Propriety be damned, BJP brazenly defends its state chief

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking framing of a national yoga policy and making the practice compulsory for students of Classes I-VIII across the country.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta rejected the plea, saying it was for the government to take a decision on such an issue.

“We are nobody to say what is to be taught in schools. It is none of our business. How can we direct that?,” the bench said.

The apex court said it was not possible to grant the relief as sought by petitioners — Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a lawyer and Delhi BJP spokesperson, and J C Seth.

“What is to be taught in schools is not a fundamental right,” it said.

Upadhyay had sought a direction to the Ministry of Human Resources Development, NCERT, NCTE and CBSE to “provide standard textbooks of ‘yoga and health education’ for students of Class I-VIII keeping in spirit various fundamental rights such as right to life, education and equality.”


Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and the state BJP have brazenly stood up in Subhash Barala's defence in the stalking case amid growing clamour for his resignation.

Ironically, they don't see a case for the BJP state president to step down pending probe. Barala's son Vikas has been booked for stalking Varnika, daughter of Haryana cadre IAS officer V S Kundu.

Barala's resignation is warranted in the interest of justice and fair probe and not because he is in anyway culpable for his son's criminal misdemeanors. His continuation raises serious apprehensions of a 'botched up' probe. Khattar brushed aside the possibility of resignation calling the episode an 'individual occurrence'. It is ironic as a BJP spokesperson signed the bail bond for the accused.

The ludicrous anti-women rhetoric, slander campaign, beyond just Facebook posts, is rearing its head against Varnika. Vice president of the Union Territory BJP Ramvir Bhatti was at his preposterous best when he argued 'why the girl was out so late and why she was driving so late?'

The motormouth later mellowed down his comments. The accused lives in an aura of permissiveness and arguably enjoys indemnity more than many because of his father's political clout, which could eventually impact the outcome of the probe.

The investigation is already shrouded under suspicion. Barala is out on bail without even going to the court. The police are yet to add non-bailable sections of abduction in the FIR. Varnika in her complaint had stated that an attempt to kidnap her was made that night. However, the police say they have sought legal opinion on adding abduction charges.

Till the third day after registering the FIR, the Chandigarh Police remained non-committal on CCTV camera footage. It was only on Monday night that the police claimed to have some footage. But the footage, sources said, is from cameras outside showrooms and not from police cameras, that were non-functional.

The footage neither shows the face of the accused nor the vehicle number plate, said sources, adding that nearly 40% of police cameras in Chandigarh are non-functional, including cameras on the route where Varnika was stalked.