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Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh has claimed that Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka refused to meet Congress leaders during his recent Assam visit. He alleged that the group was told to stay away because its outreach was "an Aam Aadmi Party initiative"
Indian Railways is undertaking a major expansion of the Guwahati rail network, including new lines, the second Saraighat Bridge, station redevelopment and a Mega Coaching Complex. The projects are intended to improve connectivity, passenger facilities and train operations across the Northeast
150 people were arrested in Delhi as the CJP protest over the resignation of CEC Gynaesh Kumar entered the second day
The Centre ordered all AGMUT cadre segments to report within 48 hours any FIR, arrest, adverse court order or investigative action involving IAS, IPS, DANICS and DANIPS officers. The move follows concerns over delays in reporting investigations by agencies including the CBI, ED and anti-corruption bodies
India brought back alleged international narco-trafficking kingpin Navpreet Singh from Türkiye, where he had allegedly obtained citizenship under the false identity Navab Virk. Home Minister Amit Shah said Singh was accused of running heroin and methamphetamine trafficking routes from Afghanistan into India
Jack Dorsey’s decentralised messaging application Bitchat disappeared from Apple's and Google's app stores in India after Apple said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had ordered its removal under Section 69A of the IT Act. The app's website was also inaccessible through several Indian internet providers
The RBI reiterated its cautious stance on private cryptocurrencies, while backing the underlying technologies such as distributed ledgers and tokenisation. Governor Sanjay Malhotra said central-bank digital currencies could offer an alternative for improving cross-border payments
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India must continue building economic resilience amid global uncertainty, highlighting strategic-resource security, diversified supply chains, skills and domestic capabilities in critical minerals, rare earths, semiconductors and small modular reactors. She was speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra warned that a slowdown in the global AI investment cycle could trigger sharp repricing of financial assets, while saying any correction in elevated AI valuations in advanced economies could potentially redirect capital towards India. He also identified cyber risk as a major financial-stability concern arising from increasingly sophisticated AI
India lost 4-0 to Brazil in the historic international friendly at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium, with Estevao, Pedro and Samuel Lino, who scored twice, finding the net. The match was Brazil’s first senior men’s international on Indian soil
Seventeen-year-old Kumkum Mohod won India’s first women’s individual recurve gold at the Asian Games, beating South Korea’s Oh Yejin in a shoot-off. The victory also secured an Olympic quota place for India for the 2028 Los Angeles Games
Pranavi Urs became the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games golf gold, finishing one stroke ahead of China’s Yin Ruoning at 15-under 265. India also took silver in the women’s team event
Wrestler Aman Sehrawat won the men’s 57kg freestyle gold, defeating reigning world champion Han Chong Song of North Korea 11-7 after recovering from a 7-6 deficit late in the bout
India’s men’s hockey team retained the Asian Games gold, defeating Malaysia 5-1 in the final. The victory also secured India a place in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
India retained the Asian Games men’s T20 cricket title, beating Pakistan by 19 runs in the final. Abhishek Sharma’s 61 off 28 balls and Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 51 off 22 helped India post 211/6 before Pakistan finished on 192/6

Asian Games: October 3 gold medallists: Kumkum Mohod (Archery), Pranavi Urs (Golf), Aman Sehrawat (Wrestling), India men’s cricket team (Cricket), and India men’s hockey team (Hockey) /////// India finishes its campaign in 4th position in the Asian Games medal table: 21 gold, 27 silver, 37 bronze; 85 medals.

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Federalism Lessons From The Supreme Court

By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2023-05-12 08:07:35

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Two Supreme Court judgments on Thursday, though on different subjects, had the common thread of federalism. In both the judgments, the role of the representative of the Centre in the state - the Lieutenant Governor (LG) in case of Delhi and the Governor in case of Maharashtra - was under the scanner. The court was severely critical of Maharashtra governor B S Koshyari for entering the 'political thicket' and being 'an arbiter of intra-party disputes' in ordering Uddhav Thackeray to take the floor test without "objective material" in his hand. It also castigated the Centre for taking over executive powers of an elected government in Delhi through the LG and said that it would "completely abrogate the federal system of governance and the principle of representative democracy".

If governments at the Centre wish to control duly elected governments in the state or place hurdles in their path, they are going against the will of the people. Since the will of the people, as expressed in who they choose to govern them, is separate and distinct for the Centre and the state, it is clear that the people do not want the Centre to control the state if they have elected a different party to rule in the state. This is a simple theory and if the ruling party at the Centre gets comfortable with it, the federal system will run smoothly. The desire for double-engine governments must be expressed to the people and if they reject it, it should not be, and cannot be, put in place by force. Otherwise, having separate election for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies loses its meaning.

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