Supreme Court

Aadhaar card

Banerjee made it clear that if banks refuse to pay benefits with Aadhaar card deactivation, the state government will hold camps and hand over benefits.

“Availing the benefits of the state government is people’s rights and you (the centre) cannot snatch the democratic rights of the people,” she added.

These people have made their Aadhaar Cards by following proper procedures.

Banerjee maintained that such a process of deactivation of Aadhaar cards without any prior intimation and without giving any opportunity to be heard is in gross violation of Regulation 29(1) of Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016 and also in gross violation of natural justice.

Banerjee claimed that she has learnt that the head office of UIDAI in New Delhi, without any field enquiry or hearing the persons and taking the state government into confidence, has been directly issuing letters to individuals and family members informing them about Aadhaar card deactivation under provisions of the Regulation of 28 A of Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016.

She referred to the matter as a dirty game and politics on the part of the

BJP ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha polls.

“Is BJP planning that first they will snatch the Aadhaar Cards and later hand them CAA? This is Bengal and not Delhi. Elections cannot be won with hooliganism here. Communal issues cannot be raised with the help of media here. This is a fascist conspiracy,” Banerjee remarked.

When asked about the state BJP asking people of the state not to inform the government but their party office in such a situation, Banerjee retorted: “What does the BJP do other than instigate violence? Why will people not inform the state government and visit the BJP party offices?” she maintained.

Banerjee said that she is sending a team to the Election Commission (EC) to apprise them of this sudden development ahead of the Parliamentary polls.

The Chief Minister reiterated that being a democratic government, there will never be an NRC or any detention camp in Bengal.

On Monday, the SC refused to hear the plea and directed the petitioner to file an appeal in Calcutta High Court. Further, the judges observed that the Sandeshkhali case cannot be compared to Manipur violence. It was learnt that the plea for the CBI probe or a probe by a special investigation team was withdrawn. Reacting to the stay, All India Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra wrote on social media: “SC stays summons of LS Privilege Committee calling WB Chief Secretary and DGP. Parliamentary committees running rogue with BJP party office issuing instructions. Weaponising Committees needs to stop now. Hope this slap is the first of many.” TMC spokesman Kunal Ghosh also shared the news of the stay on his social media platform while calling it “a blow to the Opposition.”

Trinamool leader Derek O’Brien wrote on X: “Today, the Supreme Court stayed Lok Sabha Privileges Committee proceedings against West Bengal officials. In 2022, I had written about how rules and precedents are being junked and PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES ARE BEING POLITICISED.”

SC slams

counsel for AAP councillor and defeated mayoral candidate Kuldeep Kumar opposed the suggestion.

The bench orally observed that the electoral process may be taken to “its logical conclusion from the stage which was reached immediately before the declaration of the results”.

The CJI said that the court will ask the registrar general of the high court to nominate a judicial officer to oversee the process of counting of the ballot papers and “let the results be declared on that day by disregarding the defacement which was put by the returning officer either in the form of putting any marks or whatever...”. During the hearing, the CJI expressed displeasure over the way the poll was held and told Masih that he could be prosecuted.

“This is a very serious matter...In case of any falsehood, you will be prosecuted,” he warned the returning officer and asked him why he was seen looking into the camera and putting ‘X’ marks on ballot papers. Masih has been accused of defacing eight ballot papers that were declared invalid.

“All the ballot papers were defaced. I was just marking them. There were so many cameras that I was just looking at them,” the returning officer said. The returning officer admitted to putting

‘X’ marks on the eight ballot papers to ensure they do not get mixed.

“You can sign the ballot papers. But why were you putting ‘X’ on those ballot papers,” the bench said, adding under the rules the returning officer can only sign on ballots. “It means you marked it,” the CJI said, adding he has to be prosecuted and “this cannot be allowed in an electoral democracy”.

The counsel for AAP said that Masih was a member of the minority wing of the BJP and regardless of his misdemeanour the poll process can now be taken to its logical conclusion. The contention was opposed by the solicitor general on the ground that some of the ballot papers were believed to be torn.

The top court had earlier rapped the returning officer, observing it was obvious that he had defaced the ballot papers and that he should be prosecuted.

Defeated AAP mayoral candidate Kuldeep Kumar has moved the top court challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court order which refused to grant any interim relief to the party which sought a fresh poll. The apex court was also critical of the Punjab and Haryana High Court not passing any interim order.

The AAP leader contended that the alliance had 20 votes in the civic body as against 16 of the BJP and that eight ballots of the alliance were rendered invalid by defacing them. WITH AGENCY INPUTS

SP offers

The Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, is currently traversing Uttar Pradesh and will enter Raebareli – a traditional Congress stronghold – on Tuesday. Earlier, Yadav had expressed his intention to join the march there.

The SP and Congress are key partners in the INDIA opposition bloc, aiming to challenge the ruling BJP in the crucial state that sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the highest of any state.

This revised offer highlights the ongoing seat-sharing negotiations between the two parties, crucial for a united opposition front in the upcoming elections. The Congress’ response and whether it will be enough to secure Yadav’s participation in the Yatra remain to be seen.

November in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Militants still hold around 130, a fourth of them believed to be dead.

Israel responded to the attack by launching one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history on the besieged enclave, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007.

Israel says it has killed over 10,000 Palestinian militants, without providing evidence. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames the high death toll on Hamas because the militant group fights in dense residential neighbourhoods. The military says 236 of its soldiers have been killed since the start of the ground offensive in late October. The war, which shows no sign of ending, has driven around 80 per cent of the Palestinians in Gaza from their homes and has left a quarter of the population starving, according to UN officials.

Farmer leaders

Morcha, said, “After holding discussions in our two forums, it has been decided that the Centre’s proposal is not in the interest of farmers and we reject this proposal.”

When asked if their call for march to Delhi still stands, Pandher said, “We will move to Delhi peacefully at 11 am on February 21.” He said the government should take decisions now and felt that there was no need for further discussions.

Sharing with reporters the reasons for rejecting the government’s proposal, Dallewal said, “We did not find anything in the proposal.”

He said that in the fourth round of talks, the Union Ministers had said if the government gives a guarantee on the purchase of pulses, then it will put an additional burden of Rs 1.50 lakh crore on the exchequer.

Citing the calculations of an agricultural expert, Dallewal said Rs 1.75 lakh crore will be needed if the minimum support price is given for all crops.

The government buys palm oil worth Rs 1.75 lakh crore. The oil is becoming a reason of disease for many people. Even then, it was being imported and if this Rs 1.75 lakh crore is spent on growing other crops by ensuring legal guarantee for MSP then it will not put any burden on the government, he said.

He further said the Centre’s proposal of buying five crops at the MSP will only be meant for those who go for crop diversification. It meant that the MSP would be given to those only who switch over from paddy to pulses. It will not be given to those growing ‘moong’ crops besides paddy, Dallewal said.

Farmers are not going to benefit from it, he asserted, adding that farmers were demanding MSP on all 23 crops and the MSP was based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).

Dallewal claimed that the rates for crops, based on CACP recommendations, could not ensure remunerative income for farmers. “Even then they could not bring a law on MSP. It means farmers are being looted which is not acceptable to us.”

Earlier on Sunday, Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, along with Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai held the fourth round of talks with the farmer leaders over their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops, as thousands of protesting farmers were camping at the Punjab-Haryana border. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting. Speaking to journalists after the more than fourhour-long meeting on Sunday night, Goyal said the “innovative” and “out-ofthe-box” idea came up during the discussions and the farmer leaders would decide on the government’s proposal.

“Cooperative societies like the NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation

of India) will enter into a contract with those farmers who grow ‘tur dal’, ‘urad dal’, ‘masoor dal’ or maize for buying their crop at MSP for next five years,” said Goyal.

“There will be no limit on the quantity (purchased) and a portal will be developed for this,” he added. It will save Punjab’s farming, improve the groundwater table, and save the land from getting barren which is already under stress, Goyal said. Talking about the steps taken by the Narendra Modi government regarding the farm sector, Goyal said from 2014 to 2024, the government procured crops worth Rs 18 lakh crore at MSP, while between 2004 and 2014, crops worth only Rs 5.50 lakh crore were procured at the assured price.

Protesting farmers have been staying put at Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjab’s border with Haryana after their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to press the Centre for various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops, was stopped by security forces which led to clashes last week.

Besides a legal guarantee of MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.