His Excellency Jagdeep Dhankhar,

Vice President of India

Respected Sir, it needs no reminding that you occupy the august office of Indian Republic’s Vice-President after taking the following oath under Article 69 of the Indian Constitution, “that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and that I will discharge the duty upon which I am about to enter.” As Vice-President Your Excellency is also the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

Sir, it was a sad spectacle that the Nation found you glorifying the Rashtiya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Rajya Sabha on July 31, 2024, in response to the criticism of Samajwadi Party leader Ramji Lal Suman that persons connected with RSS were being appointed to crucial posts in the educational institutions after recommendation from RSS higher-ups. Instead of letting a concerned Minister respond you took charge and stated:

“RSS is an organisation which is a global think tank of the highest order… I will not permit honourable member to single out an organisation which is doing national service…I hereby rule that RSS is an organisation that has full constitutional rights to participate in the development journey of this nation. This organisation bears unimpeachable credentials, comprises of people who are deeply committed to serving the nation selflessly. To take exception that a member of this organisation cannot participate in development journey of the nation is not only unconstitutional, but beyond the rules…if we take exception like this, it is indicative of undemocratic situations. It is antithetical to the preamble of our Constitution. We are doing great disservice to the nation and the Constitution by taking such divisive stance…I increasingly find that people are engaging into divisive activities. This is a pernicious design, a sinister mechanism to run down the growth of the country.”

[‘RSS has unimpeachable credentials, is global think tank of highest order: V-P’, The Indian Express Delhi, August 1, 2024. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/rss-think-tank-vice-president-jagdeep-dhankhar-9486650/]

Sir, when an issue of favouritism and corruption was raised by a senior Rajya Sabha member relating to RSS you went to the extent of warning that “The member was trampling the Constitution of India”.

[‘Jagdeep Dhankhar to the rescue of RSS, describes Opposition MP’s questioning of appointment as ‘trampling of the Constitution’, The Telegraph, Delhi, August 01, 2024. https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/jagdeep-dhankhar-to-the-rescue-of-rss-describes-opposition-mps-questioning-of-appointment-as-trampling-of-the-constitution/cid/2037729]

Your Excellency, you glorified RSS as an organisation which is “a global think tank of the highest order”, “doing national service”, and “bears unimpeachable credentials, comprises of people who are deeply committed to serving the nation selflessly”. You declared any criticism of RSS as “trampling the Constitution of India”, “antithetical to the preamble of our Constitution”, “great disservice to the nation and the Constitution” and critics indulging in “divisive activities” as part of “a pernicious design, a sinister mechanism to run down the growth of the country.”

Sir, I am shocked that as Vice-President of India you eulogized an organisation in the Parliament House of the largest democracy in the world which did not participate in the Indian Freedom Struggle for its inclusiveness, denigrated martyrs of our glorious Freedom Struggle, refused to be loyal to democratic-secular Indian polity, rejected the Tricolour as the National Flag (till year 2000!), denounced Indian Constitution demanding Manusmriti as the constitution Indian), still declares Hinduism and Casteism as synonymous, treats the largest two minorities of  the country as ‘Internal Threats’ and denies claim of Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism being independent religions, and women within RSS as servants.

I am reproducing the above-mentioned startling facts from RSS archives for your kind reference.

RSS committed to build a Hindu state

Importantly, Organizer in an editorial (titled ‘Whither’) on the very eve of Independence, rejected the whole concept of a composite nation declared:

“Let us no longer allow ourselves to be influenced by false notions of nationhood. Much of the mental confusion and the present and future troubles can be removed by the ready recognition of the simple fact that in Hindusthan only the Hindus form the nation and the national structure must be built on that safe and sound foundation…The nation itself must be built up of Hindus, on Hindu traditions, culture, ideas and aspirations.” [Organizer, August 14, 1947]

Prarthana (prayer) and Pratigya (oath) used by the RSS demand from members commitment to a Hindu religion, Hindu rashtra and Hindu cause in opposition to loyalty to democratic-secular Indian polity.

Prarthana:

“Affectionate Motherland, I eternally bow to you/O Land of Hindus, you have reared me in comfort/O Sacred Land, the Great Creator of Good, may this body of mine be dedicated to you/I again and again bow before You/O God almighty, we the integral part of the Hindu Rashtra salute you in reverence/For Your cause have we girded up our loins/Give us Your Blessings for its accomplishment.” 6

[RSS, Shakha Darshika, Gyan Ganga, Jaipur, 1997, p.1.]

Pratigya:

“Before the all-powerful God and my ancestors, I most solemnly take this oath, that I become a member of the RSS in order to achieve all round greatness of Bharatvarsha by fostering the growth of my sacred Hindu religion, Hindu society, and Hindu culture. I shall perform the work of the Sangh honestly, disinterestedly, with my heart and soul, and I shall adhere to this goal all my life. Bharat Mata Ki Jai.” 7 [Ibid, p. 66.]

Sir, thus your glorification of RSS was praise of an organization which demands commitment not to the constitutional polity of India but Hindu Rashtra.

RSS denigrated the Tricolour

Respected Sir, Tricolour is our National Flag. It was this flag carrying which thousands Indian patriots laid down their live as during the British rule it was crime to unfurl it in public. How much RSS hated it can be known by the following denigration of the Flag in its English organ, Organizer just on the eve of Independence (August 14, 1947):

“The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the Tricolour, but it never [sic] be respected and owned by Hindus. The word three is in itself an evil, and a flag having three colours will certainly produce a very bad psychological effect and is injurious to a country.”

RSS betrayed India’s Freedom Struggle

Your Excellency, The Non-cooperation Movement (1920-22) and the Quit India Movement (1942) were two great milestones in the history of the Indian Freedom Movement, but RSS kept aloof not only from these but from other anti-colonial campaigns. Guru MS Golwalkar, the most prominent ideologue of the RSS shamelessly denigrated these movements in the following words:

“Definitely there are bound to be bad results of struggle. The boys became unruly after the 1920-21 movement. It is not an attempt to throw mud at the leaders. But these are inevitable products after the struggle. The matter is that we could not properly control these results. After 1942, people often started thinking that there was no need to think of the law.”

[Shri Guruji Samagr Darshan [Collected works of MS Golwalkar in Hindi in 7 volumes], Vol IV, BhartiyamVichar Sadhna, Nagpur, nd, p. 41. Hereafter referred to as SGSD.]

Thus, Guru Golwalkar wanted Indians to respect the draconian and repressive laws of the inhuman British rulers! After the 1942 Movement he further admitted,

“In 1942 also there was a strong sentiment in the hearts of many. At that time too the routine work of Sangh continued. Sangh vowed not to do anything directly. However, upheaval (uthal-puthal) in the minds of Sangh volunteers continued. Sangh is an organisation of inactive persons, their talks are useless, and not only outsiders but also many of our volunteers did talk like this. They were greatly disgusted too.” [SGSD, p. 40.]

Guruji tells us that RSS did nothing directly. However, there is not a single publication or document of the RSS which throws light on what the RSS did indirectly for the Quit India Movement. During this period, in fact, its mentor, ‘Veer’ Savarkar, ran coalition governments with the Muslim League.

RSS denigrates martyrs of India’s Freedom Struggle

Respected Sir, I would like to know your views on the statements of ‘Guruji’ decrying and denigrating the tradition of martyrdom following which Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekar Azad, Ashfaqullah Khan, Ram Prasad Bismil and countless other patriotic Indians laid down their lives for the independence our Motherland. Here is a passage from the chapter, ‘Martyr, great but not ideal’ from Bunch of Thoughts, a veritable Geeta for RSS cadres:

“There is no doubt that such men who embrace martyrdom are great heroes and their philosophy too is pre-eminently manly. They are far above the average men who meekly submit to fate and remain in fear and inaction. All the same, such persons are not held up as ideals in our society. We have not looked upon their martyrdom as the highest point of greatness to which men should aspire. For, after all, they failed in achieving their ideal, and failure implies some fatal flaw in them.”

[Golwalkar, MS., Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana, Bangalore, 1996 edition, p. 283.]

Could there be a statement more insulting to the Indian martyrs than this? The founder of the RSS, Dr. KB Hedgewar, went one step further: “Patriotism is not only going to prison. It is not correct to be carried away by such superficial patriotism.” [CP Bhishikar, CP., Sanghavariksh Ke Beej: Dr. Keshavrao Hedgewar, Suruchi, 1994, p. 21.]

RSS’ anathema to democracy

Vice-President Sir, you will agree with me that it is due to our democratic and egalitarian polity that you have become the Vice-President of India. But if Guru Golwalkar had his say it would not have been possible. Guruji hated democracy as per his following decree which he presented before a group of 1,350 top level cadres of the RSS in 1940 at the RSS Headquarters: “RSS inspired by one flag, one leader and one ideology is lighting the flame of Hindutva in each and every corner of this great land” [SGSD, vol. i, p. 11.]

As a leading intellectual you must be familiar with the fact that decree of rule under ‘one flag, one leader and one ideology’ was also the battle cry of the Fascist and Nazi parties of Europe in the first half of 20th century. What they did to democracy is well-known to the world!

For RSS Hinduism and Casteism are synonymous

Respected Sir, allow me to ask whether you like RSS believe that Hinduism and Casteism are one and the same. The most prominent ideologue of RSS, Guru Golwalkar stated:

“The Virat Purusha, the Almighty manifesting himself… [According to Purusha Sukta] sun and moon are his eyes, the stars and the skies are created from his nabhi [navel] and Brahmin is the head, Kshatriya the hands, Vaishya the thighs and Shudra the feet. This means that the people who have this fourfold arrangement, i.e., the Hindu People, is our God. This supreme vision of Godhead is the very core of our concept of ‘nation’ and has permeated our thinking and given rise to various unique concepts of our cultural heritage.” [Golwalkar, MS., Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana, Bangalore, 1996 edition, pp. 36-37.]

For this infallible belief in Casteism RSS strongly demanded that Manusmriti should replace the Indian Constitution. When the Constituent Assembly of India finalized the Constitution of India under the guidance of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on November 26, 1949, RSS was not happy. Its organ, Organiser, in an editorial four days later complained:

“But in our constitution, there is no mention of the unique constitutional development in ancient Bharat. Manu’s Laws were written long before Lycurgus of Sparta or Solon of Persia. To this day his laws as enunciated in the Manusmriti excite the admiration of the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits that means nothing.” [Organizer, Delhi, November 30, 1949.]

Respected Sir, I am reproducing a selection from Manusmriti for your kind reference and would like to know whether you also believe in these decrees of the Manu Code. These dehumanizing and degenerate laws, which are presented here, are self-explanatory.

Laws of Manu concerning Sudras

1. For the sake of the prosperity of the worlds (the divine one) caused the Brahmana, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra to proceed from his mouth, his arm, his thighs and his feet.
2.  One occupation only the lord prescribed to the Sudras, to serve meekly even these (other) three castes.
3.  Once-born man (a Sudra), who insults a twice-born man with gross invective, shall have his tongue cut out; for he is of low origin.
4.  If he mentions the names and castes (jati) of the (twice-born) with contumely, an iron nail, ten fingers long, shall be thrust red-hot into his mouth.
5.  If he arrogantly teaches Brahmanas their duty, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and into his ears.
6.  With whatever limb a man of a low caste does hurt to (a man of the three) highest (castes), even that limb shall be cut off; that is the teaching of Manu.
7.  He who raises his hand or a stick, shall have his hand cut off; he who in anger kicks with his foot, shall have his foot cut off.
8.  A low-caste man who tries to place himself on the same seat with a man of a high caste, shall be branded on his hip and be banished, or (the king) shall cause his buttock to be gashed.
9.  Let him never slay a Brahmana, though he has committed all (possible) crimes; let him banish such an (offender), leaving all his property (to him) and (his body) unhurt.

Laws of Manu concerning Women

1.  Day and night woman must be kept in dependence by the males (of) their (families), and, if they attach themselves to sensual enjoyments, they must be kept under one’s control.
2.  Her father protects (her) in childhood, her husband protects (her) in youth, and her sons protect (her) in old age; a woman is never fit for independence.
3.  Women must particularly be guarded against evil inclinations, however trifling (they may appear); for, if they are not guarded, they will bring sorrow on two families.
4.  Considering that the highest duty of all castes, even weak husbands (must) strive to guard their wives.
5.  No man can completely guard women by force; but they can be guarded by the employment of the (following) expedients:
6.  Let the (husband) employ his (wife) in the collection and expenditure of his wealth, in keeping (everything) clean, in (the fulfilment of) religious duties, in the preparation of his food, and in looking after the household utensils.
7.  Women, confined in the house under trustworthy and obedient servants, are not (well) guarded; but those who of their own accord keep guard over themselves, are well guarded.
8.  Women do not care for beauty, nor is their attention fixed on age; (thinking), ‘(It is enough that) he is a man,’ they give themselves to the handsome and to the ugly.
9.  Through their passion for men, through their mutable temper, through their natural heartlessness, they become disloyal towards their husbands, however carefully they may be guarded in this (world).
10.  (When creating them) Manu allotted to women (a love of their) bed, (of their) seat and (of) ornament, impure desires, wrath, dishonesty, malice, and bad conduct.
11.  For women no (sacramental) rite (is performed) with sacred texts, thus the law is settled; women (who are) destitute of strength and destitute of (the knowledge of) Vedic texts, (are as impure as) falsehood (itself), that is a fixed rule.

Do I need to remind you that these laws are for Hindus? I also would like to remind you that a copy of Manusmriti was burnt as a protest in the presence of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar during the historic Mahad agitation on December 25, 1927.

RSS celebrated the assassination of Gandhiji

Your Excellency, I hope you know that Nathuram Godse and others who conspired to kill Gandhiji, claimed to be ‘Hindu Nationalists’. They described killing as something ordained by God. RSS celebrated his killing by distributing sweets was the finding of none other than the first home minister of India, Sardar Patel. In a letter written to Golwalkar on September 11, 1948, Sardar stated:

“Organizing the Hindus and helping them is one thing but going in for revenge for its sufferings on innocent and helpless men, women and children is quite another thing…Apart from this, their opposition to the Congress that too of such virulence, disregarding all considerations of personality, decency or decorum, created a kind of unrest among the people. All their speeches were full of communal poison. It was not necessary to spread poison in order to enthuse the Hindus and organize for their protection. As a final result of the poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of the invaluable life of Gandhiji. Even an iota of the sympathy of the Government, or of the people, no more remained for the RSS. In fact, opposition grew. Opposition turned more severe, when the RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhiji’s death.” [Justice on Trial, RSS, Bangalore, 1962, pp. 26-28.]

Respected Sir, Gandhiji’s assassination was part of nation-building by RSS. I hope you will take note of it.

Muslims and Christians as ‘Internal Threats’ number 1 and 2

The ‘Holy’ book for the RSS cadres Bunch of Thoughts, has a long chapter titled as ‘Internal Threats’ in which Muslims and Christians are described as threat number 1 and 2 respectively. While treating Muslims as hostile element number 1 the book goes on to elaborate,

“Even to this day there are so many who say, ‘now there is no Muslim problem at all. All those riotous elements who supported Pakistan have gone away once for all. The remaining Muslims are devoted to our country. After all, they have no other place to go, and they are bound to remain loyal’…It would be suicidal to delude ourselves into believing that they have turned patriots overnight after the creation of Pakistan. On the contrary, the Muslim menace has increased a hundredfold by the creation of Pakistan which has become a springboard for all their future aggressive designs on our country.”

[MS Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, pp. 177-78.]

The book goes on to spit venom against common Muslims in the following words:

“…within the country there are so many Muslim pockets, i.e., so many ‘miniature Pakistans’… The conclusion is that, in practically every place, there are Muslims who are in constant touch with Pakistan over the transmitter…”

[MS Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, p. 185.]

Golwalkar also questioned the loyalty of even Muslim high government officials serving Indian Government in the following word: “Even today, Muslims, whether in high positions of the Government or outside, participate openly in rabidly anti-national conferences. Their speeches carry the ring of open defiance and rebellion.” [MS Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, p. 187.]

While deliberating on the ‘Internal Threat’ number 2, the Christians, he says,

“Such is the role of Christian gentlemen residing in our land today, out to demolish not only the religious and social fabric of our life but also to establish political domination in various pockets and if possible, all over the land.” [Ibid., p. 193]

Your Excellency, you are supposed to be the defender of all-inclusive Indian Constitutional system. Unfortunately, you have taken sides of an organization which wants to drag India into religious conflicts to the glee of foreign enemies of democratic-secular India.

Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism not independent religions

Respected Sir, RSS regards followers of Islam and Christianity as emigrant or foreigners and demands their cleansing as these two religions are declared to be foreign religions. However, RSS has no respect for Indian religions like Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism as these are not treated as independent religions but part of Hinduism. Guru Golwalkar set the agenda by declaring that, “the Buddhists, the Jain, the Sikh are all included in that one comprehensive word ‘Hindu’.” [Golwalkar, MS, the Spotlights, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1974, p. 171.]

RSS believed that South Indian Hindus belong to an inferior Race

Vice-President Sir, it is shocking that you are glorifying RSS which as a Racist organization believed that the Race of Hindus of South India needed to be improved? I am reproducing a speech of Guru Golwalkar on this issue in context of Kerala Hindus. He was invited to address the students at the School of Social Science of Gujarat University on December 17, 1960. In this address, while underlying his firm belief in the Race Theory, he touched upon the issue of crossbreeding of human beings in the Indian society in history. He shamelessly stated:

“In an effort to better the human species through cross breeding the Namboodri Brahamanas of the North were settled in Kerala and a rule was laid down that the eldest son of a Namboodri family could marry only the daughter of Vaishya, Kashtriya or Shudra communities of Kerala. Another still more courageous rule was that the first offspring of a married woman of any class must be fathered by a Namboodri Brahman and then she could beget children by her husband. Today this experiment will be called adultery, but it was not so, as it was limited to the first child.” [M. S. Golwalkar cited in Organizer, January 2, 1961.]

Here we find Golwalkar as a Racist and male chauvinist to argue that a Namboodri Brahman male belonging to a superior Race from the North only could improve the inferior human Race from South. For him wombs of Kerala’s Hindu women enjoyed no sanctity and were simply objects of improving breed through intercourse with Namboodri Brahamanas who in no way were related to them.

Your Excellency: do you uphold such criminal views of Golwalkar; the most prominent ideologue of RSS and Guru of all RSS cadres? In RSS male cadres are swayamsevaks (volunteers) but female cadres are sevikas (servants/maids).

Respected Vice-President Sir, your glorification of RSS means that you also support anti-women RSS. RSS is an exclusive male organization, and its members are described as swayamsevak or volunteers whereas the female organization created in 1936 with the name, Rashtr Sevika Samiti describes its members as sevikas meaning female servants. The Sevikas take an oath to remain faithful, modest, guard virginity and honour but no such oath is prescribed for RSS cadres.

Sir, I beg you to enlighten the nation about your response to this naked male chauvinistic attitude of the RSS.

Your Excellency, it is sad time for Indian democracy that the top constitutional officials of the Indian Republic are using platform of Indian Parliament for glorifying an anti-national and anti-social organization. As an Indian, I appeal to your sense of honesty and conscience to remain loyal to the Oath (Article 69) which you took while assuming the office of the Vice-President of Indian Republic. Any person having faith in the RSS worldview cannot be loyal to the present Indian constitutional polity.

With regards,

Shamsul Islam

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RSS deceit on constitutional reservation and Dalits in general

The post Has VP Jagdeep Dhankar, violated his constitutional oath? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Elections were held for 19 Rajya Sabha seats on Friday and now the results are out. While the BJP won 8 seats, the Congress and YSRCP won 4 each. But the election was not devoid of drama.

In Gujarat, BJP has managed to hold on to three seats with Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramila Bara and Narhari Amin emerging victorious. Congress candidate Shaktisinh Gohil won the fourth. Two legislators of the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP); Chhotu Vasava from Jhagadia constituency in Bharuch and his son Mahesh from Dediapada constituency in Narmada, reportedly abstained from voting.

It is noteworthy that Vasava is at the forefront of the tribal agitation against land acquisition by Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. (SSNNL). Therefore, despite arriving in town to vote, the MLAs first demanded an assurance from both parties to implement not on Schedule 5 of the Constitution, but also provisions of Panchayats Extensions to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in order to protect affected tribal communities. In the absence of any assurance, they chose to abstain from voting.

Meanwhile, in Manipur, where the BJP led state government is on the verge of collapse in wake of resignations of 3 BJP MLAs and withdrawal of support from 6 alliance MLAs, the contest for the single seat got exciting. While the Congress earlier had the numbers to help their candidate get elected, Speaker Y Khemchand disqualified three Congress MLAs and a TMC MLA just before the election. This, along with cross voting, helped the BJP candidate win.

Disqualification petitions had been pending before the Speaker for seven MLAs and the matter was set to be discussed on June 22. But the speaker brought forward the date to June 19. However, the High Court had previously ordered the Speaker to announce the disqualifications only after June 19. Meanwhile, 2 Congress MLAs voted for the BJP candidate Leisemba Sanajaoba, and erstwhile royal Leisemba Sanajaoba thus ended up bagging 28 votes, while Congress candidate Tongram Mangibabu Singh got 24.

It was smooth sailing as predicted for the YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh where the party bagged all four seats. In Jharkhand Shibu Soren also sailed through easily, though the state’s second seat went to BJP’s Deepak Prakash. In Rajasthan, Congress candidate Neeraj Dangi and KC Venugopal emerged victorious. In Madhya Pradesh, while Congress heavyweight Digvijay Singh won a seat, the other two went to the BJP’s Madhavrao Scindia and Sumer Singh Solanki.

The lone Mizoram seat went to the ruling party Mizo National Front (MNF) candidate K Vanlalvena. In Meghalaya, Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) candidate Dr WR Kharlukhi won the single RS seat, defeating Congress candidate Kennedy Khyriem.

Polling did not take place in Arunachal Pradesh as BJP nominee Nabam Rebia was previously declared elected unopposed. Similarly, in Karnataka, elections were not held in four seats where former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, and BJP candidates Iranna Kadadi and Ashok Gasti, were declared elected unopposed.

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RS polls: 20 seats up for grabs

The post RS poll results: BJP wins 8, Congress 4, YSRCP 4 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Polls are being held for 20 Rajya Sabha seats, in the first major election amidst the Covid-19 pandemic in India. While four seats each are up for grabs in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, three each are going to polls in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two from Jharkhand and one each from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

Rajya Sabha elections are different from Lok Sabha elections, as in RS polls, it is members of the electoral college who elect the candidates. Almost 1,000 legislators will be voting to elect candidates for the 20 seats that go to polls today.

In Gujarat, the political climate has been turbulent ever since eight Congress legislators resigned after the announcement of poll dates. This forced the Congress to resort to ‘resort politics’ where it housed its legislators at a resort in Rajasthan to prevent more of them from being enticed or coerced to jump ship.

The strength of the Gujarat Assembly has been reduced to 172 and each candidate needs 35 first preference votes to win. The BJP has fielded three candidates; Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramilaben Bara, and Narhari Amin, and therefore it needs 105 votes. But currently the party’s strength stands at 103, making it just two votes short. Meanwhile, the Congress has fielded two candidates; Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki, meaning it needs 70 votes. But with a strength of 65, it is five votes short. This makes two legislators from the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), one from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and independent MLA Jignesh Mevani, virtual kingmakers in this nail-biter of an election.

Meanwhile, the face-off is intense in Madhya Pradesh with Congressman-tuned-BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia going up against Digvijay Singh. The total strength of the MP assembly is 206; BJP has 107 and Congress has 92 members. Each candidate needs 52 first preference votes. Therefore, BJP can easily win two out of the three seats. For the third seat, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and independents could end up playing kingmakers.

In Rajasthan, Congress candidate Neeraj Dangi and KC Venugopal are likely to have a smooth sail. But the BJP has fielded Rajendra Gehlot and Onkar Singh Lakhawat. The party could win one seat as they need 51 votes per seat and have 72 members.

Manipur is also in for some high drama given last minute resignations by three BJP MLAs; S Subhashchandra Singh, TT Haokip, and Samuel Jendai. Meanwhile, Y Joykumar Singh, N. Kayisii, L Jayanta Kumar Singh, and Letpao Haokip from the NPP, T Robindro Singh from the TMC, and Ashab Uddin (Independent) have also withdrawn support from the BJP. BJP and allies previously had 39 out of 60 seats, but with these 9 MLAs leaving, BJP no longer has a majority. Many speculate that Congress would make a resurgent comeback under former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

Meanwhile, in Andhra Pradesh the YSR Congress is expected to win all four seats given how it has 151 members in a 175-member house.

In Jharkhand, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Sorenis likely to retain his own seat, but the second seat will see stiff competition between Jharkhand BJP president Deepak Prakash and Congress’s Shahzada Anwar. 

The post RS polls: 20 seats up for grabs appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) on Wednesday, named senior journalist Ajit Bhuyan as their Rajya Sabha candidate from Assam, The Telegraph India reported. The Rajya Sabha elections will be held for 55 seats on March 26, 2020.

Known for his stand against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), he was nominated as a neutral candidate by the Opposition. What makes this nomination significant is the fact that though there was internal opposition for an alliance with each other, it has brought them close. Congress insiders said that the anti – CAA movement is the glue which could see the two parties working together in the Assembly Polls too.

Though there were candidates like party spokesperson Durga Das Boro, Vice-president Bishnu Prasad, All India Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev, advocate Santanu Borthakur and Sikhar Sarma, a Guwahati-based professor in the running, Bhuyan’s long standing experience in public life – as a journalist and an intellectual, worked in his favour.

PCC president Ripun Bora told reporters in Delhi on Wednesday, “Since neither the Congress nor the AIUDF has the numbers to win the seat on their own, we decided to support Bhuyan. Both the parties wanted a neutral, secular candidate who can take the anti-CAA movement forward.”

AIUDF leader Hafiz Bashir Ahmed Kasimi said the party decided to support Bhuyan as he has been one of the prominent voices against the CAA and BJP’s “politics of communal polarisation”.

Debabrata Saikia too urged the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) to vote for Bhuyan and prove its anti-CAA stand.

Bhuyan said, “I am happy to get the opportunity. Since I have been raising my voice against the CAA and violation of Assam Accord, I am sure that if I win, I can raise the concern of our people over CAA inside Parliament.”

 Alleging that Bhuyan only wanted to enter the cabinet, Senior Cabinet Minister and Assam’s Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “It is clear that many of the intellectuals were actually involved in the anti-CAA agitation for a Rajya Sabha seat. They didn’t have any logic to counter the CAA.”

“If Ajit Bhuyan, a veteran journalist, is being supported by the AIUDF, this proves that the intellectuals have led the anti-CAA protests only to get a RS seat. A section of the intellectuals were carrying out anti-CAA protests at the behest of AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal and the protest was done for securing a Upper House berth. Bhuyan has decided to surrender before Ajmal, he added alleging, “Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has surrendered before Ajmal and fundamentalist forces. They think that in 2021, Gogoi will be the chief minister and Ajmal will be the deputy chief minister.”

Supreme Court lawyer Upamanyu Hazarika and leader of the anti-influx group Prabajan Virodhi Manch criticized Bhuyan too. He said, “When he (Bhuyan) dresses up his candidature as representative of the sentiments and interests of the indigenous people, it turns into hypocrisy as his candidature is sponsored by the Congress and the AIUDF. Bhuyan’s claim that he is representing indigenous interests and sentiments is hypocritical and self-serving.”

Meanwhile, it is being reported that another senior journalist Atanu Bhuyan will be contesting the RS elections and he is likely to be the BJP’s third candidate where is to come face-to-face with Ajit Kumar Bhuyan.

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Of the 35 cases under sedition charges (Section 124A of IPC), 12 were registered in Haryana, six in Uttar Pradesh, three each in Karnataka and Kerala and two each in Maharashtra, Telangana and Delhi, Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir told the Lok Sabha in response to a question.

Replying to another question, Ahir said the National Crime Records Bureau has conveyed that it does not maintain record on sedition cases registered against individuals who have supported cricket teams post match
 

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Courtesy: Rajya Sabha TV

Courtesy: Rajya Sabha TV
 

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