QBullet: Indelible Ink in Note Ban Saga; Oppn’s ‘Surgical Strike’
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1. Indelible Ink to Deal With India's Demonetisation Blues
Those exchanging recalled banknotes will have indelible ink put on their finger from Wednesday to deter repeat transactions and the crowding of banks.
The government had allowed the exchange of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes worth up to Rs 4,500, but some people are exchanging currency beyond the limit at multiple banks. The inking idea is the same as the one used to prevent repeat voting.
Economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das said on Tuesday that the government will also examine Jan Dhan accounts – opened mostly by the poor – following worries that cash hoarders might be inducing account holders to deposit illicit money.
Source: Hindustan Times
2. Winter Session: Cong Eyes Oppn Surgical Strike on Govt Over Demonetisation
The threat of a washout looms over the winter session of Parliament with Congress likely to demand that a discussion on scrapping Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes be accompanied with a government explanation and an inquiry into alleged "leak of information" about demonetisation.
Congress apprehends that the raging row will be defused if the government accepts the adjournment notice for debate given by the Congress-led opposition and this will pave the way for business as usual.
But a demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe, unlikely to be acceptable to the government, will stoke the confrontation.
Source: Times of India
3. Cyrus Mistry Removed as Tata Global Beverages Chairman, Says Move Illegal
Tata Global Beverages on Tuesday removed Cyrus Mistry as chairman of the company which co-owns and runs Starbucks coffee stores across India, escalating a boardroom battle that erupted after his sacking as head of the $103-billion business empire.
Non-executive director Harish Bhat has replaced Mistry, the company said in regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
In a sharp retort, Mistry described the decision as “inaccurate and illegal”.
Mistry’s removal came within hours of his office issuing a point-by-point rebuttal of the allegations made by Tata Sons, the conglomerate’s holding company.
Source: Hindustan Times
4. Eye on China: Parrikar to Visit Dhaka to Bolster Defence Relations
India is dispatching Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to Dhaka later this month to chalk out a major upgrade in bilateral defence cooperation in the backdrop of China continuing to expand its strategic footprint in Bangladesh.
Government sources said on Tuesday that a new defence cooperation framework, which will lead to stepped-up military supplies, technology transfer, training and joint exercises as well as closer cooperation in counter-terrorism, will be discussed during Parrikar's two-day visit to Bangladesh from 30 November.
Source: Times of India
5. Govt Declares Preacher Zakir Naik's NGO Unlawful
The government declared controversial TV evangelist Zakir Naik’s outfit Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) an unlawful association under The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on Tuesday.
Following the government notification, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) — that was waiting for a final go-ahead from the Union home ministry — may register an FIR against Naik and IRF on charges of alleged violation of the UAPA.
The Mumbai police may also move against the state-based organisation if it continues with its activities.
Source: Hindustan Times
6. Funds Tap Runs Dry for Terror and Maoist Groups After Demonetisation
Demonetisation of higher denomination currency notes by the government seems to have dealt a blow to funding of terror in Jammu and Kashmir as well as Left-wing extremist violence across several states.
While hawala cash transfers to terrorists and separatist elements based in Kashmir, which were mostly in denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, have come to an abrupt halt, Maoist groups, particularly in states like Bihar and Jharkhand, are at pains to "convert" the extortion money that has been stocked as piles of cash into 'legal tender', according to sources.
An intelligence officer tracking terror funding in J&K said hawala channels had run dry after the the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. With no unaccounted cash, the lead trouble-makers have been forced to lie low.
Source: Times of India
7. SC Relief for Nandini Sundar in Murder Case
In a huge relief for Delhi University professor Nandini Sundar and three others, the Chhattisgarh government on Tuesday assured the Supreme Court that it will neither “arrest nor interrogate” them in a murder case in which an FIR has been filed against them.
Disposing off the matter, a Bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and AK Goel directed that Chhattisgarh can proceed if it can get clinching new material against Sundar and the others, provided they are given a month's notice.
Source: The Hindu
8. Modi's Mom Exchanges Currency at Bank
Narendra Modi's 96-year-old mother on Tuesday visited a Gandhinagar bank in a wheelchair to exchange 500-rupee notes before waiting TV cameras, prompting allegations of a stage-managed event to deflect criticism from the Prime Minister.
Camera crews from a raft of local and national television channels were already at the Oriental Bank branch in the Raisan neighbourhood as Heeraben was wheeled in by family members.
Some television journalists told The Telegraph their channels had been alerted about the visit in advance by the state information department, where Modi's youngest brother Pankaj, with whom Heeraben lives, is an officer.
Source: The Telegraph
9. A Month on, No Trace of Najeeb
Over 350 students of several states marched with the mother of a missing fresher in JNU, despite the university's advice not to hold such a gathering.
Fresher Najeeb Ahmed was reported missing on 15 October after an incident of violence on campus involving activists of the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) during a hostel election campaign.
No student has been punished for the incident. Notices have been sent to some students by university chief proctor AP Dimri.
A police special investigation team, which questioned nine ABVP members, handed the case over to the crime branch last weekend as it could not find the boy.
Source: The Telegraph