New Delhi, April 2: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rebuked Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy over his statement made in the state Assembly, saying he was making mockery of the anti-defection law.

The Chief Minister had stated that there would be no by-elections even if the MLAs of the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) defect to the ruling Congress.

“If this is said on the floor of the house, your Hon’ble CM is making a mockery of the 10th Schedule,” the bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and A.G. Masih, slamming the Chief Minister while hearing petitions filed by BRS leaders, seeking disqualification of BRS MLAs who defected to Congress last year.

BRS MLA P. Kaushik Reddy had filed the petition seeking the disqualification of MLAs T. Venkata Rao, Danam Nagender, and Kadiyam Srihari for defecting to the Congress after winning the election on BRS tickets.

The Telangana High Court, in November last year, directed the Speaker of the Telangana Assembly to decide on the disqualification petitions within a ‘reasonable time’.

Later, Kaushik Reddy and another BRS MLA K. Pandu Vivekananda and BJP MLA A. Maheshwar Reddy filed separate petitions in the Supreme Court, seeking direction to the Speaker to decide on the disqualification petitions in a time-bound manner.

The Supreme Court is also hearing the petition of BRS Working President K. T. Rama Rao, seeking the disqualification of seven other BRS MLAs who switched loyalties to Congress.

During the hearing on the petitions on Wednesday, counsel for the petitioners C. Aryaman Sundaram brought to the court’s notice the statement made by the Chief Minister in the Assembly on March 26.

Appearing for the respondents, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued that Assembly proceedings were not in question in the present case.

Justice Gavai suggested that the senior lawyer warn the Chief Minister against making such controversial statements in the legislature.

“We know we are slow in issuing contempt notices, but we are also not powerless,” he said.

The bench observed that statements made in legislatures have sanctity.

“When politicians say something in the Assembly, it has got sanctity. In fact, the judgments say that when we interpret laws, the speech given on the floor of the House can be used for interpreting,” it said.

Justice Gavai told Rohatgi to warn the Chief Minister against repeating the mistake.

The judge was apparently referring to the CM’s remark made in August last year about the bail granted to BRS MLC K. Kavitha in Delhi liquor policy case. Revanth Reddy had reportedly stated that Kavitha could secure bail within five months as the vote bank of the BRS was transferred to the BJP.

“Do we pass our orders in consultation with political parties? We are not bothered about which party politicians belong to… We are not bothered by politicians’ criticism of our orders. We do our duty as per the Constitution and our oath,” Justice Gavai had said while addressing Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Revanth Reddy.

After the Supreme Court faulted the Chief Minister for his remarks, he unconditionally expressed his regret.

Speaking in the Assembly last month, the Chief Minister told BRS MLAs who switched loyalties to the Congress that they need not worry as by-elections will not be held.

The Chief Minister stated that during the BRS rule, turncoats took oath as ministers and no by- elections were held in the previous government. “How will by-elections be held now?” he asked.

The Chief Minister’s statement drew a strong reaction from the BRS leader Rama Rao, who had said that they would bring this to the court’s notice.

Kolkata, April 2: A senior leader of BJP from West Bengal, on Wednesday, accused the West Bengal Police of creating unnecessary panic among common people over the forthcoming Ram Navami festival.

BJP’s former national vice-president and former party Lok Sabha member Dilip Ghosh said that the decision of the police authorities to cancel the leaves of all cops, except for emergency reasons, from April 2-9 was unnecessary.

“Such panic-driven decisions are prompted only during Hindu festivals. The police should take care of those who create trouble. Hindus are well organised and they perform their religious rituals peacefully. Lakhs of people participate in Durga Puja, and no tension is created. It has become a habit of the ruling party to create tension and panic,” Ghosh said.

He also said that the chances of untoward incidents over the Ram Navami processions will not be there if the police strictly handle those who want to create tension on the occasion.

Last week, two senior officials of West Bengal Police told media persons that they have got specific intelligence inputs on some vested interests trying to instigate violence in the coming days, especially targeting the forthcoming Ram Navami festival.

“There are plans to instigate people through different posters or posts. The police are on alert. There might be attempts to instigate tension among people from different communities, especially focusing on the occasion of Ram Navami. We requested people not to get instigated. There is no need to worry. But at the same time, we also request people to alert the local police in case they notice any suspicious activities in their respective areas,” said Additional Director General (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar on March 29.

Recently, there were reports of communal clashes from Mothabari in Malda district.

Recently, the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, said at least 2,000 rallies, big and small combined, will be brought out on the occasion of Ram Navami this year.

He also said that participants at the rallies on Ram Navami this year will be double compared to last year.

“Ram Navami will be celebrated this year in a major way. I will be there on the streets on that day. Last year, around 50 lakh Hindus were on the streets to participate in rallies on the occasion of Ram Navami. Last year, there were 1,000 rallies. This year there will be 2,000 rallies and around one crore Hindus will participate in those rallies this year,” he claimed.

Yangon, April 2: A 26-year-old hotel staff member was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed hotel building in Myanmar’s Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday, five days after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country, according to the State Administration Council’s information team.

Two people were trapped under the debris, and rescue teams from the Myanmar Fire Services Department and Turkey successfully pulled one survivor to safety, the information team said.

The operation at the hotel began at around 3:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, and the man was rescued by approximately 00:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, it said.

Efforts are ongoing to locate and rescue the remaining trapped individuals, media reported.

The death toll from the 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar has risen to 2,719, with approximately 4,521 people injured and 441 others still missing, said the country’s Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing.

Meanwhile, Aung Hlaing, head of Myanmar’s junta, rejected ceasefire proposals from Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) and declared a continuation of military operations.

This move directly affects humanitarian efforts as the casualties from the devastating earthquake escalate.

“Some ethnic armed groups may not be actively engaging in battles right now, but they are gathering and training in preparation for attacks. Since this is a form of aggression, the military will continue necessary defence operations,” Hlaing said during a fundraising event in Naypyidaw on Tuesday.

A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake, followed by a 6.4 magnitude aftershock minutes later, struck Myanmar’s Mandalay region on Friday, causing massive casualties and damage.

Myanmar announced on Monday a week-long mourning period following the earthquake that struck the nation and wrought widespread destruction.

As the earthquake left entire communities in ruins, reports suggest that concerns have arisen about the potential for Myanmar’s military junta to direct humanitarian funds to affected areas. It is stated that supplies are driven to the areas the junta favours rather than those most in need of help.

The United Nations and international aid organisations are struggling to respond to the devastating earthquake, which destroyed several cities such as Mandalay, Sagaing, and Naypyitaw, and displaced tens of thousands of people. The hospitals are trying to cope with the high influx of patients.

However, the United Nations, the US, India, the European Union, and several other nations and international organisations have sent aid and rescue efforts for earthquake victims in Myanmar.

The Indian Army and Navy mobilised their resources with unwavering resolve, providing both immediate rescue support and long-term aid to the affected communities.