1. Exit Polls Predict Gains for Congress, Split on Who Takes Which State
The Congress was hoping to end its prolonged electoral drought as most exit polls aired by TV networks predicted that the party would make gains in the Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh — all ruled by the BJP now.
In Telangana, the ruling TRS was projected to be ahead of the Congress-led grand alliance.
In Madhya Pradesh, three of the four polls predicted that the Congress would emerge as the single largest party. Two polls gave it a clear majority. If exit polls are to be believed, Chhattisgarh could be heading for a photo finish.
While two polls gave the Congress an advantage, two predicted the BJP government may retain power. The BJP has been in power in both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for 15 years.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Inspector’s Murder Was Accidental: Adityanath
The killing of a police inspector during violent clashes in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr earlier this week was an accident and not a case of mob lynching, state chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Friday, 7 December, as state police focused their search on a soldier who allegedly fired the shot that killed the senior officer.
Adityanath’s comment came in Delhi at an event hosted by a Hindi newspaper, a day after he ordered strict action against cow slaughter, unlawful trade in cattle and illegal slaughterhouses, saying district magistrates and other senior police officials would be held personally responsible for any lapse.
Two senior police officers – Meerut inspector general Ram Kumar and director general of police OP Singh – have said they see a “conspiracy” behind the incident, with the former saying that solving the case of alleged cow slaughter, which triggered the clashes, was more important.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. From Arvind to Krishnamurthy: Subramanian Named New CEA
The government on Friday, 7 December, appointed Krishnamurthy Subramanian, an associate professor at the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB), as the new chief economic adviser.
His appointment, for three years, comes nearly six months after Arvind Subramanian stepped down as CEA in June citing “pressing family commitments” and returned to academia in the US. At 47 years, Krishnamurthy Subramanian is among the youngest to be appointed to the post.
Subramanian comes with sterling credentials. He holds a PhD from Chicago University’s Booth School of Business and one of his guides was none other than Raghuram Rajan, who was the CEA before Arvind Subramanian and a former governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
(Source: The Times of India)
4. Surgical Strike Overhype Did Not Help, Says General Who Oversaw Operations
Lt General (retired) D S Hooda, who was the Northern Army Commander in September 2016 when Indian troops carried out surgical strikes on terror launch pads along the Line of Control in the wake of the Uri attack, on Friday, 7 December, said the “overhype” of the strikes did not help and “it is not good” when “military operations get politicised.”
Moderating a discussion on the ‘Role of Cross-Border Operations and Surgical Strikes’ at the ongoing Military Literature Festival, Hooda said following the surgical strikes, there were accusations that the issue had been politicised, that there was an “attempt to keep a purely military operation in the political domain by selective leaks of videos, photographs etc.”
“Did the overhype help? I say, completely no. If you start having political resonance in military operations, it is not good. There was too much political banter, on both sides, and when military operations get politicised, that is not good,” he said.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Enforcement Directorate Raids Robert Vadra’s Staff
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday, 7 December, said it conducted searches on the premises of three persons, including two employees of Robert Vadra, in connection with defence deals.
The move drew a sharp reaction from Mr. Vadra’s lawyer, who termed it “politics of revenge and malicious vendetta.” The Congress said an “unnerved” Modi government was unleashing “vendetta” against party chief Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law to divert the narrative.
Not revealing any information on the case, an ED official said: “The searches were conducted in the Delhi-National Capital Region and Bengaluru. Two of the suspects happen to be employees of Mr Vadra.”
(Source: The Hindu)
6. 24 More Pvt, Govt Institutes up for ‘Eminence’ Tag
A committee of experts headed by former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami has recommended the coveted ‘Institute of Eminence’ tag for 12 private institutions and as many government ones as part of an ambitious government plan under which they will be nurtured into world class centres of education.
Krea University (Sri City), Shiv Nadar University (Dadri) and Vellore Institute of Technology (Vellore) are among the private institutions chosen by the committee, which also picked Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras, Delhi University, Jadavpur University and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) among the publicly funded institutions.
The Narendra Modi government tasked the four member panel headed by Goplaswami to select 20 ‘institutes of eminence’ as part of the initiative to build world class educational centres.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. HC Okay With ‘Kedarnath’, but U’Khand Bans It
A day after the Uttarakhand HC disposed of a petition that sought a ban on the film “Kedarnath”, saying those who didn’t like it needn’t watch it, the film was banned in Uttarakhand, which cited a law-and-order situation.
The movie depicts a Hindu-Muslim love affair in the backdrop of the deadly flash floods of 2013. BJP functionaries said the film “encouraged love jihad” and “hurt Hindu sentiments.”
The Uttarakhand government had formed a four member committee headed by tourism minister Satpal Maharaj to review the movie. After the committee submitted a report on Thursday, the government said district magistrates should take a call depending on the law and order situation in their jurisdiction area on whether to allow screening of the film.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Gadkari Faints on Stage, Says He Felt Suffocated
Senior BJP leader and minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari fainted at a public function on Friday, 7 December before recovering and continuing with his planned travel to Shirdi and Nagpur after a medical check-up.
Gadkari later told the media that he had fainted due to suffocation and heat on stage because of the heavy robes he was wearing at a university function at Ahmednagar. It was earlier felt that his sugar levels had dipped, but this was not the case, the minister assured.
At the event, the minister gave his colleagues and sympathisers a scare as he sank into his seat.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. SC Notice to ED on Plea Against Bid to Declare Vijay Mallya Economic Offender
The Supreme Court on Friday, 7 December, issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on businessman Vijay Mallya’s plea challenging the proceedings pending in a Mumbai court for declaring him a fugitive economic offender.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul, however, refused to stay the proceedings before the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court.
The ED had moved the Mumbai court in June seeking to declare him a “fugitive” under the Fugitive Economic Offenders’ Act, 2018 and confiscate his properties. Though he was summoned by the court, Mallya who has fled India and is currently in the UK, failed to appear before it.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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