Breaking his silence over the proposed meeting of eight non-Congress, non-BJP chief ministers and a possible third front ahead of the 2024 general elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal said that it is a platform that is being built. The Delhi CM said he has had many rounds of discussions with them. However, it is not a political but a governance platform, he added.

“This is a platform that is being built. Some chief ministers…roughly eight chief ministers and I have had many rounds of discussions with them. This is not a political platform, this is a governance platform,” he said. Kejriwal also said that he was violating the protocol between all the chief ministers as all eight had to hold a press conference jointly and make the announcement.

The seven non-Congress, non-BJP chief ministers who Kejriwal reached out to are Bihar’s Nitish Kumar, West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu’s MK Stalin, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, Telengana’s K Chandrashekar Rao, Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren, and of course Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann. Kejriwal further elaborated that all the eight chief ministers would visit a state and learn from each others’ success stories.

Referring to reports in the media that the meeting was a non-starter, he said, “We have had many rounds of discussion with them, their officers. The letter that was leaked was about finalising the dates. I felt that the date should be frozen. Everyone felt that the 18th and 19th is not suiting anyone as all have assembly sessions. So the suggestion was to keep it after mid-April. He added that it was a “work in progress”, and when finalised, he will inform everyone about who is coming.

The Delhi chief minister was speaking on the sidelines of the budget presentation in the assembly on Wednesday. He referred to his colleague and former deputy chief minister, Manish Sisodia, who is now in judicial custody as “Delhi’s permanent finance minister” who is being missed, and emphasised on the push for infrastructure in the budget. “With Rs 21,817 crore allocated for infrastructure development…there is a huge, huge, huge push for infra in the budget,” the chief minister said, to build a “clean, beautiful, modern Delhi”.

The CM flanked by finance minister Kailash Gahlot outlined a nine-point action plan that would turn the vision in the budget into reality, which included cleaning and beautifying 1,400 kilometres of roads, building 26 new flyovers, three unique double-decker flyovers, electrification of 57 new bus depots, three new modern bus ports, 1,400 electric buses, 100 new mohalla clinics near Metro stations, sewerage and water connection to every household, 20 new lakes, among others.

The chief minister also argued for higher allocation from the Centre for Delhi. “We give Rs 20,000 crore to the Centre. We don’t get anything. This is injustice. Delhi is like an engine. What will happen if you stop giving fuel to the engine? Delhi earns for the whole country…jo kamai karne walla hai, jo sone ke ande dene walli murgi hai, usko agar chara dena hi band kar doge, toh woh murgi anda kaise degi (if you stop feeding the hen that lays golden eggs, how will it keep doing this)?”

Also sounding the poll bugle for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, AAP has decided to go ahead on its own with a meeting at Jantar Mantar on March 23, Martyrs’ Day, which will be attended by the Delhi chief minister and his Punjab counterpart.

AAP minister and Delhi incharge Gopal Rai said, “Looking at the current situation in the country, tomorrow, at Jantar Mantar through a sabha, AAP will launch a nationwide campaign with the slogan ‘Modi hatao, desh bachao’. AAP MLAs, MPs, workers, our office-bearers will gather. This sabha will remember the sacrifices of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh and Rajguru. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann will address the gathering.”

When asked whether the conspicuous absence of any other opposition party is not a dampener, Rai remarked that as the campaign progresses, there will be communication with others.

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The Madras High Court on Wednesday reserved orders on interim applications taken out by expelled AIADMK leaders O. Panneerselvam, P.H. Manoj Pandian, R. Vaithilingam and J.C.D. Prabhakhar to restrain the party from giving effect to the resolutions passed by the general council on July 11, 2022 with regard to their expulsion and other issues.

Justice K. Kumaresh Babu deferred his decision after holding a special sitting on Wednesday, a holiday for the High Court in view of Telugu New Year, to hear marathon arguments advanced by Senior Counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan, Vijay Narayan, Guru Krishnakumar, C. Manishankar, Abdul Saleem and A.K. Sriram for about seven hours.

Mr. Panneerselvam was the last to approach the court, challenging the resolutions as well as the consequent election to the post of general secretary. His civil suit and the interim applications were listed for admission only on Wednesday, and Senior Counsel Krishnakumar argued at length, stressing the need for an interim injunction.

Identifying himself as the coordinator and treasurer of the party, Mr. Panneerselvam wanted the court to stay the operation of a special resolution through which he was expelled from the party, and other resolutions on abolishing the posts of Coordinator and Joint Coordinator and reviving the post of general secretary.

The other plaintiffs, too, had made similar prayers. The Senior Counsel argued that Mr. Panneerselvam was a pre-eminent leader who had played a stellar role in the party for decades, and he could not be chucked out without any notice and opportunity of a hearing. “This is an extremely arbitrary, unreasonable and unconscionable decision,” he said.

Noting that he was elected by primary members as coordinator of the party for five years in 2021, the counsel said the plaintiff’s civil right to continue in the post till 2026 had been affected by the resolutions. “The general council does not have the carte blanche to do anything it wants. They can’t do anything just by claiming majority,” he argued.

Mr. Saleem, representing Mr. Pandian, said the court should not look into the counter-affidavit filed by Edappadi K. Palaniswami in his capacity as interim general secretary, “since such post does not exist. When there is no counter, it must be construed that the grounds raised by me have not been refuted, and hence, injunction must be granted”.

Mr. Manishankar, appearing for Mr. Vaithilingam, said the party’s bylaws did not contain any provision to expel the coordinator. If Mr. Palaniswami was not willing to continue in the position of joint coordinator, then the only way out for the party was to appoint some other individual as joint coordinator and then take decisions, he added.

Appearing for Mr. Prabhakar, Mr. Sriram said his client’s right to be a member of the party had ben taken away in a wrongful way. Stating that he had been expelled from primary membership without even a pretence of an inquiry, the Senior Counsel argued that the balance of convenience was in favour of granting the injunction.

In his submissions on behalf of the AIADMK and Mr. Palaniswami, Mr. Vaidyanathan said Mr. Panneerselvam, too, had gone about issuing statements expelling Mr. Palaniswami and the latter’s supporters from the party.

“I have not heard a speck of an argument on how irreparable prejudice will be caused to the plaintiff if an interim injunction is not granted. This is a classic case of rule-breakers throwing the rule book before the court to throttle the voice of an overwhelming majority of general council members,” he said.

The Senior Counsel said Mr. Panneerselvam had expelled his brother O. Raja from the party without any notice and inquiry. “If somebody is under an illusion that he is a pre-eminent leader, let him establish it by approaching the people or the Election Commission, not in the court,” he said.

Mr. Narayan, representing the general council, said the council was the supreme body of the party, and it had been bestowed with the powers to take any decision concerning the party. Since it was the wish of the founder that the general secretary must be elected by primary members, appropriate resolutions had been passed, he said.

On the other hand, it was Mr. Panneerselvam who got elected as party coordinator not by the primary members, but by the general council in 2017, he said. He also wondered what was so onerous or illegal about the insistence that the names of those contesting the post of general secretary must be proposed by 10 district secretaries and seconded by 10 others.

Such a condition had been incorporated to avoid the filing of frivolous nominations, he said. After completion of arguments, the judge intended to deliver orders on Friday. However, the Senior Counsel for Mr. Panneerselvam obtained time till Friday for submitting his written arguments.

Former Karnataka chief minister S M Krishna, noted industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and famous playback singer Suman Kalyanpur were given Padma awards by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday.

IMAGE: President Droupadi Murmu confers the Padma Vibhushan to S M Krishna for Public Affairs at Civil Investiture Ceremony-I, Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photograph: Amlan Paliwal/ANI Photo

Besides them, billionaire stock market investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who had passed away last year, was given the Padma Shri posthumously.

Krishna, a former external affairs minister, who is ‘known for his statesman-like vision and administrative acumen during a career spanning more than six decades’, was given the Padma Vibhushan, the Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted.

He was an external affairs minister in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government but had later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Noted architect Balkrishna Doshi (posthumously) was also given Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second highest civilian honour.

Doshi, known for using minimalistic, simple and eco-friendly approach to architecture, designed many iconic structures.

Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, was given the Padma Bhushan.

One of the first Indian groups to venture abroad, it has acquired widespread global presence, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in another tweet.

Delhi-based professor Kapil Kapoor, spiritual leader Kamlesh D Patel and Kalyanpur were conferred Padma Bhushan, the country’s third highest civilian award.

A former Professor of English at JNU, Kapoor is known for striving to indigenise higher education by integrating Indian knowledge systems and establishing dedicated institutes, it said.

Patel is the founder of the Heartfulness Movement, and has developed Kanha Shanti Vanam, which is home to one of the world’s largest meditation centre.

IMAGE: The President confers the Padma Bhushan award to Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla for Trade and Industry. Photograph: ANI Photo

In another tweet, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said Kalyanpur, a renowned Indian playback singer lent her voice to innumerable hit songs in Hindi, Marathi and 11 other languages during a career spanning four decades.

The Narendra Modi government has been honouring many unsung heroes who have been contributing to society in different ways with Padma awards since 2014 when it came to power for the first time.

Jodhaiya Bai Baiga, a prominent artist of Baiga painting, Usha Barle, performer of Pandwani and Panthi art forms of Chhattisgarh, and Raman Cheruvayal, a tribal farmer from Kerala who is known for his contribution to sustainable agriculture and preservation of biodiversity, were given the Padma Shri.

Bhanubhai Chunilal Chitara, who has helped in preserving and promoting the traditional Mata Ni Pachedi craft of Gujarat, and Sankurathri Chandrasekhar, a managing trustee of Sankurathri Foundation which has educated a large number of rural students, provided eye-care to over 37 lakh people and performed over 3 lakh surgeries), were also awarded the Padma Shri.

The ceremony was attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla as well as Home Minister Amit Shah and several other Union ministers.

The president had approved conferment of 106 Padma awards, including three duo cases (in a duo case, the award is counted as one), on the eve of this year’s Republic Day.

Of these, over 50 people were awarded — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri — on Wednesday. Rest of the awardees would be conferred the honour in another ceremony later.

Padma awards are conferred in three categories — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

India’s top civilian award Bharat Ratna has not been given to anyone since 2019.

The awards are given in various disciplines and fields of activities vis-a-vis art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.

Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order; and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.