NEWS
DIGEST, MID-DAY
13 Sept. 2018: 02 Muhram 1440:
Vol: 11, No:02
INDIA
BJP has links to incidents of violence against
SCs, Muslims, tribals; UNHRC special rapporteur's report
New Delhi: E Tendayi Achiume, the special
rapporteur appointed by United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in her
report on 'Contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia',
has said that BJP has been linked to incidents of violence against members of
the Scheduled Castes (SC), Muslim, tribals and Christian communities. She has
mentioned that reports have documented the use of inflammatory remarks by BJP
leaders against minority groups, and the rise of vigilantism targeting Muslims
and SCs. Her report also mentioned a letter sent in May 2018 to the Govt of
India by the special rapporteur concerning the updating of National Register of
Citizens (NRC) in which attention was drawn towards heightened concerns of
Bengali Muslim minority.The special rapporteur mentioned several examples in
her report that were drawn from different sources, including submissions
received by her in response to the call for input for the present report. Referring
to racist, xenophobic violence, hate crimes and hate speech, the report pointed
out instances of several countries where politicians in the government have
made racist and xenophobic statements.About India, the report said: "In
India, the election of the Hindu nationalist BJP has been linked to incidents
of violence against members of Dalit, Muslim, tribal and Christian communities.
Reports document the use of inflammatory remarks by BJP leaders against
minority groups, and the rise of vigilantism targeting Muslims and Dalits"
while quoting HRW submission to the Human Rights Council universal periodic
review of India. While talking about institutionalisation of structural and
other forms of exclusion, the report mentioned that "nationalist populist
parties" in some places have implemented administrative and other rules
leading to the exclusion of minority groups from official citizen registries on
the basis of claims that they are irregular migrants, notwithstanding evidence
showing that they are entitled to citizenship. The special rapporteur on
contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance is an independent human rights expert appointed by UNHRC.ANI
BJP leaders target minorities, contribute to
vigilantism: UN human rights expert
Sc should act on misuse of Nsa against Muslims,
Dalits in UP: activists
New Delhi:Framing of Muslims and Dalits under NSA
since BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh in March 2017 has met severe criticism
from civil rights activists. They have put hard questions before state
machinery led by CM Yogi Adityanath. Activists alleged that NSA is being used
as a “political tool” to turn the state into a “police state” and termed the arrest
of several people under NSA as “Extra Judicial Detention”. Saying that
“executive authorities of the state are challenging the Supreme Courts
directions”, they urged that the Apex court must take “suo moto cognisance of
the rampant misuse of NSA” in the BJP-ruled state.Rajeev Yadav from Rihai
Manch, an eminent civil rights group based in Lucknow, said that through NSA
vulnerable sections of the society such as Muslims and Dalits have been
targeted despite the accused persons were granted bail by the competent
courts.“It is against Supreme Court directions that if bail has been granted to
the accused person, NSA can’t be imposed on him. It means court is giving bail
but police is saying the person is a
threat to national security. So is it Democratic Indian state or Police state?”
asked Yadav.Questioning the stretching of such cases for a year, he said, “On
upcoming 2nd Nov, Chandrashekhar Azad’s (Bhim Army Chief) arrest under NSA will
complete one year and some other cases too.” Human rights activist Nadeem Khan
from United Against Hate (UAH) campaign said that NSA is connected with the
large number of encounters carried out in UP over last one and half year of BJP
government in the state. “Mostly, NSA was imposed by state police just after
the arrested person got bail from the court and deposit of bail bond. Means
this is extra judicial detention. It also shows that how executive authorities
of UP are challenging Supreme Court. So far 197 people have been put behind
bars under NSA in this period and most of them are Muslim, Yadav and Dalit that
shows a political discrimination,”Khan said.Navaid Hamid, head of All India
Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat said that growing number of detentions under NSA is
“misuse” of the law to create hatred amongst various communities by BJP and
RSS.“The whole agenda of the state government is to create an atmosphere of
animosity, hatred amongst communities within the state. It is the part of
larger conspiracy of Sangh Parivar to demonise the Muslim community and target
all others including Dalits who have awakened and are resisting the policy of
suppression,” he said.Caravan Daily
Jaitley’s meeting with Mallya lasted over 15
minutes, check CCTV footage: Congress
New Delhi :Congress president Rahul Gandhi today
accused Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of colluding with fugitive business
tycoon Vijay Mallya, claiming there was evidence of the two meeting in
Parliament for over 15 minutes. “He (Jaitley) had not informed ED, CBI. What
does it mean? He has to explain why when a criminal has told him he is running
away to London, he has done nothing,” Gandhi said, addressing a press
conference at the party headquarters.On Wednesday, Mallya claimed that he had
met Jaitley in Parliament before leaving the country in 2016. Mallya also said
he had offered to settle bank loans. Jaitley has rubbished the claims.Also at
the press conference, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP PL Punia alleged that
he saw Mallya meeting Jaitley in Parliament on March 1, adding that the meeting
lasted for about 15 minutes first at a corridor and then at Central Hall.
Punia’s charge contradicts that of Jaitley who on Wednesday claimed he snubbed
Mallya and did not engage in a conversation with him.Punia further claimed
records would show that Mallya signed in the attendance register on March 1, 2016.
“On 1st March 2016, when I was in Central Hall of Parliament House, I witnessed
Jaitley and Mallya talking discretely. On 3rd March, we heard from media that
he fled the country on 2nd March,2016…Bring out CCTV footage of
Parliament complex. Let’s see who has spoken the truth. Either I will quit
politics or he will have to,”Punia said.indianexpress
Did BJP MP Swamy hint at Jaitley’s role in Mallya’s
escape in June?
Liquor baron Vijay Mallya may have dropped a
bombshell by directly naming Arun Jaitley on Wednesday, but BJP MP Subramanian
Swamy had hinted at the finance ministry’s role way back in June this year. Taking
to Twitter, Swamy had written that Mallya had met someone ‘powerful,’ who had
managed to change ‘Look Out Notice for him at airports’ to just ‘reporting his
departure.’ Swamy had tweeted, “Mallya could not escape from India because of a
strong Look Out Notice for him at airports. He then came to Delhi and met
someone who was powerful enough to change the Notice from blocking his
departure to just reporting his departure. Who was that person who dilute this
LON?” Swamy’s old tweet went viral moments after Mallya’s comments began to be
reported.Even Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal retweeted his old tweet on Wednesday
evening. As for Swamy, he repeated the content of his claims made in June and
tweeted once again on Wednesday, “I learn from my sources that the Lookout
Notice issued by CBI for Mallya was modified from “Block Departure” to “Report
Departure” on Oct. 24, 2015 on orders from someone in MoF. Who?”jantakareporter
Who downgraded look out circular against Mallya
& why?
New Delhi :A downgraded look out circular
(LOC) issued against beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya almost 3 years ago
has come back to haunt the government with the Kingfisher Airlines owner
claiming that he met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving the country
for good in March 2016. Congress President Rahul Gandhi has alleged collusion
on part of the government in downgrade of LOC against Mallya and demanded
Jaitley’s resignation. Jaitley has denied having had any formal meeting with
Mallya who he says met him briefly in Parliament and was advised to talk to
bankers. So, who downgraded the LoC against Vijay Mallya and why? CBI
registered a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy against Mallya on July 29,
2015 following nationwide uproar over loan defaults by Kingfisher Airlines. FIR
was filed based on “source information” as no bank had approached the agency
with a complaint against Mallya.On Oct.16,2015,CBI sent an LoC request to the
immigration authorities asking them to detain Mallya, who was then in the UK,
on arrival. On Nov.23, immigration authorities informed CBI that Mallya was
arriving next day.Curiously, CBI now asked immigration authorities to downgrade
his LoC from “detain” to “inform” on arrival. CBI sources say the agency did so
because it realised that if he was detained, the agency would have to arrest
him and at that time it did not have enough evidence to arrest him. “We were
still in the initial stage of the probe. All documents had not been obtained.
No bank had even approached us with a complaint till then. We believed that
Mallya would cooperate better with the probe if he was not arrested,” a CBI
officer said. Mallya indeed cooperated briefly. Following his return to India,
CBI questioned him on Dec.9, 10 and 11. Notably, after the dilution of his LOC,
Mallya had left for London again on Dec.1 and returned to India on Dec.7, just
before his interrogation.Following this, Mallya again left for the UK on Dec 23
and returned on Feb 2. He made another trip a few days later to London in Feb
and returned.Yet, this is exactly what Mallya did on March 2. He left for
London and has been there since, now facing a case of extradition which is
scheduled to be decided on Dec 10.indianexpress
Gogoi appointed as new Chief Justice of India
New Delhi :President Ram Nath Kovind has
appointed Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the next Chief Justice of India, law ministry
notification confirmed on Thursday. Taking the baton from CJI Dipak Misra,
Justice Gogoi will assume office on October 3, 2018, as the 46th CJI. His
tenure will end in Nov.2019.CJI Misra on Sept.4 had recommended Justice Ranjan
Gogoi, the senior most judge present in the Supreme Court, as his successor.
The recommendation was processed to President Kovind to issue the warrant of
appointment, which was confirmed on Thursday.Earlier, Union Law Minister Ravi
Shankar had said that government’s intention on the appointment of the next CJI
should not be questioned and that the executive would take a call.indianexpress
Verdict on Ayodhya before CJI Misra retires?
No, say court clocks
CJI Dipak Misra, who retires on Oct.2, has
heard and reserved judgment on many important matters till now. This includes
the recent verdict de-criminalising homosexuality. The appeal against the 2010
Allahabad HC judgment verdict is without doubt one of the most high-profile
matters pending in the top court, but it is not likely to be decided anytime
soon. The issue before CJI’s bench is more basic. The Sunni Waqf Board has
argued that the Allahabad HC judgment, which split the property into three
shares, is based on a 1994 constitutional bench judgment titled ‘Ismail
Faruqui’ where the majority view of the judges was that “a mosque is not an
essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam...”. Appearing for the
Waqf Board then, senior advocate Rajiv Dhavan had said that whether a mosque
was integral to the practice of Islam (or not) should be decided by a
seven-member constitutional bench, larger than the 1994 bench which had five
judges.Justice Misra will not get to decide the appeals against the Allahabad
HC verdict before he retires. One reason is that the only point before the CJI
and judges Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer—the three are part of a bench
constituted by Justice J.S. Khehar last year—right now is whether the basis of
the Allahabad HC ruling should go to a Constitution bench.outlookindia
Saints to hold meet on Ayodhya issue, VHP to
attend gathering
New Delhi:A high-powered steering committee of
Hindu saints called the Ucchadhikar Samiti will meet in Delhi in the first week
of October to draft an action plan for the construction of a Ram temple in
Ayodhya even as it becomes clear that the legal route will not immediately
facilitate this . According to functionaries in the VHP, an offshoot of the
RSS, there is “disappointment” that a legal decision on the contentious issues
is “unlikely” to be announced anytime soon; and the saints have now been mandated
to come up with an alternate plan of action. VHP had pinned its hopes on the
Supreme Court delivering a judgment that would be “acceptable to all
sections.”“There was expectation that the outgoing chief justice would deliver
a judgment before he demits office on Oct.2; with that unlikely to happen, it
has been decided to let the saints take a call,” said a functionary who asked
not to be identified. That’s because, in the course of arguments, the three
judge bench headed by the chief justice that is hearing the case first decided
to see whether a five-judge bench should consider whether a mosque is integral
to Islam (as ruled by the apex court itself in 1994). The actual title dispute
will be heard later. While VHP functionaries will attend the Oct.meeting, there
is no confirmation on whether RSS functionaries will be present for the
decision-making process.HT
Gurugram mosque sealed: Mosque structure
‘singled out’, says Nagrik Ekta Manch team
Gurugram:A day after Municipal Corporation of
Gurugram (MCG) sealed a mosque in Sheetla Mata Colony in Gurugram, a Gurgaon
Nagrik Ekta Manch team visited the area on Thursday and said that it was an
obvious case of the structure being “singled out” for action.Independent
filmmaker Rahul Roy, who visited the colony along with half-a-dozen members of
the organisation, said there was construction going on around the mosque, but
the MCG did not initiate action against them and it was, therefore, an
“obvious” case of the religious structure being singled out for sealing. Mr.
Roy said that earlier as well the administration had informally shut down
several open spaces for offering Namaz in the city, and now they sealed the
mosque after a controversy erupted over it a week ago. “Since the
administration could do it under the garb of action against illegal
construction, they planned to do it,” said Roy.He added that it would only
embolden the Hindu outfits and create an atmosphere where they can cry about
anything and get it done. Roy said the organisation members meet in the evening
to decide the future course of action.Meanwhile, a large number of Muslims
continued to sit on “dharna” outside the mosque as a mark of protest against
the sealing. Wajid Khan Nehru Yuva Sangathan Welfare Society chairman Hazid
Shahzad Khan said the community members would give a memorandum to Deputy
Commissioner on the issue.The members of Sanyukt Hindu Sangarsh Samiti,
conglomeration of local units of right-wing outfits, held a meeting during the
day to welcome the action taken by the administration and demanded that holding
of “dharna” near the sealed structure be not allowed as it could disturb the
peace in the area. thehindu
Protests spread as civic body seals mosque in
Gurugram
ASI: Coins at Delhi’s Khirki mosque from Sher
Shah, Lodi time
New Delhi:Coins found at the Khirki mosque
belong to Sher Shah’s time and the Lodi dynasty, an official from Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI) said. Over 250 copper coins were discovered by ASI
earlier this week in a clay pot, on the premises of Khirki Mosque during the
course of conservation of the monument.ASI (Delhi Circle) had taken up the task
of cleaning the mosque during which 254 coins were discovered near its
entrance, Ministry of Culture said on Wednesday. The mosque lies on the
southern periphery of the village Khirki in the capital. It was built by
Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, the Prime Minister of Firoz Shah Tughluq (1351-88),
and is believed to be one of the seven mosques built by him.“A few coins were
cleaned by ASI experts and on the basis of preliminary observation, the coins
are found to be from the reign of Sher Shah Suri (1540-1545) and his
successors. Some of them even belong to the Lodi dynasty that ruled the Delhi
Sultanate from 1451 to 1526,”said NK Pathak, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI.A
team of archaeologists, consternation assistant and photographers took
possession of coins.indianexpress
Maharashtra: Parbhani court acquits 2 in 2004
Purna masjid blast case
Aurangabad: The court of additional sessions
judge BV Kashyap in Parbhani on Tuesday acquitted two Nanded residents accused
in the 2004 Purna masjid blast case for want of sufficient evidence. The blast,
which occurred during Friday prayers at the Merajul-uloom masjid in Parbhani
district, left 37 people injured. In 2009, a Parbhani court had discharged
Rakesh Dhavade, a Pune-based collector of antique arms, of charges under
various sections of IPC and Explosives Act in the same case for want of
sufficient evidence. Aurangabad ATS had arrested Dhavade in the case in 2008
and the two men acquitted on Tuesday - Sanjay Chaudhary and Gururaj Tuptewar-
in 2006. Parbhani district govt pleader Deepak Ganjapurkar said, "We are
considering filing an appeal against the verdict."TOI
Gauri Lankesh murder: Maharashtra ATS takes
custody of 2 accused
Mumbai: Maharashtra ATS took custody of two
accused arrested for the 2017 Gauri Lankesh murder case in order to interrogate
them in connection with the alleged plot to conduct disruptive activities in
Maharashta.ATS has since Aug.10 arrested eight people for allegedly planning to
conduct attacks at various locations in the State, including the Sunburn festival
in Pune.A large cache of arms, ammunition and explosives has been recovered
from the accused.According to ATS sources, the agency got custody of Lankesh
murder accused Bharat Khurne and Sujeet Kumar from SIT on Sept.12. “Interrogation
of the accused arrested earlier indicated that Mr. Khurne and Mr. Kumar also
received training in handling arms and explosives along with them. We need to
find out if, apart from the Gauri Lankesh murder, they also had an active role
in any other crimes linked to the outfit,” an ATS officer said.thehindu
Bhima Koregaon Violence: Pune Police Deny
Appointing Fact-Finding Committee
Mumbai: Pune rural police on Wednesday issued
a public notice refuting claims made by a section of the media and said it had
never set up a committee of civil society and anti-caste activists to look into
the causes behind the violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon near Pune on
Jan.1.The notice came days after a few media houses reported that inspector
general of police (Kolhapur range) Vishwas Nangre-Patil had set up a committee
whose findings pulled up the police for their alleged inaction during the
violence against the Bahujan masses gathered at Bhima Koregaon. The report said
that the violence was orchestrated by two Brahmin Hindutva leaders Milind Ekbote
and Manohar alias Sambhaji Bhide.While it turns out that a ten-member committee
had visited the spot and compiled a report, the members have now clarified that
it was not compiled in an “official capacity”, but was part of their “social
commitment”. 10 members included lawyers, anti-caste activists and politicians
working across Maharashtra. Pune city’s deputy mayor Siddharth Dhende, also an
RPI (Athawale) leader, had headed the committee. Advocate Rahul Makhare, who
was part of the fact-finding team, told The Wire that the report was an outcome
of a meeting that was arranged with Nangre-Patil on Jan.9. “At the meeting, it
was decided that a group of activists would cooperate with the police and
ensure justice is done to the Dalit Bahujans who were attacked while on their
way to Bhima Koregaon. A few of us then came together and also conducted a
fact-finding exercise and compiled the report,” Makhare said.thewire
UP Police arrest Assamese man on charges of
being Hizbul operative
Lucknow:UP police on Thursday claimed to have
arrested from Kanpur an Assamese youth on charges of being am alleged operative
of the Kashmir-based militant organisation Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. The police said
the suspect, who was reported missing earlier this year, was planning to carry
out a attack in UP during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.Identified as
Kamar-uz-Zama, the suspect was nabbed from the Chakeri area of Kanpur by a team
of the UP ATS with inputs from the NIA, said the UP ATS.Uttar Pradesh DGP O.P
Singh, who briefed media on the arrest, said the suspect had first surfaced in
April this year after a photo of him flaunting an AK47 rifle with his code name
was posted on social media and widely shared.ATS said they found in his phone a
video in which he is conducting recce of a temple in Kanpur.Kamar is a resident
of Jamunamukh in Hojai district of Assam.As per the police, he has a diploma in
typing and computers and had failed to clear his B.A. third-year exams.the
hindu
2 militants killed, 8 security men injured in
J&K encounter
Srinagar:2 Jaish-e-Mohammed militants have
been killed in an operation against hiding militants in a forest area in
Jammu’s Katra today. 8 security personnel, including a police officer, were
injured in the gunfight. 5 CRPF personnel and 3 policemen, including DSP Mohan
Lal, were injured during the operation, police said. They were admitted to the
Narayana hospital in Katra.Three militants travelling in a truck fled into the
forests after they were intercepted on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway on Wednesday
morning. Since then the security forces sealed the area and launched a combing
operation. Schools were closed in the area too. A contact was established in
the morning when the militants were spotted hiding inside a house and later
fanned out in the forest area, close to the Srinagar-Jammu national highway,
police said. thehindu
Srinagar businessman gets bail in Kashmir
terror funding case
New Delhi :Delhi High Court Thursday granted
bail to Srinagar businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, who was arrested in
connection with the NIA’s probe into an alleged terror funding case. A bench of
Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Vinod Goel granted Watali bail and asked him
to furnish a personal bail bond of Rs two lakh, with two sureties of a similar
amount. Watali had challenged the trial court’s June 8 order rejecting his bail
plea.Watali, arrested on August 17 last year, was chargesheeted by NIA on
January 18 along with Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, 7 Kashmiri separatist
leaders and others for allegedly trying to create unrest in the Kashmir Valley.
They were chargesheeted under stringent anti-terror laws for allegedly hatching
a conspiracy with Saeed and Salahuddin to wage a war against India to secede
Kashmir.indianexpress
‘Maulana Azad National Urdu University V-C Dr Aslam
Parvaiz bans Chancellor Firoz Bakht’s entry’
Hyderabad: Firoz Bakht Ahmed, newly appointed
Chancellor of MANUU ((Maulana Azad National Urdu University) has stated to the
media and also on his Facebook page that Vice Chancellor, Dr. Aslam Parvaiz has
restricted his entry in the MANUU campus. The reason, Bakht says is that VC
does not like the reforms initiated by him.Firoz Bakht claims that the
university is in a very sorry state and badly needs reformations in not one but
many aspects. And accordingly, Bakht in the capacity of Chancellor had tried to initiate setting up of “Maulana
Azad Center for Composite Culture and Progressive Studies”,“Model Madrasa”,
“Center for Empowerment of Muslim Women”,“Course for the Development of Legal
Vocabulary and Legal Consciousness in Urdu” and constructive seminars on a
variety of topics.But, says Chancellor, Parvaiz did not like these reforms and
tried to create hurdles in his path. Taking serious note of this rude behavior
on the part of the VC, Firoz Bakht Ahmed wrote a letter to Parvaiz reprimanding
him and reminding him that as chancellor he has unlimited powers whereas, he,
the vice chancellor has limitations and hence has no authority to stop him from
entering the Urdu university or making any reform that is for the betterment of
the students.When contacted Dr. Parvaiz, he responded simply, “I am sorry I do
not believe in taking internal issues to the media while all Central
Universities have proper Redressal mechanism even for Chancellor. Hence I have
no comments to offer for public consumptions”.TCN
Bihar: Communal clash erupts after
motorcyclists thrashed for carrying meat
A clash erupted between members of two communities
in this town of Bihar’s Rohtas district Wednesday after two motorcyclists were
allegedly thrashed by a mob for carrying meat, police said.According to Sub
Divisional Police Officer, Dehri, Mohd Anwar Javed Ansari, the trouble began
when a crowd stopped the 2 motorcyclists in Akodhigola locality, while they
were carrying meat for sale in Nasriganj area.The motorcycle-borne youths –
Noor Mohammad and Mohammad Shakeel – were severely thrashed and their vehicle
was damaged by the mob, SDPO said in a statement.A police party rushed to the
spot, took the two youths to a hospital and seized the damaged motorcycle.The
police said Thursday they are yet to make any arrests.Meanwhile, some locals
objected to an insignia relating to Muharram been put up at a temple nearby and
tried to remove it.This resulted in a full-blown clash between members of two
communities, following which police used batons to quell the rampaging mobs,
the SDPO said.PTI
Health Ministry bans manufacturing,sale,distribution
of 328 drugs including popular painkiller Saridon
Union
Ministry of Health has banned manufacturing, sale and distribution of 328
fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) of drugs with immediate effect. The ministry
also restricted manufacturing, sale and distribution of 6 other medicines with
certain conditions. Banned medicines also include some popular medicines and
painkillers including Saridon.Earlier, the Ministry of Health had banned 344
FDCs under section 26 A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act in 2017. Putting an end
to the years-long battle the government today banned manufacturing, distribution
and sale of 328 fixed-dose combinations. In 2017, the Supreme Court had
directed the Drug Technical Advisory Board to examine the matter and submit the
report. “The Drugs Technical Advisory Board recommended, amongst other things,
that there is no therapeutic justification for the ingredients contained in 328
FDCs and that these FDCs may involve risk to human beings. The Board
recommended that it is necessary to prohibit the manufacture, sale or
distribution of these FDCs under section 26 A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act,
1940 in the larger public interest,” informed the health ministry. newsx
Painkillers, anti-diabetes medicines: Govt
bans manufacture, sale of 328 combination drugs
Owaisi urges EC to hold early polls in
Telangana; says state Muslims far more secure than in North
Even as a 6-member team of Election Commission
officials arrived in Hyderabad on Wednesday, to assess the conditions in the
state for holding assembly polls, MIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi told ET that he
has urged the autonomous constitutional body to conduct elections "as
early as possible and in a single phase.'Telangana is all set for early
elections after CM and TRS Chief K Chandrasekhar Rao recommended the
dissolution of the state Assembly, 9 months before it was scheduled to complete
its full-term, and at a time when arch rivals Congress and TDP have agreed, in
principle, to form an alliance against the ruling party in the state."Why
should the state be under a caretaker government for (so) long, when the
Supreme Court itself has said that the EC is duty bound to hold elections in a
state when the Assembly is dissolved before its term got over? What Mr Rao has
done is within the confines of the Constitution. Political parties have to be
prepared for elections whenever they come,"Owaisi said, adding,"In
2014, in Telangana, single phase elections were held, and now there is neither
immediate Lok Sabha polls or assembly elections in neighbouring states.The
excuses of festivals that the parties that are making, shows they are afraid to
face the masses."Owaisi added that KCR, on the other hand, has been
benevolent to minorities,and "has set an example in administration,"
and that reports of his growing proximity with PM Narendra Modi did not affect Muslims
of Telangana. ET
Madras HC stays GO mandating 50% Minority
Reservation in State Minority Institutions
Madras High Court has stayed the Tamil Nadu
govt’s move to make it mandatory for minority institutions to take in a minimum
of 50 percent students every year from the minority community they claim to
represent. A Govt Order (GO) issued to this effect last April has been
challenged in a writ petition filed by the Institute of Franciscan Missionaries
of Mary, a Christian society which runs a number of minority educational
institutions in Tamil Nadu. With respect to the minority schools run by the
petitioner, it has been argued that it is unreasonable to expect Christian
students to comprise 50 percent of the total admitted students, when the percentage
of Christians only comprise 6.1 percent of the population in Tamil Nadu.The
petition points out that this problem would arise with respect to other
minority institutions as well.Govt’s evaluation of the minority status of an
institution based on the number of minority students has itself been
challenged. The petition was admitted earlier this week by Justice SS Sundar,
who also proceeded to pass an order of interim stay, noting that the conditions
imposed in the GO were impractical.The order states,“This Court satisfies that
prima facie, it is impossible for admitting not less than 50% of students,
belonging to Minority Community in Petitioner-Institution, which has been
declared as Minority institution. Hence, there shall be an order of interim
stay for a period two weeks.”barandbench.com
WORLD
Saudi buys Iron Dome defence system from
Israel
Saudi Arabia is reported to have purchased the
Iron Dome missile defence system from Israel signaling a rapprochement between
the two countries, according to several diplomatic sources quoted in Al-Khaleej
Online. Saudi Arabia not only wants political convergence with Israel, said the
sources, but also seeks to reach a level where it publically purchases heavy
and developed weapons from Tel Aviv like the UAE does.Israeli-Saudi relations
are the best they have ever been. Chief of staff of the Israeli army, General
Gadi Eisenkot, recently said in an interview with the British-based Saudi Elaph
newspaper that Israel was prepared to share intelligence with Saudi side in
order to counter Iran’s influence. Moreover, a former senior official in the
Israeli army revealed that he had recently had two meetings with two prominent
Saudi emirs, who confirmed that Israel was no longer an enemy of Saudi
Arabia.The sources confirmed that Saudi Arabia has recently convinced Israel
through very strong mediation by the US during secret tripartite meetings in
Washington to sell it its advanced Iron Dome system.middleeastmonitor
Israel demolishes new Palestinian village, Al-Ahmar
Under cover of darkness, Israeli soldiers
conducted a 5am raid on the Bedouin Palestinian village of Khan Al-Ahmar and
demolished five new structures built nearby, confiscating building tools and
materials.Khan Al-Ahmar, in the central West Bank governorate of Jerusalem, is
under imminent threat of demolition following a decade-long battle to save the
homes and land of its 180 residents. Just three days ago, around a hundred
activists built the new structures overnight just metres from Khan Al-Ahmar,
naming the new site Wadi Al-Ahmar and raising the Palestinian flag in defiance
of Israel’s colonisation policies. The villagers had hoped to move to Wadi
Al-Ahmar if the demolition proceeds.On Sept.5, the Israeli High Court denied a
petition filed on behalf of the residents of Khan al-Ahmar requesting that
Israeli authorities cease their plans to demolish the village and forcibly
evict the residents, saying that the injunction preventing the demolition would
lapse within seven days.middleeastmonitor
New tool maps connections between US, Israeli
state violence in users’ local community
A new resource for US-based Palestine
solidarity activists was launched yesterday, providing a search engine that
maps the connections between US and Israeli state violence in users’ local
community.The new search engine, called “Palestine is Here”, was announced in a
statement by the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), whose member group
Researching the American-Israeli Alliance (RAIA) is behind the project.Along
with the searchable database, RAIA also released “a new research report for the
Deadly Exchange campaign, tracing the dangerous consequences of 16 years of
Israeli training of US law enforcement”.According to the US Campaign, the new
tool “traces deadly exchanges of law enforcement between the US and
Israel—including ICE agents and local police—that contribute to state violence
across Palestine, in our streets, and at our borders”.MEMO
Archbishop of Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
Hanna: Palestinians will not surrender to Trump
Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
in Jerusalem Atalla Hanna said yesterday that US pressure on Palestinians,
which reached its peak in the latest “oppressive” series of decisions aimed to
“liquidate” the Palestinian cause will not achieve Israel’s hopes.Safa news
agency reported Hanna saying: “The American President Donald Trump has made an
incorrect evaluation when he thought that the Palestinian cause is up for sale
in an auction and that it is possible to erase the right of return. This is
crazy.”Hanna added: “The deal of the century will not pass at the expense of
the Palestinians. After 25 years of the absurd so-called peacef negotiations,
the Palestinians have become more aware of the danger of the conspiracies being
plotted to liquidate their cause.” He said, “It is not the US president or his
allies who decide the fate of the Palestinians. There is no political power in
the world that is able to abolish our existence or erase Palestine from the
map. The Palestinians have never authorised anyone to concede or sell their
rights.”middleeastmonitor
Rebels in Idlib's cities should leave:UN
commission
A UN commission has said rebel groups in
Syria's Idlib province should leave urban areas to protect civilians from a
looming government assault."Most of those terrorist groups and other armed
groups, they are in the cities. Perhaps one wonderful scenario is: leave the
cities," said UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria chief Paulo Pinheiro.Hany
Magally, a fellow panel member, said: "Shouldn't the armed groups move out
and spare the civilian population?"The proposal comes after the United
Nations' peace envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, last week suggested a
deadline be set for fighters in Idlib to pull back from its cities.UN agencies
and relief organisations have warned repeatedly that any major assault on the
province of Idlib, which borders Turkey, could spark one of the worst
humanitarian disasters of Syria's seven-year war.UN chief Antonio Guterres
warned on Tuesday that a full-scale battle in Idlib "would unleash a
humanitarian nightmare unlike any seen in the blood-soaked Syrian conflict".Idlib
and adjacent areas are largely controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, alliance led
by al-Qaeda's ex Syrian affiliate,as well as rival rebels. HTS controls provincial
capital, Idlib city.middleeasteye
Erdogan decree bans foreign currency property
sales
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
ordered by decree that property agreements must be made in Turkish lira, in a
new bid to prop up the country's beleaguered currency.In the decision published
in Turkey's official gazette on Thursday, Erdogan ruled that contracts for the
sale, rent and leasing of property in or indexed to foreign currencies would
not be allowed. Current agreements in foreign currencies must be changed within
30 days, it said.Rental and sale agreements are often conducted in foreign
currencies in the retail sector and also to foreigners living in Turkey, AFP
reported.There may be exceptions decided by the treasury and finance ministry -
headed since July by Erdogan's son-in-law and former energy minister, Berat
Albayrak - the decree added.Later on Thursday, Turkey's central bank increased
its one-week repo interest rate to 24%from 17.75%.middleeasteye
Chinese official says China is educating, not
mistreating, Muslims
China is not mistreating Muslims in Xinjiang province
but is putting some people through training courses to avoid extremism
spreading, unlike Europe which had failed to deal with the problem, a Chinese
official told reporters on Thursday.Reports of mass detentions of ethnic
Uighurs and other ethnic Muslims in China’s far western region have prompted a
growing international outcry, prompting Trump administration to consider
sanctions against officials and companies linked to allegations of human rights
abuses.“It is not mistreatment,” said Li Xiaojun, director for publicity at the
Bureau of Human Rights Affairs of State Council Information Office. “What China
is doing is to establish professional training centres, educational
centres.”Reuters
FLASH VIEWS & NEWS
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code showcases an
NDA syndrome: Policies implemented without analysis:Kapil Sibal
3 yrs after the murder of Akhlaq, there is no
remorse in his village: Tavleen Singh
Law panel’s recommendations on personal law
are selective, ill-judged:Tahir Mahmood
Sofiya Khatun, Declared a Foreigner, Set to Walk
Free After SC Grants Bail;Tarique Anwar
There is a need to combat Bhagwat’s kind of
sectarian Hinduism:Ram Puniyani
'They Cut My Throat': 'Jaish Suspect' Alleges
Torture By J&K Security Forces:Muhammad Raafi,
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Anwarulhaq (Released at: 6:56 PM)
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