1. SC Refuses to Order a Probe into Rafale Deal
The Supreme Court on Friday, 14 December, rejected a clutch of petitions demanding a court-monitored investigation of the Rafale jet fighter deal, saying it saw no reason to doubt the process followed in the ₹59,000 crore purchase, effectively vindicating the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s stand that there is nothing wrong in the deal and that due process was followed.
The court refused to go into the issue of the deal’s pricing.
In the political realm, as the NDA demanded an apology from Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has been relentless in insisting that there has been wrongdoing in the deal, the opposition party refused to accept the government’s claim of vindication and mounted pressure for a probe by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC).
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Raj Turbulence Ends: Gehlot in Cockpit, Sachin Co-Pilot
Veteran Congressman Ashok Gehlot on Friday, 14 December, prevailed over the last-minute resistance mounted by his junior colleague, Sachin Pilot, to be appointed Rajasthan chief minister for a third term, three days after the party had wrested the state as well as Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh from BJP.
Following two days of intense brinkmanship, Congress president Rahul Gandhi capped the process of consultations with a final chat with Gehlot and state Congress president Pilot, who relented and accepted the post of deputy chief minister in the proposed Gehlot government.
But Jyotiraditya Scindia, who lost the CM’s post to Kamal Nath in MP, is learned to have refused the job of deputy CM offered to him.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. Rajan Warns Against Farm Loan Waivers
Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday, 14 December, cautioned against farm loan waivers and instead backed the idea of income transfers to ease distress in the agriculture sector.
“I have said forever, even written a letter to the Election Commissioner that they should be taken off the table. Certainly there is reason to think about farm distress. But, the question is whether the flows to farmers are best affected by waiving loans. After all, there is only a subset of farmers who get those loans. So, it often goes to the best connected rather than most poorly off,” he said.
The statement comes at a time when seven states have already announced farm loan waivers of Rs 1.8 lakh crore.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. Rajapaksa to Resign, Pave the Way for Ranil’s Return
Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to vacate the office of Prime Minister – which he controversially held for seven weeks – paving the way for the return of ousted leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. The move signals an end to the political crisis in the island nation.
Wickremesinghe will be sworn in as Prime Minister on Sunday, 16 December, sources told The Hindu.
According to Rajapaksa’s son and legislator Namal Rajapaksa, [Mahinda] Rajapaksa will “resign” on Saturday “to ensure stability of the nation.”
He said their new party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP or Sri Lanka People’s Front), would form a coalition with President Maithripala Sirisena.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. No CBI Charge Sheet Yet, So Bail For 3 Accused in Dabholkar Murder Case, Rap From HC
With the CBI failing to file the chargesheet in the Narendra Dabholkar murder case within the mandatory 90-day period, a Pune court on Friday, 14 December, granted bail to three accused, Amol Kale, Rajesh Bangera and Amit Degvekar.
Hours later, the Bombay High Court, hearing a separate plea filed by the families of Dabholkar and activist Govind Pansare, seeking court-monitored probes into both killings, asked if there were attempts on the CBI’s part to “dilute” or “slow down” its probe into Dabholkar’s killing.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6.10 Die After Taking Temple ‘Prasadam’
At least 10 people died and over 60 were hospitalised after consuming ‘prasadam’ distributed at the Maramma temple at Sulwadi in Hunsur taluk of Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district on Friday, 14 December, in a suspected case of food poisoning.
The district authorities confirmed 10 deaths and feared the toll could increase as some of the patients were critical. Chamarajanagar SP Dharmendra Kumar Meena said 68 people had been hospitalised in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts.
The devotees had participated in a few rituals, ahead of their visit to an Om Shakti temple in Tamil Nadu.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. Accused of Sexual Harassment, Subodh Gupta Steps Down as Goa Fest Curator, Denies Charges
A day after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against him, leading Indian artist Subodh Gupta on Friday, 14 December, stepped down as curator of the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa. Gupta called the allegations against him – posted on an anonymously-run Instagram account, Scene and Herd – “false and fabricated”.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Gupta denied the allegations. “I deny the anonymous allegations made on the Instagram account @herdsceneand in their entirety. I have never behaved in an inappropriate manner with any individual who worked with me and several of my former assistants can attest to this. These allegations are entirely false and fabricated,” he said.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Pak Court Gives Govt a Month to Deport Jailed Indian
New Delhi has demanded Islamabad should immediately free Indian national Hamid Nehal Ansari who is set to complete a three-year prison term on Saturday, 15 December, amid concerns about the prolonged incarceration and ill-treatment of prisoners in Pakistani jails.
Ansari, arrested in 2012 after he allegedly entered northwest Pakistan illegally to meet a woman he befriended online, was tried by a military court on charges of espionage and given a three-year sentence in December 2015.
Legal experts have argued the 33-year-old should have been freed earlier as he had already been in prison for three years at the time of his sentencing.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. New RBI Governor’s First Board Meet: Governance Changes to be Discussed
Meeting for the first time under new Governor Shaktikanta Das, the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, 14 December, decided to take forward governance changes in the RBI but stayed away from any controversial decisions that led to the exit of former governor Urjit Patel.
“The board deliberated on the governance framework of the Reserve Bank and it was decided that the matter required further examination,” the RBI said after the board meeting in Mumbai.
The Centre had sought a discussion on governance in the RBI at the previous board meeting on 19 November and on fixing an appropriate economic capital framework.
(Source: The Indian Express)