QBullet: Congress Shamed, No LPG Subsidy For “Better-Off” People
Read the news and views from across the newspapers this morning on The Quint’s morning wrap.
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1. Congress Shamed by Party Journal on 131st Foundation Day
The Congress party journal, Congress Darshan, shamed the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, in its edition published on the 131st foundation day of the party.
The article further called party president Sonia Gandhi’s father a ‘fascist soldier’ and virtually pointed out her failed attempt at forming a government.
The content editor of the magazine, freelance journalist Sudhir Joshi, has been sacked. A report by The Indian Express claims that a member of the magazine’s editorial board said Joshi published content without permission.
The editor of the magazine and president of Mumbai Regional Congress Committee, Sanjay Nirupam, has apoligised for the words used in the article.
Congress members Salman Khurshid and Raj Babbar have called for a probe by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) into the matter.
However, AICC spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi has denied the magazine is a Congress “mouthpiece”.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janat Party members grabbed the opportunity to “congratulate” Nirupam for an article similar to his earlier work.
Nirupam earlier wrote for the Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece, Dopahar Ka Saamna.
2. No LPG Subsidy for Those Earning Above Rs 10 Lakh per Annum
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has cancelled the subsidiary for cooking gas to citizens who have an annual income of more than Rs 10 lakh.
The aim, the government has claimed, is to benefit the population living below poverty line through the Pahal scheme of providing direct subsidiary (read money) transfer to bank accounts of the needy families.
Starting January 2016, gas cylinders will be sold at market price to families with atleast one member earning more than Rs 10 lakh annually.
3. Why It’s Imperative for Parliament to Move Into a New Building
On December 27, Lok Sabha Speaker Sabha Sumitra Mahajan proposed to the Urban Development Ministry a new building for Parliament.
According to a report by Livemint, this is not the first time that such a proposal has been made. Mira Kumar, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, had welcomed a committee to suggest an alternative building.
As the existing parliament building is categorised as Heritage Grade-1, changes in the structure of the building are bound by limits, according to Mahajan’s letter to the ministry.
Moreover, the number of members of the Lok Sabha are expected to increase in the next 10 years.
4. Devotees Wearing Jeans, Skirts Not Allowed Inside Tamil Nadu Temples
If unwarranted rules in colleges weren’t enough, a government body has implemented a rule to bar people in jeans, skirts, and/or leggings from entering temples in Tamil Nadu.
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE), a state government-run body, has issued a notice implementing the dress code starting January 1, according to a report by the Hindustan Times.
Such rules (for Hindu temples) were already in place for many years. Each temple has had its own set of rules. But over the years, the rules were given a go-by. Now, the Madras High Court has only reinforced these rules.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had ordered the police to ensure the dress code is followed in temples.
Justice S Vaidyanath passed the order on November 26 while hearing a writ petition to hold dance competition in a temple in Trichy district. He had pointed out similar rules in Gujarat’s Somnath temple.
5. DDCA Row Parallels: Kirti Azad, Arvind Kejriwal Remain Adamant Against Jaitley
The controversies that sprung out of the corruption allegations in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) have promised to stay in public view for some time.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has refused the a call from the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) to apologise after an inquiry commission report into the matter did not name Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Kejriwal has been gunning for Jaitley for alleged irregularities in the DDCA under the latter’s leadership between 1999 and 2013.
On the other hand, Kirti Azad, who was suspended from the BJP for speaking about the DDCA row, has called for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation in the case.
Although he dared Jaitley to name him in the defamation suit filed against Kejriwal and five other Aam Aadmi Party members, Azad has refrained from naming Jaitley while seeking a CBI probe.
6. Three Days For Odd-Even Rule: Power Struggle Between Delhi Police and Govt
As the implementation date of the odd even scheme nears, the power struggle between Delhi police and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – or the Centre and the State of Delhi – continues.
Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai had said the Delhi government would deploy 10,000 civil defence personnel recruited by it – a common measure by the government for making its programmes successful.
However, Police Commissioner BS Bassi has said that only a person authorised by the traffic police department has the authority to stop vehicles – this prevents police volunteers as well as the government representatives from stopping vehicles.
Bassi has unveiled the action plan for the implementation of the scheme, which involves volunteers trained by the Delhi police being deployed on city roads.
To this, Rai has said that Bassi to stop politicising the issue.
The Delhi government also plans to deploy 500 extra personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force for smooth working of odd-even scheme.
7. Youth Trying to Join ISIS Booked; Planned To Travel To Afghanistan Via Kashmir
The three young men from Hyderabad arrested at Nagpur a few days ago while on their way to join the ISIS had planned to travel to Afghanistan via Kashmir.
According to Joint Commissioner of Police, Prabhakar Rao, the trio were on their way to Kashmir where they would meet Asiya Andrabi, chief of Dukhtran-e-Millat, a seperatist group who would have helped them cross the border and go to Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
The three, in their early twenties, were held on the Nagpur airport on Saturday.
They were brought back to Hyderabad to be produced before the city court, and have been booked under various sections of Indian Penal Code including Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
According to police, the trio has confessed to have a ‘jihadi ideology’, which sent the alarm bells ringing for the authorities.
Read the report on The Quint.
8. Report on Dadri Meat Ready For Two Months, Police Yet to Collect It
The UP Police is yet to collect the report that establishes as mutton the meat sample taken from the house of Mohammed Akhlaq, the victim in the 28 September Dadri incident.
According to The Indian Express, the Circle Officer of the Gautam Budh Nagar police, Anurag Singh, has even said that the report is “not needed in the court trial”.
However, the filed chargesheet is awaiting the report by the forensic lab in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
Dr Dixit retired on 31 October. And the chargesheet was filed on 23 December.
9. 112 Farmers Commit Suicide This Month in Drought-Hit Marathwada
In drought-hit Marathwada, 112 farmers have committed suicide this month, taking the annual death toll to 1109, according to a report by The Indian Express.
The death toll this year is more than double the number last year. The information comes even as Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh spoke about the Centre’s communication to the states about the situation.
Gopinath Munde’s daughter, Pankaja Munde, is from the Beed district constituency that has recorded the highest number of suicides – 299.
The government is now planning to implement a “zero suicide plan” in Osmanabad, according to Umakant Dhangat, Divisional Commissioner, Beed.