Rush Hour: TMC candidate drops out of Falta repoll, SC won’t recall order removing stray dogs & more

The Trinamool Congress’ candidate in West Bengal’s Falta announced that he has withdrawn from repolling there, two days ahead of voting. Jahangir Khan said he was doing so for the constituency’s “development and the public good”, citing a special package announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party government.

The TMC said that the withdrawal of the candidature was Khan’s personal decision and not that of the party.

On May 4, the Bharatiya Janata Party defeated the TMC in the state polls, ending the 15-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led party. While voting in Falta was held on April 29, the Election Commission on May 2 ordered repolling in the constituency, alleging that the democratic process had been subverted there. Repolling will be held on May 21 and the votes will be counted on May 24. Read on.

Activist Umar Khalid was denied interim bail in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. A Delhi court held that the grounds cited in his plea were unreasonable. Khalid had sought 15 days’ interim bail to attend a Chehlum ritual marking 40 days since his uncle’s death and to assist his mother, who is scheduled to undergo surgery on June 2.

The court said that merely the fact that Khalid and others accused in the matter...

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