QBullet: ‘Pak Wants Me to Lose,’ Says Modi; Shotgun to Join Cong
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1. Terrorists, Pakistan Want Me to Lose, Opposition to Win: PM Modi
Claiming Opposition parties are competing to “become heroes in Pakistan” where they are “getting great media coverage” and “applause”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, 28 March, said “terrorists and their supporters across the border are today praying they somehow get rid of the chowkidar and the mahamilawati (he calls the Opposition impure) come to power in Delhi”.
Opening his party’s poll campaign for the Lok Sabha elections with three rallies on Thursday in Meerut, Rudrapur and Jammu — Modi also trashed the alliance of Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh, saying it stood for “sharaab” (liquor) which was “harmful for the health” of the people: “SP-RLD-BSP… yeh sharaab aapko barbaad kar degi.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. ‘Disappointed, Hardly Surprised’: India Critiques Pak Response to Pulwama Dossier
Islamabad on Thursday, 28 March, said it has found no links between militants detained during a recent crackdown and the 14 February suicide bombing in Pulwama, prompting New Delhi to say that Pakistan continues to be in denial about terrorists operating from its soil.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said it conducted investigations on the basis of a dossier provided by India on 27 February, which included a list of 90 members of proscribed groups and 22 locations of alleged training camps, but has established no links to the Pulwama attack.
It also sought additional information from India.
In a response late on Thursday, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India was “disappointed at Pakistan’s response to our detailed dossier on the Jaish-e-Mohammed’s complicity” in the Pulwama attack and “the presence of its terror camps and leadership in Pakistan.”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. US Steps Up Push to Blacklist Jaish Chief Masood Azhar at UN
The US, Britain and France initiated a renewed effort at the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist on Wednesday, 27 March – a move that China strongly objected to, indicating the growing chasm between the two sides on the issue.
The US circulated a resolution, drafted with backing from the UK and France, among the 15 members of the Security Council to sanction Azhar, whose group claimed the Pulwama terror attack on 14 February that triggered a stand-off between India and Pakistan.
It was not immediately clear when the resolution could be put to a vote after informal discussions.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Samjhauta Express Blast Case: With ‘Anguish’, NIA Judge Says ‘Dastardly Act’ Unpunished for Want of Proof
Coming down heavily on the NIA, the Panchkula special court judge, who last week acquitted all four accused in the Samjhauta Express blast case, said he was doing it “with deep pain and anguish” because a “dastardly act of violence” was going unpunished.
In a 160-page order which was released on Thursday, 28 March — the verdict was delivered on 20 March — special NIA court judge Jagdeep Singh said the “best evidence” was “withheld” by the prosecution and was not brought on record.
He said some of the cited independent witnesses were never examined or sought to be declared hostile for cross-examination when they chose not to support the prosecution case.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Cong’s Friction With Partner RJD Delays Shotgun’s Entry
Tension erupted between Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal on Thursday, 28 March, forcing them to cancel a press conference that had been scheduled to declare the names of 31 candidates of the anti-BJP front in Bihar.
The two partners, who last week appeared to have ironed out their differences and had even declared candidates for nine seats, locked horns again over Darbhanga, Bettiah and Supaul. BJP rebel Shatrughan Sinha became the collateral victim of the flare-up.
The former film star, a member of the Lok Sabha from Patna Sahib, was expected to join Congress after meeting party chief Rahul Gandhi and a press meet had been scheduled a day in advance. But the seat schism in Patna forced the presser to be cancelled. However, he is expected to get RJD’s support for Patna Sahib seat.
Congress later released a picture of Sinha and Rahul shaking hands with the information that the actor-turned politician would join the party on 6 April.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. EC Likely to Urge SC Not to Change VVPAT Protocol
The Election Commission is likely to request Supreme Court not to alter the system of counting VVPAT paper slips for one randomly-selected polling station per Assembly segment when the election process has begun, saying that it has met voter confidence standards.
Sources said EC is likely to inform the court that preparation for deployment of trained poll officials for conduct of general elections is at an advanced stage and it would be fraught with practical difficulties to change the protocol with regard to counting procedures.
The current practice has also passed muster with the Indian Statistical Institute.
SC had asked EC if it could, on its own, increase the number of EVMs per Assembly segment whose vote count could be matched with VVPAT paper trails. The query had come on a petition filed by leaders of 21 non-NDA parties led by Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who called for a VVPAT paper slip count in at least 50 percent of EVMs to "re-establish" voters' faith in the machines.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. We Will Remonetise What PM Modi Demonetised, Says Rahul Gandhi
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, 28 March, said the ‘Nyay’ scheme will remonetise what Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonetised and asserted that his party’s anti-poverty programme has thrown the BJP into total disarray.
In an exclusive interview to PTI ahead of the 17th general election beginning 11 April, Gandhi said the ‘Nyay’ scheme has the twin objectives of giving money to the 20 percent poorest families in India and remonetising the economy “damaged” by demonetisation.
“What the PM has done over the past five years is to remove all money from the economy with failed policies like demonetisation and a poorly executed Gabbar Singh Tax (GST). Informal sectors have been badly hit,” Gandhi said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. Rural Distress and Demand Up, NREG Gets Lowest Wage Hike for 2019-20
For the year 2019-20, the Ministry of Rural Development notified state-wise wages for unskilled manual workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act which translate to a 2.16 percent average annual hike — the lowest ever.
So with effect from 1 April, rural NREG labourers in six states and Union territories will see no annual increase in their daily wages this financial year while workers in another 15 states will get a daily wage hike of between Re 1 and Rs 5.
Daily wages will remain unchanged in states such as Karnataka, Kerala and West Bengal while it will increase by Re 1 in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and Rs 2 in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Average wage hikes have been going down over the last few years.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Amrapali Group Diverted Rs 3K Cr of Homebuyers’ Money: Auditors to SC
Seven months after the Supreme Court ordered a forensic audit of Amrapali group to track misuse of homebuyers’ money, the final report said illegal diversion of over Rs 3,000 crore led to the financial collapse of the group, leaving thousands of investors stranded.
The auditors, Ravi Bhatia and Pawan Aggarwal, filed a voluminous report running into more than 2,000 pages in the SC. They said the group set up more than 100 shell companies in the names of its officials, including one in which a peon was inducted in a senior position, to divert money which was used for personal gain of directors, officials and their relatives.
The report made it evident that the collapse of the Amrapali group was not due to a change in market conditions or investment decisions gone bad but because of the wilful criminal actions of the group’s proprietors. The court had directed a forensic audit in September last year.
(Source: The Times of India)