Briefly state

Punia slams SP over quota in promotion

Lucknow:Slamming the Samajwadi Party for opposing reservation in promotion bill, Congress MP and National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairman P L Punia on Thursday called for all minorities, Dalits and backward castes to come together and oppose the state government for its "anti-minorities/Dalit stance".

Addressing a gathering of Dalit leaders in the state capital, Punia said, "The SP is making such a hue and cry about reservation in promotion as if something new is being given to Dalits. But the Constitution has provided for this right to SCs and STs since 1955."

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, he said, "The seniors in SP fear they will have to work under a junior. But be it Mulayam Singh Yadav or Shivpal Singh Yadav, they are already working under a 'junior.'"

The gathering took out a rally from the auditorium till Ambedkar statue at Hazratganj crossing. Stopped from going further towards Raj Bhavan to submit a 15-point memorandum to the governor, Punia, in a symbolic gesture, laid the memorandum at the feet of the statue.

He also said that protests and rallies at the mandal level will be organised in the coming days and a statewide convention will be organised in Lucknow on March 23. On February 24, an International Dalit Conference will be organised in New Delhi.

Allahabad HC gets three new judges

Allahabad:Three judicial officers of UP on Thursday were elevated as Additional Judges of the Allahabad High Court, taking the total number of judges there to 89 against the sanctioned strength of 160. Acting Chief Justice Shiva Kirti Singh administered the oath of office to Justices Brijesh Kumar Srivastava, Bharat Bhushan and Zaki Ullah Khan. Prior to taking up his new assignment Justice Srivastava was the District and Sessions Judge at Allahabad while Justice Bharat Bhushan was serving in the same capacity at Ghaziabad. Justice Khan had retired from the Higher Judicial Service last year after more than two decades of service during which he served as District and Sessions Judge in various places. He took over as the Principal Secretary (Law) and state Legal Remembrancer of the Uttar Pradesh government in April 2012, a couple of months ahead of his retirement.

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