Page 6 - Indian Democracy

Govt must be given latitude to make adjustments crucial to save nation: SC

Observing that several northeastern states are affected by insurgency and violence, the Supreme Court Wednesday said the government must be given "latitude and leeway" to make adjustments necessary to save the nation. Referring to section 6A of the Citizenship Act applicable exclusively to Assam, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said governments have to make compromises for the overall well-being of the nation. "We must also give the government that latitude. Even today there are parts of North East, we may not name them, but there are states affected by insurgency, affected by violence. We have to give the government that leeway to make adjustments necessary to save the nation," Chandrachud said. He made the observation after senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that section 6A operates in a "blanket manner" and rewards illegal immigrants who continue to stay in Assam in violation of the citizenship law. "Assam

Necessary to defeat BJP to save Constitution and democracy: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said it is "necessary to defeat the BJP" to "save the Constitution and democracy" in the country. Addressing the 'Samvidhan Bachao Maharally' organised in Mati on the occasion of the Constitution Day, Yadav said, "Today is a historic day. This day tells us that if democracy survives and the Constitution survives then we can take our rights from the governments through the right of one vote that we have got." "The people of the BJP do not believe in law and the Constitution. To save the Constitution and democracy, it is necessary to defeat the BJP. No one is getting justice in the BJP government," he added, according to a statement issued by the Samajwadi Party (SP) here. The rally was organised by Raja Ram Pal, former MP from Uttar Pradesh's Akbarpur Lok Sabha constituency. Yadav claimed that "samajwadis" are struggling the most and taking risks to save the Constitution in the country. "We all are taking a pledge today to save the ...

India came out of adverse situations due to its Constitution, says Meghwal

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Sunday said India was able to strengthen democracy as the judiciary and the governments did their work. He also said that India fared better than its neighbours due to its Constitution, which he described as a living document. Addressing an event in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu and Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud to celebrate Constitution Day, the minister said the country has been able to come out of adverse situations due to its Constitution. "Countries around us got independence -- Pakistan attained independence with us; Sri Lanka got independence before us but disturbance, Nepal there was disturbance, there was disturbance in Myanmar," he said adding Bangladesh also faced problems. "But there is only one key reason as to why we moved in the right direction. We had the living document, the Constitution," he said. The minister said India came out several adverse situations due to the Constitution. "We came out of variou

KUWJ condemns raid on NewsClick, calls it violation of democratic rights

A Kerala-based journalists union Tuesday condemned the Delhi Police raids on news portal NewsClick and its journalists during the day, calling it an encroachment on the freedom of media and "a blatant violation of democratic rights". The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) said the "illegal and anti-democratic" raids were carried out without revealing the reason for the same and the police seized mobile phones, laptops and other electronic equipment from the scribes. The Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested two persons including NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha in connection with a probe into the portal's foreign funding. The arrest came after the Delhi Police searched 30 locations connected with the online news portal and its journalists in a case filed under the anti-terror law UAPA following allegations that it received money for pro-China propaganda. "The Kerala Union of Working Journalists strongly condemns the illegal police raids conducted at the residences of promine

Publish books presenting India's journey as 'oldest democracy': Om Birla

Claiming that India is the "oldest democracy", Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday asked publishers to consider publishing books on the country's democratic journey, its culture and heritage to present it to the world in a proper manner. These books will also inspire the coming generations, he said. Addressing an event organised by the Federation of Indian Publishers here, Birla said the global influence of Indian democracy has increased today and the country, under "the efficient leadership" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has the capability to solve all the challenges facing the world. "We have brought socioeconomic changes in our country through democracy. Today, under the efficient leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has the capability to solve all the challenges facing the world. India's strength has increased," he said. The Lok Sabha speaker said Indian publishers today have "a very big role" to play in taking India's increased strength, prosperity, culture

Culture of democracy

Courtesy in political dialogue and tolerance of policy dissent are a central requirement of democracy

Govt to gift two booklets to G20 delegates on Indian democracy, elections

The booklets, titled "Bharat, The Mother of Democracy" and "Elections in India", will be presented to the visiting dignitaries during the G20 Summit

Prez's G20 invite triggers 'India' vs 'Bharat' debate on country's name

Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor said there couldn't be any constitutional objection to calling India 'Bharat'

Enlightened civil society vital for functioning democracy: Rajnath Singh

He said that it enables the citizens to engage in deliberative dialogues and cooperative efforts, outside the adversarial arena of electoral politics, towards achieving national objectives

If BJP wins 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it will be end of democracy: Stalin

If the BJP is to win another term in power at the Centre, nobody can save democracy, social justice and the Constitution, DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin said here on Wednesday. Addressing DMK's booth-level party functionaries of Cauvery Delta districts, Stalin said that the most significant aspect is about who must not remain in power at the Centre rather than who should capture power following the polls to the Lok Sabha next year. The DMK and its allies must win in all the 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu besides the lone segment in neighbouring Puducherry, he said and exhorted the party cadres to work for a big win. Stalin advised his partymen in-charge of polling stations to speak to people about ideology and welfare schemes and use social media effectively for campaigning. The top DMK leader alleged that the BJP has damaged the fundamental ideas that constitute India and "we have to put a full stop to this in the upcoming (2024) Parliamentary polls; otherwise not onl

Widely participated elections strength of Indian democracy: Droupadi Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday said that democratic system in India is continuously getting stronger and the biggest proof of it is the general elections widely participated in by the masses. Addressing a seminar here, Murmu said that during the 75 years since independence, India has kept its democratic values intact despite facing a host of challenges. "Our country has been moving forward in its developmental journey with democratic methods while incorporating the world's largest diversity," Murmu said while addressing the seminar on the 'Role of key constitutional functionaries of Rajasthan Legislature in Strengthening Democracy' here. She said that in the 17th Lok Sabha elections in 2019, a record 61.3 crore voters used their franchise. She said that for the first time, the number of women parliamentarians has crossed the 100 mark and expressed confidence that this number would increase further. "The Panchayati Raj system is playing a fundamental role in our democracy. Today

Indian values like democracy, equality becoming human values: PM Modi in DU

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the building for the Faculty of Technology, Computer Centre and Academic Block, to be built in the North Campus of the University

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Phas gaye re Obama

Heads of state speak unfriendly things through proxies. Even as Modi and Biden met in the US, Obama made remarks on Indian democracy. But such interventions are short-lived excitement

US and India need to deal with their trust issues, not just interests

In practice, however, values do matter. Having a shared set of organizing principles allows governments to trust one another - and thus to make deals that last

White House remarks on Indian democracy 'tight slap' on Rahul Gandhi: BJP

The BJP took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, saying it is "ironical" that while he "shamelessly" continues to criticise India's democracy during his US visit, the White House says India is a vibrant democracy. It is a tight slap on the "yuvraj" of the Congress, BJP national spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam said. The White House said Monday that India is a vibrant democracy and anybody who happens to go to New Delhi can see that for themselves, as it dismissed concerns about the health of democracy in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a state visit to the US later this month. "Isn't it ironical that while Rahul Gandhi shamelessly continues to criticise our democracy during his US visit, the White House says India is a vibrant democracy. What a tight slap on Yuvraj of the Congress. Under PM Shri Narendra Modi our democracy is safe," Islam said. He was reacting to the comments of John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in th

Doubling down on sedition

Law body's proposals contradict spirit of democracy

May 'temple of democracy' continue strengthening India's development: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday described the new Parliament building as a "temple of democracy" and wished that it continues to strengthen India's development trajectory and empower millions. Modi, who had urged people to share a video of the new building on Twitter with the hashtag 'MyParliamentMyPride', also noted that through very emotional voiceovers people are conveying a spirit of pride that the nation is getting a new Parliament which will keep working to fulfill people's aspirations with more vigour. Tagging a tweet by Union minister Hardeep Puri lauding the new Parliament building, Modi said on Twitter, "May this Temple of Democracy continue strengthening India's development trajectory and empowering millions." He used the 'My Parliament My Pride' tag along with his tweet. The prime minister also re-tweeted several people's posts with the video of the new Parliament building and their voiceovers. In another tweet, Modi said, "Several people are expressing their j

Democracy's roots run deep and strong in India: PM's EAC Member Shamika

"Surveys are not representative when it comes to a large country like India with more than 90 cr voters, over 100 spoken languages and significant cultural, socio-economic and geographical diversity"

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