Today in Politics, October 18 | Sisodia in Gujarat, Umar Khalid’s bail plea verdict

Delhi HC to pronounce verdict on Umar Khalid’s bail plea: The Delhi High Court will give its verdict on a bail plea by former JNU student Umar Khalid who has been arrested for over two years in a Unwanted Activities Prevention Case (UAPA) related to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in the city.

A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar had on September 9 reserved its order on the plea.

Khalid has argued that he neither has a “criminal role” in the violence in North-east Delhi nor any “conspiratorial connect” with the other accused in the case.

He submitted that there is no material to support the case of the prosecution against him, adding that his Amravati speech in February 2020 – that constitutes the basis of the allegations against him – “not only had a categorical call for non-violence but also did not lead to violence anywhere”.

The Delhi Police opposed the bail plea by Khalid, saying the speech delivered by him was a “very calculated” and brought up issues like Babri Masjid, triple talaq, Kashmir, the alleged suppression of Muslims and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Union Minister Jitendra Singh to launch an integrated portal for pensioners: An official statement issued on Monday said that Union minister Jitendra Singh will launch an integrated portal that is “aimed at addressing the pensioners’ needs”.

It added that the State Bank of India has become the first pension disbursing bank to combine its portal with the portal of Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) and the same will be part of the launch on Tuesday.

“The department conducted a root-cause analysis of pensioners’ grievances which revealed that a majority of them were bank-related complaints. This was followed up by a new scheme of bankers’ awareness programme, wherein workshops for pension dealing staff of banks are being conducted to spread awareness of the latest measures taken by the DoPPW for pensioners,” the statement further read.

Hearing in Sanjay Raut bail plea: On Monday, the Enforcement Directorate said Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut took “active interest” in the Patra Chawl redevelopment project, adding that “there was material on record to show his involvement in the money laundering case during hearings for the MP’s bail plea. Raut’s judicial custody was extended till Tuesday. The plea will be further heard.
The Shiv Sena leader, arrested in July for his alleged role in the money laundering case, had sought bail from the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court last month. The ED probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of Patra Chawl, a tenement, and related financial transactions of the MP and his associates.

Gehlot in Gujarat: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot arrived in poll-bound Gujarat Monday and addressed a public meeting at Radhanpur in the Patan district of the state. He will hold a press conference in Ahmedabad on Tuesday and address public meetings and hold roadshows in Banaskantha district.

(With PTI inputs)