1. Will Avenge Border Deaths, Pakistan Warns India After US Snub
Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa has pledged to “avenge” the deaths of troops on the frontier, an apparent reference to clashes with Indian forces on the Line of Control (LoC), even as Prime Minister Imran Khan said the country “won’t fight the wars of others” in what appeared to be a reference to a $300-million cut in security-related aid from the United States.
The leaders made the remarks at an event held at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi late on Thursday to mark Defence Day, observed every year to commemorate the defence of Lahore by Pakistani forces during the 1965 war with India.
Bajwa also raised the Kashmir issue, paying tributes to “the brothers and sisters of occupied Kashmir, who are writing an unparalleled history of bravery and sacrifice”.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Hasty GST Implementation Has Hurt Enterprises: Manmohan Singh
Attacking the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Friday, 7 September, said that the hasty implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has hurt enterprises and businesses. “Programs like Make in India and Standup India are yet to make a meaningful impact on industrial production growth. Small and marginal enterprises are yet to derive significant benefit from the ease of doing business schemes,” Manmohan Singh was quoted as saying by ANI.
Taking on the central government over the promise of creating two crore jobs every year, Singh said, “Our youth are desperately waiting for the promised two crore jobs. Employment growth rate has been declining in the last four years. People aren’t impressed with the figures being put out by Modi govt to justify the creation of large number of jobs.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Supreme Court Won’t Stay SC/ST Act Changes
The Supreme Court on Friday, 7 September, refused to stay the recent amendments to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill of 2018 had restored the legislative intent of the original Act, which barred anticipatory bail to a person accused of insulting or hurting a Dalit.
The amendments were meant to nullify the effect of a 20 March judgment of the court. The verdict removed the bar on accused persons seeking anticipatory bail. It led to widespread protests and loss of lives.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. SC Gives States One Week to Implement Mob Lynching Order
Taking a serious note of the fact that only nine of the 29 states and two of the seven union territories (UTs) have so far complied with its 17 July order giving a slew of directions to deal with mob violence and cow vigilantism incidents across the country, the Supreme Court on Friday gave one week time to the remaining states and UTs to file compliance reports.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud said no further time will be granted to the states and UTs for filing the report and also warned that respective Home Secretaries would be summoned if it was not filed within that period.
On 17 July, the apex court while decrying incidents of lynchings had asked the Parliament to come up with a law to deter such crimes, saying “the horrendous acts of mobocracy cannot be permitted to inundate the law of the land”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. After Historic Section 377 Verdict, Govt Set to Oppose Same-Sex Marriage
A day after the Supreme Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, India’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people say the next step in the legal fight will be for civil rights such as same-sex marriage, inheritance of property, and sharing insurance, among others.
But the Union government, which left it to the court to decide on section 377, has indicated that it is likely to oppose any petition for same-sex marriage.
“If equality of LGBTQ persons is now a fundamental right, then right to marry, bequeath property, share insurance (medical and life) are all part of this. We are asking for rights respect and dignity and it is unconstitutional and impudent to deny that. I am astounded at people who say that we cannot get these rights,” said Sunil Mehra, a petitioner in the Section 377 case.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. CEC Condemns Telangana CM’s Remarks on Tentative Polls
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) OP Rawat on Friday, 7 September, condemned the remarks by caretaker Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao about the scheduling of fresh polls in the State. He said an EC team will be visiting the state on 11 September to assess the ground situation.
“The Commission strongly condemns the way the Chief Minister of Telangana announced the supposed schedule. It is uncalled for,” said Rawat, also denying that he had recently interacted with Rao or any state government official on the issue.
On Thursday, Rao had said: “The election notification is expected in the first week of October, polls in November and results in December”. The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee had objected to it.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. J&K Police Disguise as Stone Pelters to Catch Real Culprits
The Jammu and Kashmir Police Friday, 7 September, adopted a fresh strategy of nabbing stone pelters by planting its men among them at historic Jama Masjid downtown to arrest the real culprits in action.
After the Friday prayers today, a mob started pelting stones at police and CRPF personnel but there was no retaliation this time and not even a single teargas shell was lobbed or baton charge initiated by the law enforcing force.
As the crowd swelled to over 100 people and two chronic stone pelters started leading the agitation, the first tear gas shell was lobbed at the mob dispersing them.
However, to the surprise of the two stone pelters, who were leading the mob, they were grabbed by policemen, covertly placed in the crowd, and whisked away in waiting vehicles.
The policemen, who disguised as stone pelters, brandished toy guns to scare others while the duo were taken to the police station.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. Hardik Patel Hospitalised
Fourteen days after starting an indefinite fast over demands of reservation for the Patidar community and loan waiver for farmers, Patidar quota leader Hardik Patel was hospitalised after his health deteriorated Friday.
Hardik was first taken to Sola Civil Hospital at 3:50 pm in a mobile ICU from his residence near Vaishno Devi circle in Ahmedabad. After preliminary treatment there, he was shifted to SGVP Holistic hospital in Chharodi at 10.15 pm.
The Patidar leader was shifted to Sola hospital minutes after leader of Patidar organisation Khodaldham Trust, Naresh Patel, spoke to him.
Earlier in the day, Naresh Patel had declared that he will meet Hardik and try to mediate talks between Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) and the state government.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Oval Test: Indian Pacers Change Script in Final Session
At one point on Friday afternoon, India’s bowlers must have wondered if the universe had conspired against them. Two catches had been put down, the batsmen had played and missed some two dozen times, and England was, incredibly, only one down going into tea.
Any prayers said during the interval, though, were answered soon after.
Ishant Sharma took three for 28 as wickets fell in a heap in the evening. At stumps on the first day of the fifth Test at the Oval, the home side was 198 for seven, having ambled along at just over two runs an over.
It was a day that will live long in Alastair Cook’s memory, as England’s departing hero scored a typically gutsy half-century in his final Test match.
(Source: The Hindu)
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