1. President’s Rule Twist to Maharashtra Post-Poll Potboiler
President’s Rule was clamped in Maharashtra on Tuesday, 12 November, after Governor BS Koshyari told the Centre that no party was in a position to form the government, capping nearly three weeks of political instability in the state and triggering criticism from the Opposition.
The Union home ministry said the customary six-month-long central rule could be revoked earlier if any party came forward to prove a majority in the state Assembly.
The Shiv Sena, which has fallen out with pre-poll ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the chief minister’s position, approached the Supreme Court against Koshyari, saying the governor acted at the behest of the BJP.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Delhi Breathes ‘Severe’ Air Again, Today May Be Worse
A noxious haze hung over Delhi-NCR on Tuesday, 12 November, as air quality plunged into the “severe” zone again after eight days of relative respite, with experts pointing to a rise in pollution from farm fires and unfavourable weather conditions while warning that pollution could get worse on Wednesday and Thursday.
The average AQI in Delhi on Tuesday was 425, a sharp drop from Monday’s 360 (“very poor”). The air was just as toxic in other NCR cities with Ghaziabad recording 453, Noida 440, Faridabad 406, Greater Noida 436 and Gurgaon 402 — all in the “severe” category.
(Source: The Times Of India)
3. Don’t Need ‘Khairat’, Our Fight Was for Babri Masjid: Owaisi
Expressing his dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya issue again, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday, 12 November, said his party was not in favour of the five acres of land proposed in the judgment for building a mosque.
“I speak for my party, we do not want this ‘khairat’ (donation or charity). Our fight was for a legal right, for a Babri Masjid. Our fight was not for, to get this piece of land,” PTI quoted Owaisi as saying.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Ayodhya Land Exempted in Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act: SC
The Supreme Court has made it clear that its Ayodhya judgment will not act as a precedent to justify communal mobilisations against places of worship of other faiths.
The Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has dealt with this apprehension by referring to Section 5 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991.
Section 5 had uniquely exempted the “place of worship — commonly known as Ram Janma Bhumi-Babri Masjid” from the ambit of the 1991 Act, which prohibits the conversion of any place of worship.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. Tata-Controlled Progressive Electoral Trust Is Top BJP Donor in 2018-19
The Tata-controlled Progressive Electoral Trust contributed ₹356 crore to the BJP in the financial year leading up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, making it the top donor to the party in 2018-19 among those listed as having contributed more than ₹20,000 that the BJP had submitted to the Election Commission of India.
The BJP’s contribution report, submitted on 31 October and made public by the ECI on Monday, shows the ruling party received a cheque of ₹356,53,55,172 from the Mumbai-based trust.
Prudent Electoral Trust, which includes contributions from DLF Limited, Bharti Airtel, GMR Airports, DCM Shriram Ltd. and Jubilant Foodworks Limited, gave the BJP a total of ₹54.25 crore in nine cheques over the financial year. The New Democratic Trust, which has been funded by three Mahindra companies, gave the BJP ₹2.5 crore.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Train Services Partially Restored in Kashmir
Train services were partially restored in the Valley on Tuesday, more than three months after they were suspended following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August.
Officials said that on the Banihal- Baramulla line, train services between Srinagar and Baramulla were restored from Tuesday, while the decision about restoring train services from Srinagar to Banihal would be taken soon.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. PM Modi Heads Ministers’ Meet on Ayodhya Temple Trust
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 12 November, chaired a meeting with a small group of union ministers to deliberate on the setting up of a trust that will have the mandate to decide on all matters related to the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, said a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary familiar with the matter and who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The meeting starts the process of setting up the trust, which will be under the purview of the Union ministry of home affairs.
The Supreme Court, in its order on the Ramjanamabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit, gave the government three months from the date of the judgement to set up such a trust.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. Bihar Alarmed by Large Number of Cases Under SC/ST Act
With the recently released National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2017 placing Bihar at the second worst position for the third consecutive year so far with respect to cases of atrocities against Dalits, the state’s General Administration Department (GAD) has asked divisional commissioners to ensure that all district magistrates mention details of SC/ST vigilance and grievances committee meetings.
According to the government’s direction, a district magistrate has to preside over four meetings of the committee every month and ensure implementation of sundry recommendations of the committee.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Telugu-English Divide Pits Others Against Jagan
Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy remains resolute in his plan to shift to English-medium education in government schools in the state from the next academic year, a move that has arraigned opposition parties TDP, BJP and Jana Sena against him for “ignoring” the mother tongue, Telugu.
Last week, the YSR Congress government had issued an order for converting all Telugu- and Urdu-medium government schools into English-medium institutions. Aimed at “strengthening” schools, the new plan will kick in for Classes I to VIII from academic year 2020-21 and for Classes IX and X from 2021-22.
(Source: The Times Of India)
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