CM Bommai dismisses Congress' poll 'guarantees' as 'bogus announcements'
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday dismissed Congress' poll 'guarantees' as "bogus announcements", and said their leader Rahul Gandhi's visit to the poll-bound state will not have any impact.
He said, the people of Karnataka will not give any value to the former AICC President's words, after his recent controversial statements in London, regarding the state of democracy in the country.
During Rahul Gandhi's visit to Belagavi on Monday, the Congress announced its fourth 'guarantee' "YuvaNidhi' -- Rs 3,000 every month for graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years, 10 lakh jobs in five years and filling up of 2.5 lakh govt jobs within one year, in the event of the party coming to power in the State, where Assembly elections are due by May.
"Rahul Gandhi has come and gone several times (to Karnataka), he has done the Bharat Jodo Yatra also, but it has not made any effect. Monday's announcement was a bogus announcement, there is no impact," Bommai said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters, he said, "there is a lot of difference between Rahul Gandhi's last visit and Monday's. His speech in London in between the two visits, against the country and regarding democracy, is being condemned across the country, including Karnataka. So people of Karnataka will not give any value to his words".
Hitting out at the Congress, calling its poll 'guarantee' card and "bogus card", the CM said, they have made similar promises in other states, but haven't fulfilled them till today.
"It is their track record. Whether it is Rajasthan or Chattisgarh or other states, they have not fulfilled the promises made. In Chattisgarh they had promised to give Rs 1,000 to every house, they didn't give it during the last four years, but in the last year they are giving.
They cheat people this way," he said, adding that it is not a guarantee card, but only a "visiting card, and it doesn't have any value".
The Congress party earlier announced three poll guarantees' 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), and 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), in the event of the party coming to power.
Targeting Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Bommai said he has no moral right to speak on the issue of corruption.
"There are lots of charges against him, there is a complaint against him in Lokayukta, there are several charges against him including the Redo (denotification) case....Congress has collapsed everywhere across the country, here too it will collapse with him," he said.
Responding to a question, he further said, discussions are underway with legal experts to conduct a judicial inquiry into the "corruption cases" of Siddaramaiah's government, and a decision will be made in a few days. "Some of the 59 cases are entrusted to Lokayukta, rest will also be entrusted."
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SC dismisses pleas seeking review of 2023 verdict declining legal sanction to same-sex marriage
New Delhi, Jan 9: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a batch of pleas seeking to review its October 2023 verdict declining legal sanction to same-sex marriage.
A five-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, B V Nagarathna, P S Narasimha and Dipankar Datta took up about 13 petitions related to the matter in chambers and dismissed them.
"We do not find any error apparent on the face of the record. We further find that the view expressed in both the judgements is in accordance with law and as such, no interference is warranted. Accordingly, the review petitions are dismissed," the bench said.
It said the judges have carefully gone through the judgements delivered by Justice (since retired) S Ravindra Bhat speaking for himself and for Justice (since retired) Hima Kohli as well as the concurring opinion expressed by Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, constituting the majority view.
The bench also rejected a prayer made in the review petitions for hearing in an open court.
According to practice, the review pleas are considered in chambers by the judges.
The new bench was constituted after Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the present CJI, recused from hearing the review petitions on July 10, 2024.
Notably, Justice P S Narasimha is the only member of the original Constitution bench comprising five judges which delivered the verdict, as former CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices S K Kaul, Ravindra Bhat and Hima Kohli have retired.
A five-judge Constitution bench led by then CJI Chandrachud on October 17, 2024, refused to accord legal backing to same-sex marriages and held there was "no unqualified right" to marriage with the exception of those recognised by law.
The apex court, however, made a strong pitch for the rights of LGBTQIA++ persons so that they didn't face discrimination in accessing goods and services available to others, safe houses known as "garima greh" in all districts for shelter to members of the community facing harassment and violence, and dedicated hotlines in case of trouble.
In its judgement, the bench held transpersons in heterosexual relationships had the freedom and entitlement to marry under the existing statutory provisions.
It said an entitlement to legal recognition of the right to union, akin to marriage or civil union, or conferring legal status to the relationship could be only done through an "enacted law".
The five-judge Constitution bench delivered four separate verdicts on a batch of 21 petitions seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriages.
All five judges were unanimous in refusing the legal recognition to same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act and observed it was within Parliament's ambit to change the law for validating such a union.
While former CJI Chandrachud wrote a separate 247-page verdict, Justice Kaul penned a 17-page judgement where he broadly agreed with the former's views.
Justice Bhat, who authored an 89-page judgement for himself and Justice Kohli, disagreed with certain conclusions arrived at by the former CJI, including on applicability of adoption rules for such couples.
Justice Narasimha in his 13-page verdict was in complete agreement with the reasoning and conclusion of Justice Bhat.
The judges were unanimous in holding that queerness was a natural phenomenon and not an "urban or elite" notion.
In his judgement, the former CJI recorded Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's assurance of forming a committee chaired by the cabinet secretary to define and elucidate the scope of entitlements of such couples in a union.
The LGBTQIA++ rights activists, who won a major legal battle in 2018 in the Supreme Court, which decriminalised consensual gay sex, moved the apex court seeking validation of same-sex marriages and consequential reliefs such as rights to adoption, enrolment as parents in schools, opening of bank accounts and availing succession and insurance benefits.
Some of the petitioners sought the apex court to use its plenary power besides the "prestige and moral authority" to push the society to acknowledge such a union and ensure LGBTQIA++ persons led a "dignified" life like heterosexuals.
