QBullet: Phase 3 of Polling Today; Emergency Declared in Sri Lanka
From Phase 3 of the Lok Sabha elections to the Sri Lanka bomb blasts, read all the top stories of the day.
1. Lok Sabha Polls Phase 3: 117 Constituencies to Vote on 23 April
In the third phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a total of 117 constituencies across 13 states and two union territories will go to polls. The voting for 3rd phase of General Elections 2019 will be held on Tuesday, 23 April 2019. The voting process will start at 7.00 am and conclude at 5.00 pm.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Sri Lanka Imposes Emergency, Says International Network Involved in Attacks
Sri Lanka said on Monday it was invoking emergency powers in the aftermath of devastating bomb attacks on hotels and churches, blamed on militants with foreign links, in which 290 people were killed and nearly 500 wounded.
The emergency law, which gives police and the military extensive powers to detain and interrogate suspects without court orders, will go into effect at midnight on Monday, the president’s office said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Congress Old Guard Is Back, Delhi Set for 3-Way Fight
The Congress announced on Monday the names of Sheila Dikshit and some of her key associates from the time she was chief minister as Lok Sabha candidates, signalling the end of a four-month-long negotiation saga with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and making the fight for the national capital a triangular contest.
The list, which includes the names of Delhi heavyweights such as former Union minister Ajay Maken and state minister Arvinder Singh Lovely, shows the Congress and the AAP, who both accepted they must come together to successfully defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party, failed to find a common ground.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. US Ends Waiver but India May Continue to Buy Iran Oil
The United States on Monday said it will stop in May all waivers that allow eight nations, including India, to buy Iranian oil without facing sanctions, triggering a rise in global crude prices and a slump in Indian markets.
The decision, taken by US President Donald Trump to pressure Tehran to give up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, sent oil prices to their highest in 2019, though the White House said it was working with top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to ensure the market is “adequately supplied”.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. On EC Order, Police FIR Against Sadhvi Pragya for Babri Masjid Remark
On Election Commission directions, the Madhya Pradesh police Monday registered an FIR against Bhopal BJP candidate Pragya Singh Thakur for violating the poll code with her remarks on the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
The FIR was filed two days after Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, was served a notice for her comments in an interview to TV9 when Thakur had bragged about climbing atop the Babri Masjid in 1992 to demolish it.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Sexual Harassment Complaint: As Criticism Grows, CJI Gogoi Asks Justice Bobde to Decide on Next Steps
Amid snowballing criticism for the manner in which he called a special Supreme Court sitting on 20 April to trash the sexual harassment complaint against himself, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi Monday asked Justice S A Bobde, the second most senior judge, to decide on the next steps in the matter.
Sources told The Indian Express that at an informal meeting of the judges Monday morning, CJI Gogoi offered his version of the developments. He later assigned the matter to Justice Bobde who is in line to succeed him in November.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. ‘Heat of Political Campaigning’: Rahul Gandhi Regrets Misquoting SC on Rafale Order
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Monday expressed regret for “incorrectly attributing” a remark on the contentious Rafale deal to the Supreme Court, saying the comment was made in the “heat of the political campaigning” and that is was misused by his political opponents.
In an undertaking to the top court, Gandhi said, “I will not attribute any views, observations or findings to the Court in political addresses to the media and in public speeches, unless such views, observations or findings are recorded by the Court.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. EC Bans Sidhu From Campaigning For 72 Hours
The Election Commission on Monday censured Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu and barred him from campaigning for 72 hours for alleged communal remarks during an election rally in Bihar.
The ban comes into force from 10am on Tuesday.
Addressing an election rally in Katihar on 16 April, the cricketer-turned-politician had stoked a controversy when he urged Muslim voters to vote en bloc and defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. India Gives China Azhar Proof, Says Be Sensitive to Our Concerns
Amid pressure on China to lift its "technical'' hold on a proposed UN ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale again took up the issue in a meeting with China's foreign minister Wang Yi on Monday and urged Beijing to be sensitive to India's concerns on cross-border terrorism.
The MEA said here that India had shared all evidence available against Azhar with China, adding that the government would continue to pursue all available avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders involved in attacks on Indian citizens were brought to justice.
(Source: The Times of India)
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