NEWS
DIGEST, Afternoon
14 Nov. 2018:05 Rabiul-I 1440:
Vol: 11, No:54
INDIA
SC reserves order on petitions seeking
court-monitored probe into Rafale deal
New Delhi:The Supreme Court today reserved its
judgment on pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the procurement of 36
Rafale fighter jets from France.A Bench comprising CJI Ranjan Gogoi and
Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph perused the pricing details submitted by govt in
a sealed cover.The initial arguments were commenced by advocate Manohar Lal
Sharma, who told the court that the Inter-Government Agreement was “illegal”
and sought an investigation in the matter. Besides Sharma, another lawyer
Vineet Dhanda has also filed a plea in the matter.Former Union Ministers
Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan filed a joint
petition. Later, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh had also filed a petition.
Singh said while as per the March 25, 2015 deal for 126 aircraft with 108 jets
were to be produced by HAL, joint statement by the two sides specified a new
deal for 36 Rafale jets with the same equipment as in 2007. Petitioners wanted
Attorney-General, representing the Centre, to reply why a joint press statement
was issued by PM along with French President Francois Hollande in April 2015,
well over a year before Cabinet Committee on Security finally approved the 36
jets' deal signed in Sep 2016.Deputy Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal V.R.
Chaudhari and two other officers from Indian Air Force appeared in the SC to
assist it on the issue of the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from
France.The officers appeared before a bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi had
sought their assistance in the case. Petitioners for Bhushan, Shourie and Sinha
alleged that the Centre had short-circuited the fresh tender process for 36
Rafale jets to procure them through restricted Inter Govt Agreement (IGA)
mechanism. Bhushan argued that the Rafale deal qualified none of the three
conditions laid down by Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). Alleging gross
violation of procedure in decision making process in the deal, Bhushan asked:
“Who took the decision for 36 jets? On what basis did PM announce the deal for
36 jets? He had no authority.How was 126 jets reduced to 36 jets?”.Asserting
that not a single aircraft was delivered till now even after 3-and-a-half
years, Bhushan told the SC that if the 126 aircraftr deal was still on, “at
least 18 jets would have been delivered by April 2019”.thehindu
Modi Govt 'Short-Circuited' Acquisition
Process in Rafale Deal, Bhushan Tells SC
Rafale deal: PM Modi flouted defence ministry
norms, states govt affidavit in SC
On the Rafael deal, Govt has, itself, admitted
that the announcement of this deal was made by PM Narendra Modi without any
procedure or prior discussion. This has been revealed by the affidavit filed by
Govt in the Supreme Court. A copy of this affidavit has also been given to the
petitioner.Govt has acknowledged that PM Modi's announcement to buy 36 Rafael
fighter aircraft was made before the process, which is necessary for the
purchase of any defense equipment. The affidavit filed by the Govt on Monday in SC on Rafale deal also indicates
that neither Air Force had demanded only 36 Rafale aircraft, nor was any
discussion held with the the Air Force about this deal.So, was this deal
announced with some special purpose? And by doing so, was an effort made to
benefit a particular industrialist? In the paragraph 23 of the affidavit filed
by Govt, the Govt has said that the
acceptance of the requirement of 36 Rafale aircraft, ie Acceptance of Necessity
(AoN), was given during Defense Acquisition Council i.e. DAC meeting on May 13,
2015. This meeting was presided by Defense Minister. It is worth noting that
the approval of AON, or Acceptance of Necessity, is the first step in
procurement process for purchasing any defense equipment or accessories,for
which the approval by DAC is necessary. It should also be noted here that
procurement of any defense equipment or equipment cannot be announced without
the approval of AON. nationalheraldindia
CBI books its Deputy Legal Advisor for forging
her appraisal report
New Delhi:Deputy legal Advisor with CBI for
Vyapam case, Beena Raizada, has been booked by the agency for forging her
annual performance appraisal report (APAR). CBI has charged Raizada with
cheating, forgery and use of bogus documents.Raizada, whose performance had not
been rated very well by her superiors for 2014, 2015 and 2016, allegedly forged
documents to show that she had been rated as “excellent”. She allegedly even
signed the documents on behalf of the head of department.CBI sources said the
matter came to light when during the scrutiny of her APAR, which she had
personally submitted with the headquarters in Delhi, it was revealed that she
had been appraised even for the period that she was absent from office for 90
days.This aroused suspicion and a preliminary enquiry was initiated. The
enquiry found that the officer had forged documents and signatures. On November
12, the preliminary enquiry was converted to an FIR.According to FIR, Raizada
joined CBI in May 2014 as senior public prosecutor at the agency’s
anti-corruption branch in Patna. Within six months, she was promoted as Deputy
Legal Advisor.indianexpress
SC declines urgent hearing on plea alleging
Centre’s interference in RBI’s functioning
New Delhi :The Supreme Court has refused to
accord urgent hearing on a petition alleging interference by the Centre in the
functioning of RBI. A bench comprising CJI Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S K Kaul
and K M Joseph said the issue mentioned in the petition did not require an
urgent hearing and it will come in “due course”.“We will see to it,” the bench
said when lawyer M L Sharma, who has filed PIL in personal capacity, sought the
urgent hearing. PIL sought the court should declare that the Centre has no
“legal right” to issue any direction to the federal bank.It also sought a
direction to Ministry of Finance that the consultation given by the central
bank’s Governor under RBI Act was binding on the Centre and the President of
India. It further sought a direction to the ministry, RBI and the State Bank of
India “to recover the debts, along with the interest, from the corporate
debtors/resolution applicant (acquirers) to protect public money in the
interest of Justice.”PTI
Restrictions on banks: RBI and govt work to
narrow their gap
Some common ground is likely to emerge between
RBI and Govt on the latter’s proposal for aligning the central bank’s Prompt
Corrective Action (PCA) and capital adequacy framework to global norms. This is
a move that could potentially de-escalate the ongoing tension between the
banking regulator and the Govt. Sources said recent discussions between Finance
Ministry and RBI indicate that both sides are working to resolve at least two
key operating hurdles Restrictions on banks: RBI and Govt work to narrow their
gapfaced by banks through tweaks in PCA norms and changes in regulations to
improve credit flow to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). RBI board
is slated to meet on Nov.19. The central bank is expected to provide some
breathing space to state-owned banks by allowing early exit from PCA for those
banks that show trend reversal in their net non performing assets (net NPA) and
signs of steady profits in second quarter and ahead, sources said.“The finance
ministry is currently engaged with RBI. Govt does not want any relaxation in
PCA but only its realignment with internationally accepted triggers for early
interventions by the regulator. There has been some progress and both have
moved forward towards a common ground,” a source said.indianexpress
India votes against UN General Assembly draft
resolution on death penalty embargo
India on Tuesday voted against a UN General
Assembly draft resolution on the death penalty as it is against the country’s
“statutory law”, PTI reported. Executions are permitted in the “rarest of rare”
cases in India.First Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to UN Paulomi
Tripathi said the resolution sought to promote an embargo on executions with
the aim of abolishing the death penalty. The draft resolution asked member
countries to respect international standards on the rights of those facing
execution, and ensure the punishment is not applied on the basis of
discriminatory laws. The assembly approved the resolution, with 123 countries
voting in favour and 36 against.30 countries abstained. “In India, the death
penalty is exercised in the ‘rarest of rare’ cases, where the crime committed
is so heinous that it shocks the conscience of the society,” said Tripathi.
“Indian law provides for all requisite procedural safeguards, including the
right to a fair trial by an independent court, presumption of innocence, the
minimum guarantees for defence, and the right to review by a higher
court.”scroll.in
Ayodhya dispute: Sri Sri optimistic about out
of court settlement, litigants differ
Lucknow:After 2 litigants in Ayodhya land
dispute said they agree on an out of court settlement, Art of Living founder
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said he is optimistic about it. However, this optimism is
not shared by other litigants in the case who have rejected the proposal.
Responding to petitioners Haji Mahboob and Mohommad Omar signing the letter of
support for an out of court settlement on Tuesday, Ravi Shankar said, "I
have spoken to many people and they have agreed to go for an out of court
settlement. I am pushing it in a very harmonious manner so that both
communities live in harmony." Iqbal Ansari, another litigant in the case,
said, "The matter is pending before the Supreme Court and let the verdict
on this dispute be delivered. No one has approached me for any
talks."Meanwhile, member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board
(AIMPLB) and Babri Masjid Action Committee convener Jafaryad Jilani said,
"VHP had already said in the past that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has nothing to
do with the case. He had already been in favour of the Ram Temple and wants
Muslims to compromise with the land meant for mosque. This is not possible. The
SC's verdict should be acceptable to all."Mahant Dharamdas, another
litigant in this dispute said there is no clarity about Ravi Shankar's
proposal." His representative met Haji Mahboob and decided on an amicable
resolution.We only want the SC to deliver its verdict on this dispute at the
earliest."Responding to Ravi Shankar's talks of an out of court
settlement, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said, "We all respect him but what we
believe is that even Congress MPs would support temple construction in Ayodhya
if a legislation is brought in the Parliament."India Today
Rajasthan: BJP MP Harish Meena joins Congress
weeks ahead of assembly elections
New Delhi:In a big setback for the ruling BJP
ahead of Rajasthan Assembly elections, party MP from Dausa Harish Meena joined
Congress Wednesday. Meena was welcomed by State Congress chief Sachin pilot and
former CM Ashok Gehlot, both of whom
have decided to contest the state assembly elections scheduled to be held on
Dec.7. At the event, Gehlot said, “Both, I and Sachin Pilot will fight
Rajasthan assembly polls.” Meena who joined BJP in 2014, is a retired IPS
officer who last served as the Director General of Police of Rajasthan from
March 2009 to Dec.2013, longest tenure of a DGP in the state. He is also the
recipient of Indian Police Medal and President Medal. Last month, veteran BJP
leader Jaswant Singh’s son and ex-MLA Manvendra Singh joined the
Congress.Singh, 54, who won Barmer’s Sheo constituency as BJP candidate in 2013
assembly elections, had announced at a rally in September that he is leaving
BJP. “Kamal ka Phool Badi Bhool’, he had said then, claiming that going with
BJP’s election symbol, the lotus, was a “big mistake”.indianexpress
Rift in BJP widens, party’s Muslim face quits
Ashok Gehlot,Sachin Pilot to contest Rajasthan
polls
Jaipur: Putting speculations to rest, ex
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and Pradesh Congress Committee president Sachin Pilot
on Wednesday announced that they will contest the assembly elections scheduled
on December 7. Both are considered as party’s CM ial candidates.In MP, the
party has so far not named Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia—both CM hopefuls—as
its candidates for the assembly polls there. This led to speculation that
Gehlot and Pilot too might not be fielded in the assembly elections.“Sachin
Pilot and I, both, shall contest in these elections,” Gehlot told reporters in
New Delhi.Pilot added, “I shall contest the election as directed by Congress
president Rahul Gandhi and requested by Gehlot.” The party is, however, yet to
announce from where the two leaders will contest the polls. Gehlot is presently
MLA from Jodhpur’s Sardarpura constituency and is likely to be repeated from
there. TOI
Sajjad Lone could be BJP’s choice for next JK CM
Srinagar:In politics, they say, perception is
everything. Within political circles in Kashmir valley, the perception is fast
gaining ground that BJP has decided on its alliance partner for assembly polls
in the state, which may be announced by next month. And the man they have
decided to partner with — who could eventually become the next CM of J&K—
is Sajjad Gani Lone, son of former separatist leader Abdul Gani Lone, who was
assassinated in 2002. The affinity between the saffron party and Lone — a
former separatist leader who is now a mainstream politician — had been building
up for some time, political observers say.In the aftermath of the fall of the
Mehbooba Mufti Govt in June this year,
BJP general secretary and the party’s Kashmir incharge Ram Madhav had made it a
point to meet Lone during his visit to Kashmir to explore the way ahead in post-Mehbooba
scenario. Since then, during his frequent visits to the valley,Madhav has met
Lone several times, most recently accepting an invitation to dine with him to
celebrate the clinching of the Srinagar mayor post by People’s Conference. Interestingly,
even though BJP has decided to tie up with Lone, the chances that the party can
form the Govt in the current scenario,
with him at the helm, seem bleak. PC currently has just 2 MLAs and even with
the support of BJP’s 25 MLA and PDP rebels (if they are convinced to join the
alliance), is far from the magic number of 44 to stake a majority in 87-member
House. With 6-month limit for President’s Rule in the state ending next month
and no party seemingly in a position to form Govt, buzz in political circles is
that the central Govt may have polls conducted in Kashmir by March and a formal
announcement of BJP-PC alliance may take place before that.If this happens,
Lone will be projected as CM face of the alliance.TOI
J&K BJP leader’s killing: Two Hizbul men
named as killers, one govt staffer detained
Jammu:J&K police are learnt to have
identified two Hizbul Mujahideen militants— Osama Javed of Dachhan in Kishtwar
district and Sajjad Khandey of Pulwama — as the men who shot BJP state
secretary Anil Parihar and his brother Ajit Parihar in Kishtwar on Nov.1. A
senior police officer said two persons, including a Govt employee, have been detained for aiding the
militants. Pervaiz Ahmed, working with the State Consumer Affairs and Public
Distribution Department, is alleged to have provided shelter to the militants
at his property in Kishtwar purchased about a year ago.The second
suspect,Riyaz, identified as an overground worker of the Hizbul Mujahideen, is
alleged to have accompanied the militants from Dachhan to Kishtwar town to
identify BJP leader.Police sources said a woman from Dachhan is also being
questioned, as call detail records showed that her SIM card was near the site
of the killings on Nov.1. The woman had reportedly given her SIM card to Osama
Javed’s sister. Kishtwar SSP Rajinder Gupta declined to comment on the
investigations. Sources, however, said the militants are suspected to have
stayed at Pervaiz Ahmed’s property for two-three days, during which they
carried out a recce of the area. They chose a spot in Tapal mohalla, where CCTV
camera installed by another BJP leader outside his house, was not working. Anil
Parihar and his brother, Ajit, were shot on the night of Nov.1, when they were
on their way home. Ajit was an employee of the State Forest Corporation.
Bihar: RLSP leader shot dead, fourth party man
to be killed this year; Kushwaha slams Nitish’s govt
Patna:RLSP block head of Patna’s Paliganj Amit
Bhushan Verma was shot dead late on Tuesday while he was at a cultural
programme in the area. This is the fourth murder of an RLSP leader in less than
a year. RLSP chief and Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, who visited the
aggrieved family, said:“This is the fourth killing of an RLSP leader in a year.
Law and order has gone for a 6 in Bihar. I wonder what kind of good governance
is this.”Kushwaha later tweeted: “One incident after another, series of
incidents, there has been selective killings… Yet, they (state Govt ) calls it
good governance. Perhaps they have changed the definition of good
governance”.indianexpress
Jana Sena chief meets Muslims for seeking
votes
Kakinada:Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan promised
better place and recognition to the members of Muslim and other minorities in
his party and Govt if voted to power. The leader interacted with the representatives
of Muslims and Relli communities in Kakinada on Tuesday. Jana Sena chief had a
detailed discussion with the representatives of the Muslim community on Sachar
Committee recommendations.Pawan recalled contribution of Muslims in freedom
movement.“We cannot think of freedom struggle and independence without the role
of Muslims. They deserve better treatment and there should be no threat to
their safety and security,” Kalyan asserted.He further said that he did not
like Muslims to be called minorities and felt that they are key players of the
nation.Pawan Kalyan said that some people have criticised him for supporting
BJP in 2014 but any regional party in the country would have to align either
with the BJP or Congress. “BJP is not a Hindu party. It is a political party,”
he said.Pawan blamed TDP for branding BJP as a communal party and wondered
whether they were blind in 2014. He said Jana Sena had criticised BJP and PM
Narendra Modi on special category status demand much before Chandrababu Naidu.
Kalyan said that Jana Sena would stand for the Muslims and wanted them to give
power to the party in the 2019 elections. TOI
4 booked for murdering Muzaffarnagar riots
accused
Four unidentified persons were Sunday booked
for the alleged murder of a 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots accused, police said.The
body of Ram Das alias Kala (30), bearing a bullet injury, was found from his
home in Kutba village here. CO Hariram Yadav said the police registered a case
after a complaint was filed by the victim's brother, Sanjiv who alleged that
the four assailants had come on motorcycles and shot his brother. Meanwhile,
security was beefed up in and around the communally sensitive village where
eight people had reportedly died and several left injured during the 2013
riots.Extra police personnel were deployed as a precautionary measure to
prevent any untoward incident, officials said. The communal clashes in
Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in August and Sept.2013 had claimed more than
60 lives while over 40,000 people were displaced. PTI
Hindu group wants Yogi govt to challenge
Hashimpura verdict in SC
Meerut :Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM)
has urged Yogi Adityanath Govt to move
Supreme Court against Delhi High Court’s verdict sentencing 16 PAC personnel to
life in connection with the 1987 Hashimpura massacre.A memorandum submitted by
ABHM national vice-president Ashok Sharma and other leaders to Meerut DM Anil
Dhingra Tuesday morning claimed that PAC personnel “were innocent and had been
made scapegoats”.On May 22, 1987, soon after the riots that rocked Meerut in
the aftermath of the opening of the locks of Babri Masjid, a PAC team had
rounded up over 40 Muslim men in Hashimpura and shot at them. Of the 40 men, 38
had died. ABHM memorandum alleges that “non-Hindu persons hatched a conspiracy
with terrorist outfits” and killed as many as 172 Hindus during the worst-ever
communal riots in Meerut, but no inquiry was ordered, while innocent PAC
personnel were made scapegoats.“We have urged the present heir of the
Gorakhnath Peeth,who is also CM,to ensure appropriate legal action in the SC
through his Govt machinery to ensure justice to innocent PAC personnel who were
discharging their duty on directives of the then Veer Bahadur Singh Govt,”Ashok
Sharma said.indianexpress
Bhima-Koragaon clashes: Fadnavis must appear
before panel says Prakash Ambedkar
Pune:Holding CM Devendra Fadnavis and top police officials
responsible for failing to prevent the Jan.1 Bhima-Koregaon clashes,BBM chief
and lawyer Prakash Ambedkar on Tuesday demanded that Mr. Fadnavis and other
officials be examined as witnesses before 2-member inquiry commission set-up to
probe the clashes. Representing a witness, M.N. Kamble, who had filed a
petition in this regard, Ambedkar said that the Chief Secretary Sumit Mullick
(who was part of the inquiry commission), Guardian Minister Girish Bapat, the
State DGP, and the heads of the intelligence sections among others must appear
before the inquiry commission t explain why they had failed to prevent the violence
despite several intimations of the same.“One of the terms of reference for this
commission is to establish the failure of the Govt machinery and secondly find
out who were responsible. If failure must be established then all top
authorities from CM downwards must be
examined and their statements recorded. Otherwise, the truth will never come
out,” said Ambedkar, who was the grandson of Babasaheb Ambedkar.He further
demanded that written and audio records in form of official Govt documents, police records, police diaries, minutes
of Govt meetings after the clashes and
the CM’s directives to the police and administrative authorities with regards
to the clashes be presented before the panel.TheHindu
8 acquitted in Mathura’s JawaharBagh violence case
Lucknow :A Mathura court has acquitted eight
accused in the 2016 Jawahar Bagh violence case owing to a lack of evidence and
key witnesses turning hostile.The accused were among those who had encroached
upon Mathura’s Jawahar Bagh park, built on Govt
land, and had later clashed with police, killing an additional SP and a
sub-inspector on the spot on June 2, 2016. 27 more people had died in the
clash, which had taken place when the Mathura police had tried to evict the
illegal occupants.The occupants, led by their leader Ram Vriksha Yadav, had
claimed to be members of the Azad Bharat Vidhik Vaicharik Kranti Satyagrahi, an
outfit claiming allegiance to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.The state Govt had
granted permission to Yadav’s organisation to hold a demonstration inside
Jawahar Bagh for 2 days in Jan.2014. But the group then occupied the sprawling
public park for over two years. The squatters were evicted amid violence
following a high court order. A huge cache of arms, ammunition and explosives
were recovered from the huts erected inside the park during the illegal
occupation.On a high court directive, CBI has been investigating the incident,
but is yet to file a chargesheet in the case.indianexpress
Haryana: INLD expels Ajay Singh Chautala from
party as family feud intensifies
Chandigarh :Around 2 weeks after it expelled
Lok Sabha MP Dushyant Chautala and his younger brother Digvijay Chautala from
the party, INLD today also removed their father, Ajay Chautala, from the
primary membership of the party.Ajay has also been stripped of INLD state unit
secretary general’s post with immediate effect.INLD state unit chief Ashok
Arora accompanied, by Ajay’s younger brother Abhay Chautala made announcement
during a press conference today. INLD’s senior leaders and many MLAs were also
present here.indianexpress
BJP’s name changing drive hits diversity,
widens gap between communities: Activists
New Delhi:Slamming BJP Govt ’s drive to change
Muslim-sounding names of cities and places, eminent civil rights activists and
educationists have termed it as a “communally polarized move” and an “attack on
composite Indian cultural heritage.” They said that this drive is the “showcase
of BJP’s shallowness” as it has failed to do any developmental work that it had
promised to people before elections in 2014. Social activist, former civil
servant and founder of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) Aruna Roy said
about the move, “It is shame. It hits at the diversity of India and strength of
our history and historical relations. It also makes small of the various
contributions different kind of people have made to make this country what it
is today. I think the country will be smaller and loser.”“All these things that
they(BJP) are doing are going to widen the gap between the people but I think
it will be strain on the minority communities and the wisdom of all of us must
prevail not to make it violent but to finally win the war. We are losing some
battles but we must win the war,” she said.RTI activist and also founding
member of MKSS, Nikhil Dey said that besides damaging the culture, this
political move of BJP shows the failure of the party on the promises it made to
work on in the field of health, education and jobs generation.Delhi University
Professor Manoj K Jha said,“Historically looking at the entire issue,
world-over when regimes have nothing to offer, they only go to change names.
India has been a vast ocean. This particular regime shall go down in the
history converting this vast ocean into a dirty point.caravandaily
Maoists target bus with BSF personnel in
Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur, 6 injured
New Delhi :Maoists Wednesday targeted a bus
carrying Border Security Force personnel returning from poll duty in Bijapur,
around four kilometres away from the district headquarters at Mahadev Ghat.
According to the police, four BSF jawans, one Chhattisgarh Police DRG jawan and
one civilian, who was on a bike when IED exploded, are injured and have been
rushed to a local hospital. According to preliminary reports, Maoists detonated
an IED before opening fire at personnel.indianexpress
Fake news and hate speech thrive on regional
language social media:HT
“Terrorist Zakir Naik said he will return to
India when the Congress Govt is in power. So Congress supports terrorists?”
read the top ‘trending’ post under ‘news’ in the Hindi section of ShareChat,
India’s largest regional-language social networking platform, on Nov.9. The
post has been viewed by 15,000 users as of Nov.13. What they have seen is a
piece of fake news, as Naik, a controversial Islamic preacher and founder of
Peace TV, never made such a statement.Another post on ShareChat Hindi shares
the “result of an RTI inquiry” revealing that MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a “true Hindu”, ate a
chicken dish while travelling abroad that cost Rs 3 lakh, while one more RTI
post about Chouhan says he wears a kurta that cost Rs 7 lakh.There is no
evidence to suggest these are true.A HT investigation has revealed that
regional language social media platforms such as ShareChat, with 50 million
registered users, and Helo, with at least 5 million estimated registered users,
are rife with misinformation and political propaganda.From blatant lies to
partially true polarising content to violent hate speech, the platforms built
for “next billion” internet users face the same challenges for which American
social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are facing intense
scrutiny.However, as India tightens control over misleading and defamatory
content shared online ahead of state and national elections, the focus is
almost entirely off vernacular networks.On ShareChat Hindi, there is a fake
newspaper clip that quotes Congress leader and former president Pranab
Mukherjee as saying that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi hates Hindus.
In another post, Mukherjee is quoted as saying that the Congress will be wiped
out in 2019 Lok Sabha polls as it is perceived as an anti-national party. Both
statements are false. In the Kannada section, there is a fictional quote of
Russian writer Leo Tolstoy declaring that Hindi and Hindutva will rule the
world one day.According to a recent post on Helo Hindi, BBC declared the
Congress as the fourth most corrupt party in the world. In another, Congress
leader Sachin Pilot is quoted as saying that India should have helped Pakistan
clear its debt rather than invest in the Statue of Unity. There is also a fake
quote from Congress leader Kapil Sibal stating that if the Supreme Court
decides in favour of building a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Congress party will
bring in an ordinance to change the decision if elected in 2019. All of this
information shared as news is false.Along with blatant falsehood, HT found
posts that consistently aimed to polarise the electorate along the Hindu-Muslim
divide. Some were violent: “Head of every individual who will speak against my
country or my God will be cut off,” reads one post in ShareChat Hindi; a “good
morning” post with 22,000 views showed a blood-soaked child armed with a long
knife and speaking of his “hot, Hindu blood”. Another post mentioned a
fictitious exchange between a Muslim man and Narendra Modi that shows the PM
threatening Muslims with such violence that “cemeteries would fall short”.HT
WORLD
Palestinian groups to respect Gaza truce 'as
long as Israel does'
Palestinian groups in the besieged Gaza Strip
say they have agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel to end the
worst violence between the two sides in years.Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett,
reporting from Nahal-Oz near the Gaza-Israel fence, said Hamas-led factions on
Tuesday accepted the truce "to restart the situation that prevailed up until
this latest military escalation". Hamas is the group administering the
besieged Gaza Strip. Fawcett added: "Israelis do not confirm or deny such
things, but Israeli media are reporting, citing an unnamed official, that
Palestinian factions tried through four separate mediators to request a
ceasefire."A statement by Palestinian groups in Gaza said: "Egypt's
efforts have been able to achieve a ceasefire between the resistance and the
Zionist enemy."The resistance will respect this declaration as long as the
Zionist enemy respects it."The announcement set off celebrations in Gaza
City with hundrerds of Palestinians taking to the streets to declare
victory.Earlier, senior Hamas official Ismail Haniya said that the Palestinian
group was prepared to return to a ceasefire agreement if Israel "stops its
aggression" on the Gaza Strip."Should the Occupation [Israel] stop
its aggression a return to the ceasefire understandings will be possible,"
Haniya said in a statement.At least seven Palestinians have been killed in Israeli
attacks on the coastal enclave since Monday, in the worst violence between the
two sides since the 2014 war.The latest escalation erupted late on Sunday when
Israel launched a botched raid in Gaza that killed seven other Palestinians and
one of its commanders. Hamas and other armed factions on Monday fired over 400
rockets or mortar bombs at Israel, with Israel responding with dozens of air
raids.aljazeera
Bin Salman 'tried to persuade Netanyahu to go
to war in Gaza': Sources
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
attempted to persuade Israeli PM
Benjamin Netanyahu to start a conflict with Hamas in Gaza as part of a
plan to divert attention from the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, sources inside
Saudi Arabia have told Middle East Eye. A war in Gaza was among a range of
measures and scenarios proposed by an emergency task force set up to counter
increasingly damaging leaks about Khashoggi's murder coming from Turkish
authorities, according to sources with knowledge of the group's activities.The
task force, which is composed of officials from the royal court, the foreign
and defence ministries, and the intelligence service, briefs the the crown
prince every six hours, MEE was told.It advised bin Salman that a war in Gaza
would distract Trump's attention and refocus Washington’s attention on the role
Saudi Arabia plays in bolstering Israeli strategic interests.It also advised
bin Salman to “neutralise Turkey by all means” - including attempts to bribe
Tayyip Erdogan with offers to buy Turkish arms and statements by the crown
prince attempting to shore up relations between Riyadh and Ankara.middleeasteye
Trump finally appoints new ambassador to Saudi,
a former army general
US President Donald Trump has named a former
army general with long experience in the Middle East as ambassador to Saudi
Arabia, a post that has been vacant since Joseph Westphal left in Jan.2017. John
Abizaid, a retired four-star army general of Lebanese Christian descent, is
prominent for his stint as the longest-chief of US Central Command - of which
the Middle East is part - starting shortly after the Iraq war in 2003 all the
way through to 2007.He graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point,
after which he earned a scholarship to go study Arabic in Jordan, a language he
did not speak as a child.
US lawmakers to push for crackdown on Saudi
US Senate may vote within weeks on legislation
to punish Saudi Arabia over the murder of Khashoggi and the devastating war in
Yemen.Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, said the Senate could vote before the end of the year on a
resolution seeking to cut off all assistance to Saudi Arabia for the war in
Yemen. He said it was also possible that measures to prevent arms sales to
Riyadh would make it to the Senate floor. "Senators are looking for some
way to show Saudi the disdain they have for what has happened with the
journalist, but also concerns about the way Yemen has gone," said Corker.
Corker said his staff had asked that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense
Secretary James Mattis, and CIA Director Gina Haspel come to the Capitol as
soon as late November for a classified briefing to address concerns about Yemen
and Khashoggi's death.aljazeera
Egypt upholds death sentence against 80-yr-old
Quran tutor
The Egyptian Govt has upheld a death sentence against Sheikh
Abdel Halim Gabreel, an 80-year-old Quran tutor, with Amnesty International
campaigning for him to receive a presidential pardon.On 24 Sept., Egypt’s Court
of Cassation upheld the death sentences of 20 Egyptians, including Gabreel, who
had been convicted of killing 13 policemen during a 2013 attack on a police
station in the Giza suburb of Kerdasa in 2013. Gabreel was arrested while he
was in the mosque and was put on trial after 6 months of investigations, all
whilst he was denied a lawyer. Despite not having any political affiliation and
stating that he was not involved in the Kerdasa attack, with two witnesses for
the prosecution affirming his story, he was sentenced to death.Some 156
defendants were also either sentenced to death or to lengthy imprisonment in
the first trial, for their alleged involvement in the “Kerdasa Massacre” in
which 13 police officers were killed. 80-year-old grandfather’s health has
deteriorated in prison since his detention; he has received inadequate
treatment for his psoriasis and cannot walk long distances. Wadi Al-Natrun
prison authorities have also prevented his family from bringing him medication.The
latest ruling by the Court of Cassation cannot be appealed. Amnesty has
consequently called on the international community to write letters to Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, urging for Gabreel to be granted a presidential
pardon and that he is given regular and adequate access to qualified medical
professionals.middleeastmonitor
Egypt eliminates Muslim Brotherhood leaders'
names from streets
Egyptian Govt
has started a campaign to remove the street name signs that carry the
names of leaders and prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood.On Oct. 21,
Minya Gov. Qassem Hussein changed the name of a street in the governorate from
Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, to Umar Ibn al-Khattab,
one of companions of the Prophet Muhammad. ussein signaled that every name of a
street and square across the governorate would be subject to review. “Streets
that carry the names of Muslim Brotherhood members will be changed and named
after fallen soldiers as well as historical and public figures who have had a
positive impact on society,” he said. Lawyer Ayman Mahfouz filed a complaint
Oct. 23 with Public Prosecutor Nabil Sadek, saying that there are tens — if not
hundreds — of streets named after leaders and members of the Muslim Brotherhood
in Cairo and other governorates.Mahfouz said that Google Maps shows that tens
of streets in Cairo, Qalubiya, Alexandria, Gharbiya, Daqahliya, Menoufia, Beni
Sueif and Minya are named after Hassan al-Banaa and former leading member
Sayyid Qutb. He noted that there are many more small streets, squares and
alleys in Egypt named after Brotherhood figures, but they do not show up on
Google Maps. Almonotor
US designates son of Hezbollah leader as a
'global terrorist'
US State Dept. has designated Jawad Nasrallah,
son of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as a
'global terrorist' and accused him of carrying out attacks against Israel in
the occupied West Bank.The department on Tuesday also blacklisted Al-Mujahidin
Brigades (AMB), which it said had links to Hezbollah and had plotted a number
of attacks against Israeli targets from a base in the Palestinian Territories.
The department said Nasrallah and AMB had officially been labelled as Specially
Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) and that its actions would deny Nasrallah
and AMB access to the US financial system."Today's designations seek to
deny Nasrallah and AMB resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks,"
the department said in a statement.The department described Jawad as a
"rising leader of Hezbollah".middleeasteye
Libya’s Islamists hail Italy’s role in
resolving crisis
Leader of Libya’s Justice and Construction
Party, Mohamed Sowan, welcomed Italy’s sponsorship to host an international
conference on Libya in its coastal city of Palermo. “Italy is concerned about
Libya’s stability and is working to achieve it,” Sowan told Arabi21.“Although
the Palermo meetings’ outcomes are yet to be announced, the situation in Libya
is generally moving towards stability,” he added, stressing that the Libyan
conflict had reached an end.Stability in Libya, Sowan noted, has prevailed
across most of the country’s cities.
“There is global contentment that Libya’s political division won’t be
resolved except through dialogue,” he stressed.MEMO
Sri Lanka parliament 'votes against newly
appointed PM Rajapaksa'
Sri Lanka's parliament passed a no-confidence
motion against newly appointed PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government on
Wednesday, throwing the country deeper into crisis.The move comes a day after
the Supreme Court overturned a presidential decree dissolving the legislature
and calling for snap elections. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya ruled that a majority
of 225-member assembly supported a no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa, 72,
who was appointed PM on Oct.26 in place of Ranil Wickremesinghe. "The ayes
have it," the Speaker announced over his public address system "I
rule that this House does not have confidence in the govt (of
Rajapaksa)."Opposition leader R Sambanthan said that the motion presented
by an opposition party was taken to a voice vote and had the majority
support.Amid chaotic scenes, Rajapaksa, a former controversial president, and
his legislator son Namal walked out of the chamber just before the Speaker
called for a vote.MPs loyal to Rajapaksa attempted to grab the mace, the symbol
of authority of the legislature, to disrupt the vote, but Jayasuriya went
ahead. The result does not automatically mean that Wickremesinghe, whose UNP is
the biggest in parliament, has won the constitutional showdown. President
Maithripala Sirisena retains the power to choose the next prime minister.aljazeera
US legislators to urge China sanctions over
Xinjiang crackdown
US legislators will introduce legislation
today urging the Trump administration to respond more strongly to China's
crackdown on Uighur Muslims,including possible sanctions. The bill will also
ask Donald Trump to condemn China's actions in Xinjiang region, call for the
appointment of a new "special coordinator" for US policy on the
issue, and press for a ban on the export of technology that Beijing could use
in surveillance and mass detention of the minority Uighurs.Legislators want the
Govt to consider human rights-related
sanctions against Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, who is also a member
of the powerful politburo, and other officials "credibly alleged to be
responsible" for the security crackdown. Aljazeera
Uighurs marking 'independence day' call for global
help
Washington:Uighur activists in US marked their
community's "independence day" with a protest and march in the US
capital on Tuesday.Nov.12 is 74th and 85th anniversary of two short-lived
Uighur republics, known as East Turkestan, which were established in territory
that is now part of China.Those present at the event organised by East
Turkistan National Awakening Movement included Rebiya Kadeer, one of the
world's most prominent Uighur exiles and the former president of the World
Uyghur Congress.Carrying both the US and the East Turkestan independence flags,
activists outside the White House called on the US to pressure China into
stopping its persecution of the Muslim minority. Though reports of abuse
against the Uighurs date back more than a decade, the past year has seen an
intensification in the persecution of the Turkic-speaking minority. UN has
criticised China for holding around one million Muslims in internment camps
where they are subject to political and cultural indoctrination. In a report it
said around two million people had passed through the camps at some
point.aljazeera
Bangladesh must halt plans to return Rohingya
to Myanmar: UN
UN rights chief has urged Bangladesh to halt
plans to repatriate over 2,200 Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, amid reports of
continued violations against the minority. Bangladeshi authorities plan to
begin returning Rohingya refugees, who have fled what the UN has called ethnic
cleansing, to Buddhist majority country from Thursday. But prospect has created
panic in the camps, prompting some families who were due to be among the first
to be repatriated to flee, according to community leaders."We are
witnessing terror and panic among those Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar who
are at imminent risk of being returned to Myanmar against their will," UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said."Forcibly
expelling or returning refugees and asylum seekers to their home country would
be a clear violation of the core legal principle of non-refoulement, which
forbids repatriation where there are threats of persecution or serious risks to
the life and physical integrity or liberty of the individuals,"she
said.AFP
UN Will Not Provide Assistance to Long-Term
Rohingya Camps in Myanmar
US decries violence against Rohingya in open
remarks to Myanmar
Singapore: US Vice President Mike Pence
criticised Myanmar's military for the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in a
meeting with the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday, and said he
was keen to hear that those responsible for the violence would be held
accountable."The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that
resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse,"he
told Suu Kyi in a brief meeting with the media before they went into private
talks on the sidelines of a Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore."I am anxious
to hear the progress that you are making of holding those accountable who are
responsible for the violence that displaced so many hundreds of thousands and
created such suffering, including the loss of life," he added.Reuters
Japan’s economy shrinks for 2nd time
in 2018 after disasters
Japan’s economy shrank for a second time this
year after an earthquake, typhoons and torrential rain battered production at
home and exports declined amid softer demand overseas. Gross domestic product
is forecast to recover from its annualized 1.2 % drop in the third quarter, and
to continue growing until a sales-tax hike in Oct.2019, but the impact of a
slowdown in China and trade tensions are likely to keep the expansion
modest.Reports that President Donald Trump will hold off for now on imposing
tariffs on imported Japanese cars and auto parts keeps one of the largest
threats to Japan’s economy at bay for the time being. The wild weather that
passed through regions including Osaka and Tokyo, and an earthquake on the
northern island of Hokkaido, knocked out power supplies, halted factories and
disrupted supply chains. Exports suffered the biggest decline in over 3
years.Yet the falloff across a range of economic activities can’t only be
explained by natural disasters, said Kyohei Morita, chief Japan economist at
Credit Agricole Securities Asia. “The trade war and China’s slowdown are
already starting to take a toll on Japan’s economic growth,” he said.Bloomberg
Turkey ready to help establish Afghan peace: envoy
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/turkey-ready-to-help-establish-afghan-peace-ambassador/1310940
Turkey is ready to
help establish peace in Afghanistan, the country’s ambassador to Kabul said on
Wednesday. Speaking to press members at the Turkish Embassy in the Afghan
capital, Oguzhan Ertugrul said: "Turkey is ready to help on the matter of
peace if Afghanistan is willing [for us to do so]."His remarks came after
Moscow hosted a conference on Afghanistan last week, bringing together the
Taliban and Govt for direct talks for
the first time at a high level.Participants at the meeting focused on launching
direct inter-Afghan dialogue aiming at stabilization of the country and “agreed
to continue consultations within the framework of this mechanism," the
Russian Foreign Ministry said in a final communique following the
meeting.Anadolu Agency
FLASH: VIEWS &
NEWS
Ayushman Bharat: 7 things that prove PM Modi’s
lying to India: Vishwa deepak
Fasting Saints Could Become a Curse for
Hindutva Politics:Sandeep Pandey
Egyptian Military’s Control of Economy
Escalates:Shubhda Chaudhary
Rafale Twist: Why Did France Refuse to Give
India a Sovereign Guarantee?M.K. Venu
BJP’s major achievement in Rajasthan:
Rewriting school textbooks to reflect RSS worldview:Shreya Roy Chowdhury
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Anwarulhaq (Released at: 4:30 PM)
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