Spotted the code of conduct being violated? Tell SEC through this app Make or break time for Sena, BJP: Thackeray to set the stage today

“He was like a child who has been lost. It took him several hours to realise he was back home in India. He needed help even to walk,’’ an army official said of the Indian soldier who was returned by Pakistan after four months in captivity.

Chandu Babulal Chavan, who was handed over to India on January 21, was “traumatised and incoherent”, sources told HT.

The 22-year-old had crossed into Pakistan on September 29, the day India hit terror launch pads across the line of control (LoC) 10 days after an attack by suspected Pakistani militants on a camp in Uri that killed 19 soldiers. Chavan was posted on the LoC in the Poonch sector of J&K.

When asked about Chavan’s health, an army official said, “He was incoherent when he returned. The process of debriefing has only just begun and he will also be taken back to his unit in Poonch as part of the inquiry.”

Preliminary investigations suggest that Chavan may not have “inadvertently” crossed the de facto border and that he had a disagreement with a senior after which he abandoned his post.

Chavan,anothermilitarysource said, “did not have visible injury marks but was psychologically stressed. He was cleared for crossexamination only after four days”.

G Parthasarathy, a former high commissioner to Pakistan, said, “They (Pakistan) are known to turn on the heat psychologically and otherwise.”

Parthasarathy would know. He successfully negotiated the release of flight lieutenant K Nachiketa, who landed in Pakistan after he was forced to eject from his fighter jet during the 1999 Kargil war.

Chavan’s family has still not been allowed to meet him. His maternal grandmother had died on hearing he was captured by the Pakistan army.

“I am waiting for permission to meet my brother. Subhash Bhamre (minister of state for defence) has been in touch with me and asked me to wait,’’ Bhushan Chavan told HT over the phone from Jamnagar. Bhushan,

like his brother, is a soldier.

Officials are of the view that Pakistan broke protocol by keeping Chavan in custody for so long.

“It would be safe to assume that he was thrashed by members of the Pakistani army and the ISI, especially because he was caught on the same night as the surgical strikes…’’ said a military official.

If you spot candidates for the civic polls, to be held on February 21, distributing freebies, cash or paid news in violation of the model code of conduct, you can inform election authorities through a mobile phone application.

For the first time, the state election commission (SEC) has created an application, Citizen on Portal (COP), in an attempt to maximise voter participation and education.

The SEC launched the application on which citizens can anonymously report if a candidate is illegally distributing money, liquor, coupons or if they come across paid news in newspapers, television or through social media to influence voters.

Citizen groups have welcomed the move.

“It is a fantastic move by the state election commission for involving citizens in governance issues. The SEC should make sure these complaints are acted upon swiftly, otherwise we lose the whole purpose of involving technology,” said Milind Mhaske, project coordinator, PRAJA a non-government organisation.

After two weeks of bickering over seats, the fate of the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance for the upcoming Mumbai polls may be decided in the next 24 hours. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s address at a party rally at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre grounds in Goregaon on Thursday is likely to decide whether the saffron allies will contest solo or together.

The nominations of the candidates contesting the Mumbai civic polls will begin a day later, on January 27.

While the stalemate over alliance talks continued on Wednesday, sources across both the parties said the doors on the alliance had not yet been completely closed. A majority of the leaders, whom HT spoke to, said the final call still rested with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Thackeray. There was no confirmation whether both the leaders discussed the alliance till late on Wednesday. The activities in both the party camps, however, revealed both were preparing ground to go solo.

“If Thackeray takes a cautious line on the alliance, the signal is that the alliance can still happen. There is a likelihood of the CM speaking to Thackeray on Thursday. If Thackeray decides to call it off, we are all set to contest all 227 seats and we also don’t have to take on the ill will of having broken the alliance,’’ said a senior BJP leader.

Senior BJP leader MP Vinay Katiyar sparked a storm of criticism when he said his party had “more beautiful” campaigners than Priyanka Gandhi Vadra”, inviting a sharp retort from the young leader who said the remarks exposed the saffron party’s mindset towards women.

Katiyar’s remarks came barely hours after another senior politician, JD (U)’s Sharad Yadav, said “izzat (honour)” of a vote was more important than that of a daughter.

The sexist statements come at a time when campaigning for five state elections, including the one in Uttar Pradesh, is picking up.

The BJP distanced itself from Katiyar, saying it didn’t approve of his remarks.

Asked about the Congress naming Priyanka, the daughter of party president Sonia Gandhi, as one of its campaigners in Uttar Pradesh, Katiyar said: “It doesn’t matter... there are girls and women who are more beautiful than her. Some of them are artists and heroines... I think Smriti Irani is beautiful and she is also campaigning.”

Priyanka, credited by the Congress for the crucial poll tie-up with the ruling Samajwadi Party in UP, scoffed at the comments.