“Today I resigned from the primary membership and all posts of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. I will continue to fight on the issues of tribals, Dalits, backward and common people of Jharkhand. I have never ever imagined in my dreams that I would quit JMM, a party which is like a family to me… The turn of events of the past forced me to take this decision with much pain… I am pained to say that the party has deviated from its principle,” he said in his resignation letter.

In context: Champai became Jharkhand Chief Minister on February 2, shortly after Hemant Soren resigned as the CM before being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. After Hemant was granted bail in July, Champi handed back the reins of the state to him.

Last week, Champai lamented that there was no forum in the party to express pain and “you (Shibu Soren) are not active in politics due to ill health but you will continue to be my guide…”.

Champai, who met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi earlier this week and announced joining the saffron party, reached Ranchi on Wednesday along with his son and was greeted by a large number of supporters.

“My decision (to join BJP) is in the interest of Jharkhand… I am used to struggles,” Champai said.

Recommended Reading: A JMM rebel who is still a minister, Champai Soren changes tune as BJP leaders remain cold

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Parliamentary panel’s second meeting on Waqf Bill

The Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf Amendment Bill is set to meet on Friday, a week after the panel held its first meeting.

The next meeting will be held on August 30, and the panel is likely to hear views of various state Waqf bodies, sources had said earlier this week.

In context: The panel, headed by BJP MP Jagadamika Pal, held its marathon first meeting last week amid objections by Opposition MPs over a host of provisions as the Union Minority Affairs Ministry made a presentation with regard to the proposed law.

Some Opposition members questioned various clauses of the Bill and their rationale, including the move to empower district collectors in deciding on the ownership of a disputed property, and to have non-Muslim members on Waqf boards.

Sources said BJP members in the meeting lauded the proposed amendments, including the provisions which seek to empower women. There were occasional heated exchanges during the meeting but members from various parties sat for several hours, recording their views on the provisions of the Bill, offering suggestions and seeking clarifications.

In his brief comments to reporters, Pal described the meeting, which went on for over six hours with a lunch break, as “fruitful”. It was one of the longest meetings held by a parliamentary panel in recent times, a member claimed.

BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) said the Muslim community’s concerns should be addressed and called for wider consultations adding that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) also pitched for holding broad deliberations.

The members who attended the meeting included the BJP’s Sanjay Jaiswal, Aparajita Sarangi, Tejasvi Surya, Dilip Saikia and Gulam Ali; Congress party’s Gourav Gogoi and Naseer Hussain; TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee, YSR Congress’ V Vijayasai Reddy, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, A Raja of the DMK, LJP’s Arun Bharti and TDP’s Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu.

Kolkata doctor rape-murder case: TMC, BJP protests continue in Bengal

Student unions on Friday will hold protests at the gate of every college across the state on Friday demanding capital punishment for the perpetrators of the August 9 alleged rape-murder of a doctor at the RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. earlier this week.

On the other hand, BJP state president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said the party’s women’s wing will attack the state women’s commission office.

In context: The case has triggered protests across the country and led to a political slugfest between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP.

While Banerjee has criticized the BJP-led Central government for failing to introduce a legislation to ensure faster trials and exemplary punishments for rapists in a timely manner, Majumdar in turn has demanded her resignation while accusing her of failing to ensure women’s safety, attempting to cover up the incident, and diverting the investigation to shield certain individuals within the medical establishment.

PM Modi to lay foundation stone for Vadhvan port in Palghar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Maharashtra on Friday during which he will address Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024 in Mumbai and lay foundation stone of Vadhvan Port project worth around Rs 76,000 crore in Palghar, his office said on Thursday.

The Vadhvan Port aims to establish a world-class maritime gateway that will boost the country’s trade and economic growth by catering to large container vessels, offering deeper drafts, and accommodating ultra-large cargo ships. “Vadhvan Port, located near Dahanu town in Palghar district, will be one of India’s largest deep-water ports and will provide direct connectivity to international shipping routes, reducing transit times and costs,” the statement said.

PM Modi will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 218 fisheries projects worth around Rs 1,560 crore, aimed at bolstering the sector’s infrastructure and productivity across the nation.

– with PTI inputs