The Supreme Court said on Monday that no politician may seek votes in the name of caste, creed, or religion.

&quot;Any appeal for votes on ground of religion amounts to corrupt practices under electoral laws,&quot; it said.

The court was hearing an application filed by social activist Teesta Setalvad asking it to reconsider its 1995 judgement in which the court said Hindutva is &quot;a way of life and not a religion&quot;.&nbsp;

In her application, Setalvad had said religion and politics should not be mixed and asked that the court pass a directive saying so. &nbsp;

The seven-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, said the court would not get into the larger debate of what Hindutva is or what its meaning is -- the dictionary defines it &quot;as an ideology seeking to establish the hegemony of Hindus and the Hindu way of life&quot; -- and nor would it reconsider the 1995 judgement.

The court instead took up a separate plea filed in 1990 asking whether the seeking of votes in the name of religion amounts to a corrupt practice, under the Representation of the People Act, and warrants disqualification.

The court also said elections were a secular exercise.&nbsp;

&quot;Election is a secular exercise and thereby its way and its process should be followed also. Function of an elected representative should be secular,&quot; it said.&nbsp;

The court added that &quot;relationship between man and God is an individual choice and state is forbidden to such an activity,&quot;

It may be recalled that the Bombay high court had set aside the election of Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi in the mid-1990s. The matter was then moved to the Supreme Court which overturned the high court order in 1995 saying Hindutva is a way of life.

Since then the issue has been raised numerous times in the top court including in 2002 when the court referred the matter to a seven-judge bench for clarity.

(With inputs from DNA and ANI)

'Any appeal for votes on ground of religion amounts to corrupt practices under electoral laws,' the court said

The Supreme Court said on Monday that no politician may seek votes in the name of caste, creed, or religion. "Any appeal for votes on ground of religion amounts to corrupt practices under electoral laws," it said. The court was hearing an application filed by social activist Teesta Setalvad asking it to reconsider its 1995 judgement in which the court said Hindutva is "a way of life and not a religion". In her application, Setalvad had said religion and politics should not be mixed and asked that the court pass a directive saying so. The seven-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, said the court would not get into the larger debate of what Hindutva is or what its meaning is -- the dictionary defines it "as an ideology seeking to establish the hegemony of Hindus and the Hindu way of life" -- and nor would it reconsider the 1995 judgement. The court instead took up a separate plea filed in 1990 asking whether the seeking of votes in the name of religion amounts to a corrupt practice, under the Representation of the People Act, and warrants disqualification. The court also said elections were a secular exercise. "Election is a secular exercise and thereby its way and its process should be followed also. Function of an elected representative should be secular," it said. The court added that "relationship between man and God is an individual choice and state is forbidden to such an activity," It may be recalled that the Bombay high court had set aside the election of Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi in the mid-1990s. The matter was then moved to the Supreme Court which overturned the high court order in 1995 saying Hindutva is a way of life. Since then the issue has been raised numerous times in the top court including in 2002 when the court referred the matter to a seven-judge bench for clarity. (With inputs from DNA and ANI)

India: No politician can seek votes in the name of caste, creed or religion, says Supreme Court

Brazil&#39;s suspended president Dilma Rousseff could still wriggle out of a looming impeachment vote, her ally and predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said today. 
 
Lula, Brazil&#39;s most prominent leftist leader, told Radio Jornal that Rousseff&#39;s case is not hopeless, despite months of mounting pressure on her to be removed from office. 
 
Previous votes in the lower and upper houses easily passed the simple majorities needed to send her to trial for allegedly breaking budgetary laws - a case she claims is a coup d&#39;etat. 
 
However, when the Senate votes again in a final session on August 25-27, it must reach a two-thirds majority and the result is expected to be far closer. 
 
&quot;To defeat the impeachment is easier than before,&quot; said Lula, who was president from 2003-2010 and founded the Workers&#39; Party, which has been in power for 13 years. 
 
Lula said Rousseff, 68, needs to secure support from a handful of extra senators to swing the vote. &quot;Dilma depends on only six votes,&quot; he told the radio station from northeastern Pernambuco state. 
 
The Senate must vote by 54 votes out of 81 for the impeachment to pass. In that case, Rousseff foe Michel Temer, who is currently serving as interim president, would stay as president until the next scheduled elections in 2018. 
 
If the vote fails, Rousseff would return to office. However, she is seen as badly weakened, with rock bottom popularity in a country that blames her for a deep recession, massive corruption and months of political instability. 
 
Temer and Rousseff are both invited to the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which start in Rio on August 5. 
 
(AFP)

The Senate must pass 54 votes out of 81 for Dilma Rousseff's impeachment to pass. If the vote fails, she could return to office

Brazil's suspended president Dilma Rousseff could still wriggle out of a looming impeachment vote, her ally and predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said today. Lula, Brazil's most prominent leftist leader, told Radio Jornal that Rousseff's case is not hopeless, despite months of mounting pressure on her to be removed from office. Previous votes in the lower and upper houses easily passed the simple majorities needed to send her to trial for allegedly breaking budgetary laws - a case she claims is a coup d'etat. However, when the Senate votes again in a final session on August 25-27, it must reach a two-thirds majority and the result is expected to be far closer. "To defeat the impeachment is easier than before," said Lula, who was president from 2003-2010 and founded the Workers' Party, which has been in power for 13 years. Lula said Rousseff, 68, needs to secure support from a handful of extra senators to swing the vote. "Dilma depends on only six votes," he told the radio station from northeastern Pernambuco state. The Senate must vote by 54 votes out of 81 for the impeachment to pass. In that case, Rousseff foe Michel Temer, who is currently serving as interim president, would stay as president until the next scheduled elections in 2018. If the vote fails, Rousseff would return to office. However, she is seen as badly weakened, with rock bottom popularity in a country that blames her for a deep recession, massive corruption and months of political instability. Temer and Rousseff are both invited to the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which start in Rio on August 5. (AFP)

Brazil's suspended president tries to slip impeachment

Britain&#39;s European Commissioner Jonathan Hill announced Saturday that he will stand down following his country&#39;s decision to leave the EU, saying he was &quot;very disappointed&#39; but &quot;what is done cannot be undone.&quot;

&quot;As we move to a new phase, I don&#39;t believe it is right that I should carry on as the British Commissioner as though nothing had happened,&quot; said a statement by Hill, who is commissioner for financial services.

&quot;At the same time, there needs to be an orderly handover, so I have said that I will work with him to make sure that happens in the weeks ahead.&quot;

Hill, 55, a professional lobbyist and former Conservative party leader in Britain&#39;s upper house of parliament, follows his close ally Prime Minister David Cameron in stepping down in the wake of the referendum on Thursday.

He had already faced calls in the European Parliament to give up the sensitive financial services portfolio, which will be a focus of interest in exit negotiations between Brussels and London. He has had a key role in setting regulations that give Britain&#39;s huge banking sector access to euro zone markets.

As long as Britain remains an EU member it will continue to have a seat on the 28-strong Commission, giving Cameron, or more likely his successor, a right to nominate another commissioner, whose appointment would be subject to EU parliamentary approval.

The distribution of portfolios in the Commission is in the gift of its president, former Luxembourg premier Juncker, in negotiation with the leader of the member state nominating their commissioner.

Hill&#39;s appointment to the finance job in 2014 was seen as a peace offering from Juncker to Cameron, who had tried to block the Commission president&#39;s own appointment that year. It was viewed with some suspicion by euro zone bankers keen to challenge London&#39;s dominance as Europe&#39;s financial capital.

 
(With inputs from AFP and Reuters)

Move comes the day after UK votes to leave Europe

Britain's European Commissioner Jonathan Hill announced Saturday that he will stand down following his country's decision to leave the EU, saying he was "very disappointed' but "what is done cannot be undone." "As we move to a new phase, I don't believe it is right that I should carry on as the British Commissioner as though nothing had happened," said a statement by Hill, who is commissioner for financial services. "At the same time, there needs to be an orderly handover, so I have said that I will work with him to make sure that happens in the weeks ahead." Hill, 55, a professional lobbyist and former Conservative party leader in Britain's upper house of parliament, follows his close ally Prime Minister David Cameron in stepping down in the wake of the referendum on Thursday. He had already faced calls in the European Parliament to give up the sensitive financial services portfolio, which will be a focus of interest in exit negotiations between Brussels and London. He has had a key role in setting regulations that give Britain's huge banking sector access to euro zone markets. As long as Britain remains an EU member it will continue to have a seat on the 28-strong Commission, giving Cameron, or more likely his successor, a right to nominate another commissioner, whose appointment would be subject to EU parliamentary approval. The distribution of portfolios in the Commission is in the gift of its president, former Luxembourg premier Juncker, in negotiation with the leader of the member state nominating their commissioner. Hill's appointment to the finance job in 2014 was seen as a peace offering from Juncker to Cameron, who had tried to block the Commission president's own appointment that year. It was viewed with some suspicion by euro zone bankers keen to challenge London's dominance as Europe's financial capital. (With inputs from AFP and Reuters)

Britain's European Commissioner to step down

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