oppn parties The Government And The Party Must Walk The Talk

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
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The Government And The Party Must Walk The Talk

By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2020-12-23 08:12:37

Prime Minister Modi delivered the address celebrating the centenary of the hallowed Aligarh Muslim University on December 23, 2020. He was the first Prime Minister to address the AMU for an event after 1964. That in itself tells a story - the university keeps a safe distance from politicians and follows its own path vis-a-vis public policy. But the centenary celebrations (held online due to the Covid situation) required the address to be delivered by a heavyweight - either the President or the Prime Minister. The AMU board chose Narendra Modi.

PM Modi rightly used the opportunity to reach out to the minorities. He said that differences over politics can never mean that development work should stop and such work must go on taking into account sabka saath sabka vikas. Modi paid glowing tribute to the AMU and its role in nation-building. He tried to assure the minorities that his government was rolling out policies that did not discriminate against any citizen due to his or her caste, creed or religion. He also assured everyone that the constitutional rights of all citizens are secure under his government.

Before this, a couple of days ago, the Prime Minister had also paid a surprise visit to Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in the capital and paid tributes to Guru Tegh Bahadur. Given the farm agitation where a majority of protestors are Sikhs, that visit sought to dispel the impression that is being created that the government is against Sikhs. The Prime Minister said that he was honoured that the 400th birth centenary of the Guru will fall during the tenure of his government and promised to celebrate the same in a historic manner. This reach out to the Sikhs was also important and timely.

But what the Prime Minister says and does is unfortunately not adhered to by others in his government and the party, including the fringe groups that owe allegiance to it. The AMU has been wrongly targeted by Hindu fringe groups in the recent past for being "totally" Muslim. This is untrue. As the Prime Minister acknowledged, AMU imparts modern education in an atmosphere that ignites the inquisitive spirit in young minds. It is not a prisoner of any ideology. Similarly, the farm agitation is sought to be tarnished by giving it an identity-based grievance image, which is untrue. Yes farmers from Punjab are more affected and more from Punjab are protesting but they are not the only one who will be affected neither are they the only ones who are protesting. Hence, instead of reaching out to the minorities through such actions and lectures, the Prime Minister would do well to instill a sense of tolerance and acceptance of minorities and protestors in his own government and the party. 

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