TN Assembly polls: Sasikala's name 'deleted' from voters list, says her counsel
Chennai, Apr 6: The name of V K Sasikala, confidante of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, has been 'removed' from the voters list and it is an 'injustice,' her legal counsel said here on Monday.
She was sad about it and legal action would be initiated against the official responsible, he said.
As Tamil Nadu goes to the polls on Tuesday, the name of Sasikala, which figured in the Thousand Lights Assembly constituency in Chennai, was deleted, N Raja Senthoor Pandian said
She was previously a resident of Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence, which was taken over by the AIADMK government for converting it into a memorial.
The neighbourhood falls under the Thousand Lights segment.
Sasikala, some time after her release from prison in January, had said that she would stay off politics. She had served a four year sentence in a disproportionate assets case.
Pandian told a Tamil television channel that officials informed him that Sasikala's name was deleted on 31 January 2019, following revision and ahead of the Lok Sabha polls that year.
When they got to know about it last month, he apprised Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo that no notice was sent to her before her name was struck off the rolls, which was an 'injustice.'
Sahoo told him that the deadline to make inclusions or deletions had expired already, Pandian claimed.
While official communications from other arms of the government were addressed previously to the Parapana Agrahara Prison in Bengaluru, why was a notice on the deletion of her name not sent, he asked the top poll officer.
Sahoo replied that it was not clear as to who was responsible for it and also informed the counsel that any process related to the matter could be taken up only after the culmination of the election process.
Pandian said he apprised Sahoo that legal action would be initiated against the official responsible for removal of Sasikala's name from the voters list.
Sasikala was sad about the deletion of her name from the list, he said.
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Bhojshala case: Disputed structure built from remains of pre-existing temples, claims ASI
Indore (PTI): The ASI has told the Madhya Pradesh High Court that a massive structure dating back to the Paramara kings' rule existed at the disputed Bhojshala temple-Kamal Maula mosque complex, and the current structure was built from the remains of temples.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) made the claim on Tuesday based on its 98-day scientific survey and over 2,000-page report.
The Hindu community considers Bhojshala a temple dedicated to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while the Muslim side claims the monument as the Kamal Maula Mosque. The disputed complex is protected by the ASI.
During the hearing before Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi of the HC's Indore bench, Additional Solicitor General Sunil Kumar Jain, representing the ASI, presented a detailed account of the scientific survey conducted two years ago at the complex.
Referring to the ASI's survey report, he said, "Retrieved architectural remains, sculptural fragments, large slabs of inscriptions with literary texts, Nagakarnika inscriptions on pillars, etc, suggest that a large structure associated with literary and educational activities existed at the site. Based on scientific investigations and archaeological remains recovered during the investigations, this pre-existing structure can be dated to the Paramara period."
It can be said that the existing structure was made from the parts of earlier temples, based on scientific investigations, survey and archaeological excavations conducted, study and analysis of retrieved finds, study of architectural remains, sculptures, and inscriptions, art and sculptures, Jain said quoting the report.
Summarising the report, he also drew the court's attention to the fact that the archaeological study identifies that many architectural components, such as pillars and beams, were originally part of temple structures before being repurposed for a mosque.
"The evidence of this transition includes Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions that were damaged or hidden, alongside sculptures of deities and animals that were often mutilated or defaced," Jain contended.
The report also states that "all Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions are older than the Arabic and Persian inscriptions, indicating that users or engravers of the Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions occupied the place earlier".
In light of the Muslim side's earlier objections, the bench wanted to know why there were some discrepancies in the ASI's responses regarding the status of the disputed complex in the cases filed over the years.
The Additional Solicitor General argued that earlier studies of the complex involved only officials, while the current survey involved scientists and the use of advanced technologies such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).
The hearing in the Bhojshala case will continue on Wednesday.
The high court has been regularly hearing four petitions and one writ appeal regarding the religious nature of the Bhojshala temple-Kamal Maula mosque complex since April 6.
