India or Bharat, what should the country be named, Supreme Court asks

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought the response of the Centre, states and Union territories to a plea seeking to rename India as "Bharat" on the ground that the name was originally conceived and adopted by the Constituent Assembly.

The PIL said this was explicit in Article 1 of the Constitution, which reads as "Article 1 in The Constitution Of India 1949

1. Name and territory of the Union

(1) India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States

(2) The States and the territories thereof shall be as specified in the First Schedule

(3) The territory of India shall comprise...."

A bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra issued notices on the PIL filed by Niranjan Bhatwal, a Maharashtra-based social activist, through counsel Ajay G. Majithia and Rahul Pandey.

Bhatwal pleaded that his representation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Rajnath Singh and others had failed to evoke any positive response.

Last November, the apex court had asked Bhatwal to first approach the Centre with his plea and given him the liberty to approach the court again if not satisfied with the response.

Bhatwal said he had been forced to approach the court again as there had been no positive response from the Centre nearly six months of making the representation.

The petition claimed that on Sunday, 18th September 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India had met in the Constitution Hall, New Delhi, at 9 o'clock, and debated the namakaranor a naming ceremony for the newborn country. In that context, various suggestions had been put forward on a proper name that should be given to the Indian Republic.

The prominent suggestions included "Bharat", "Hindustan", "Hind", "Bharatbhumi" or Bharatvarsh etc.

The Constituent Assembly, after an elaborate consideration of the issues on 18th September 1949, passed a resolution saying: "India, that is, Bharat shall be a Union of States".

The Drafting Committee, in the final draft, wrote: "Name and territory of the Union. (1) India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States."

The petitioner said the use of the name "Bharat", in lieu of India, was the true intention of the Constituent Assembly appending the name "Bharat" in Article 1 of the Constitution of India.

Quoting Hindu scriptures, the petition said the term "Bharat" referred to the whole earth, as emperor "Bharat" is said to have ruled the whole earth.

Till the death of Maharaja Parikshit, the last formidable emperor of the Kuru dynasty, the whole world was known as "Bharatvarsh". Besides, the world was ruled by a noble emperor, "Bharat", as mentioned in the Rig Veda, the petition said.

It urged the court to direct the Centre, states, Union territories, NGOs and corporate houses to use the expression "Bharat" in all their official and unofficial communication and restrain them from using the word "India" in them.

GST moved in LS amid stiff Opposition resistance

New Delhi: The long-pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill was on Friday moved in the Lok Sabha for consideration amid stiff resistance by several Opposition parties, even as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said it is a "win-win" measure and states have nothing to fear.

    

Members of Congress, led by Sonia Gandhi, along with those of TMC, Left and NCP staged a walk out after their plea for referring the Constitution Amendment Bill to the Standing Committee was not accepted. AIADMK and BJD also opposed its consideration but did not walk out.

   

 The Opposition members, which alleged that the government was "bull-dozing" and bringing the bill in "hush hush" manner, wanted more time to study the "new" legislation and meanwhile finish the financial business.

   

Jaitley assured all cooperation from government to complete the business of demands for grants of various ministries before Guillotine is applied on April 28.

   

 After hour-long wrangling over the procedures between the ruling and the opposition sides, the Bill was taken up when Speaker Sumitra Mahajan ruled that it is an important legislation on which the Finance Minister can make introductory comments and a discussion can be taken up at a later date.

Commending the Bill for consideration and passage, Jaitley said: "GST is going to lead to a win-win situation as far as the centre and the states are concerned. It is going to up India's GDP. It is going to up India's revenue and therefore I commend GST Constitution Amendment Bill to the House for (consideration)".

    

Seeking to assuage fears of states that they will lose (rpt) lose out on revenues once GST is implemented, he said the Centre and the States will have concurrent power to levy tax on goods and services.     

Stating that when Value Added Tax (VAT) was introduced, states demanded compensation for more than five years.

However, not a single state asked for compensation on the sixth year.

    

"Therefore, please do not have this fear (of revenue loss on account of GST implementation)," he said, adding, besides, ease of doing business, GST will help "trade to grow and taxation of states will not be lost in any manner".

Sena slams AIMIM for playing communal card

Mumbai: Apparently disturbed by the spectacular performance of Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the Aurangabad civic polls, the Shiv Sena said on Friday it does not augur well for communal amity in Maharashtra.

"It's a matter of concern how the AIMIM has got strength from Muslim localities in Sambhajinagar where the Owaisi brothers had challenged to uproot the saffron flag and plant their green flag," the Shiv Sena said.

Shiv Sena calls Aurangabad as 'Sambhajinagar' and also been demanding it should be renamed after the great Maratha king instead of the Mughal emperor.

Asaduddin Owaisi

Ruing how some Dalit and non-Muslim candidates have also won on AIMIM tickets, the Sena accused the party of "playing dirty politics to divide the Dalit-Hindu votes", in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana.

"If the party, which was formed for the interests of only Muslim community, continues to get such support even from the Dalits, it's alarm time for not only social unity but also the Ambedkar movement," the edit warned.

Pointing out that in the last (October 2014) assembly elections, the AIMIM's leads in 50 civic wards (of total 113) of Aurangabad had emboldened it to dream of capturing the civic body in the Wedneday polls.

"Though that dream failed to materialise, the very fact that 26 candidates of the 'poisonous party' have been elected to the civic body is definitely not a good sign...it was like a 'crusade' (religious war) in Sambhajinagar which the Shiv Sena has won and in which the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party were blown away like dried leaves," the Sena said.

However, despite the 'saffron victory' in Aurangabad, the Shiv Sena feels the 'green upsurge' spells danger since a communal party like AIMIM is "unifying Muslim votes under an Islamic banner".

"Now, the Hindus must open their eyes to the poll results and unite against it by discarding their own differences; This is the clear lesson from the Aurangabad civic elections," the Sena urged.

The edit followed the AIMIM's stunning performance in the April 22 Aurangabad civic elections in which Sena secured 28 seats, the AIMIM stood second with 26 seats, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came third with 24 seats in the 113-member house.

The Congress bagged only 11 seats, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) came home with two seats, and smaller parties and independents captured 23 seats, with AIMIM poised to become the main opposition party in the city renowned for its world-famous Ajanta-Ellora cave temples.

Though the Sena-BJP alliance secured control by bagging a total 52 seats, it still falls short of a simple majority of 57, necessitating the support of rebels and independents.

The AIMIM made a soft entry in Maharashtra in 2012 bagging 11 seats in the 81-member Nanded Municipal Corporation elections that year.

Progressing steadily, it is now preparing for the forthcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections due early-2017, and other important civic bodies like Pune and Thane.

Incidents so far :Farmer's suicide at AAP rally: As it happened on Thursday

New Delhi: Live updates from the events unfolding in the wake of a farmer's suicide at Aam Aadmi Party's rally at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday:

• Delhi Congress holds a candlelight march at Jantar Mantar in memory of farmer Gajendra Singh. Hundreds of supporters led by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ajay Maken walked upto the tree from which the farmer from Rajasthan had hanged himself yesterday.
• Let the investigation be complete: Who's responsible can only be found out after investigation is complete, I can assure that a fair inquiry will be conducted: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on farmer's suicide issue.
• Delhi Police knows law of land, must be knowing what has to be done. AAP is an expert in giving political perception to every issue, everything shouldn't be given a political colour: Satish Upadhyay, BJP, on farmer suicide.
• That's definitely not my father's handwriting, he wasn't ready to take any such step (suicide). I want the government to bear the expenses of our education and provide us government jobs: Megha, Gajendra's daughter.
• I hold AAP responsible for this, their speeches were still going on when my father (farmer) was trying to hang himself: Megha, Gajendra's daughter.
• Gajendra brother said that he was invited for the rally by Manish Sisodia: Congress' RPN Singh.
• We've replied to letter making it clear that the matter is not under their jurisdiction: Bassi on letter to DM regarding farmer suicide.
• As per our investigation his death is due to hanging (farmer suicide), post mortem report awaited which will be analyzed: BS Bassi.
• The Delhi Police has written to New Delhi District Magistrate stating he has no jurisdiction to conduct an inquiry into the Jantar Mantar farmer suicide case.  
• The FIR further says that leaders and workers of AAP had instigated Gajendra Singh to commit suicide, hence they should be acted upon.
• As per the FIR, SS Yadav was the inspector on duty at the rally venue. “I informed the control room on wireless and asked AAP workers and others to climb up the tree and rescue Gajendra. We asked AAP workers to help the person and also to make way for the rescue vehicle. They continued to say that police was against AAP and is not allowing us to go ahead with our rally,” Yadav is quoted as saying in the FIR.
• Zee Media has gained access to the FIR that has been registered by Delhi Police in the Gajendra Singh suicide case. The FIR says that AAP workers and leaders had instigated the farmer. Further, firebrigade vehicles were prevented from reaching the spot.
• There should be a judicial inquiry in the Gajender Singh suicide case so that such incidents are not repeated, says Congress leader Ajay Maken.
• This is a great tragedy, that so many farmers are committing suicide, says former PM Manmohan Singh.
• Vijendra tells ANI that Manish Sisodia had called Gajendra to Delhi.
• I hold Arvind Kejriwal responsible in this matter, says Gajendra Singh's brother Vijendra.
• You channels have the footage, you can show the truth what happened. Did we stop the police from doing their work? - Kumar Vishwas
• The Home Minister lied in the House by saying that the Delhi Police was not allowed to do its job. Mukesh Kumar Meena yesterday said that it wasn't the police's job to get the farmer down from the tree - Kumar Vishwas
• What Home Minister said in Parliament is not in line with what the Delhi Police said - Kumar Vishwas
• I seek suggestions with an open mind. Let us not let our farmers die – PM Modi
• We have to find a solution to farmers' problems. We will not betray interests of farmers. Clearly, all of us are together in this - Modi
• We all have to think where we have gone wrong - Modi
• There is nothing more valuable than farmer's life, a human's life – PM Modi
• Farmers' suicide has been age-old problem, is very widespread and a cause of concern. We have to look at it in that light – PM Modi
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is speaking on the farmer's suicide issue in Lok Sabha.
• It doesn't matter now if they (politicians) come to visit us, they could have saved him if they wanted to, says Gajendra's brother Vijendra Singh.
• Investigation has been handed over to the Crime Branch; our objective is to reach the bottom of the matter at the earliest, says Delhi Police chief BS Bassi.
• Yesterday, AAP government had announced that a magisterial enquiry would be initiated in the case. Today, Delhi Police is refusing to cooperate with them - Kumar Vishwas
• Gajendra's sacrifice won't go in vain, says Kumar Vishwas.
• The party has decided to give the deceased farmer's family Rs 10 lakh as compensation - Sanjay Singh.
• Aam Aadmi Party will offer all help, will support Gajendra Singh's children's education, says Sanjay Singh.
• AAP is briefing the press.
• FIR has been registered at the Parliament Street police station - Rajnath Singh
• Delhi Police personnel had requested people who had gathered to stop applauding and raising slogans. Gajendra was provoked by crowd's applause and sloganeering - Rajnath
• I offer my condolences to Gajendra Singh's family, also on behalf of the Prime Minister and Government of India. This matter should not be politicised, says Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha.
• Farmer Gajendra's sister has revealed that her brother had no intention to commit suicide. “I had spoken to him at around 1.30 pm yesterday. He had told me that he will return home by evening. Also, the handwriting on the so-called suicide note is not Gajendra's.”
• A team of Delhi Police's Crime Branch is at the AAP rally venue where farmer Gajendra Singh had committed suicide.
• The farmer could have been stopped from committing suicide, AAP leaders should have been proactive, says BSP chief Mayawati.
• Sources say the Delhi Police, as part of its probe into Gajendra Singh's death case, will also focus on whether AAP leaders at the rally were aware of the farmer's intention to commit suicide. The leaders who were present on the dais during the rally may also be questioned.
• Political speech should have stopped when we heard that the farmer had passed away, says AAP leader Dharamvir Gandhi.