Tribal woman's severed head found, govt extends suspension of internet services in Malkangiri
Malkangiri (PTI): The Odisha government on Wednesday extended the suspension of internet services for another 24 hours in violence-hit Malkangiri district, while the missing severed head of a tribal woman was recovered from a river bank, police said.
The severed head of 51-year-old Lake Podiami of Rakhelguda village was recovered about 15 km from where her body was found on December 4. The head was found on the Poteru riverbank close to a Kanya Ashram, the police said.
The prohibitory orders clamped in the two villages - Rakhelguda and MV 25 - continued to remain in force, while the government further extended the internet service suspension period by another 24 hours based on the recommendation of the Malkangiri District Collector. The earlier ban was in force till 12 noon on Wednesday, an official said.
The woman's mortal remains were buried at her village on Tuesday amid tight security and in the presence of senior officers. "After recovery of the severed head, the police was examining it and undertaking related investigation to ascertain the circumstances that led to the woman's murder," an officer said.
The woman remained untraced since December 1, and her family members lodged a missing persons case on December 3. Her body was found on December 4, while the head was recovered on Wednesday, police said.
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Violence erupted on Sunday afternoon after the recovery of the woman's headless body. A large number of tribals from Rakhelguda village allegedly attacked MV-26 village, a settlement of Bengalis in the district. Around 200 houses were damaged, some of them set on fire as the tribals went on a rampage at MV-26 village.
Meanwhile, the police have arrested Subha Ranjan Mandal (42) on charge of killing the tribal woman, whose killing led to violence in the tribal dominated district.
Malkangiri District Collector Somesh Kumar Upadhyay told PTI, "The administration has opened a free kitchen at MV-26 village, provided food, blankets and other essentials to the people. Around 300 people who had fled from the village have returned and are staying in a temporary shelter."
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Govt using women's quota pretext to push delimitation: TMC
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New Delhi (PTI): The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday accused the government of using the pretext of early implementation of women's reservation law to "bulldoze" its "real agenda of delimitation".
The TMC said it has always supported women's reservation, but the government cannot "rush" through a bill that will "change the political map" of India based on the 2011 Census.
Parliament is set to meet from April 16 to 18 to consider bills to ensure the implementation of the 33 per cent quota in legislative bodies for women in the 2029 elections. It includes increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816 seats, with 273 seats reserved for women, and amendments to the Delimitation Act to enable redrawing of constituencies.
In a post on X, TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien shared a video of his earlier speech on the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 -- also known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam -- and underlined his party’s long-standing advocacy for women’s reservation.
He recalled that TMC chief Mamata Banerjee had raised the issue in Parliament as early as July 14, 1998.
Highlighting his party’s track record, O’Brien pointed to the proportion of women candidates fielded and elected by the TMC, stating that the party had given 41 per cent tickets to women in 2014 and currently has one of the highest shares of women MPs.
"Modi govt cannot rush through a bill in a special parliament session bang in the middle of Assembly Polls, a bill that will change the political map of India based on the 2011 census (data which is fifteen years old) in 2026 without greater discussion (sic)," TMC Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghose said on X.
"Mr Modi-Shah must be reminded: India is not a single-party democracy. Bulldozing and bullying is against the parliamentary spirit," she said.
In a post on X, TMC leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale accused the government of running a "fake and malicious agenda " claiming it wants “early reservations for women in Parliament”.
"In reality, Modi is using women as an excuse to bulldoze his real agenda of delimitation (which is redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha & Assembly seats in states to benefit the BJP)," he alleged.
He said that at the time of passage of the bill on women's reservation in 2023, opposition parties had expressed concern that its implementation would be delayed, but the government had ignored them, and said it would happen after the Census in 2026.
"Now, suddenly, just when Bengal and Tamil Nadu are going to elections, Modi decides that delimitation will be done before the 2026 Census. Instead of conducting delimitation based on India’s actual population, the Modi government has come up with its own unknown formula," he said.
He questioned the connection between delimitation and women's reservation, and what is stopping the government from implementing it on the existing 543 seats without delimitation.
The Union Cabinet has cleared draft bills to operationalise the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. The proposed changes include increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816 seats, with 273 seats reserved for women.
The legislative package is expected to include a Constitution amendment bill to modify provisions of the Act, alongside amendments to the Delimitation Act to enable redrawing of constituencies in line with the expanded House strength.
Another bill is also likely to extend the implementation of the reservation framework to Union Territories with legislatures, including Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry.
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