States' power to legislate to regulate industrial alcohol is untrammeled and complete, the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday. Senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, told a nine-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud that "liquor" has always been in the legislative sphere of the States and the Centre does not have any jurisdiction with regard to industrial alcohol. Excise, liquor and spirit have always been part of State jurisdiction, including industrial alcohol, he said. "The Central government has not issued any order to regulate industrial alcohol as per Section 18G of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. Therefore, there cannot be a case of conflict or occupied field. The field is unoccupied and the States' power to legislate to regulate industrial alcohol is untrammeled and complete," Dwivedi told the bench. The bench, which also comprises Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, B V Nagarathna, J
Action has been taken against two Uttar Pradesh police constables for allegedly posting comments on social media in favour of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari who died last week, officials said on Wednesday. Ansari, a five-time MLA, died last week at Rani Durgawati Medical College after being taken there from Banda jail when his health deteriorated. He was laid to rest in Ghazipur amid a blanket of security. A day after Ansari's burial, police constable Faiyaz Khan, posted at a police station in Lucknow, allegedly made certain comments in favour of the gangster-politician on his WhatsApp status and also raised doubts over his death. According to officials, after the WhatsApp status went viral, local authorities removed the constable from his current posting and sent him to the police lines. "As the model code of conduct is in force, permission has been sought from the Election Commission for his suspension," a senior officer said. In Chandauli, constable Aftab Alam, posted at th
PM Modi is banking on strong economic progress and Hindu nationalist policies to return to power for a record third term
Among the 80 candidates in the fray for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, just seven or 8.75 per cent are women, according to official data. The figure is lower than the first phase of the 2019 general elections when 12 of the 91 contenders or 13.18 per cent were women. However, none of those female candidates were victorious. Of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, eight -- Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit -- will go to polls in the first phase on April 19. Kairana, Moradabad and Saharanpur have two female candidates each and Muzaffarnagar has one. Bijnor, Pilibhit, Rampur and Nagina do not have any female contenders, the Election Commission website showed. In Kairana, the Samajwadi Party has fielded Iqra Choudhary while Priti Kashyap is representing the Rashtriya Mazdoor Ekta Party. Ruchi Vira is the Samajwadi Party nominee and Sadhna Singh is an Independent candidate in Moradabad. In Saharanpur, .
Three slabs of an under-construction bridge over the Ganga river in Gajraula village of this Uttar Pradesh district have collapsed, officials said on Saturday. However, no casualty was reported, a senior official said. Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav pulled up the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the incident, accusing it of playing with people's lives by compromising with the quality of projects. A committee led by the chief development officer (CDO) has been formed to investigate the matter, District Magistrate (DM) Chandra Prakash Singh said. According to the DM, the bridge is being built over the Ganga to connect Bulandshahr with Amroha. Three slabs that were laid on Friday night got damaged and collapsed, he said. No loss of life was reported in the incident, the DM said, adding that the work got over around 11 pm on Friday after which the weather turned bad and the slabs got damaged. There was no one around the bridge at the time of the incident, he ...
Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was laid to rest at the Kali Bagh burial ground in Ghazipur on Saturday. The body was brought to the family's ancestral burial ground, about half a km from their residence, where a grave was dug on Friday. The local administration made elaborate security arrangements outside Ansari's residence and the burial ground. Ansari died due to a cardiac arrest on Thursday. His body was brought to his hometown around midnight on Friday, family sources said, adding the burial rituals took place at the residence. The body was taken to the Kali Bagh burial ground in a procession led by family members, including his son Umar Ansari and brother Afzal Ansari. A large crowd accompanied the procession and some also raised slogans. Police faced a tough time in managing the crowd who tried to force their way into the burial ground where entry was restricted. Security personnel, including that of the paramilitary, were deployed at strength around the Ansari ...
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With robust maize output and downstream value chain, the government is looking to boost the state's rural economy and support its flagship trillion-dollar economy roadmap
Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh Pankhuri Pathak on Friday called for a judicial probe into every death in police custody, saying the state government and the police administration "becoming so uncontrolled" is "extremely worrying and dangerous". Pathak, the chairperson of the Congress's social media wing, also claimed that Uttar Pradesh occupies the top spot in the country in terms of custodial killings. Her remarks came after jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's death at a hospital in Banda district of the state on Thursday. Ansari (63) was lodged in the Banda jail and died of a cardiac arrest. The family of the five-time MLA has alleged that Ansari was subjected to slow poisoning in the jail, a charge denied by the prison authorities. "There are reports of deaths in police custody/custodial killings every day in Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh ranks first in the country in terms of custodial killing. No part or section of the state has remained untouched by this. A
Earlier, the Congress released its sixth list of five candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu
The filing of nominations for eight Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh that will go to polls in the first phase of elections ended on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said. A total of 155 nominations have been filed in the eight Lok Sabha seats, of which 109 were filed on Wednesday, as per information provided by the state election commission. Eight parliamentary constituencies -- Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit -- will vote in the first phase on April 19. Most nominations have been filed from Muzaffarnagar seat where 38 candidates are in the fray. A total of 23 nominations were filed in Bijnor, 18 each in Moradabad and Rampur, 17 in Kairana, 16 in Pilibhit, 13 in Saharanpur and 12 in Nagina. UP cabinet minister Jitin Prasada, who is the BJP candidate frpm Pilibhit, was among those who filed their nominations on Wednesday. From the Saharanpur Lok Sabha seat, nine candidates, including BJP's Raghav Lakhanpal filed the
The Common University Entrance Test Undergraduate 2024 registration deadline is today (March 26). Thus, eligible students should hurry as the online registration for the test ends today by 11:50 pm
The Janata Dal (United), on the other hand, announced all its 16 candidates from Bihar, where the Opposition 'grand alliance' is seeing some friction between the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal
The Samajwadi Party on Friday declared its three candidates for the bypolls, which will be held on four assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh along with the Lok Sabha elections. In a post in Hindi on X, the Samajwadi Party declared Avadhesh Kumar Verma as its candidate for the Dadraul assembly constituency, Rakesh Yadav from Gainsari assembly constituency and Vijay Singh Gond from Duddhi assembly constituency. The party is yet to announce its candidate for the Lucknow East assembly constituency, SP's chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI on Friday. Bypoll to four assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will be held in four phases simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections. The four assembly constituencies where bypolls will be held are Lucknow East, Dadraul in Shahjahanpur district, Gainsari in Balrampur district and Duddhi in Sonbhadra district. On Saturday, while announcing the schedule of the assembly bypolls, Uttar Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa had said
The Allahabad High Court Friday declared the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, "unconstitutional" and violative of the principle of secularism, and asked the state government to accommodate current students in the formal schooling system. A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi of the Lucknow branch of the court declared the law ultra vires on a writ petition filed by a person named Anshuman Singh Rathore. Rathore had challenged the constitutionality of the UP Madarsa Board as well as objected to the management of madarsa by the Minority Welfare department, both by Union of India and the state government.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday attacked the previous governments stating that they "imposed curfews" while the double engine government "held kanwar yatras". The chief minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 513 crore in the district. "How can we talk of development and don't discuss education and health in it. Previous governments did the same. They first spoiled the system of education and destroyed the arguments for health,' he said in his address at the event. "They made businessmen and daughters insecure. Riots began to happen. The curfews and riots surrounded the state and a problem of identity crisis appeared before the youth. Entrepreneurs started leaving the state. Nepotism entered into development works and slowly this state with unlimited potential lost its identity." Adityanath went on to add, "The previous governments imposed curfews, we started kanwar yatras. They looted earnings and provided jobs to the youth
Senior politicians, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, paid tributes to prominent Dalit leader and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram on his birth anniversary on Friday. "Humble tributes to Kanshi Ram, who fought throughout his life for the rights and overall development of the Dalits, the deprived and the exploited, on his birth anniversary," Adityanath said in a post in Hindi on X. Paying tributes to her mentor, BSP supremo Mayawati said in a post in Hindi on X: "Immense reverence and respect to honourable Kanshi Ram, who gave strength to the caravan of self-respect that was scattered after the demise of B R Ambedkar, on his 90th birthday. The missionary goal of social transformation and economic progress he achieved for the 'Bahujan samaj' by establishing the Bahujan Samaj Party and obtaining the master key of power in Uttar Pradesh through his continuous struggle is historic and incomparable." She added that it will be a true tribute to Kanshi Ram
The MSME department is working on a plan to promote 75 districts as potential export hubs for local industries to create jobs and contribute to the Rs 1 trillion dollar economy goal
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath slammed previous governments on Wednesday, saying they turned the state "bimaru (sick)" in spite of its unlimited potential. He also said there was a time when no one was ready to invest in Uttar Pradesh, but the state has now emerged as a superior destination for investment in the country. Speaking at a mega loan distribution programme of the Ministry of MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) here in the state capital, Adityanath said, "Uttar Pradesh is a state of unlimited potential.... Some people turned the state bimaru in spite of the that unlimited potential." The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said when the "double-engine" government came to power, a reference to the party being in power both at the Centre and in the state, this "unlimited potential was linked to the campaign for the country's progress and development of youngsters and entrepreneurs under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi". Adityanath said o
Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai on Monday said the state unit's election committee has passed a resolution urging members of the Gandhi family to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli and Amethi. He hoped their names would figure in the party's next list of candidates. The Congress on Friday released its first list of 39 candidates, including Rahul Gandhi from Kerala's Wayanad, for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. There is speculation that Rahul Gandhi may also contest from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Raebareli, a seat which was previously held by Sonia Gandhi. Both the seats are considered bastions of the Gandhi family. Rahul Gandhi had lost the prized seat of Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani in the 2019 general elections. Rai told PTI, "The state election committee of the Uttar Pradesh Congress passed a resolution unanimously on Sunday urging the Gandhi family to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli and Amethi." "This is because the pe