The Evening Wrap: BJP wins Azamgarh, Rampur Lok Sabha seats; AAP loses Sangrur

The Bharatiya Janata Party won the bye-election to the Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lost the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab to Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar). Azamgarh and Rampur were previously held by Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and Azam Khan respectively. The BJP also won the Assembly bye-election for Town Bardowali, Jubarajnagar and Surma seats in Tripura while Sudip Roy Barman of Congress won the Agartala constituency seat. In Delhi, AAP’s Durgesh Pathak won the Rajinder Nagar Assembly bypoll. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha won the Town Bardowali seat by a margin of 6,104 votes. Mr. Saha, a Rajya Sabha MP, was appointed Tripura’s CM in May after Biplab Deb’s resignation. He had to win this election to continue as the CM. Congress candidate Shilpi Neha Tirkey won the bypoll to Jharkhand’s Mandar seat, defeating BJP’s Gangotri Kujur by a margin of 23,517 votes. In Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Party candidate Mekapati Vikram Reddy won the Atmakur Assembly constituency with the margin of 82,888 defeating BJP’s Bharath Kumar Gundlapalli. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the BJP’s victory in Azamgarh and Rampur was “historic” and also thanked the people of Tripura for the mandate. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, U.P. CM Yogi Adityanath and BJP president J.P. Nadda were among other party leaders who hailed the U.P. victory. Eknath Shinde moves Supreme Court against disqualification notice Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde moved the Supreme Court against the disqualification notice issued by Maharashtra’s Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal against 16 rebel legislators. A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and J.B. Pardiwala is likely to hear Mr. Shinde’s plea on Monday. The move came after Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said the party has initiated legal action to disqualify the 16 rebel MLAs. Advocate Devadatt Kamat, legal counsel for the MVA government said, “Proceedings have been initiated by the Shiv Sena against 16 MLAs under para 2(1) (A) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. If a person voluntarily gives up membership of the party, he is liable for disqualification. There are several examples that even if a member commits anti-party activities outside the House, then he is liable to be disqualified. There were several meetings called by the Shiv Sena, none were responded to by the rebel MLAs. Their action of going to another state, writing letters against govt. makes them liable for prosecution for anti-party-activities, and thus liable for disqualification.” “The rebel MLAs claims of retaining their posts because they have a 2/3rd majority will only only apply if there is a merger (of the group) with another party. Since they have already committed an anti-party act and still there is no merger, disqualification applies,” he added. Meanwhile, the Sena has also stepped up its attack against the rebel leaders. State Minister Aaditya Thackeray, son of CM Uddhav Thackeray, and party’s chief spokesman Sanjay Raut addressed party cadres in suburban Dahisar to drum up support for the beleaguered party leadership and slammed the Shinde camp. “We have learnt a lesson on whom to trust....These are bodies whose souls have died. Their mind is dead....40 bodies will come from Assam and will be sent directly to the morgue for postmortem,” Mr. Raut said. Mr. Aaditya Thackeray said that the party’s doors have been closed for the rebel MLAs, who he said had “monstrous ambitions”. Within the Maha Vikas Aghadi, however, the Nationalist Congress Party has pledged its support to Mr. Uddhav Thackeray amid the growing conflict. MVA leaders met at NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s residence to discuss strategy to break the Sena rebel camp. Ashok Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat of the Congress, Shiv Sena’s Anil Parab and Anil Desai and NCP’s Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel were also present in the meeting. Emergency in 1975 ‘black spot’ on vibrant history of India’s democracy: PM Modi in Germany Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Emergency in 1975 a “black spot” on the vibrant history of India’s democracy. Mr. Modi also said that democracy, which is in the DNA of every Indian, was trampled and suppressed 47 years ago but the people answered in a democratic way to crush it. He made the remarks during his address at a gathering of Indian diaspora in Munich. The PM is on a visit to Germany for the G7 Summit. During the speech, he also listed his government’s achievements and said India will not be left behind in the fourth Industrial Revolution. Every village in India is now open defecation free, has electricity and 99% of the villages also have clean cooking fuel, he added. “India is making new records in data consumption. India is among the countries where data is cheapest,” he also said, adding that in the 21st Century’s new India, the way people adopt technology was exciting. Highlighting the vaccination drive against COVID-19, Mr. Modi said that 90% adults have taken both doses of vaccines in India while 95% have taken at least one dose. He also said that Made in India vaccines have saved crores of lives across the world. SIT to probe case against Teesta Setalvad, two ex-IPS officers A Special Investigation Team (SIT), to be headed by Gujarat ATS DIG, will probe the case against activist Teesta Setalvad and former IPS officers R.B. Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt who have been accused of abusing the process of law by fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in connection with the 2002 Gujarat communal riots, a senior official said on Sunday. Earlier in the day, the Ahmedabad crime branch arrested Ms. Setalvad, a day after she was detained in Mumbai and shifted to Gujarat. Ex-Gujarat DGP Sreekumar was arrested on Saturday while the process is on to get a transfer warrant for custody of Bhatt, who is serving a life sentence in a custodial death case at a jail at Palanpur, in connection with the FIR lodged against them. The SIT will be headed by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) Deepan Bhadran and will have Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Ahmedabad Crime Branch, and Superintendent of Police (SP) of Gujarat ATS as its two members, the official said. The investigation will be carried out by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of the Ahmedabad Special Operations Group (SOG), Gujarat ATS DIG Bhadran told PTI. Ms. Setalvad and Mr. Sreekumar were arrested by the crime branch, and a process has been initiated to bring Bhatt — who is serving a life sentence in a custodial death case at a jail at Palanpur in the state’s Banaskantha district — to Ahmedabad on a transfer warrant, DCP (Crime), Chaitanya Mandlik had told reporters. The city crime branch registered an FIR against Ms. Setalvad, Mr. Sreekumar, and Mr. Bhatt on Saturday, a day after the Supreme Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to the then chief minister Narendra Modi and others in 2002 post-Godhra riots cases. In Brief Assam continued to reel under devastating floods with more than 25 lakh people still under the deluge, although the water level has started receding from some areas. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Silchar in Cachar district, one among the worst-affected areas, and assessed the damage caused in the Barak valley city. As many as 2.33 lakh have taken shelter in 637 relief camps in the State due to the floods and landslides in the past two weeks. So far, 121 people have been killed in floods and landslides in the State this year. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 26 JUNE 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( BJP wins Azamgarh, Rampur Lok Sabha seats; AAP loses Sangrur The [Bharatiya Janata Party won the bye-election to the Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats]( in Uttar Pradesh while the [Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lost the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency]( in Punjab to Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar). Azamgarh and Rampur were previously held by Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and Azam Khan respectively. The BJP also won the Assembly bye-election for Town Bardowali, Jubarajnagar and Surma seats in Tripura while Sudip Roy Barman of Congress won the Agartala constituency seat. In Delhi, AAP’s Durgesh Pathak won the Rajinder Nagar Assembly bypoll. Tripura Chief Minister [Manik Saha won the Town Bardowali seat]( by a margin of 6,104 votes. Mr. Saha, a Rajya Sabha MP, was appointed Tripura’s CM in May after Biplab Deb’s resignation. He had to win this election to continue as the CM. Congress candidate Shilpi Neha Tirkey won the bypoll to Jharkhand’s Mandar seat, defeating BJP’s Gangotri Kujur by a margin of 23,517 votes. In Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Party candidate [Mekapati Vikram Reddy won the Atmakur Assembly constituency]( with the margin of 82,888 defeating BJP’s Bharath Kumar Gundlapalli. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the BJP’s victory in Azamgarh and Rampur was “historic” and also thanked the people of Tripura for the mandate. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, U.P. CM Yogi Adityanath and BJP president J.P. Nadda were among other party leaders who hailed the U.P. victory. Eknath Shinde moves Supreme Court against disqualification notice Rebel Shiv Sena leader [Eknath Shinde moved the Supreme Court]( against the disqualification notice issued by Maharashtra’s Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal against 16 rebel legislators. A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and J.B. Pardiwala is likely to hear Mr. Shinde’s plea on Monday. [Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant with Shiva Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati on June 26, 2022. ] The move came after Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said the party has initiated legal action to disqualify the 16 rebel MLAs. Advocate Devadatt Kamat, legal counsel for the MVA government said, “Proceedings have been initiated by the Shiv Sena against 16 MLAs under para 2(1) (A) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. If a person voluntarily gives up membership of the party, he is liable for disqualification. There are several examples that even if a member commits anti-party activities outside the House, then he is liable to be disqualified. There were several meetings called by the Shiv Sena, none were responded to by the rebel MLAs. Their action of going to another state, writing letters against govt. makes them liable for prosecution for anti-party-activities, and thus liable for disqualification.” “The rebel MLAs claims of retaining their posts because they have a 2/3rd majority will only only apply if there is a merger (of the group) with another party. Since they have already committed an anti-party act and still there is no merger, disqualification applies,” he added. Meanwhile, the Sena has also stepped up its attack against the rebel leaders. State Minister Aaditya Thackeray, son of CM Uddhav Thackeray, and party’s chief spokesman Sanjay Raut addressed party cadres in suburban Dahisar to drum up support for the beleaguered party leadership and slammed the Shinde camp. “We have learnt a lesson on whom to trust....These are bodies whose souls have died. Their mind is dead....40 bodies will come from Assam and will be sent directly to the morgue for postmortem,” Mr. Raut said. Mr. Aaditya Thackeray said that the party’s doors have been closed for the rebel MLAs, who he said had “monstrous ambitions”. Within the Maha Vikas Aghadi, however, the Nationalist Congress Party has pledged its support to Mr. Uddhav Thackeray amid the growing conflict. MVA leaders met at NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s residence to discuss strategy to break the Sena rebel camp. Ashok Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat of the Congress, Shiv Sena’s Anil Parab and Anil Desai and NCP’s Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel were also present in the meeting. Emergency in 1975 ‘black spot’ on vibrant history of India’s democracy: PM Modi in Germany Prime Minister [Narendra Modi called Emergency in 1975 a “black spot” on the vibrant history of India’s democracy.]( Mr. Modi also said that democracy, which is in the DNA of every Indian, was trampled and suppressed 47 years ago but the people answered in a democratic way to crush it. He made the remarks during his address at a gathering of Indian diaspora in Munich. The PM is on a visit to Germany for the G7 Summit. During the speech, he also listed his government’s achievements and said India will not be left behind in the fourth Industrial Revolution. Every village in India is now open defecation free, has electricity and 99% of the villages also have clean cooking fuel, he added. “India is making new records in data consumption. India is among the countries where data is cheapest,” he also said, adding that in the 21st Century’s new India, the way people adopt technology was exciting. Highlighting the vaccination drive against COVID-19, Mr. Modi said that 90% adults have taken both doses of vaccines in India while 95% have taken at least one dose. He also said that Made in India vaccines have saved crores of lives across the world. SIT to probe case against Teesta Setalvad, two ex-IPS officers A Special Investigation Team (SIT), to be headed by Gujarat ATS DIG, [will probe the case against activist Teesta Setalvad and former IPS officers R.B. Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt]( who have been accused of abusing the process of law by fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in connection with the 2002 Gujarat communal riots, a senior official said on Sunday. Earlier in the day, the Ahmedabad crime branch arrested Ms. Setalvad, a day after she was detained in Mumbai and shifted to Gujarat. [Police officials escort activist Teesta Setalvad to the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Ahmedabad on June 26, 2022. ] Ex-Gujarat DGP Sreekumar was arrested on Saturday while the process is on to get a transfer warrant for custody of Bhatt, who is serving a life sentence in a custodial death case at a jail at Palanpur, in connection with the FIR lodged against them. The SIT will be headed by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) Deepan Bhadran and will have Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Ahmedabad Crime Branch, and Superintendent of Police (SP) of Gujarat ATS as its two members, the official said. The investigation will be carried out by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of the Ahmedabad Special Operations Group (SOG), Gujarat ATS DIG Bhadran told PTI. Ms. Setalvad and Mr. Sreekumar were arrested by the crime branch, and a process has been initiated to bring Bhatt — who is serving a life sentence in a custodial death case at a jail at Palanpur in the state’s Banaskantha district — to Ahmedabad on a transfer warrant, DCP (Crime), Chaitanya Mandlik had told reporters. The city crime branch registered an FIR against Ms. Setalvad, Mr. Sreekumar, and Mr. Bhatt on Saturday, a day after the Supreme Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to the then chief minister Narendra Modi and others in 2002 post-Godhra riots cases. In Brief [Assam continued to reel under devastating floods]( with more than 25 lakh people still under the deluge, although the water level has started receding from some areas. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Silchar in Cachar district, one among the worst-affected areas, and assessed the damage caused in the Barak valley city. As many as 2.33 lakh have taken shelter in 637 relief camps in the State due to the floods and landslides in the past two weeks. So far, 121 people have been killed in floods and landslides in the State this year. 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