by asking the citizen to ignore what "anyone can plainly see" in a case like this, he added in the letter.
The letter also invoked the principles of Satyagraha and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, with Kejriwal saying that his intent is "strengthening of judiciary and prevent its weakening".
He added that he has given the authority an opportunity to consider and correct what he perceived to be a grave miscarriage of justice.
His earlier plea seeking the recusal of Justice Sharma, which was rejected on April 20, was interpreted as a personal attack, the AAP chief claimed.
"After the said judgment, I am left with the painful and inescapable impression that what I had urged as a lawful plea of apprehension was received and answered as a personal attack upon Your Ladyship and as an assault on the institution itself.
"Those are not, with respect, answers to the case I had brought. They show me that my plea of apprehension has been judicially understood as a personal and institutional affront," he said in the letter.
The letter further noted the leader's belief that it was now "impossible to receive an impartial hearing" in Justice Sharma's court.
Kejriwal also reiterated two grounds cited earlier in his recusal plea.
"First, the issue of Your Ladyship's repeated public association with the RSS's legal front, the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad (ABAP) -- an organisation belonging to the ideological ecosystem of the ruling dispensation," he wrote, further pointing out that Justice Sharma's children "are professionally engaged on multiple advocates' panels of the Union government which happens to be the opposite party in this case".
Reflecting on his personal experience during the proceedings, the former Delhi chief minister expressed concern over the broader implications of his case on public trust in the judiciary, while he said he maintains respect for the institution.
ALSO READ: ED raids in case against former Punjab Police DIG Bhullar, linked entities
"When I appeared before Your Ladyship to argue my case, the question in my heart was simple: Will I get justice? Today, with the deepest respect, I must say that the same question has become graver and deeper in my conscience," he said.
This case has now become a matter of widespread public discussion. It is being discussed not merely in legal and political circles, but in homes across the country, the letter read.
Addressing potential criticism, Kejriwal clarified that his remarks should not be interpreted as opposition to the judiciary.
"As I write this, I am also cognisant of the fact that some might portray me as someone 'against' the judiciary. But how can that ever be the case when I have personally received relief from the judiciary, including orders of bail and the present discharge?
"Today, I walk free because of the judiciary. Let there exist no figment of imagination that my present stand is against the institution," he asserted.
Kejriwal further said his respect for the judiciary "remains intact" and he has "unwavering faith" in the Constitution of India.
"My objection is not to the institution of the High Court or the larger judicial system, but only to the continuance of this matter before Your Ladyship (Sharma) under a cloud of grave and unresolved questions and circumstances that have generated grave public doubt in your ability to dispense impartial justice," Kejriwal further wrote in the letter.
He also clarified that his "personal inability" is confined to just this matter.
"I shall continue to appear in matters where these serious and unreconciled concerns do not arise, including matters in which the solicitor general does not appear and matters unconnected with the Union government, the BJP or the RSS," the letter added.
He further said he has made the decision by listening to the voice of his conscience and that he is prepared to bear the consequences.
"I may prejudice my own legal interests. I understand that I may lose the opportunity to advance submissions before this Hon'ble Court and that adverse consequences in law may follow. I am prepared to bear those consequences," the AAP chief said.
He added that he will reserve the right to approach the Supreme Court to appeal against Justice Sharma's decision.
