QBullet: Rahul’s Religion Sparks Row; Online Firms Ask For Aadhaar
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1. ‘Non-Hindu’ Entry for Rahul Gandhi at Somnath Sparks Political Row
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was at the centre of a raging controversy on Wednesday, 29 November, after his name was spotted in a register for “non-Hindus” during a visit to Somnath temple. Rahul’s visit to seek Lord Shiva’s blessing at the famous temple flared into a major row as he was put down as a “non-Hindu” along with Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel.
Non-Hindus are allowed into the Somnath temple, but have to sign a register before doing so. The BJP demanded Rahul specify his religious identity while the Congress claimed it was a forgery.
Temple authorities distanced themselves from the controversy, insisting that there was no wrongdoing. Somnath temple trustee PK Laheri told TOI, “The Congress media coordinator made the entry for Ahmed Patel and Rahul Gandhi as 'non-Hindus'. How can we explain it? Congress leaders are best placed to tell why such an entry was made in the register.”
(Source: Times of India)
2. Internet Firms Ask for Aadhaar to Provide Services
Internet companies are now making Aadhaar – the 12-digit unique identity number – mandatory for customers to avail of their services. Amazon has asked customers to upload their Aadhaar numbers to track lost packages, while Bengaluru-based car-rental platform Zoomcar has said it will not accept bookings without Aadhaar as proof of identity.
Amazon said it was a necessary means of authenticating customer identity. “We ask customers to submit a government-certified identification document. Our understanding is that Aadhaar is the most ubiquitous and widely held ID card. It is, therefore, our preferred one,” said an Amazon India spokesperson.
However, Amazon said the check could be done without an Aadhaar number too.
Internet companies are now making Aadhaar mandatory for customers to avail of their services. Amazon has asked customers to upload their Aadhaar numbers to track lost packages, while Bengalurubased car-rental platform Zoomcar has said it will not accept bookings without Aadhaar as proof of identity.
(Source: Times of India)
3. Drop ‘University’ From Name or Lose ‘Deemed’ Status: UGC
Leading educational institutes such as Symbiosis, Manipal and Teri could lose their “deemed to be” status if they fail to convey by Thursday, 30 November, their acceptance of a University Grants Commission (UGC) directive to drop “university” from their names.
The compliance report should be emailed by 4 pm on Thursday or “necessary action would be initiated against the institutions, which may include recommending withdrawal of the declaration” notifying them as deemed-to-be universities, the UGC said in the two letters, copies of which are with Hindustan Times.
Wednesday’s directives stem from a Supreme Court order of 3 November, asking the UGC to stop deemed-to-be universities from using the word “university” in their names.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Govt to Roll Back Move to Ban Sale of Cattle for Slaughter
The Centre has decided to withdraw its controversial plan of notifying a ban on sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets, a senior official from the Ministry of Environment and Forests told The Indian Express.
The move comes after the Ministry sought feedback from states on its 23 May notification on changes made to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Market) Rules, 2017.
“We sent a file to the Ministry of Law earlier this week, stating that we are withdrawing the notification due to several issues and will be revising it,” the official said, adding that a time-frame for the process has not yet been decided.
After the notification in May, the BJP-led NDA government came under severe criticism for attempting to impose the nationwide ban on ideological grounds. Subsequently, several instances of harassment and assault by cow-protection groups were reported from various parts of the country.
(Source: Indian Express)
5. J&K CM Orders Over 4,000 Cases Withdrawn Against Protesters Until 2014
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday, 29 November, ordered withdrawal of cases against more than 4,000 youth, most of them booked in connection with incidents of stone-throwing and protests in Kashmir until 2014.
These cases were approved for withdrawal following the recommendation of a high-level committee, formed by the state government last year and headed by J&K Director General of Police SP Vaid.
“These cases were scrutinised and recommended for withdrawal by a committee that we had set up to look into this issue,’’ Mehbooba Mufti told The Indian Express. “These cases are only up to 2014. We have issued a directive to look at cases filed in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and asked this committee to file a report within ten days. This is an ongoing process that we have initiated to help young people rebuild their lives.”
(Source: Indian Express)
6. Court Restrains Media From Sohrabuddin Trial Reporting
Responding to a defence plea, a special CBI judge on Wednesday, 29 November, restrained the media from publishing news about the trial in the alleged Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case until further orders.
It said media reports could create security problems for the accused, witnesses and the defence and prosecutor as well. Given the "sensitivity" of the case and the “likelihood” of “untoward” incidents and their possible effect on the trial, special judge SJ Sharma said in his four-page order, “I am of the view not to allow the media to make publication of any of the proceedings during the trial in the matter until further order.”
The case involves the 2005 killings of Sohrabuddin, his wife Kausar Bi and his associate Tulsiram Prajapati in an alleged fake encounter.
The trial, which was to commence on Wednesday, is against 22 people, including police personnel from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh and private individuals.
(Source: Times of India)
7. Parliament Panel Seeks GST Relief for Exporters
Lawmakers have pitched for fresh concessions to labour-intensive exporting sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewellery to mitigate the compliance burden incurred in transitioning to the goods and services tax (GST) regime that was rolled out on 1 July.
Accordingly, a parliamentary panel has asked the finance ministry to allow exporters to use the old system of refunds through the so-called duty drawback scheme.
The parliamentary standing committee on commerce sought the intervention, claiming that the GST compliance burden was causing job losses in labour-intensive export sectors.
Under the duty drawback scheme in the pre-GST era, exporters could claim rebates on taxes such as service tax and excise duty. After GST was introduced, the government pared the duty drawback rates as exporters were supposed to claim refunds after paying taxes.
(Source: Livemint)
8. “Still Not Free,” Says Hadiya
Hours after Hadiya said she wanted freedom to meet her husband and she was “still not free”, the principal of the Sivaraj Homeopathic Medical College near Salem, where she was sent by the Supreme Court to pursue her internship, said the 24-year-old woman had spoken to her husband over phone.
“She was so happy after talking to him for a few minutes,” G Kannan, principal of the college, told The Indian Express. He said he had given Hadiya his phone and she had a brief chat with husband Shafin Jahan in the evening.
Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters at the college, Hadiya, whose marriage to Shafin was annulled by the Kerala High Court in May this year, said: “What I demanded from the court was freedom — freedom to meet my husband
(Source: Indian Express)
9. Centre, Delhi Propose Steps to Check Rising Onion Prices
With onion prices skyrocketing in many parts of the country, including the Capital where the kitchen staple is retailing at over Rs 70 per kg, the Centre on Wednesday, 29 November, said it was taking concrete steps to boost supplies.
While urging the Delhi government to procure onions from NAFED and sell them through a Public Distribution System in the short term, Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said there would be a correction in about a week, when fresh kharif arrivals came to the state from neighbouring Rajasthan.
The ministry has asked the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) to procure 10,000 tonnes of onions from Maharashtra, where they are selling at around Rs 32 per kg.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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