Weak, fickle politicans costing Indian sovereignty: Jaitley
New Delhi, Aug 1 : Indias sovereignty is paying a heavy price because of the quality of its political discourse, wielded by "fickle minds and fragile hands" on the issue of illegal migration in north-eastern states, said Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday.
In a blog written on the National Register of Citizen (NRC), Jaitley argued that political parties opposing the NRC in Assam are going back on their earlier position, when they favoured laws designed to weed out illegal migrants. He expressed concerns over their growing number in the region.
"India's sovereignty is paying a heavy price because of the quality of its political discourse. Though Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Mr. Rajiv Gandhi took a particular position in 1972 and 1985 for the deletion and deportation of foreigners, Rahul Gandhi takes a contrary position and his party turns turtle.
"Similarly, the BJP ally of 2005, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, took a particular position. As a federal front leader, she now talks to the contrary. Can India's sovereignty be decided by such fickle minds and fragile hands?," the leader wrote in a blog shared on his Facebook page.
Jaitley's words came following disruption in Rajya Sabha earlier in the day. The House had to be adjourned following ruckus by opposition parties when BJP President Amit Shah stood up to speak on NRC.
He pointed out in his article that two of India's Prime Ministers, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, had "committed to the nation that post March 25, 1971 migrants would be detected, identified and deported" as per the definition of such people, which came to be defined in Assam Accords signed in 1984 by Rajiv Gandhi.
To bolster his argument against illegal migrants, Jaitley cited statements made by former premiers of Pakistan and Bangladesh, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shiekh Mujibur Rahman, which showed them harbouring intention of annexing Assam or West Bengal to either of the two countries.
Training his guns further at Congress, he termed it as a party which has moved from mainstream to a "fringe position" and is now "compromising the sovereignty of India".
"Leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee must realise that India's sovereignty is not a play thing. Sovereignty and citizenship are the soul of India. Imported vote banks are not," he said.
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UPSC cheating case: Puja Khedkar seeks pre-arret bail, moves SC
New Delhi, Jan 14: Former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, accused of cheating and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits in the civil services examination, has moved the Supreme Court for anticipatory bail.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma is scheduled to hear the plea on January 15.
Khedkar has challenged the December 23 2024 Delhi High Court order which refused to grant her anticipatory bail.
The high court said a strong prima facie case was made out against Khedkar and an investigation was required to unearth the "larger conspiracy" to manipulate the system and a pre-arrest bail would adversely impact it.
"Anticipatory bail plea is dismissed. Interim protection from arrest is vacated," the high court said.
Khedkar was granted an interim protection from arrest when the high court issued notice on her anticipatory bail plea on August 12, 2024, and it was extended from time to time.
The UPSC examination was the most prestigious test and the case was a classic instance of fraud committed on a constitutional body as well as the society, the high court said.
Khedkar is accused of misrepresenting information in her application for the UPSC civil services examination, 2022, to get reservation benefits.
She refuted all the allegations against her.
The anticipatory bail plea was opposed by the Delhi Police counsel and the complainant, the UPSC, in the high court.
While Khedkar's counsel argued she was willing to join and cooperate in the investigation and as all the material was documentary in nature, her custody was not required, Delhi Police said her custodial interrogation was necessary to unearth the involvement of others.
The UPSC opposed the plea and said Khedkar committed a fraud against it and the public, and her custodial interrogation was necessary to unearth the "magnitude" of the fraud which couldn't have been done without the help of others.
The UPSC initiated a series of actions against Khedkar, including lodging of a criminal case, for availing attempts in the civil services exam by faking her identity whereas Delhi Police lodged an FIR for various offences.
