Tag: dmk mp kanimozhi

Tamil Leaders Slam Centre on Prasar Bharati’s Latest Order to ‘Promote’ Sanskrit

A number of Tamil MPs of late have alleged that the Centre has been making multiple attempts to impose Hindi, and now Sanskrit, on Tamil Nadu.

Chennai: In a fresh round of controversy, a directive from the Prasar Bharati to its regional channels stating that a 15-minute Sanskrit news bulletin be telecast every day has irked leaders in Tamil Nadu.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president, M.K. Stalin; Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK) MP, D. Ravikumar; Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP, S. Venkatesan; and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Vaiko, among others, have condemned the ‘imposition’ of Sanskrit and demanded that the order be withdrawn.

“It goes against the objectives of Prasar Bharati Act,” says Ravikumar. “According to the 2011 Census, 803 people speak Sanskrit in Tamil Nadu. If you are going to telecast a bulletin for them, why not telecast a bulletin for tens of thousands of Tamils living in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, and elsewhere. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of Sanskrit-speaking population. Even in that state, Tamil-speaking population is larger than that.”

Also read: To Counter Hindi Push, G.N. Devy to Launch Cultural Front to Promote Other Languages

Ravi Kumar says that both in terms of population that speaks the language and classical status, Tamil is in a better position and should ideally be treated better.

“But in the last budget session, the Centre said it would set up three universities for Sanskrit. Tamil is a classical language; I think it is time we start vigorously demanding that a Central university be set up for Tamil. Also, we should demand that Sanskrit spoken by only a few thousand people be removed from Eighth Schedule of the constitution, and languages spoken by over one crore people be included,” he adds.

In a tongue-in-cheek tweet, Madurai MP S. Venkatesan asked, “Not even five persons to listen to it, why would you need a six-inch conch?” He further adds, “How fair it is to spend thousands of crores of Rupees on a language spoken by a few thousands? The Centre has been consistently spending huge money on Sanskrit, but clearly ignores Tamil which is older than Sanskrit.”

In August, DMK MP Kanimozhi had tweeted about how an airport security staff in Chennai had asked her if she was Indian when she revealed that she does not speak Hindi. In a month, T-shirts carrying anti-Hindi slogans became viral in Tamil Nadu.

More recently, S. Venkatesan had slammed the Union minister of state for home, Nityanand Rai, for responding to his letter in Hindi.  “It was shocking that legal and procedural aspects have been violated by replying in Hindi to my letter,” the MP wrote back. Venkatesan had written to the minister on October 9 demanding examination centres in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for the recruitment of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) paramedical staff. “I had to assume that your response was to that demand only,” Venkatesan hit back.

Quoting from the Official Languages Rules, 1976, Venkatesan wrote that the response in Hindi is a clear violation of the said rules.

On November 23, he had filed public interest litigation (PIL) at the Madurai bench of Madras high court demanding that the responses from the Central government to Tamil Nadu government, its people and MPs should be in English. It also demanded appropriate action against government officials who violate the existing laws.

“For all practical purposes, Hindi is the official language in Parliament,” says Venkatesan.  “We had once raised an issue about the regular circulars sent only in Hindi during a session from at least four or five ministries. The speaker agreed and said it should be sent in both Hindi and English. But in the next session, we had got the circulars only in Hindi from the same ministries.”

Venkatesan also points out the DMK MP P. Wilson had also received a response in Hindi for his letter on Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), and he had to fight for a response in English.

“All ministries are directly or indirectly moving towards only Hindi position, for us, it is clearly imposition,” he adds.

Kavitha Muralidharan is an independent journalist.

2G Scam: Delhi HC Dismisses Pleas Challenging Legality of CBI’s Appeal Against Acquittals

Justice Sethi held that the 2018 amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to Section 13(1)(d) would not come to the rescue of the acquitted in this appeal.

New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Monday dismissed various pleas challenging the legality of CBI’s appeal against the trial court verdict in the 2G scam case in which former telecom minister A. Raja and others were acquitted and said that it was filed duly by the probe agency.

The high court also held that the amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act would not apply to the offences that had already taken place and rejected several other pleas which raised the issue.

It further said that the CBI was not bound to submit or disclose a copy of the record and it cannot be directed to file approval letters or other related documents relating to the CBI appeal.

Justice Brijesh Sethi, who will demit the office on November 30, 2020, released the appeals from his court and said that subject to the orders of the Chief Justice, they will be listed before another bench on December 1, 2020.

The pleas by various acquitted individuals, including former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetable Pvt Ltd director Rajiv Agarwal and Kalaignar TV director Sharad Kumar claimed that the CBI’s appeal was not maintainable as there was lack of requisite sanction/approval from the central government.

The court held that the government is not under any obligation to place on record the approval letters for filing an appeal.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for Rajiv Agarwal, had said he was not challenging the actual decision taken by the government but as to whether was arrived at properly.

The high court also dismissed the pleas by Raja, his then private secretary R.K. Chandolia, Behura and Bollywood film producer Karim Morani contending that the CBI’s appeal against their acquittal in the 2G spectrum allocation case has become infructuous with the amendment in the anti-corruption law.

Also read: As All 2G Accused Are Acquitted, What Happened With the Scam That Wasn’t?

It said an amendment in the Act does not apply to the offences that had already taken place.

Justice Sethi held that the 2018 amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to Section 13(1)(d) would not come to the rescue of the acquitted in this appeal.

“Amended Act does not apply to offences that have already taken place. There was no intention to obliterate the earlier law. There is no impediment in hearing the appeals. The applications are dismissed, the judge said, while pronouncing separate verdicts on various applications and petitions.

Raja had told the high court that the CBI’s appeal against the acquittals in the 2G case has become infructuous with the coming of the new anti-corruption law.

His counsel had told the court that the graft charges levelled against him and others in the case have been omitted in the new Prevention of Corruption Act of 2018 and therefore, the prosecution in the instant matter cannot go on.

The CBI had contended that the applications were not sustainable as this specific issue had been raised in the replies filed in response to the agency’s appeal.

Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act was repealed in 2018 when the law was amended by Parliament.

Section 13(1)(d) of the Act dealt criminal misconduct by a public servant if he obtained for himself or any other person any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage by corrupt or illegal means; or by abusing his position as a public servant, or while holding office as a public servant, obtained for any person any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage without any public interest.

The high court had in October commenced day-to-day hearing on CBI’s leave to appeal’ against the acquittal of all the individuals and firms.

After finishing submissions in the CBI case, the high court would have taken up the Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering case in which all the accused were acquitted by the special court.

Also read: Are Lessons from the 2G Scam Being Unlearned?

However, the acquitted individuals and firms kept filing various applications and petitions in between.

Leave to appeal is formal permission granted by a court to a party to challenge a decision in a higher court.

A special court on December 21, 2017, had acquitted Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and others in CBI and ED cases related to the scam. It had acquitted 17 others, including DMK supremo M Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal, Vinod Goenka, Asif Balwa, film producer Karim Morani, P Amirtham and Sharad Kumar, director of Kalaignar TV in the ED case.

On the same day, the trial court had also acquitted Behura, Chandolia, Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra and three top executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG) – Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair — in the CBI’s 2G case.

Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka and directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal were also acquitted in the CBI case.

The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate have challenged in the high court the acquittal of all the individuals and companies in the 2G scam corruption and money laundering cases by the trial court.

The CBI had also filed an appeal challenging the acquittal of Essar Group promoters Ravi Kant Ruia and Anshuman Ruia and six others in a separate case arising out of the 2G scam probe.

Tamil Nadu: Woman Dalit Panchayat Chief Forced to Sit on Floor, Barred From Flag Hoisting

The alleged disgraceful event came to light after a photograph of the panchayat chief S. Rajeswari sitting on the floor at a meeting and others on chairs went viral on social media.

Cuddalore: A woman Dalit panchayat president in the district was allegedly humiliated by the vice president, who did not allow her to sit on a chair at meetings or hoist the national flag, drawing widespread condemnation from political parties.

Police are on the lookout for the vice president Mohan Raj, while suspended panchayat secretary Sinduja and a ward member R. Sugumar have been arrested, a senior police official told PTI, adding the latter has been held for offences including intimidation.

The alleged disgraceful event that led to an outrage came to light after a photograph of S. Rajeswari, president of Therku Thittai village under Mel Buvanagiri Panchayat Union sitting on the floor at a meeting and others on chairs went viral on the social media, prompting authorities to swing into action.

Condemning discrimination, many social media users expressed outrage and sought swift action to ensure justice.

District collector Chandra Sekhar Sakhamuri and police superintendent M. Sree Abhinav went to the village, located near the temple town of Chidambaram and held an enquiry on Saturday.

The police officer said Rajeswari named the panchayat vice president and secretary in her complaint and a case has been registered against the duo under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act for offences, including humiliation and for obstructing her official work.

“We will take a statement from her, investigate and appropriate action will be taken,” Abhinav told reporters.

To a question, he said there would be no threat to her life, adding adequate police personnel have been deployed in the village.

Also read: The Anti-Caste Film in English Is a Genre in the Making

“Other ward members too have realised what has gone wrong,” he said.

The collector said four meetings have been held in the panchayat office so far.

The panchayat president Rajeswari was forced to sit on the floor while some ward members claimed that she did so voluntarily, the collector said.

“The inquiry is going on, based on her complaint. Strict action as per law will be taken against those involved,” he said, adding the photograph was clicked on July 17, 2020, according to the date displayed on that image.

A show-cause notice has been issued to Mohan under the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act’s provision, governing removal of the vice president and appropriate action would be taken, he said.

Rajeswari, when asked why she had not complained earlier, said she initially tolerated the vice president’s behaviour but decided to lodge a complaint now when his ill-treatment intensified.

Only the vice president hoisted the national flag and she was not allowed to do so (during Independence Day and other events of significance), she alleged.

Fisheries minister D. Jayakumar said it was ‘barbaric’ and promised tough action as per law.

The AIADMK government had all along given due respect and recognition for the marginalised people, including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, he said.

MDMK general secretary Vaiko said such humiliation was outrageous, while DMK MP Kanimozhi said it was strongly condemnable and the leaders demanded tough action.

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) chief Thol Thirumavalavan demanded the immediate arrest of those involved for obstructing the official work of the panchayat president.

Not only Theruku Thittai, but the scenario was also the same in several other villages, the VCK leader alleged and urged the government to review the situation and take appropriate remedial action.

Meanwhile, cadres of VCK and Left outfits gathered in front of the Bhuvanagiri police station in the district, demanding the arrest of the vice president and secretary.

The incident comes months after a woman Dalit panchayat president in Tiruvallur district was not allowed to unfurl the national flag on Independence Day.

She did so later following the intervention of district authorities.

DMK MP Kanimozhi: CISF Official Asked If I am Indian as I Don’t Know Hindi

“I would like to know from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi,” Kanimozhi tweeted with the hashtag “#hindiimposition.”

Chennai/New Delhi: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) member of parliament Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Sunday alleged that a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) official asked her if “she was an Indian” as she could not speak Hindi, while the paramilitary force ordered an enquiry asserting that it is not its policy to insist upon any particular language.

The Dravidian party MP thanked the CISF for immediate response and assurance to take action.

“Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if ‘I am an Indian’ when I asked her to speak to me in tamil or English as I did not know Hindi,” Kanimozhi, who is also the DMK’s women’s wing secretary, said on her official Twitter account.

According to party sources, the incident occurred in Chennai when the MP was at the airport to board a flight to Delhi in the afternoon.

She has reached the national capital and she will be there for a few more days and has official engagements.

“I would like to know from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi,” she tweeted with the hashtag “#hindiimposition.”

Also read: Language Policy: Education in English Must Not Be the Prerogative of Only the Elites

The CISF sought details from her soon after.

“Warm greetings from @CISFHQrs. We sincerely acknowledge your unpleasant experience. Kindly DM journey details; name of airport, location, date, and time of the incident for appropriate action in the matter,” the CISF tweeted.

Soon, the CISF said it has “ordered an Enquiry into the matter. It is not the policy of CISF to insist upon any particular language.”

The MP replied saying, “Thank you for the immediate response and assurance to take action.”

Kanimozhi is the member of parliament from Thoothukkudi in Tamil Nadu.

CISF, a Central Armed Police Force, is under the Ministry of Home Affairs.