1. Sushma Swaraj Warns Pak: Hang Jadhav, Face Consequences
India issued a stern warning to Pakistan that it risks dire consequences if it carried out the "farcical" death sentence imposed by a military court on Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who it said was imprisoned on concocted charges of spying.
"I would caution the Pakistan government to consider the consequences for our bilateral relationship if they proceed on this matter," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in Parliament, even as MPs across political lines in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha condemned Pakistan for the kangaroo court justice meted out to Jadhav.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Highway Liquor Ban: Rs 20,00,000 Crore Loss to Exchequer, 1 Lakh Shops Closed
The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) is exploring legal remedies with regards to the recent Supreme Court Order, shutting down from 1 April 2017, the sale of liquor at establishments which fall within a 500 metres range of State and National Highways.
Dilip C Datwani, FHRAI said:
Rs 20,00,000 crore loss to the exchequer and closure of more than 1 lakh establishments is not a small thing. We would not have minded being sacrificed if the ban were to yield results. But the reality is that all the job losses and other damages would be wasted. The object sought would not be achieved.
“Total consolidated loss to both States and to the industry will be around 2 lakh 20,000 crores. The entire MICE industry, including weddings, corporate events will be negatively affected” said Garish Oberoi, a member of FHRAI.
(Source: Times Now)
3. American NSA to Discuss Afghanistan, Pakistan on Maiden India Visit
US national security advisor HR McMaster will be in India this weekend to discuss stabilisation of Afghanistan in the wake of threats posed by a resurgent Taliban and the expanding footprint of the Islamic State in provinces bordering Pakistan.
Gen (retd) McMaster will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar in addition to his counterpart Ajit Doval in what will be his first visit to South Asia since he took over in February. McMaster is expected to carry an invitation from US President Donald Trump for Modi to visit Washington in June.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Jharkhand Teen Lynched: Police Say Suspects Tried to Extort Before Murder, Father Blames Friend Too
The men who allegedly beat a Jharkhand teenager to death, apparently for being friendly towards a minor Hindu girl, had allegedly attempted to extort money from his family before his death. They got the girl to call up the victim’s father to ask for money, according to police. The victim’s father, however, accused the girl of conspiring to kill his son after “attempts to blackmail” the family failed.
The victim, Mohammad Shalik, 19, was allegedly assaulted for long by six youths near the girl’s house in Soso village of Jharkhand’s Gumla district on 6 April. He succumbed to injuries the same day while being taken to a hospital in Ranchi, nearly 100 km from Gumla.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Bungalows to Ex-Chief Ministers: Supreme Court Issues Notice to UP Government
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the response of the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea seeking action against authorities for alleged failure to get the government bungalows allotted to five former chief ministers vacated. A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra sought the reply from the director of estates of the state government within three weeks as to why the government bungalows allotted to the ex-CMs have not been vacated and posted the matter for further hearing to 2 May.
During the proceedings, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that he needed time to reply as to whether respondent 7 (Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh) has vacated the bungalow allotted to him in his capacity of the ex-CM of the state or not.
(Source: PTI)
6. Madhya Pradesh: Former Congress MLA Sentenced to Jail in Defamation Case
Former Congress MLA Kalpana Parulekar was sentenced to serve one year in jail on Tuesday in a criminal defamation case filed by former Madhya Pradesh Assembly principal secretary Bhagwan Israni.
At a press conference on the Assembly premises in Bhopal in 2009, the then legislator from Mahidpur in Ujjain district had accused Israni of indulging in corruption and producing fake degrees to get and retain a job.
Israni filed a criminal defamation case in 2010 against Parulekar, who was one of the most vocal legislators in the Assembly, arguing that the allegations against him were false and questioned the veracity of the documents she had produced at her media interaction.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. Communal Tension in Bokaro, Ranchi; Police Officer Injured
A Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) was injured when police resorted to force following stone-pelting between two communities in Bokaro district on Tuesday. In Ranchi, police were thrown into a tizzy when a procession passing along a mosque on the Main Road played objectionable slogans on the speaker system. The situation was brought under control in both the incidents, police said.
Unidentified persons kept an animal’s head outside a house in Sadam Bazar area under Bermo Subdivision of Bokaro district Tuesday morning, leading to angry exchanges between residents of the two communities.
Stone-pelting began when police tried to resolve the issue and DSP (Bermo) RK Mehta suffered a fracture in the right arm.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Petrol Pumps Threaten to Remain Shut on Sundays From May
Petrol pump owners want an eight-hour, six-day work schedule for their employees, saying it is getting difficult to employ staff for longer hours without an increase in their margins.
Besides, they want petrol stations to be closed on Sundays in line with the government’s push for lesser consumption of fossil fuel as part of a green initiative.
They said the two steps should be implemented from 10 May.
Fuel stations across the country employ roughly 5,00,000 employees, including 1,00,000 temporary contractual workers.
The owners said if the margins – cuts the dealers get for each litre of fuel sold – were not increased they would be forced to sack the temporary staff.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. NDA Partners Raise Beef Issue at PM Modi's Unity Dinner, Call for Sensitivity
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told NDA allies on Monday night that there were no differences between them, though some of the partners made discordant noises over issues such as the ban on beef and liquor shops.
Modi tried to reach out to the allies, delivering a simple message on Tuesday to the NDA constituents to remove anxieties they might have had about the “Big Brother” BJP.
“Aap hum hain, hum aap hain (you are us, we are you),” he said at a meeting, an outreach to the partners in the backdrop of the BJP’s big wins in the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand elections.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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