Top news of the day: ‘Hindu Rashtra’, Palestine chants rock Lok Sabha; Kejriwal to stay in jail; juvenile in Pune car accident to be released, and more

‘Hindu Rashtra’, Palestine chants rock Lok Sabha; Kejriwal to stay in jail; juvenile in Pune car accident to be released, and more in The Hindu’s top news of June 25, 2024.

Chhatra Pal Singh Gangwar, BJP MP from Bareilly, stirred controversy on June 25, after he hailed ‘Hindu Rashtra’ after taking the oath as a member of the Lower House of the Parliament. After taking oath on the second day of the Parliament session, the 68-year-old BJP leader said ‘Jai Hindu Rashtra, Jai Bharat’ and Opposition MPs were up in arms. N.K. Premachandran, who represents the Kollam Lok Sabha constituency, was heard saying “How can he say that?” Other members of the Opposition said that the Bareilly MP’s remarks were anti-constitutional. Earlier, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi hailed Palestine after taking oath as a Lok Sabha member, triggering an uproar from the treasury benches that led to the Chair striking it off the record. Mr. Owaisi hailed his state Telangana, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, the AIMIM’s slogan for Muslims and Palestine. This was objected to by some members of the treasury benches, leading to an uproar after he finished his oath.

Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress on June 25 filed the nomination for the post of Lok Sabha speaker as the INDIA bloc candidate. Congress leader K.C. Venugopal said the Opposition will contest Speaker’s election and accused the govt of being non-committal on giving Deputy Speaker’s post to the Opposition. Senior Cabinet Minister Rajnath Singh had reached out to the Opposition leaders on behalf of the government in a bid to build consensus for the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament. But, Mr. Venugopal and DMK’s T.R. Baalu walked out of Rajnath Singh’s office, refusing to endorse the NDA’s nominee for the Speaker’s post.

The Trinamool Congress on June 25 said the party was not consulted on the Opposition’s decision to field Congress MP K. Suresh as the INDIA bloc’s joint nominee for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. As Mr. Suresh filed his nomination for the election of Speaker on June 25 morning, the Trinamool Congress was not among the INDIA bloc parties that signed his paper.

The Delhi High Court on June 25 stayed the trial court’s June 20 order releasing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on bail in the Excise Policy case noting that the trial court did not “appropriately appreciated the material on record” submitted by the Enforcement Directorate. The High Court referred to certain remarks made by the trial court judge where it had observed that it was not possible to go through thousands of pages of documents filed by the respective parties.

The Bombay High Court on June 25, passed an order to release the minor accused in the Pune luxury car accident case that claimed two lives. While passing the order, the court also declared the impugned remand orders as illegal and set them aside.

Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin was granted bail on June 25 by a Bengaluru court for his ‘eradicate Sanatana Dharma’ remark. The DMK leader appeared before the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate following a notice to him based on a petition by social activist Paramesh for his remark.

Delhi Water Minister Atishi was admitted to the hospital on June 25 after her sugar level plummeted to 36, during her indefinite hunger strike over the water crisis in Delhi. The AAP leader was admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital in the National Capital in the early hours of June 25. Her health condition deteriorated as she was on an indefinite hunger strike demanding the Haryana government to release Delhi’s share of water. On Tuesday, her indefinite hunger strike entered the fifth day.