1. Sharad Arvind Bobde Takes Oath as 47th Chief Justice of India
Chief Justice of India Sharad A Bobde has been sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a simple ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday morning. Chief Justice Bobde, the eighth chief justice from Maharashtra, will have a tenure of a little over 18 months.
Before his elevation to the top judicial post in the country, Chief Justice Bobde was part of the benches of the Supreme Court that delivered the historic verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit that ruled in favour of the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya, and upheld the right to privacy as a fundamental right.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Four Soldiers, Two Civilian Porters Killed as Avalanche Hits Patrol in Siachen
Four army soldiers and two porters succumbed to extreme hypothermia after being struck by an avalanche in the Siachen glacier on Monday.
The deceased were part of an eight-member patrol team which was operating in the Northern Sector of Siachen glacier at an altitude of 19,000 ft. The rescue teams managed to pull out all the trapped personnel from the debris and seven of them, who were critically injured, were airlifted to the nearest military hospital.
“Today at about 3 pm, a patrol of eight persons was struck by an avalanche in northern Siachen glacier,” said an army official.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. No Crackdown, Say Police – JNU Students’ Injuries Say Otherwise
A visually-challenged student said he was trampled on, an ex-student received five stitches on his head, and a teacher said he was kicked and hit with lathis despite identifying himself.
On Monday evening, Delhi Police claimed that “no force, including lathicharge, was used” to break up a protest by JNU students who marched towards Parliament on the first day of the Winter Session, demanding a rollback of a hike in hostel fees.
But the bloodied faces, torn clothes and lathi-sporting police personnel in the heart of the capital told a different story.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. ‘Money Laundering’: Congress Takes On BJP After Reports On Electoral Bonds
The Congress has posed a series of questions for the Narendra Modi government after news reports that claimed the Centre had disregarded a warning from the Reserve Bank about electoral bonds. Legalisation of electoral bonds, for which the RBI Act had to be amended, was part of the Finance Bill 2017, which has come under the scanner of the Supreme Court.
In a tweet, senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said, "RTI reveals how 'electoral bonds' became instruments of anonymous donations bordering on opaque 'money laundering'. Will the Modi Govt answer: 1. How many thousand crores of bonds issued? 2. How many thousand Cr's received by BJP? 3. The 'Quid Pro Quo'?”
(Source: NDTV)
5. Arvind Kejriwal Says No Need to Reintroduce Odd-Even Scheme as Delhi’s Air Clears Up
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said there was no need to reintroduce the odd-even road rationing scheme in the national capital as the pollution levels have gone down.
“The sky is clear now, so there is no need of it,” Kejriwal said. The third edition of the odd-even scheme was implemented between 4-15 November.
Last week, Kejriwal had put off a decision on extending the scheme for Monday saying that the air quality was likely to improve.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. In 5 Months, 40,000 Kerala Farmers Seek Loan Waiver
Around 40,000 marginal farmers in Kerala have approached the State Agricultural Debt Relief Commission in the last five months, seeking a waiver of loans they have taken from cooperative banks, sources said.
Officials said the crisis after last year’s flood could be one of the reasons for the large number of applications.
Out of 40,000 pleas from 14 districts, the hilly district of Idukki — where nine farmers committed suicide — accounted for 12,000. The last date for applying for the loan waiver was 15 November.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. ‘All Is Not Well’: Venkaiah Naidu to Rajya Sabha Members On First Day Of 250th Session
Vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday urged all members of the Rajya Sabha to do some soul-searching because "all is not well" as far as meeting people's expectations is concerned.
The upper house of parliament took up a discussion on ''Role of Rajya Sabha in Indian Polity and the Way Forward'' on the first day of the 250th session of the House on Monday.
Venkaiah Naidu said the House has played a significant role in the socio-economic transformation of the country during its journey of the last 67 years but "all is not well".
(Source: PTI)
8. ‘Studied Sanskrit All My Life, Never Made to Feel I Am Muslim, but Now…’
Having joined as Assistant Professor at Banaras Hindu University’s Sanskrit Vidya Dharam Vigyan (SVDV) 11 days ago, Firoze Khan, a doctorate in Sanskrit, has gone into hiding for the past few days, switching off his mobile phone too.
On Monday, a “hawan kund” was set up and around 20 SVDV students sat on a dharna outside the Vice-Chancellor’s residence, protesting his appointment. The protests have been on since Khan’s appointment, for the only reason that he is a Muslim. No classes have been held since he joined the faculty on 7 November.
Khan is distraught, and hopes students will come around. “All my life, I learnt Sanskrit and I was never made to realise I am a Muslim, but now when I am trying to teach, suddenly it has become the only subject,” Khan told The Indian Express.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. More Talks Needed On Maharashtra: Sharad Pawar After Meeting Sonia Gandhi
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar, after a 45-minute meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her home in Delhi last evening, said they had discussed the Maharashtra political situation but not government formation or any common minimum agenda. "We have to sort out some more issues, we have not discussed forming an alliance with any party yet," Sharad Pawar told reporters.
The NCP chief also rubbished speculation that he had left the door open for a tie-up with the BJP; the BJP won 105 seats in the Maharashtra polls and scored a comfortable majority with the Shiv Sena (56), which has since walked out of their alliance after a bitter power tussle. The NCP, with 54, is only two seats behind the Sena. "There is no question of supporting the BJP. We will have discussions with the Congress," said Mr Pawar , adding there was plenty of time to do so after President's Rule had been imposed in the state last week.
(Source: NDTV)
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