New Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar to take charge on Sunday

HT Daily News Wrap

Former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar is set to take charge as the new chief election commissioner on Sunday (May 15), BSP supremo Mayawati came out in support of senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan who is incarcerated on several charges including corruption, A mob set a house, two bikes, and a shop afire in retaliation to an alleged attack on a former village head and his brother, and other top news in this bulletin.
The Karnataka government plans to bring an ordinance to outlaw religious conversions months after the state assembly passed an anti-conversion bill prohibiting conversion from one religion to another by “misrepresentation, force, fraud, allurement or marriage” in December amid Opposition protests. The legislation is modelled on similar laws in other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The state’s bicameral legislature got prorogued before the bill could not be taken up for passage in the state legislative council, where the BJP does not have a majority. Former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar is set to take charge as the new chief election commissioner on Sunday (May 15). He succeeds Sushil Chandra for the top post in the poll body. In a tweet, union law minister Kiren Rijiju said: “In pursuance of clause (2) of article 324 of the Constitution, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Rajiv Kumar as the Chief Election Commissioner with effect from the 15th May, 2022. My best wishes to Shri Rajiv Kumar. (sic).” Rajiv Kumar is a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. He has “worked in various ministries at the centre and his state cadre of Bihar and Jharkhand,” a government statement had said earlier. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Thursday came out in support of senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan who is incarcerated on several charges including corruption. In a series of tweets, Mayawati accused BJP-led state governments of targeting the poor, Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims and harassment of its political opponents. “In Uttar Pradesh and other BJP ruled states, like the Congress, the manner in which poor, Dalits, tribals and Muslims are being harassed by making them victims of atrocities and fear is very sad, whereas their (BJP) kindness is continuing in the affairs of others,” the BSP chief tweeted. A mob set a house, two bikes, and a shop afire in retaliation to an alleged attack on a former village head and his brother over a disputed piece of land at Kareni in Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh district on Wednesday night, said police. Vehicles of the district administration and police were also vandalised and prompted the authorities to deploy additional forces in the village. Rajgarh Police superintendent Pradeep Sharma said an argument over the land dispute between Allah Wali, a mechanic, and Manoj Verma, the village head, escalated into the mob attack. “On Wednesday evening, Verma was going to Rajgarh when Wali’s son Golu and Aslam got into the argument before attacking Verma.” The Delhi Capitals secured a dominant eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals to keep their chances for playoff qualification alive in the 2022 Indian Premier League. After restricting the Royals to 160/6, DC rode on contributions from Mitchell Marsh (89) and David Warner (52*) to chase down the target in 18.1 overs, as the side inched closer to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the points table, who are fourth with seven wins in 12 matches. Warner and Marsh forged a 143-run stand for the second wicket which proved to be the difference between both sides; however, the Delhi Capitals opener got a lucky reprieve during the ninth over of the game when he missed a leg-break against Yuzvendra Chahal, but the ball failed to dislodge the bails despite hitting the leg-stump. Actor Namrata Shirodkar on Thursday watched the 4 am show of her husband Mahesh Babu’s new film Sarkaru Vaari Paata at a theatre in Hyderabad. Namrata was accompanied by some of her family members for the show and their pictures have surfaced on social media. Namrata was spotted in a white kurta at a movie theatre. Directed by Parasuram, the film features Mahesh Babu in the role of a loan agent and co-stars Keerthy Suresh.