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QBullet: Rahul Gandhi Leads Candlelight Vigil in Delhi & More

Here are the top stories of the day.

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India
6 min read
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1. Across India, Horror Turns to Outrage at Gang Rape and Murder of 8-Year-Old Kathua Girl

The groundswell of horror against the bid to communalise the gory gang rape and murder of eight-year-old Asifa in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua grew across the country on Thursday, 12 April, as outrage reminiscent of the Nirbhaya protests erupted on social media.

On a day when junior foreign minister and former Army chief Gen VK Singh spoke forcefully for the victim, J&K deputy CM Nirmal Singh said he had called for an explanation from two BJP colleagues — Lal Singh and Chandar Prakash Ganga — but said they had denied inciting communal passions. The duo have defended those charged, portraying them as victims of an alleged frame-up.

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2. Rahul Gandhi Leads Midnight Candlelight March Over Unnao, Kathua Rape Cases

Here are the top stories of the day.
Hundreds joined Rahul Gandhi’s candlelight vigil against Unnao and Kathua rape incidents. 
(Photo: The Quint)

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi led a midnight candlelight march to India Gate in the national capital to protest the Kathua and Unnao rape cases with the party leaders alleging that the daughters of the country were not safe in the Modi regime.

Gandhi was joined by his sister Priyanka and her husband Robert Vadra as well as scores of Congress leaders, party workers and students, who shouted slogans against the Modi government and the state governments in Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, demanding urgent action against the perpetrators of two heinous gangrapes of minors – one in Unnao (UP) and the other in Kathua (J&K).

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3. PM Modi Throws Open DefExpo, Runs Into Cauvery Protests

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the previous United Progressive Alliance government’s “laziness, incompetence or perhaps some hidden motives” behind tardy military procurements while inaugurating the Defence Expo in Chennai on 12 April where his visit was marred by widespread protests and “go back” slogans over the Cauvery issue.

A fasting Modi also inaugurated new facilities at a cancer hospital in Chennai and reached out to the southern states on another spiralling issue of incentives to states on population control. While the Modi government is grappling with the Cauvery water-sharing issue, the PM assured that the 15th Finance Commission will bring benefits to Tamil Nadu.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

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4. PM Modi, Amit Shah Lead BJP Fast Over Parliament Washout

Here are the top stories of the day.
BJP observed a day-long fast to protest Parliament disruptions. 
(Photo: IANS)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah led their party’s day-long fast against the Congress for allegedly causing disruptions that resulted in a washout of the Parliament’s recently concluded budget session.

“The Congress knew very well that it cannot debate in any of the Houses so they did not let the Parliament function. The BJP was left with no choice but to go to the people as it is the biggest forum for us,” Shah said during a sit-in at Hubli in Karnataka, where he is campaigning ahead of the upcoming elections.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

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5. SC/ST Act: Your Judgement Caused Disharmony, Centre tells Supreme Court

The Supreme Court judgment banning immediate arrest of a person accused of insulting or injuring Dalits is causing disharmony and “great damage” to the country, the Centre said on 12 April.

“This case dealing with an issue of very sensitive nature has caused a lot of commotion in the country and is also creating anger unease and a sense of disharmony... the confusion created by this judgment may have to be corrected by reviewing the judgment and recalling the directions issued by the court,” the Centre submitted in a written note.

(Source: The Hindu)

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6. Maharashtra Makes Aadhaar Must for Free Nutrition Schemes

Here are the top stories of the day.
Vulnerable data includes personal information of users like the Aadhaar number, names of banks in which they have accounts.
(Photo: The Quint)

Free nutrition schemes across Maharashtra, meant for malnourished children, pregnant and lactating women, can now be availed only if they have Aadhaar cards.

In a notification dated 6 April, the Maharashtra Women and Child Development (WCD) department made it “necessary” to start registering Aadhaar card numbers of the beneficiaries.

The notification in Marathi follows the Centre’s direction on 6 February this year.

The state WCD stated: “If a beneficiary is found with no registered Aadhaar number or has not followed the procedure to apply for Aadhaar, and continues to avail the scheme, the Child Development Project Officer will be held responsible.”

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7. Justice Chelameswar Expresses Anguish, Refuses to List PIL on Allocation of Cases in SC

Here are the top stories of the day.
File photo of Supreme Court judge Chelameshwar.
(Photo: IANS)

Focus was back on the trouble raging within the Supreme Court on Thursday, 12 April, with the most senior judge, Justice J Chelameswar, complaining against a relentless campaign accusing him of seeking to “grab some office” as he refused to entertain the request for early listing of a petition seeking to dilute the Chief Justice of India’s administrative powers, saying he did not want his orders to be overturned within 24 hours.

“There is a relentless campaign in the last two months against me, accusing me of wanting to grab some office. You please understand my difficulty,” Chelameswar said as he refused Prashant Bhushan’s plea to hear the petition filed by Shanti Bhushan, which said the power to decide composition of benches and allocation of cases be vested in the collegium rather than being the sole prerogative of the CJI.

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8. I-T Dept Issues Second Notice to Deepak Kochhar

Here are the top stories of the day.
Venugopal Dhoot (left) and Deepak Kochhar (right).
(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The tax department has issued a second notice to Deepak Kochhar, the husband of ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar, seeking details of tax returns and balance sheets of companies headed by him.

“We have not received all the information that we had sought, so a second notice has been sent,” said a tax officer on condition of anonymity.

The notices dovetail with a Central Bureau of Investigation preliminary enquiry concerning a suspected quid-pro-quo in a loan extended by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group in 2012, and Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot’s investment (and subsequent transfer of ownership) in a company co-founded by him and Deepak Kochhar.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

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9. Modicare to Kick off on Ambedkar's Birth Anniversary, Focus on Wellness

Here are the top stories of the day.
A file photo of Ambedkar’s statue. Image used for representation.
(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a nationwide comprehensive primary healthcare (CPH) programme in Bijapur in Chhattisgarh on 14 April, Bhimrao Ambedkar’s birth anniversary.

The CPH will be a merger of the central government’s two flagship programmes – Ayushman Bharat and Transformation of Aspirational Districts – NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Thursday.

Modi will launch India’s first wellness centre in Jaangla village, 15km from the district headquarters of Bijapur, which has been identified by the federal think-tank as the fastest improving most backward (or aspirational) district from a list of 101.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

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