News18 Daybreak | 3-member Mediation Panel in Ayodhya Case to Meet For First Time Today and Other Stories You Need to Watch Out For
The 3 Supreme Court-appointed mediators in the Ram Mandir case will be meeting for the first time today. A panel comprising of SC judge FM Kalifulla. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Shriram Panchu will meet in Ayodhya to settle the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute following the Supreme Court order on March 8.
The mediation process is expected to continue till May 15, only a few days short of the declaration of the Lok Sabha polls result.
Today’s meeting: The meeting is slated to take place at 11 am in a “mini secretariat” inside the Awadh University Campus, sources have confirmed.
Following the Supreme Court order that the process should remain secret, the government and the local administration have taken steps in this regard. No official communication about the movement of the mediation members or their schedule is being made public.
In the first leg, the mediation panel is expected to stay in Ayodhya for around three days, following which the further schedule will be worked out depending upon the progress in mediation and dialogue with the litigants in the case.
Read more about it here.
Court order: The Supreme Court sounded the verdict on Friday after hearing 14 petitions against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment which had ordered that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
The Constitution bench hearing the proceedings said the case is not about property, but "mind, heart and healing - if possible".
Interestingly, eight years ago, various attempts had been made to defer the decision by the Allahabad High Court on the ground of attempting mediation, but all ended being rejected.
CEC Sunil Arora to hold meeting on J-K Assembly polls
The Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora will be conducting a meeting, on Tuesday, to discuss Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. Arora on Sunday had announced that the state polls, which were scheduled to take place alongside the Lok Sabha elections, will not be held. Following the announcement several political party leaders including Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti had hit out at the decision calling it a “government ploy”. The state has been under President's Rule after the ruling alliance between the BJP and People’s Democratic Party fell apart last year.
Hardik Patel joins Congress today as BJP chalks out plans to corner him in Jamnagar
Hardik Patel is all set to join the Congress on Tuesday two days after he announced his electoral debut. “To give shape to my intentions to serve society & country, I have decided to join Indian National Congress on 12th March in presence of Shri Rahul Gandhi & other senior leaders,” Patel, who is the face of Patidar quota agitation had tweeted on Sunday. He is likely to contest the polls from Jamnagar. Meanwhile, the rival BJP seems to have chalked out a major plan to corner Hardik Patel in Jamnagar where Satvara, Patels, Ahir, Muslims, Dalits and Kshatriya are important caste constituent in this seat. The party had, just two days ago, inducted Jamnagar MLA Dharmendrasinh Jadeja into Vijay Rupani’s government as minister of state. Jadeja is an influential Kshatriya leader from Jamnagar. There are also talks of the BJP getting Ahir strongman and Congress MLA Jawahar Chavda from Manavadar in Junagadh district and make him cabinet minister in the Vijay Rupani government. Read more about it here.
What You May Have Missed
Pulwama terror attack conspirator, Pakistani ‘Code Khalid' killed in Kashmir encounter
The mastermind of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel was killed in an encounter in the Tral area of South Kashmir, officials said on Monday. Lt Gen Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon said Mudasir Ahmed Khan alias 'Mohd Bhai' Khan was the conspirator the terror attack, while Inspector General SP Pani said his death was a major dent to the JeM. Khan is suspected to have arranged the vehicle and explosives used in the suicide attack on February 14. According to the IG one of the other militants killed was identified as 'Code Khalid', believed to be a Pakistani.
AIADMK sacks worker for intimidating, assaulting Pollachi sexual abuse victim's brother
An AIADMK worker was sacked from the party on Monday for assaulting the brother of Pollachi sexual abuse survivor. In February, a woman was sexually harassed by four men inside a car in Pollachi district and the act was videographed by the gang that blackmailed her for money. The accused in the case had roped in AIADMK functionary A Nagaraj who physically assaulted and intimidated the victim's brother. The rival DMK party has alleged government backing for the accused in the case. "I seriously condemn the sexual abuse in Pollachi, where the culprits involved are being protected and covered up, in a struggle to keep the government going,” said DMK chief MK Stalin. The sexual assault could have wider political ramifications as Opposition leaders have been tweeting energetically on a possible larger network of rapists, aided by people with political interests in the AIADMK.
Only pilots with 1,000 flying hours for Boeing 737 MAX planes, says DGCA after Ethiopia crash
Aviation watchdog DGCA on Monday issued strict safety instructions for flying Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes by SpiceJet and Jet Airways, including that the pilot-in-command should have at least 1,000 hours of flying experience, a day after an aircraft crash that killed 157 people in Ethiopia. Taking serious note of the second deadly crash involving a 737 MAX plane globally in less than five months, the civil aviation ministry also ordered a "safety assessment" of these aircraft and the watchdog is also holding consultation with safety regulators around the world.
Election Tracker: Final death knell on Congress-AAP alliance and Mamata Banerjee rues over EC decision
Rahul Gandhi shuts door on AAP alliance, says Congress has to win all 7 seats in Delhi
Shutting the door firmly on any alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Monday asked his party’s workers to ensure victory in all seven seats in Delhi in the Lok Sabha elections. Gandhi told booth level workers in the national capital: “Congress has to win all the 7 seats in Delhi. The booth level workers have to ensure it”. Gandhi’s statement came after a Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit remark about there “not being alliance yet” set off speculation that there may be a rethink on the part of the Congress.
Seven-phase polls a ploy to destroy Bengal, voters will not forgive BJP, says Mamata
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed the EC’s decision to conduct the polls in seven-phases calling it a “BJP ploy to destroy Bengal”. “Voters in Bengal would not forgive the BJP for what it had done to the state…. But the party will get a fitting reply. The Trinamool Congress will win all the 42 seats in Bengal,” she said.
Follow the live updates on News18.com