1. Will Transform Delhi into Smart City: BJP Manifesto
Promising to transform Delhi into a “Smart City as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi” and conforming to the “views” of its national president Amit Shah, the State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its Sankalp Patra (Commitment Paper) here on Sunday for the upcoming municipal polls.
In addition to announcing that it would not increase existing taxes or levy new ones, and make Delhi “100% garbage-free”, the party promised “good governance and transparency” by doing away with inspectors and a time-bound scheme to benefit hawkers.
A slew of populist measures – such as the provision of meals costing ₹10 for the poor, and welfare schemes for ex-servicemen, rickshaw drivers and labourers — also characterise the manifesto, which has also sought to extend “protection to stray cows” and dealing with stray dogs.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. Kulbhushan Jadhav: Pakistan Prepares Fresh Dossier, Will Submit it to United Nations
Amid the growing international criticism over the death sentence awarded by a Pakistani military court to former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav on charges of alleged ‘spying’, Pakistan has reportedly prepared a fresh dossier containing evidence of his alleged involvement in espionage activities in Karachi and Balochistan. The report will be submitted to the United Nations, news agency ANI reported.
The new dossier consists of information from Jadhav’s ‘confessional’ video and his statements during the court trial, according to Pakistani media. It also contains the timeline of Jadhav’s alleged militant activities in the country and details of court proceedings along with an attested report of Court Martial General.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. PM’s Pitch for Muslim Sisters
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said society should be "awakened" against "evil customs" to ensure justice for Muslim women, referring to the practice of instant triple talaq which is now before the Supreme Court, but added that conflict should be avoided.
"Muslim sisters should get justice. If there are evil customs, society should be awakened and efforts made so that Muslim women get justice," he said in his address on the concluding day of the BJP's two-day national executive meeting in Bhubaneswar.
During discussions on a resolution to thank the Centre for taking the "historic" step of granting constitutional status to the OBC commission, Modi asked the party to hold conventions of backward sections from the minority community.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Deterrents But No Ban
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board today sought to put in clerical, societal and familial checks and balances to discourage the instantaneous pronouncement of triple talaq, but a section of women regretted its failure to ban the summary divorce outright.
At the end of a two-day general body meeting in Lucknow, the board issued a code of conduct for all Muslims to follow during talaq, stressing staggered divorces and efforts at reconciliation.
It called for a social boycott of those who pronounce the triple talaq at one go and asked clerics to preach against such divorces at every Friday sermon.
The women said the call for a social boycott was mere rhetoric. "Who will implement the boycott? The clergy's call to boycott dowry demands and extravagant weddings, birthdays and mehendi ceremonies have not worked," a woman said.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Govt Wakes to Paramilitary Grievances
Bad food, poor pay, long hours, unsympathetic bosses – the list of central force personnel's grievances has been long, some of it played out in public through videos uploaded by the jawans on the social media.
Now an embarrassed Centre has decided to do something about it. It will set up a committee to see how the service conditions for the 10 lakh central armed paramilitary forces personnel can be brought on a par with their army counterparts, home ministry officials said.
Officials acknowledged that the outrage caused by the jawans' videos had helped speed up the decision.
A parliamentary panel on home affairs too had confessed itself "disappointed" last week at the inferior treatment the paramilitary jawans' received compared with their army colleagues.
(Source: The Telegraph)
6. After Tax Raids, Ruling AIADMK (Amma) Battles Internal Strife in Tamil Nadu
The ruling AIADMK (Amma) is battling twin troubles in Tamil Nadu, with a group of senior leaders rising in revolt against party deputy secretary TTV Dinakaran and an aggressive DMK piling pressure on the government.
Sources said calls were getting louder for Dinakaran to step down after the election commission cancelled the RK Nagar assembly by-election following the cash-for-vote scandal.
Dinakaran, a nephew of general secretary VK Sasikala who is serving time in a corruption case, is the party’s RK Nagar candidate.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Govt Stands by Officer in J&K ‘Human Shield’ Row
The government has decided to stand by the Army officer who took the decision to use an alleged stone-pelter as a "human shield" tied to a jeep to steer his unit and Jammu and Kashmir officials and paramilitary personnel on election duty to safety.
The government has taken note of an Army probe into the 9 April incident which concluded that the commanding officer took the decision reluctantly and as the last resort after he realised that his unit had to pass through streets crowded with a mob of stone-pelters who had also taken positions on surrounding rooftops.
The trapped personnel included about a dozen local J&K employees, about 9-10 ITBP jawans, a couple of constables from J&K police and a bus driver.
Defence minister Arun Jaitley is likely to address the issue when he meets Army commanders on Monday.
(Source: Times of India)
8. Over 38,000 Mails Sent to Email Address Launched for Black Money Information
The email address launched by the finance ministry for getting tips about black money received over 38,000 emails+ , but only 16 percent of them were forwarded for further inquiry, CBDT said in a reply to an RTI query earlier this month.
Jitendra Ghadge, a city-based Right To Information activist, had asked for information about response to the email address 'blackmoneyinfo@incometax.gov.in', launched last December.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes said in its reply dated 7 April that 38,068 emails were received, and 6,050 or about 16 percent of them+ were forwarded to the respective Director Generals Of Income Tax (Investigation) for further inquiry.
The remaining 32,018 emails were closed without any action, it said.
(Source: Times of India)
9. Soft Drink to Oil, State Food Monitors Find 9 Products of Top Firms ‘Substandard’
The food regulators of Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Assam have reportedly found nine products of major companies to be “substandard” after they failed quality tests conducted between April 2016 and January 2017.
According to information accessed by The Indian Express under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, these products include Pepsico’s Mirinda, Nestle’s Cerelac Wheat, Adani’s Fortune oil, Marico India’s Saffola oil, Parle Agro’s Frooti and a cheese spread used by the Subway chain.
The RTI replies show that Herbalife’s energy drink, Murugappa group’s Parry packaged drinking water and Haldiram’s Aloo Bhujia are among the products reported to have failed the quality tests during this period.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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