1. Delhi Govt vs Lieutenant Governor Power Struggle: Supreme Court Reins in Delhi L-G
In a landmark verdict that came as a shot in the arm for the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in its tussle with Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal for control of Delhi, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled that decisions of the elected government of Delhi do not require the concurrence of the Lt Governor who only needs to be informed.
Calling for Constitutional pragmatism and underlining the clear separation of powers, the bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices AK Sikri, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, in three separate yet concurring orders, made it clear that “the status of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is not that of a Governor of a State, rather he remains an Administrator, in a limited sense, working with the designation of Lieutenant Governor”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. MSP of 14 Kharif Crops Hiked, Millet Growers to Benefit
With the 2019 general elections round the corner, the Cabinet Wednesday approved the highest absolute hike ever in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy, and a significant hike for other Kharif crops.
The new MSP rates will ensure that farmers get at least 150 percent of the cost of production for each crop estimated by the Commission for Agricultural Prices and Production (CACP), a promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his interaction with the farming community last week.
Announcing the Cabinet’s “historic” decision, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the MSP for common grade paddy has been increased from Rs 1,550 per quintal to Rs 1,750 per quintal, an increase of nearly 13 percent.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Air India Replaces ‘Taiwan’ with ‘Chinese Taipei’ on Its Website
India’s national carrier Air India has fallen in line with China’s demand not to refer to Taiwan as a separate country but as Chinese Taipei, which is how Beijing wants it to be known officially.
Several international airlines stopped referring to Taiwan as a separate country since the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) directed them on 25 April to change how Taiwan is described on their websites.
Under its “One China” policy, Beijing considers Taiwan a province and opposes ties between Taipei and other capitals.
As of Wednesday, Taiwan was referred to as “Chinese Taipei” on the drop-down booking list on Air India’s website. Air India has only one direct flight to Shanghai, besides flights to Hong Kong.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Burari Suicides a Thanksgiving Ritual for Dead Father?
The Delhi police on Wednesday said that the Burari hangings were part of a “ritual” of a seven-day “thanksgiving ceremony”. However, death was never in the picture.
Police said the ritualistic activities began in July 2007, a few months after the Bhatia family patriarch, Bhopal Singh, died. The family had planned to repeat the ritual with a relative who had been facing problems, police said.
Meanwhile, CCTV footage from a neighbour’s house showed two women in the family bringing in stools to the house at 10 pm on Saturday.
Fifteen minutes later, the family’s two teenaged boys are seen fetching cables from their plywood shop. The stools and cables were used in the hanging, said the police.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Whatsapp Sends New Message: Spam Not Ok
Soon, forwards on WhatsApp will be clearly differentiated from genuine messages and mass spam will be blocked as the world’s most popular messenger begins a series of initiatives to check the spread of fake news. This follows a reprimand by the government after a series of lynching incidents in the country.
The company, in the middle of a storm following the misuse of its platform to spread fake information, said it has made a number of updates to its group chats, and will “step up efforts” to help spot fakes.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. From Cops to Clerks, Punjab Orders Mandatory Drug Tests for All Govt Employees
In bid to curb the abuse of narcotics, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has ordered mandatory drug tests for all government employees, including police personnel, through every stage of their service.
The chief minister has directed the Chief Secretary to work out the modalities and have the necessary notification issued.
According to an official spokesperson, the Chief Minister has ordered mandatory drug screening in all cases of recruitment and promotions, as well as in the annual medical examination required for certain employees.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Animals Are Legal Entities with Rights, Duties and Liabilities of a Living Person: Uttarakhand HC
Upholding the rights of the “entire animal kingdom”, the Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday, declared all animals, including avian and aquatic species as legal entities, with the “rights, duties and liabilities of a living person”.
“The entire animal kingdom including avian and aquatic are declared as legal entities having a distinct persona with corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person,” the order, given by the Division Bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Lok Pal Singh stated.
The order further declared all Uttarakhand citizens as “ as the human face for the welfare and protection of animals”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Delhi to Hold Maritime Talks with China, Russia
India will hold discussions with China and Russia, besides others, to widen the ambit of dialogue and put to rest the doubts on the potential for a Quad of democracies in the Indo-Pacific, challenging Beijing’s and Moscow’s dominance in the region.
The discussions with China, under the maritime dialogue framework — the second such meet after 2016 — will look to address Beijing’s concerns over the informal strategic dialogue between India, Australia, Japan and the US on the Indo-Pacific, said one person familiar with the development, adding that the talks with Russia will also be along similar lines.
India was also planning to hold talks with South-East Asian and East African nations, given that it considers the vast swathes of land and ocean between East Africa and the West Coast of the US, as part of the Indo-Pacific region.
(Source: Livemint)
9. Not Coming to India, Feel Unsafe from Unfair Prosecution: Zakir Naik
Controversial Islamic preacher and founder of Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) Zakir Naik has denied media reports that he will be arriving in India Wednesday night terming them as “totally baseless and false”.
In a statement issued, Naik said: “The news of my coming to India is totally baseless and false. I have no plans to come to India till I don’t feel safe from unfair prosecution. Insha Allah when I feel that the government will be just and fair, I will surely return to my homeland.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
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