1. PM Modi Invites World to India: Come and Invest, Red Carpet Replacing Red Tape
Making a case for eliminating rifts and differences to build a new world order, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 23 January, flagged the rising threat of protectionism, saying that a new layer of tariff and non-tariff barriers were being erected with countries increasingly focusing inward.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum on his first visit to Davos, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 20 years, Modi also pitched for India as an investment destination, emphasising on efforts to improve the ease of doing business. “We have made it so easy to invest in India, manufacture in India and work in India. We have decided to uproot licence and permit Raj. We are replacing red tape with red carpet,” he said in his keynote address on the opening day of the WEF.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Shiv Sena Makes Break With BJP Official, Says Will Contest 2019 Alone
Launching a sharp attack on the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Shiv Sena, a BJP ally for over two decades, announced on Tuesday, 23 January, that it would contest the Lok Sabha elections and the Maharashtra Assembly elections, both in 2019, on its own.
At a meeting of the party’s national executive, Sena leaders passed a resolution to contest all elections independently, almost a year after their president Uddhav Thackeray called off seat-sharing talks with the BJP ahead of elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
Reacting to the announcement, made on the birth anniversary of Sena founder Bal Thackeray, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in Davos that the BJP-Sena state government would complete its full term. Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shellar said the “loss will be for Sena” and that his party was ready to face polls “on its own strength.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Rajput Outfits Burn 50 Vehicles in Ahmedabad in Protest Against ‘Padmaavat’
At least 200 vehicles and eight shops were damaged when mobs affiliated to Rajput outfits unleashed arson and violence on Tuesday, 23 January, on five multiplexes that had insisted on screening Padmaavat. In all, more than 50 vehicles were set ablaze.
The Gujarat government’s claims of increased security at multiplexes went up in flames as CCTV footage showed the audacity with which protesters took the law into their hands. Ahmedabad fire and emergency services (AFES) teams were sent to multiple locations to tackle blazes.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. Hadiya Is an Adult, NIA Can’t Probe Her Marriage, Says SC
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 23 January, said that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) cannot probe the validity of the marriage of a Muslim couple that was annulled by the Kerala High Court last year in a decision that had sparked a debate over personal freedoms in India.
The case is that of a 24-year-old woman, Hadiya, who converted from Hinduism to Islam, and her marriage with 27-year-old Shafin Jahan. Hadiya’s parents allege that the union was the result of a larger conspiracy involving forced conversion, while she says that it was a personal choice.
The court, which did not give a ruling but only made verbal observations on Tuesday, fixed 22 February to hear the case again and made Hadiya a party so that she could give her response in writing.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. AAP MLAs Disqualification: Sisodia Says Will Fight Case in Court
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is confident of winning a legal battle against the disqualification of 20 MLAs for holding offices of profit as political secretaries and is hoping there will be no need for bypolls in Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday, 23 January.
Reposing faith in the judiciary, Sisodia said that the Centre’s notification on Sunday — which brings down the AAP’s strength from 66 to 46 in the 70-member Delhi Assembly — “would not stand in the court even for two minutes.”
“As of now, our only strategy is to fight in the court. We have full faith in the judiciary and are hopeful that we will get justice.”
Sisodia said that if the High Court did not rule in the party’s favour, it would move the Supreme Court.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Yechury Starts Talks With Other Parties on CJI 'Removal'
The CPI(M) has started rallying opposition parties to discuss the possibility of bringing a motion in the coming Budget session of Parliament to remove the Chief Justice of India in a move that could impart a political colour to the ongoing tug-of-war between CJI Dipak Misra and four senior judges of the Supreme Court.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who is at the forefront of this initiative, said on Tuesday, 23 January, that several Opposition parties had expressed deep concern about the serious issues raised by the senior SC judges. On January 12, in a press conference they expressed concern over the way the CJI was administering the court, including allocation of sensitive and important cases.
The matter hasn’t been resolved, he added.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Bhima Koregaon: Police Probe Fake Aadhaar Card With Delhi Address
Investigators are probing a “fake” Aadhaar card with a Delhi address found in Vadhu Budruk village near Pune, where a dispute between Dalits and Marathas on December 29 is believed to have been one of the triggers that sparked violence in the Koregaon Bhima region on 1 January.
The card, purportedly carrying the name “Kadir Khan,” was said to have been found near the samadhi of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the most prominent landmark in the village. A resident of Vadhu Budruk found the card on 1 January and handed it over to local police on 7 January.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior police officer said: “One card was found by a villager, and it was reported to us. We are trying to get it verified from authorities through our channels.” However, sources close to the investigation said the card was “most probably a fake,” and that there was no resident by that name at the address in Delhi’s Pitampura.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Darwin Theory Row: Javadekar Tells Singh to Refrain From 'Such Comments'
Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday, 23 January, that he had asked his junior minister Satyapal Singh to refrain from making comments on issues such as Charles Darwin’s evolution theory. Singh had said at an event in Aurangabad last week that Darwin’s theory of evolution was “scientifically wrong” and needs to be changed in school and college curricula.
Intervening in the row over the remarks, Javadekar said there are no plans for a national seminar to prove Darwin wrong. “I have discussed the matter with Singh and I have asked him to refrain from making such comments. We should not dilute science. This is the advice I have given him,” Javadekar said.
(Source: PTI)
9. DU Principals Under Probe in Admission Scam
The Delhi University administration is investigating what appears to be a major admission scam during the 2017-18 session. A number of colleges and principals are reportedly under the scanner for alleged malpractices. DU officials claimed that students with marks lower than the cutoff, and even fake certificates, were admitted to certain colleges.
Once the candidates who benefited from the alleged scam are identified, DU will ask the colleges to cancel the admissions. Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi confirmed that a probe was on.
(Source: The Times of India)
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