Evening NEWS DIGEST
02 March.2017: 02 Jamadiul Akhir 1438: Vol:8, No:130
Questioning CSO data on GDP
is jumping the gun, say experts, wait for revision: indianexpress
New Delhi: Alleging that
the Govt was giving out deceptive
numbers on economic growth, Congress leaders today put a question mark on the
Central Statistics Office (CSO) estimate of a 7% GDP growth rate in fiscal third quarter (Q3,
Oct-Dec 2016). However, most economists The Indian Express spoke to, including
previous Chief Statistician Pronab Sen, said that such conclusions were a case
of jumping the gun — and that a more accurate picture would emerge as data gets
further refined and revised. “CSO has made no mistake. Its estimate is based on
specific assumptions and it is not allowed to fiddle with these assumptions,”
said Sen. “For any change in methodology, it has to approach the Advisory
Committee on National Accounts.”Sen and other economists agree that the
cash-intensive informal sector had taken a hit following the withdrawal of
almost 86% of currency in circulation in the midst of the third quarter. Even
the Economic Survey had estimated the economy to lose 0.25-0.5 percentage
points assuming a baseline 7% growth
rate for the financial year. But that didn’t mean the CSO data was defective,
experts said. “With demonetisation,” Sen said, “the continuity assumption gets
violated. Demonetisation was a great disruptor. It severely hit the informal
sector — there is no way of factoring this into the existing methodology.” Sen
is now India Director with International Growth Centre, a think tank that aims
to promote sustainable growth. T C A Anant, who is Chief Statistician now,
replaced Sen in June 2010.Economists believe that as data gets refined in
coming months, it is likely that these numbers are revised. “The economy would
have got hurt. Anecdotal evidence suggests cement sales decreased, footfalls in
restaurants dropped, and so did automobile sales. The first estimates of GDP do
not capture the disruption. As more information becomes available, a downward
revision is possible,” said D K Joshi, Chief Economist, CRISIL. What’s added to
the confusion are different scenarios painted by say, the manufacturing GDP
data, and the index of industrial production. “The manufacturing GDP shows
sharp growth whereas IIP during April-December dipped 0.5 %,” he pointed out.Many
analysts do not take quarterly growth estimates quite seriously because of lack
of available data with the CSO.
CSO may have inadvertently
exaggerated growth numbers due to informal sector data limitation: HSBC
Research
Mumbai: The third quarter
GDP or gross domestic product, numbers may have been inadvertently exaggerated
by the CSO, the agency primarily responsible for releasing the numbers, as
there was no clear gauge for the informal sector, said research note by HSBC
Research.“CSO may inadvertently be exaggerating today’s growth print because it
has no way to collect informal sector data over the short run, which is likely
to have been hurt most by demonetization. The rapid 8.3% growth in
manufacturing may well be reflecting this” said the research note by Pranjul
Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC. ET
GDP figures suspect: Congress
Congress labelled GDP
numbers put out by the government as “highly suspect” and said they could dent
India’s global credibility. Accusing PM Modi and Union Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley of “misleading” the public, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said GDP
numbers released by CSO have not factored in the adverse impact of
demonetisation, including losses in jobs and production.The government should
address the real problems and stop its ‘propagandists’ from ‘premature
celebrations and misplaced euphoria’,
Sharma said. thehindu
CSO’s GDP growth estimate
has weak links
It’s not just the GDP.
There’s also the mystery of 10% growth in consumption expenditure:Anupam Gupta
Congress slams 'fudged' GDP
growth figures as another 'jumla'
Holes in DeMo armour: How
govt made note ban look benign
Patrol religious places
every morning, keep an eye out for meat: Delhi Police chief Patnaik’s order to
DCPs
New Delhi;Delhi Police
Commissioner Amulya Patnaik has issued directions to all districts police heads
to start patrolling around religious places — temples, churches, mosques, etc —
between 4 am and 6 am every day.Sources told The Indian Express that in a
recent meeting with officers at the police headquarters, Patnaik said the
exercise would be called “good morning patrolling”, wherein patrolling staff
from the police station will visit “temples, churches, mosques, etc… to remove
any objectionable thing, like beef or pork” from the vicinity. Patnaik told the
district Deputy Commissioners of Police that the move will help prevent any
tension in the city. It would also ensure that “miscreants” are not able to
“cause any damage to these prayer venues to start riots”, Patnaik is learnt to
have told the districts heads.Police sources said the move comes against the
backdrop of meat being found in or around religious places. In 2014, tension
simmered in Okhla after a dead pig was found in a mosque. In 2015, animal meat
was found near a temple in Sarita Vihar.Sources also said the police
commissioner is of the view that such patrolling will reduce burglaries,
vandalism and other crimes, which usually take place early in the
morning.Indian Express
Delhi Cops May Soon Start
Patrolling Religious Places Every Morning To Look Out For Meat
NSA Doval meets Israeli
leadership in preparation for PM Modi’s visit
NSA Ajit Doval has held
talks with Israel’s top leadership here as part of preparations for PM Narendra Modi’s likely visit, the first by an
Indian premier to the Jewish country. Modi is expected to visit Israel by the
middle of this year. In preparation for Modi’s historical visit to Israel,
Doval was on a two-day visit to the country. He landed in Israel on Wednesday
and called on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu at his Jerusalem office. Doval also
met his counterpart, Israel’s acting National Security Adviser and Head of the
National Security Council, Brig. Gen. (retd) Jacob Nagel. The discussions
“revolved around PM Modi’s expected visit this summer”, officials said. Doval
left for India this morning. Earlier this week, sources in the MEA had
indicated that the visit could take place somewhere around June. Netanyahu is
also likely to visit India this year. 2 nations are celebrating 25 years of
diplomatic ties this year. New Delhi formally recognised Israel on Sept.17,
1950. Embassies were opened in 1992 when full diplomatic relations were
established. Modi’s likely visit to Israel comes after a number of high-level
bilateral visits in recent years. PTI
Israel may ease visa norms
to woo Indian tourists
Jerusalem:In its efforts to
attract Indian tourists, Israel has increased its promotional budgetary
allocation to $2.5 million in the last two years and plans to ease visa norms,
senior officials have said. “We realise that India is going to be one of the
top three countries sending tourists to Israel and so we have started to invest
a lot in marketing our tourism potential there,” DG of Israel’s Ministry of
Tourism, Amir Halevi said.PTI
RSS leader puts Rs 1-cr
bounty on Kerala CM Vijayan, says sent 2,000 to graveyard in Gujarat riots
Bhopal;An RSS leader from
Ujjain proudly claimed having killed “2,000 Muslims” post-Godhra riots as he
held Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
responsible for the alleged murders of RSS activists in that state. “300
pracharaks have been killed. Communists be warned, we will offer a garland of
three lakh heads to Bharat Mata,’’ Ujjain Sah Prachar Pramukh Kundan Chandrawat
told a gathering at Shahid Park in Ujjain town as he reminded the audience
about Godhra and the riots that followed. “They killed 56, we sent 2000 to the
graveyard,’’ he said referring to the death of karsevaks at Godhra railway
station and the communal riots that followed in Gujarat. Chandrawat also
announced a bounty of Rs 1 crore on Vijayan’s head. “If anyone beheads the
Kerala CM, who is the murderer of RSS activists, and brings his head I will
bequeath my property worth more than Rs 1 crore to him,’’ he said.When
questioned, Chandrawat was unapologetic and said he stood by his comments.BJP
MP from Ujjain Dr Chintamani Malviya and other local BJP and RSS leaders were
among those who attended the meet organised in protest against killing of RSS
activists in Kerala.“He was invited in his personal capacity and spoke using
his democratic rights. It’s not an official stand of the RSS. We don’t believe
in violence,’’Ujjain Vibhag Prachar Pramukh of RSS Dr Ratnadeep Nigam said.
IndianExpress
RSS Leader Boasts of
Killing 2000 Muslims in Gujarat, Wants Kerala CM Beheaded
Cong cries foul as
Rajasthan govt tells schools to buy RSS ideologue’s writings
Jaipur: The state govt has asked all secondary and senior secondary
schools to buy a collection of essays and speeches by Bharatiya Jan Sangh
founder Deendayal Upadhyaya, drawing allegations of “saffronisation” from the
opposition Congress.The Sangh was the erstwhile avatar of the BJP, which
currently holds the reins of power in Rajasthan.A Feb.27 circular sent out by
the state secondary education directorate instructed district education
officials to buy copies of the ‘Deendayal Upadhyay Sampoorna Vangmay’ from
Delhi-based publication Prabhat Prakashan on the occasion of his birth
centenary.The circular asked the officials to draw from the school development
fund – meant to be utilised for local needs – to make the purchase. However,
some schools had already utilised the money before the document reached them.The
book, edited by former state BJP president Mahesh Chandra Sharma, was launched
by PM Narendra Modi at New Delhi’s
Vigyan Bhawan on Oct.9 last year. Though the 6,000-page book is priced at Rs
6,000, the circular said it will be offered to schools at a discounted price of
Rs 4,000. hindustantimes
First hearing in Bhopal
jailbreak, ‘encounter killings’ starts behind closed doors
Bhopal: The judicial
commission probing the jailbreak and subsequent killing of 8 alleged SIMI
fugitives in an encounter in Madhya Pradesh last October began hearing
depositions behind closed doors on Wednesday to the disapproval of relatives of
those killed.“Everything is ‘private’ and ‘secret’ here,” lamented the father
of one of the slain men, killed by police hours after they had reportedly
escaped from a high-security prison in the state capital, Bhopal.“They have not
given us the copy of FIRs of the jailbreak and the encounter or even the
postmortem report. My son’s body had injury marks. How did he get them? Without
these documents, our lawyers cannot argue the case,” he added on condition of
anonymity. MP govt set up the one-man commission headed by retired high court
judge SK Pandey. Officials admitted that the commission till date has not
visited the encounter site or spoken to the families of those killed. It has so
far collected 5,000 pages of documents — from police, jail and forensic
departments and also from lawyers of the men killed in the encounter.The
judge’s decision to hold “in-camera” hearings have added to the exasperation of
the slain men’s relatives. Some of them who came from Ujjain and Khandwa for
Wednesday’s proceedings said they had little option but to hope that justice
would be done.Social activist Harsh Mander, however, was stronger in his
reaction.“The private hearing is absolutely wrong. It goes against democratic
norms. When the state is suspected of having resorted to extra-judicial killing
it is necessary to hold the hearing in public with all transparency and
openness. The public needs to be reassured that the state has done the right
thing, at the time when the official narrative is implausible,” he said.Anand
Mohan Mathur, a former state advocate general, said though the judge was within
his rights, it was wrong to have a private hearing. “This is a public matter
and the hearing should be public. It is not a family dispute that has to be
settled privately,” he said.HT
Jailbreak: Kin of SIMI
activists appear before judicial panel
VHP calls Jamia Millia
Islamia a 'refuge for anti-nationals'
New Delhi: VHP termed
Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia a "refuge for anti-nationals" following
an exclusive MAIL TODAY report quoting BJP leader Shazia Ilmi's allegation that
the university prevented her participation in a seminar on the triple talaq
issue.FANS, which counts RSS leader Indresh Kumar as its chief patron, says it
planned the seminar originally for Feb. 16, but it could be held only on Feb.
28 after the BJP speakers were dropped and the title changed. The varsity
administration, however, said it had no role to play as the event was not
organised by it. V-C Talat Aziz rejected Ilmi's claims based on the older invite
that mentions the topic of debate as triple talaq and has her name as one of
the speakers, while the newer invitation modified both."Originally the
conference that was slated to happen was regarding women's empowerment and not
triple talaq," Aziz said. "But
then, just one day before the date, organisers came to us saying it was on
triple talaq. Since they came at the eleventh hour, we told them there was no
hall available as they had been allotted to others. So we told them it was not
possible;there was no context of triple talaq involved. So there is no question
of not allowing Shazia Ilmi."Mail Today
Why media is not
highlighting Jamia’s tolerant side for holding RSS event amicably on campus: okhlatimes
‘Triple Talaq a non-issue,’
say Muslim Girls in Azamgarh college
The thinnest of edges off
the bat has carried the ball into the waiting gloves of the wicket-keeper.
Inside a fenced, verdant cricket field, where a match is on, the bowler screams
an appeal. The batsman is adjudged out. As the fielders gather in a huddle, the
next batsman walks in.On the other side of the fence, a bevy of burqa-clad
girls hurry down the narrow road, unruffled by the loud appeal from the cricket
pitch. They slip through the metaled gates of the grey-white building of fine
architecture before disappearing out of sight.Welcome to the girl’s hostel of
Azamgarh’s Shibli National College, the alma mater of Kaifi Azmi, Urdu poet of
repute and actress Shabana Azmi’s father. thequint
JNU bags Visitor Award for
best central university
New Delhi:JNU, which has
been at the centre of major controversies for past an year, has won the best
university award. In a series of tweets from the official account of
Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Pranab Mukherjee has revealed the name of the
winners of this year’s Visitor’s Awards. In the research category, the award is
jointly won by Dr Shyam Sunder from Banaras Hindu University and Prof Niranjan
Karak from Tezpur University.Dr Deepak Pant from Central University of Himachal
won the Visitor’s Award for ‘Innovation’.indianexpress
'Shoot down anti-nationals'
slogans raised at ABVP protest in Delhi: huffingtonpost
ABVP activists led a march
on Thursday demanding action against "anti-national activities" in
the Delhi University. Several people tweeted that there were slogans of
"desh ke gaddaro ko, goli maaro saalon ko" (shoot down traitors of
the country) raised at the march near the North Campus' Art Faculty. The march
is seen as a counter to one by the Left-leaning AISA on 22 Feb.at Ramjas
College.Members of ABVP allegedly clashed with college students, journalists,
and teachers who had gathered to take out a march against the RSS-backed
group's disruption a day earlier at a seminar in which JNU student Umar Khalid
was invited. Thousands of students of Delhi University marched this week again
at the Khalsa college to protest against ABVP's supposed strong-arm tactics to
further an aggressive brand of nationalism at college campuses.
President Mukherjee speaks
out on campus violence, says No room in India for intolerant Indian: IndiaToday
New Delhi: There is no room
in this country for an intolerant Indian and students in India's universities
must engage in "reasoned discussion and debate" rather than
"propagate a culture of unrest", President Pranab Mukherjee said
today. "There should be no room in India for the intolerant Indian,"
President said while delivering the 6th KS Rajamony Memorial Lecture on
"India@70" today in Kerala's Kochi district."Those in
universities must engage in reasoned discussion and debate rather than
propagate a culture of unrest. It is tragic to see them caught in the vortex of
violence and disquiet," he said.
UP polls 2017: ‘Deploy
women police officials at booths to check voter ID of burqa-clad women’, BJP
writes to EC
New Delhi:BJP has written
to Election Commission on Thursday demanding deployment of women police
officials at booths in phase six and seven of polling to check voter ID of
burqa-clad women, reported news agency ANI. In a letter to the poll-watchdog,
BJP reportedly said large number of burqa-clad women cast their votes, hence
proper checking of IDs is important to avoid bogus voting. The party also asked
for deployment of Paramilitary forces at polling booths in sensitive areas of
phase six and seven.The election campaigning will come to an end in 49 assembly
seats in 7 districts of east UP going to
polls in the sixth phase on March 4. indianexpress
ATS fabricates every case
they deal with, says man acquitted in blast case after 9 yrs: indiatoday
Mumbai:Abdul Wahid Shaikh,
the man who was acquitted by a special court in 2007 train blast case after 9
years, released his book written in Urdu 'Begunah Quaedi' on Wednesday.At the
book launch in Mumbai apart from the publishers, Jamiate-ul-ulema, Shaikh's
lawyers and political activist Arun Ferreira, who had about a dozen cases
against him, marked their presence.About his book, which is currently priced at
Rs 200, Shaikh said, "It's not a biography. This book is dedicated to all
those people who were convicted in the train blast case and who have a hope
that they would be acquitted soon."Shaikh alleged that while he was
writing the book, the jail authorities tore up the writings but he somehow
managed to finish it in the nine years that he spent behind the bars.Even as
everything at the event was recorded by 2 policemen present, Shaikh spoke about
his organisation 'Innocence Network', which is an endeavour to help others who
have been convicted in the train blast cases. He added, "I still get threats
from policemen who ask me why I have started 'Innocence Network' for the
acquital of all those who have been convicted and I tell them that I have spent
9 years in the jail for no reason and this is my effort to save the innocent
souls languishing behind the bars."
BJP using ATS as political
tool: Cong
The Congress alleged in the
Assembly that the state govt is not
taking terrorist threats seriously after CM Vijay Rupani, in a written reply to a
question, said 42 out of total 74 approved posts in the Anti- Terrorist Squad
are at present vacant. The vacant posts include that of 2 SPs, 3 inspectors, 13
police sub inspectors, 14 head constables and 10 driver-cumarmed police
constables. Godhra Congress MLA C K Raulji, who had raised the question, told
Mirror: “The unfilled posts show that Gujarat is not taking the issue of
terrorism seriously. ” Senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia claimed that it
is unfortunate that ATS is used for creating ‘sensationalism’ and to achieve
political objectives of the BJP. “Unfortunately, in Gujarat ATS is being used
for fake encounters. At one point the entire Gujarat ATS team was in
jail.Ahmedabad Mirror
Madras HC allows Pepsi,
Coca Cola to draw water from TN river, locals stage protests
Madurai:Madras High Court
on Thursday allowed Coca Cola and Pepsi to draw water from a river in Tamil
Nadu for their bottling plants but the lifting of the ban triggered protests by
locals who stood knee-deep in the river. In a relief for the Cola majors, the
Madurai bench of the court gave them permission to draw water from the
Thamirabarani river for their bottling plants in Tirunelveli district for
manufacturing soft drinks besides packaged drinking water.Dismissing a PIL
filed by D A Prabakar, a consumer activist, and one Appavo, a Division Bench of
Justice A Selvam and Justice P Kalaiarasan lifted the ban earlier imposed by
the court on the firms for drawing water from the river. The court had given
the interim injunction in November last year. The soft drinks companies sought
a direction on lifting the ban on the ground that they were using only the
surplus water.PTI
Tamil Nadu: Coca Cola,
Pepsi ban will lead to black marketing, says Harsimrat Kaur Badal
Pansare murder case: Cops
question Sanatan Sanstha founder Athavale in Goa
Pune:SIT probing murder of
communist leader Govind Pansare has been questioning Jayant Balaji Athavale,
the founder of Sanatan Sanstha, at the organisation’s headquarters in Goa since
Tuesday.State CID chief Sanjay Kumar, who is heading the SIT, confirmed the
questioning of Jayant Balaji Athavale on Wednesday.“He was questioned on
Tuesday and Wednesday,” he said. He refused to give more details. indianexpress
Aadhaar will be must for
booking train tickets online soon
Railways will soon move
towards Aadhaar-based online ticketing system to prevent touts from blocking a
bulk of tickets, end fraudulent bookings and curb cases of impersonation.
Aadhaar number has been made mandatory for senior citizens to avail concessions
in train tickets from April 1. Indianexpress
Banks to levy Rs 150 after
4 cash transactions: B. Standard
New Delhi: Banks, including
HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, from March 1 started imposing a minimum
charge of Rs 150 per transaction for cash deposits and withdrawals beyond four
free transactions in a month. New charges would apply to savings as well as
salary accounts. The bank would also cap the third party cash transactions at
Rs 25,000 per day, while cash handling charges would be withdrawn.This move by
the banks is being considered as a move to discourage cash transactions and
encourage digital payments. People can withdraw or deposit up to Rs 2 lakh from
their savings or salary accounts through the home branch for one month.
Transaction exceeding this amount will be charged with Rs 5 per Rs 1000 or a
minimum amount of Rs 150.Daily transaction in terms of non-home branches up to
Rs 25,000 are non-chargeable. Senior citizens and children will not be charged
any amount.
PNB ATM: In Meerut, one
more ‘Children Bank’ note
New Delhi:A day after a
Delhi court granted bail to 26-year-old cash van custodian Mohammad Isha,
accused of inserting fake notes with the title ‘Children Bank of India’ into an
SBI ATM in Delhi’s Sangam Vihar, another such case has come to light — but this
time from Meerut in UP . In the new case, a primary school teacher allegedly
received a fake Rs 2,000 note from a Punjab National Bank ATM in Meerut. Teacher,
Sunil Dutt Sharma, said he had submitted the note to the bank branch in Meerut.
This, even as the accused in the first case alleged he was beaten up in police
custody. indianexpress
India will have world's
largest Muslim population by 2050, predicts new research
India will have the highest
Muslim population in the world by 2050, American think tank Pew Research Centre
predicted in a new report. India will have over 300 million Muslims by 2050,
according to PEW's report.In 2010, there were 1.6 billion Muslims in the world
and if the current demographic trends continue, the Muslim population is
expected to exceed the number of Christians by the end of this century. Islam
is currently the world's second-largest religion after Christianity and is the
fastest-growing religion on the planet."The growth and regional migration
of Muslims, combined with the ongoing impact of the ISIL and other extremist
groups that commit acts of violence in the name of Islam, have brought Muslims
and the Islamic faith to the forefront of the political debate in many
countries," the think tank stated in its report.The report, titled
"Muslims are the fastest-growing religious group in the world",
compiled key questions about Muslims, as it said that many Americans did not
know much about them.A close estimate of 3.3 million Muslims of all ages lived
in the US in 2015, about 1% of the US population. Demographic projections
estimate Muslims in 2050 will make up 2.1% of the US population.A majority of
Muslims, almost 62%, live in Asia-Pacific region which includes, India,
Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Turkey.The world's largest Muslim
population currently resides in Indonesia. Study also projects that by 2050,
10% of all Europeans will be Muslims.DNA
ICHR’s post-truth: Netaji Chandra
Bose is the latest victim
Once a prime national
centre of historical research, ICHR has been totally handed over to the RSS
pracharaks. It is nobody’s argument that RSS cadres have no right to influence
research in Indian history. But as George Orwell in his masterpiece ‘Nineteen
Eighty-Four’ (1949) wrote, it should not be left to the whims of a section of
the sectarian ruling elite which specializes in daily changing historic records
to fit its polarising propaganda goals of the day.The deliberations at recently
concluded 3-day (Feb.8-10, 2017) national seminar on Subhas Chandra Bose and
Indian National Army organized by ICHR show that even George Orwell and
practitioners of post-truth dictum would be embarrassed by reliance on sheer
false-hood by the RSS historians and leaders invited for the seminar.The guest
of honour, organising secretary of RSS sponsored Akhila Bharathiya Itihasa
Sankalana Yojana (ABISY), Balmukund Pandey and a senior RSS cadre went on to
declare: “There has been an attempt to demonise our country’s icons and heroes
and Subhas Chandra Bose was the biggest victim of this effort. If there is one
person who represents the country’s freedom struggle, it is Subhas Chandra
Bose”. indianexpress
Gujarat: Dalit sarpanch
murdered for winning the election
Jaysukh Madhad, a Dalit
youth from Gujarat’s Amreli district, was warned against contesting sarpanch
elections, which concluded in December last year. Still, the 25-year-old Madhad
contested and went on to win the polls, defeating the panel of those who had
threatened him and becoming the sarpanch of Varasda village. 3 months later, on
March 1, Madhad was stabbed to death. “Madhad was killed by the three men who
had warned him against contesting the election of Sarpanch held last year,“ said
Amreli Superintendent of Police, Jagdish Patel. The accused managed to flee
from the spot after killing Madhad. newslaundry.com
‘They wish every day to be dead’: The struggles
of children in Gujarat’s riot rehabilitation camps
“I haven’t had a drink in
five months,” said Javed Shaikh. His voice slurs and hands shake as he spits
back into a tiny glass, the mango juice his wife had placed before him. It has
been 15 years since the moment that defined Shaikh for life: then 14, Shaikh
witnessed a Hindu mob rape and burn a pregnant Muslim woman to death during the
2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat.That day, as he hid under a pile of dead bodies,
Shaikh had seen both his parents and his older sister killed. He has told his
story since to the courts, to politicians, to the numerous journalists who have
sought him out – but has never spoken with a counsellor or psychiatrist about
the things he saw as a child. Since 2002, he has moved from place to place
seeking comfort. Each time, he has returned to Ahmedabad.15 years later, there
is no official count of how many children were orphaned during the riots. Scroll.in
Shiv Sena taunts BJP for
failing to criticise legislator who called army wives ‘unfaithful’
Shiv Sena taunted BJP, its
ally in Maharashtra and at the Centre, for not slamming one of its legislators
who called army wives unfaithful. It added that the definition of patriotism
cannot be changed according to one’s convenience.In an editorial in the party’s
mouthpiece, Saamana, the Shiv Sena criticised Maharashtra BJP legislator
Prashant Paricharak’s statement on how army wives have babies despite soldiers
being at the borders for long spells. Keeping in mind that supporters of
Kashmiri separatist Afzal Guru are called traitors, the party asked what
Paricharak should be called. hindustantimes
Jats protest:, warn of
Parliament siege next
New Delhi: Several
thousand Jats from various states held a rally at Jantar Mantar here on
Thursday to press their demands, and announced they would intensify their stir
in Delhi, even laying siege to Parliament on March 20.Several demonstrators
were detained after they tried to break through police barricades on Parliament
Street.IANS
From Dadri To Kansas,
Countering the Politics of Hate:Mohan J Dutta, professor, in Singapore
Are Authorities Trying to
Undermine Victim of Gujarat ‘Sex Racket’ Involving BJP Leaders? The Wire
Narendra Modi’s Silence on
Kansas Shooting Speaks Volumes:RUCHIRA SEN
GDP growth: It feels like
our govt has taken lessons from the
Soviet Union in massaging data:Girish Shahane
PM Modi’s ‘Harvard’ dig at
Amartya Sen: Here’s what the economist said about govt
WORLD
US threatens to withdraw
from UN human rights body for criticising Israel
Trump administration is
apparently considering quitting the UN Human Rights Council because of its
critical stance towards Israel.US officials are thought to be weighing their
membership of the UN human rights body with an eye to reform and balance its
agenda and end what they believe is the forum’s “obsession with Israel”.Reuters
reported comments by the US’ deputy assistant secretary of state, Erin Barclay,
telling members of the UN HRC: “In order for this Council to have any
credibility, let alone success, it must move away from its unbalanced and
unproductive positions.”“As we consider our future engagements, my govt will be considering the Council’s actions with
an eye toward reform to more fully achieve the Council’s mission to protect and
promote human rights,” said Barclay. The Council’s next session is scheduled
for Monday, and the administration is not expected to pull out of the council
before that. middleeastmonitor
Netanyahu says he urged White
House to pull US from UNHRC: Israeli paper
PM Benjamin Netanyahu said
he suggested to the White House that the US cut its ties with the UNHRC,
according to a recording of a meeting he held with Israeli lawmakers.The
administration, it was reported Wednesday, is reviewing its participation in
the human rights body over the forum's "obsession with Israel", a
senior US official said. "I raised this issue and also raised the
question of whether the US should remain in the UNHRC," Netanyahu told
Likud lawmakers in the recording of a meeting on Monday.Netanyahu was then
asked by a fellow lawmaker if it was wise to leave the UN council to its own
devices, to which he answered: "It's better to leave and delegitimize
these organizations." haaretz
Israel has begun dividing
Al-Aqsa: OIC
Jerusalem:Israel has begun
partitioning East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque complex with a view to creating a
prayer space for Jewish worshippers, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
warned.“The placement of a glass room inside the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa
Mosque complex is a first step toward the spatial division of the mosque,”
Ahmad al-Ruwaidhi, the OIC’s representative in Palestine, said.The move, he
asserted, “follows the imposition of a temporal division [by Israel] in the
form of daily incursions [into Al-Aqsa] by Jewish settlers”. What’s more, the
move reveals “Israel’s intention to dedicate a place for Talmudic rituals
inside the Al-Haram al-Sharif,” al-Ruwaidhi said, using the Arabic term for the
Al-Aqsa Mosque. He also warned of the dangers posed by Israeli excavations that
are reportedly being carried out under the holy site.AA
Ex-Nigerian minister Amina
sworn in as UN Deputy Secretary-General
Amina Mohammed, the new
Deputy Secretary-General, has said that Security Council reform is a priority
for the world body.“Security Council reform is a critical part of what we do in
the next few years and somehow we have to balance that if we are to address the
(conflict) prevention agenda,” Mohammed told the media after being sworn in on
Tuesday.She was answering a reporter’s question if she considered reforming the
Council to make it more representative a part of her mandate to work for the
overall reform of the UN.India has invested heavily in Council reforms and is
lobbying for a permanent seat on the body. She is a former Environment Minister
of Nigeria, was appointed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the second
highest job at the UN. IANS
Egypt arrests 9 Brotherhood
leaders accused of revolt plot
Cairo:Egyptian authorities
arrested 9 leaders of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group on charges that
they belong to a terrorist organization and were plotting to overthrow the
govt, authorities said.The detained include Abdel-Rahman el-Morsi, a
Brotherhood leader and member of group’s Guidance Office, the Supreme State
Security Prosecution said, adding that the men were now under investigation.The
arrests come a day after Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry began a visit to
Washington to strengthen such ties with new administration. He briefed
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Egypt’s “gradual” reform program, which
Shoukry’s office described in a statement as aiming to “preserve the society’s
stability in order to successfully complete the democratic transition process.”
Shoukry also met US NSA Lt. General H R McMaster on Monday. Later yesterday, a
Cairo court sentenced four defendants to prison involved with soccer fan
organizations known as “Ultras” to prison for “incitement against the state.”
One of the defendants, Abdel-Rahman al-Qaradawi, was given five years for
disseminating “false news,” damaging the country’s interests and disturbing
peace and security.” AP/PTI
US mosques get threatening
letters calling for ‘slaughter of Muslims’
Washington Dc:Two mosques
in the US state of Maryland have received threatening letters calling for the
‘slaughter of Muslims’, in apparent hate crime incidents. Two Islamic centres
in Silver Spring, Maryland, received violent threats by mail. The president of
the Islamic Education Society discovered an envelope inside a mailbox on Monday
containing a threatening note, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said.
Police said this incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime. The
faithful at the mosque are still reeling after the terrifying message was
dropped in their mailbox.PTI
Descendants of Slaves,
Forerunners of Justice: American Muslims Must Stop Apologizing:Ramzy Baroud
UN: Both sides committed
war crimes in Syria's Aleppo
Both sides in last year's
battle for Syria's Aleppo city committed war crimes, including a
"deliberate" bombing of a humanitarian convoy by the Syrian govt,according
to a new UN investigation. UN Commission of Inquiry's report released on Wednesday
said Syrian govt and allied Russian forces "pervasively used"
unguided munitions to bomb densely populated areas in rebel-held eastern Aleppo
between July and its fall on Dec. 22, amounting to the war crime of
indiscriminate attacks. aljazeera
Iraq civilians killed after
Mosul mosque airstrike
A number of civilians and
suspected Daesh members were killed in an attack that hit a mosque that was
being attended by residents and damaged neighbouring houses in the west of the
Iraqi city of Mosul yesterday, 3 residents said. middleeastmonitor
Sudan gets PM for first
time in 28 years
For the first time in 28
years, Sudan has a PM, presidential assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud.Bakri Hassan
Saleh was appointed to the post by President. middleeastmonitor
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:56 PM)
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