THE HEADLINES:
- Supreme Court refuses to stay the new law on appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
- Election Commission issues transfer orders for non-cadre officers posted as District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police in Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha and West Bengal.
- Indian Railways runs 540 special trains for smooth travel of passengers during Holi festival.
- US Federal Reserve keeps benchmark interest rates unchanged for fifth straight time.
- And in Swiss Open Badminton, Kidambi Srikanth to face Malaysian player Zii Jia Lee, while Lakshya Sen to clash Chia-hsin Lee of Taiwan in Pre-quarters in Basel today.
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The Supreme Court has refused to stay the new law on the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said that it cannot stay the law at this stage, when the Lok Sabha polls are approaching. The bench said, nowhere in the constitution bench judgment it was said that who should be the members of the selection committee. The apex court was hearing a batch of pleas seeking a stay on the new law – Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and terms of office) Act, 2023. The Supreme Court also noted that there are no allegations against the newly appointed election commissioners – Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
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The Election Commission has issued transfer orders for non-cadre officers who are posted as District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police in four states namely Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha and West Bengal. The commission took the decision in a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. Additionally, the Commission has also directed for transfer of SSP Bathinda in Punjab and SP Sonitpur in Assam considering their kinship or familial association with the elected political representatives.
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The Election Commission has directed Electronics and IT Ministry to immediately halt the delivery of Viksit Bharat messaging over WhatsApp. The Commission said, it has received several complaints that such messages are still being delivered on citizens’ phones despite the announcement of the General Elections. In response, the Ministry had informed the commission that although the letters were sent out before the Model Code of Conduct came into force, some of them could have possibly been delivered to recipients with a delay because of systemic and network limitations.
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As the General Election edges closer, the Election Commission is all prepared to combat the challenge of misinformation that has the potential to cripple the democratic process. The Commission has issued stern directives and has urged vigilance and responsibility from all stakeholders. Our correspondent reports that the poll body has urged the political parties to verify before amplifying any information, thereby cautioning against dissemination of false narratives.
In a bid to prevent the spread of misleading content, the Election Commission has urged all political parties to exhibit responsible behavior on social media platforms. The Commission has also appealed for a discourse that inspires unity rather than division. The poll body has been clear in its intent of combating the perpetrators of fake news. Nodal officers across states have been tasked with the swift removal of unlawful content to curb its negative impact on the electoral process. The Commission has said that the onus of upholding these principles falls squarely on the shoulders of star campaigners, who are entrusted with the responsibility of setting an example throughout the electoral campaign. This is Durgesh Bhadauria for Akashvani News, New Delhi.
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The Centre has notified Fact Check Unit under Press Information Bureau of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as the fact check unit of the Central government. Ministry of Electronics and IT said this in a gazette notification yesterday.
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In Bihar, election related activities are picking up momentum after the announcement of schedule of Lok Sabha elections. Our correspondent reports that election will be completed in seven phases for forty parliamentary constituencies spread over the state.
More than seven crore 67 lakh electorates will decide the fate of contesting candidates for all 40 parliamentary constituencies this time in Bihar. More than one crore 73 lakh youth voters of 19 to 30 years old are eligible for cast their vote this time whereas number of first time voters is more than 10 lakh. Voter’s awareness programmes under SVEEP campaign are in full swing. Meanwhile the process of filing of nomination papers began for the first phase with gazette notification on 20th March. Voting will take place on 19th April in four naxal affected Lok Sabha seats of Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada and Jamui. Two prominent coalitions NDA and Grand Alliance are in the battlefield of election in Bihar. Dharmendra Kumar Rai, Akashvani News, Patna.
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Bharatiya Janata Party has appointed election incharges and co-incharges for Rajasthan, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The party has appointed Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Vijaya Rahatkar and Pravesh Verma for Rajasthan, Satish Poonia and Surendra Singh Nagar for Haryana, and Arun Singh and Siddharth Nath Singh for Andhra Pradesh.
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Union Minister Jitendra Singh has filed nomination papers from the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency today. He filed his nomination papers in Kathua. The seat goes to polls in the first phase on April 19. Elections will be held in 102 Lok Sabha seats in 17 states and four Union Territories in this phase.
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Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge today said that impartial election is important for the smooth functioning of democracy. He said that a level playing field must be created to save democracy. In a media briefing in New Delhi, Mr. Kharge alleged that Congress party’s bank accounts have been frozen which must be set aside so that Congress can use its funds during the upcoming elections.
Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi termed the freezing of party’s bank accounts as undemocratic. She alleged that the funds collected from the public have been frozen, and money from Congress Party accounts is being taken away forcibly.
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In Telangana, political landscape is changing fast with key members of various political parties changing their party affiliations ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections. Several sitting MPs of Bharat Rashtra Samithi left the party posing challenges to it. On the other hand, the leaders who changed their parties are able to secure tickets in other parties. A report from our Correspondent:
The BJP is ahead of other parties in election preparedness in Telangana following declaration of candidates for 15 out of 17 Lok Sabha Constituencies. However, 9 out of them cleared by the BJP, hailed from the BRS ranks, who switched loyalties a few days ago.
The Congress party declared only a few names and names for majority seats are yet to be declared. Several former members of the BRS have been shortlisted.
Despite the BRS facing challenges after many senior leaders left the party, BSP state President RS Praveen Kumar joined BRS a few days ago. Aiming to prevent further defections, the BRS has announced names for 4 Lok Sabha seats.
It may be recalled that the BRS had won 9 out of 17 Lok Sabha seats during 2019 General Elections while BJP won 4, Congress 3 and MIM One.—Lakshmi, Akashvani News, Hyderabad)
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The Indian Railways is running 540 special trains to ensure smooth and comfortable journey for passengers during the ongoing festive season of Holi. The Railway Ministry said, trains have been planned to connect major destinations across the country on railway routes. These are Delhi- Patna, Delhi- Bhagalpur, Delhi-Muzaffarpur, Delhi-Saharsa, Gorakhpur- Mumbai, Kolkata-Puri, Guwahati- Ranchi and New Delhi- Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra. The Ministry said that more than 219 trains have been added for this festive season compared to last year.
The Ministry said, additional Railway Protection Force personnel have been deployed at major stations to ensure security of passengers. The officers have also been deployed on Emergency Duty at major stations to ensure a smooth running of trains.
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Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud today inaugurated an Accessibility Help Desk in the Supreme Court premises in Delhi. Talking to reporters, the Chief Justice said, the opening of help desk is in continuation of its mission which began with the submission of the report by the committee chaired by Justice Ravindra Bhatt. Chief Justice Chandrachud said, the Committee made various suggestions for making the Supreme Court accessible for people with special needs.
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Electronics and IT Secretary S. Krishnan today launched the BhashaNet portal based on the concept of Universal Acceptance in New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Krishnnan said that the launch of the BhashaNet portal represents a crucial step towards fostering digital inclusivity in India and the Universal Acceptance is a gateway to it. He added the government is proud to support this initiative which will connect the users with a truly multilingual internet.
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The US Federal Reserve has kept the benchmark interest rates unchanged in a range of 5.25 percent to 5.50 percent for the fifth straight time. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced the interest rate decision last night after a two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting. However, the Federal Open Market Committee said that it expects three rate cuts in 2024 despite sticky inflation.
They also left the median projection for interest rates at end-2024 at the midpoint between 4.50 and 4.75.
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The nearly year-long conflict between Sudan’s military and paramilitary forces has put the country on course to become the ’worlds worst hunger crisis with malnutrition soaring and already claiming children’s lives, the U.N. humanitarian office has warned. Edem Wosornu, the director of humanitarian operations, told the UN Security Council yesterday that already one-third of Sudan’s population – 18 million people – face acute food insecurity.
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In Swiss Open Badminton, India’s Kiran George has advanced to the Men’s singles pre-quarters in straight sets last night. He defeated Takuma Obayashi of Japan in the first round. In another match, Priyanshu Rajawat also secured his Pre-quarter berth by defeating Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu.
Former champion Kidambi Srikanth and in-form Lakshya Sen have also progressed to the men’s singles Pre-quarters. Srikant is scheduled to face the Malaysian player Zii Jia Lee, while Sen will lock horns with Chia-hsin Lee of Taiwan in the Pre-quarters today.
In women’s singles, Ace shuttler PV Sindhu will face Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan in the second round today.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN::
- Supreme Court refuses to stay the new law on appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
- Election Commission issues transfer orders for non-cadre officers posted as District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police in Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha and West Bengal.
- Indian Railways runs 540 special trains for smooth travel of passengers during Holi festival.
- US Federal Reserve keeps benchmark interest rates unchanged for fifth straight time.
- And in Swiss Open Badminton, Kidambi Srikanth to face Malaysian player Zii Jia Lee, while Lakshya Sen to clash Chia-hsin Lee of Taiwan in Pre-quarters in Basel today.
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