1. 54% Turnout in Delhi Civic Polls
High stakes elections to Delhi’s three municipalities were held on a hot Sunday with about 54% of voters exercising their franchise — equivalent to 2012 when these went to the polls last.
The elections were crucial for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as well the Congress, which were fighting 10 years’ anti-incumbency, hoping to make a good debut and seeking a revival, respectively.
After polling ended at 5.30 pm, the BJP said it was confident of sweeping the corporations while its rivals were less exuberant.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. Tamil Nadu Farmers Put Off Stir Till 25 May
Tamil Nadu farmers, who have been protesting at Jantar Mantar for over a month, called off their protest on Sunday evening after the State Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami met them in the morning.
The Chief Minister, who addressed the farmers and also held talks with their leaders, assured them that he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday and submit a memorandum highlighting their plight.
Palaniswami also said that he had already discussed the issues being faced by the farmers with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Talking to media persons, farmers’ leader Ayyakannu said they had decided to call off the agitation for a period of one month based on the assurance given by the Chief Minister.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. Maneka Link in Bovine Row
Unidentified activists said to be associated with a voluntary outfit chaired by Union Minister Maneka Gandhi are suspected to have roughed up three men transporting buffaloes in south Delhi last night, in the latest instance of bovine vigilantism, police sources said today.
The People for Animals (PFA), an NGO founded by Maneka, however, distanced itself from the assault.
Maneka’s office, too, denied any link between the incident and the PFA’s activities. “Whoever acted did so in his individual capacity,” PTI quoted the office of the women and child development minister as saying.
A Delhi Police officer, however, mentioned the PFA while speaking to news agency ANI today.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Five ‘Instant Triple Talaq’ Incidents After Boycott Threat
At least five instances of the triple talaq have been reported in Uttar Pradesh since the All India Muslim Personal Law Board advised Muslim men last Sunday to shun the provision of instant divorce or face a social boycott.
One of the talaqs was allegedly issued by text message and another through WhatsApp; and the five unilateral divorces have generated three police complaints of cruelty or dowry harassment, with a possible fourth in the offing.
It is not, however, clear whether the incidents reflect an actual rise in instant talaqs or a rise in their reportage because of the sudden national focus on the practice - or whether they are just a coincidence.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Centre Trying to Turn Country into Hindia: DMK Leader Stalin
Tamil Nadu Opposition leader MK Stalin has accused the Centre of trying to relegate people who don’t speak Hindi to second-class citizens, and of pushing the country into becoming “Hindia”.
In a video message released by his office on Saturday night, the DMK leader targeted PM Narendra Modi, alleging that from the day he took charge, his government has repeatedly tried to impose Hindi and Sanskrit in many forms. “And these efforts have started to disturb the peace, and damage the unity of this country.”
Citing the example of a recent parliamentary committee proposal to make it mandatory for MPs and Union ministers who know Hindi to use it as their official language, both in speech and writing, Stalin said:
The urgency and focus with which this ordinance for use of Hindi as an official language has been passed is a clear indicator of where the government’s priority lies.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Adityanath Wants Biometric Attendance up to Block Level
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed that biometric attendance systems be put in place in offices up to the block level in order to ensure all government employees reach work on time.
Adityanath’s instructions came during a meeting with officials of the rural development department late on Saturday night.
“Efforts should be made to ensure that a biometric system of attendance is installed up to the block level. Apart from this, a board be put up at every village panchayat, which will have information about contact details of the village pradhan and details of the ongoing works,” Adityanath said, according to an official statement.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Abuse at BITS, Pilani: Kashmir Scholar
A Kashmiri research scholar at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, has returned home and says he might quit the course because of racial slurs from fellow scholars who scribbled abuses on his door and clothes.
Hashim Sofi, 27, was allegedly targeted on Friday, the same day that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh wrote to all the chief ministers to protect Kashmiris staying in their states from harassment.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too asked all the states to reach out to Kashmiri students studying in their institutions.
Hashim said he had been shocked on Friday morning to see a slanderous message written on his door at the Malviya Bhawan hostel, whose inmates are research scholars, proclaiming him a terrorist because of his Kashmiri origins.
(Source: The Telegraph)
8. PM Modi Bats for Simultaneous Elections, Shifting to Jan-Dec Fiscal Year
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday pitched for conducting simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies and shifting to a January-December fiscal year.
Addressing the Niti Aayog Governing Council's third meeting, which was attended by several state chief ministers, Modi said for long, India had suffered from economic and political mismanagement.
"Because of poor time management, many good initiatives and schemes had failed to deliver the anticipated results," he said, adding there is a need to develop robust arrangements that could function amidst diversity.
(Source: Times of India)
9. 300 WhatsApp Groups Were Used to Mobilise Stone-Pelters at Encounter Sites in Kashmir: Official
Nearly 300 WhatsApp groups were being used to mobilise stone-pelters in Kashmir to disrupt security forces' operations at encounter sites, of which 90 per cent have been shut down, a police official said on Sunday.
Each of these 300 WhatsApp groups had around 250 members, the official said while explaining how determined attempts were being made to disrupt the operations of the security forces by mobilising stone-pelting mobs at the encounter sites.
“We identified the groups and the group administrators, who were called in by police for counselling. We have had a good response to this initiative,” he said on the condition of anonymity.
(Source: Times of India)
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