Chennai Apr 23 PTI Advocates may seek permission to appear online before the Supreme Court Chief Justice of India Justice N V Ramana said here on SaturdaySpeaking on aspects related to inclusivity at an event held at the Madras High Court Justice Ramana batted for higher representation of women at all levels of the legal profession Inclusivity does not stop with only representation of women The social and geographical diversity of the nation must find reflection at all levels of the judiciary he saidA judge from a particular region understands the issues of that area better and a judge from a marginalised section of the society could understand the issues of the marginalised people betterAnother aspect of inclusivity relates to the geographical barriers faced by both litigants and lawyers while appearing before the Constitutional courts he notedReferring to senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson introducing a private members Bill in Parliament to enable setting up of regional benches of the Supreme Court he said I am not aware if the Government of India has expressed its views on this subject Further the top courts Chief Justice said I have in consultation with brother and sister judges in the Supreme Court continued with online hearing for miscellaneous days which we had started during the pandemic On non-miscellaneous days advocates can still seek the permission of the court to appear online he saidThis is to enable advocates from all over the country to continue their practice before the Supreme Court I hope this practise continues and is further strengthened in the future He appreciated the Tamil Nadu government for extending a helping hand to lawyersI would like to compliment the Chief Minister M K Stalin who is working hard for the bright future of the state Chief Justice Mr Bhandari informs me that the Chief Minister and the government are extremely co-operative in his efforts to strengthen the judiciary PTI VGN ROH ROH

New Delhi Jan 22 PTI Eyeing to expand its base in Punjab the BJP will nominate Sikh candidates on more than half of the total seats it will contest in next months assembly polls its general secretary Tarun Chugh said on SaturdaySpeaking on the BJP-led alliance which comprises the Punjab Lok Congress and the SAD Sanyukt he said it is expected that most of its candidates for the February 20 polls to the 117-member assembly will be from the Sikh community especially farmers and OBCs The BJP may also explore the option of announcing a chief ministerial face for the alliance Chugh saidSources said that the BJP is likely to contest on 65 out of the total 117 assembly seats in Punjab while its allies the Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress is expected to contest 38 seats and SAD Sanyukt 14The BJP is likely to field 33-35 Sikh candidates and the alliance as a whole may have more than 70 nominees from the community they saidTalking about the BJPs prospects in the elections Chugh who hails from the state said the party will surprise many with its splendid performance in the pollsOn the question of seat sharing with allies Chugh did not divulge any details but said The BJP will play the role of a senior partner in the alliance The BJP will field Sikh candidates on about half of the total seats it will contest and the alliance as a whole will have about 60 per cent Sikh candidates mostly farmers and those from OBC other backward class and SC schedule caste communities he told PTIThe BJP has already announced its first list of 34 candidates which includes 13 farmers and nine from the SC community On whether the BJP or the alliance will project someone as the chief ministerial candidate Chugh saidAll options are open We are open to ideas Asked about the acceptability of the BJP in Punjab in aftermath of the farm laws protest Chugh said regional players have forged an alliance with the BJP and people mostly associated with Sikh religious bodies have been joining the party so it shows the BJPs acceptability in the stateIt is the BJP which has taken concrete steps to double farmers income giving Rs 6000 per year to small and marginal farmers and regularly raising support prices So for an agrarian state like Punjab no party can be more beneficial than the BJP he saidDescribing the BJP as an essentially nationalist party Chugh said nationalism is at the core of its ideology therefore Punjab which is known for its sacrifices for the sake of the nation is an ideal place for it to expand its base and emerge as a force to reckon withIn an apparent dig at Congress Punjab unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu Chugh saidPunjab has suffered most due to Partition and till date due to Pakistan So it will reject those friends of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan who hail him as god of peace Chugh a fully-trained RSS worker has been associated with the BJP for the last three decades He has contested the Punjab assembly elections twice and has been office-bearer in the BJPs national team since 2014 PTI JTR ANB ANB