The Emergency imposed in 1975 was the biggest attack and a blot on the Constitution of India, President Droupadi Murmu said today in her address to a joint sitting of the Parliament. This is her first address to Parliament after the general election elected a new Lok Sabha this year.

“The Emergency in 1975 was the biggest attack on the Constitution of India and a blot on it,” the President said, amid cheers from the treasury benches and protests by the Opposition.

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar echoed the President on the Emergency and said it had “attacked the Constitution”.

The President’s remark comes against the backdrop of a heated exchange between the ruling BJP and the Opposition on Emergency. While central ministers, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have stressed on the horrors of the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi government, the Congress and its allies have said an “undeclared emergency” is in the force over the past 10 years of Narendra Modi government.

In her address to Parliament, the President outlined the government’s achievements in the last term and outlined its vision for the ongoing. India, she said, has become the fastest growing major economy in the world and has gone from the 11th spot in 2014 to the 5th in terms of the size of economy. She said the government is now focused on its goal of making India the third-largest economy. “The government is giving equal priority to all three arms: manufacturing, services and agriculture. India is becoming Atmanirbhar in every field at a rapid pace.”

The President’s address also touched upon the burning issue surrounding irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), an all-India exam for admission to medical courses.

The government, she said, is fully committed to investigating the recent incidents of paper leaks and ensure that the guilty are punished. As she made the remarks, cries of “NEET” were heard from the Opposition benches.

“Sanctity, transparency are a must in government recruitments and examinations. The government is committed to conduct fair investigation and ensure the most stringent punishment to those guilty in the recent incidents of paper leak,” she said, adding that there is a need to rise above “partisan politics” and take strong steps on this issue.

The central government on Sunday initiated the process of notifying the dates of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections by sending the Election Commission’s recommendation to President Droupadi Murmu, according to the sources.

According to sources, the Cabinet meeting held this morning recommended to the President to issue the notifications for the different phases.

“The Cabinet approved to recommend to the President for issuing statutory notifications under sub-section (2) of Section 14 of the Representation of the People Act 1951 from the Parliamentary constituencies for the election of members of the Lok Sabha,” the sources said.

The first notification will be issued on March 20 for the first phase of polls on April 19 in 102 seats. The nomination process begins for a particular phase with the issuance of the notification.

The issuing of notifications would begin the election process for constituting the Eighteenth House of the People.

Based on the recommendation, the Law Ministry prepares a proposal for the Union Cabinet, which recommends to the President to approve the issuance of notifications for the different phases.

The elections for the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1, according to the schedule announced by the Election Commission on Saturday.

As per the sources, the PM has also asked the ministers to prepare a roadmap for the first 100 days and the next 5 years of the new government with the officers and secretaries of their ministries.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Six women from West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali met President Droupadi Murmu here on Friday and demanded that central security force personnel be deployed in the area for the protection of women.

Addressing the media shortly after meeting the President, one of the women who has travelled with her toddler said she fears for her life when she returns home.

“I don’t know what will happen when I return, we have been threatened that if we speak there will be repercussions,” she said in an emotional tone.

She even collapsed after the press briefing.

Another woman said they have demanded deployment of central forces in Sandeshkhali to ensure their protection.

According to her, the President said that she is looking into the issue seriously.

The six women demanded justice in their memorandum to the President.

They came here with some RSS members and social activist Parth Biswas who called the situation in Sandeshkhali “very dire”.

“Sheikh Shahjahan’s modus operandi was to grab land of the poor people, then inundate it with salt water so that the land turns infertile and then use it for pisciculture,” Biswas, who also heads NGO Center for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Support and Research, said.

He said 11 women from Sandeshkhali reached out to his organisation and six out of them have travelled to Delhi.

These six women would be holding a protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday and Biswas called on the Dalit leaders to join the protest.

Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North 24-Parganas district has been tense with a large number of women in the locality accusing TMC strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of “land-grab and sexually assaulting” them under coercion.

Sheikh, who had been absconding since January 5 when a mob attacked Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers during a raid at his residence in connection with an alleged ration scam, was arrested in the last week of February.

 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu highlighting the “gross injustice” done to the country’s youths seeking regular employment in the armed forces due to the Agnipath scheme and urged her to ensure justice for them.

The future of nearly 2 lakh young men and women has become uncertain due to the decision taken by the Centre, Mr Kharge said in his letter to the President.

The President is also the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces.

Mr Kharge shared his letter on X and said the Congress is with the youths in the fight for justice for the armed forces aspirants “who are full of patriotism and bravery”.

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also shared Mr Kharge’s letter on X.

In his letter to President Murmu, Mr Kharge said, “My main purpose in writing to you is to highlight the ‘anyay’ or injustice inflicted on the lakhs of youth whose dreams did not materialise despite the solemn promise made by the government of India.” These youths spent years in pursuit of their dreams and “the resulting frustration and hopelessness has even led to several reported deaths by suicide”, he claimed.

“Our youths cannot be allowed to suffer in this manner. I appeal to you to ensure that NYAY and justice is done,” he said.

Mr Kharge said he recently met a group of young men and women who had been selected for service with the Indian Armed Forces “but were cruelly denied the opportunity to serve their country”.

“Recently I met them and they told me that between 2019 and 2022, almost 2 lakh young men and women were informed that they had been accepted into the three armed services: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. These young men and women had struggled against all odds to pass gruelling mental and physical tests and a written exam.

“Until 31 May 2022, they believed that they had fulfilled their dreams and were awaiting only their joining letters. On that day, their dreams were shattered by the government of India’s decision to end this recruitment process and replace it with the Agnipath scheme,” he said.

Former Army chief General M M Naravane has written in his memoir that the Army was “taken by surprise” by the Agnipath and that “for the Navy and the Air Force, it came like a bolt from the blue”, the Congress leader noted.

There are many issues with the Agnipath scheme, Mr Kharge said, adding the scheme is “discriminatory” as it creates parallel cadres of soldiers who are expected to work on similar tasks with very different emoluments, benefits and prospects.

“The majority of Agniveers will be released into an uncertain job market after four years of service, which some have argued could affect social stability,” he said.

The future of almost 2 lakh young men and women has become uncertain because of decisions taken by the government of India, he added.

In June 2022, the government rolled out the Agnipath recruitment scheme for short-term induction of personnel into the armed forces with an aim to bring down the age profile of the three services.

It provides for recruiting youths between the age bracket of 17-and-a-half years and 21 years for four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)