Manipur Police register criminal case against Assam Rifles
In an unprecedented move, the Manipur Police have registered a criminal case against the Assam Rifles, the oldest paramilitary force in the country, for “obstruction of duty” and “criminal intimidation”. The police have accused the personnel of the 9th battalion of the Assam Rifles of the “arrogant act” of “giving a chance to the accused Kuki militants to escape freely to a safe zone”. The Assam Rifles has been under continuous attack from Meitei civil society groups and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs in the valley since the start of ethnic violence on May 3, which has claimed more than 150 lives.
Defence Ministry to switch to locally built OS Maya amid threats
In the face of increasing cyber and malware attacks on defence as well as critical infrastructure across the country, the Defence Ministry has decided to replace the Microsoft Operating System (OS) in all computers connected to the Internet with a new OS, Maya, based on open-source Ubuntu developed locally. “Maya has the interface and all functionality like Windows and users will not feel much difference as they transition to it. To begin with, the direction is to install Maya on all computers connected to the Internet in South Block before August 15,” one official involved in the process said. In addition, an ‘end point detection and protection system’, Chakravyuh, is also being installed in these systems.
Resolution in Kerala Assembly seeks to scrap plan for UCC
The Kerala Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed a unanimous resolution demanding that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government abandon the polarising move to draft a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tabled the politically consequential motion that has an immediate bearing on preserving the personal laws that govern marriage, divorce, inheritance, and succession of minority community members, chiefly Muslims. Notably, Christians, especially Catholics, accept canon laws as personal laws.
Bilkis Bano case: Supreme Court says public outcry will not affect its judicial decision
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said public outcry will not affect its judicial decision while hearing petitions challenging the remission granted by the Gujarat Government in August 2022 to 11 life convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case. “Public outcry will not affect our judicial decisions. We will consider only legal submissions. Suppose there is no public outcry, are we supposed to uphold the order? If there is a public outcry, does it mean it is a wrong order?” a Bench headed by Justice B.V. Nagarathna addressed advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Ms. Bano.
BJP leader accused of humiliating Muslim youth
A Muslim youth was allegedly forced to lick his spit by former BJP MLA Devendra Kunwar in Dumka district of Jharkhand. A video of the purported incident, which took place on August 6, is circulating on social media in which the former MLA from Jarmundi is seen making the youth do sit-ups, forcing to lick his spit and kicking him on his back. The victim, Taufiq Ansari, is a resident of Sadhudih village. On Sunday afternoon, the villagers caught him and brought him to the panchayat, accusing him of taking photographs and videos of women bathing in a river in Naunihat.
Retired judges are not colleagues, their opinions not binding, says CJI on Ranjan Gogoi’s remarks
Retired judges are no longer “colleagues” and their opinions are not binding, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said on Tuesday, in reaction to the statement by former top judge and current Rajya Sabha member, Ranjan Gogoi, about the ”doubtful jurisprudence” of the Basic Structure of the Constitution. The Chief Justice was responding to senior advocate Kapil Sibal’s reference to the statement made by Mr. Gogoi in Parliament on August 7.
Opposition members in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday stalled proceedings for over 10 minutes during the debate on the no-confidence motion after some of them objected to a scroll that was appearing on the bottom of the screen of Sansad TV. BSP member Danish Ali accused Sansad TV of showcasing “achievements of the Modi government”. He added that it was “unprecedented to highlight a government’s work against whom a no-confidence motion has been brought in by the Opposition”.
With the Delhi Services Bill out of the way, it was a no-holds barred battle in the Upper House on August 8. Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar first announced Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’ Brien’s suspension for disregarding his directions, but later dropped the matter altogether. This kept the House engaged for the best part of the pre-lunch session. The Opposition also submitted a notice to move a privilege motion against the Leader of the House, Piyush Goyal, for calling them (the Opposition) “traitors”. By all indications, the Rajya Sabha will see a high voltage exchange in its last three sittings of the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.
Why no disaggregated data on tribal populations, asks House panel
A Parliamentary Committee on the empowerment of women on August 8 tabled a report in the House, which pulled up the Union government for not having disaggregated data on the health conditions of tribal populations in the country and called for extensive data collection in this regard. The panel also called for a review in the Allocation of Business Rules so that the Tribal Affairs Ministry can be empowered to appropriately plan resources for tribal welfare in sectors like health, education, nutrition, skill development and livelihood.
Filmmaker Siddique passes away
Popular filmmaker Siddique, 68, who suffered a heart attack on August 7, died in Kochi on August 8, 2023. The death occurred around 9.10 p.m at the Amrita hospital, where he had been undergoing treatment for liver-related ailments over the last one month. His condition had worsened on Monday. Doctors had put him on ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) support. He is survived by wife, Shajitha, and three daughters.
BJP says doors are open after RLD chief misses RS voting on Delhi services Bill
The absence of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary from the Rajya Sabha during the debate and voting on the Delhi services Bill on Monday has led to a buzz over his association with the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). The RLD on Tuesday played down the incident and cited the health condition of Mr. Chaudhary’ wife as the reason behind his absence from the House. It maintained that the party was part of INDIA and was in coalition with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh.
After clashes, garment and leather units in Manesar hub face acute shortage of workers
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, mostly in garments and leather goods space, in Manesar Industrial Model Township have been battling a shortage of workforce, with several of their employees from the religious minority having returned to homes amid fear and uncertainty in the wake of the communal clashes in South Haryana last week. “Almost half of my 60-odd employees belonged to religious minorities and have left since the clashes broke out. There was a sense of fear, and in some cases the landlords, fearing a backlash, asked them to vacate the premises,” said Manmohan Gaind, Chief Executive Officer, M. M. Creations, which makes couture clothing and home furnishings.
WI vs India, 3rd T20I | Suryakumar back to best as India keep series alive with seven-wicket win
Suryakumar Yadav was back to his disdainful best as India stayed alive in the series with a seven-wicket win over the West Indies in the third T20I here on Tuesday. West Indies skipper Rovman Powell’s whirlwind 40 not out off 19 balls pushed the hosts to 159 for five after Kuldeep Yadav (3/28) stemmed the flow of runs in the middle overs. Debutant Yashavi Jaiswal (1) and Shubman Gill (6) got out cheaply in run chase before Suryakumar came up with a special 83 off 44 balls to help India gun down the target in 17.5 overs.