1. No Big Deal If Sudip Took Rs 2-3 Lakh for Polls: Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's confrontation with the Centre escalated on Tuesday as CBI arrested Trinamool Congress's leader in Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandopadhyay, in connection with the Rs 17,000-crore Rose Valley Ponzi scam that came to light in 2013.
Bandopadhyay's arrest – the biggest in connection with the Rose Valley scam – came three days after CBI took actor-turned Trinamool MP Tapas Paul into custody following his arrest on Friday.
Street fights erupted on Tuesday between Trinamool and BJP members after the former besieged the state BJP headquarters in Kolkata. With Mamata, who has been in the forefront of the opposition's campaign against demonetisation, claiming that CBI action against her colleagues was being driven by the Modi government's "vendetta", Trinamool leaders staged a dharna in front of CBI's Salt Lake office from where Bandopadhyay had been detained before being flown to Bhubaneswar later in the night.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Two Days After Ousting Father Mulayam, Akhilesh Meets Him for Three Hours
Two days after he seized control of the Samajwadi Party and ousted his father as its national president, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav spent more than three hours with Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday. Uncle Shivpal Yadav, who was removed as state party chief, joined Akhilesh at Mulayam’s residence in Lucknow.
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There was no word on what transpired at the meeting, but speculation was rife that the father and son would make peace again.
The meeting was held hours after Ram Gopal Yadav, SP leader and adviser to the CM, met the three Election Commissioners in New Delhi to apprise them of Akhilesh’s appointment as party president. The meeting lasted about half-an-hour.
With the announcement of elections to the UP Assembly expected soon, the Akhilesh and Mulayam camps are both staking claim to the SP’s ‘cycle’ symbol.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. To Be or Not Be the BCCI President, Ponders Sourav Ganguly
After the Supreme Court’s order on Monday, when the recommendations for administrative reforms are implemented, the East Zone will emerge as the most powerful lobby in the BCCI.
With the north-eastern states getting voting powers in the one-state, one-vote policy, the voting share of the region will almost double. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has always been the most influential body in the region, which means, its president Sourav Ganguly will have greater say at the national level.
Given his credentials and the eligibility criteria set by the SC committee for BCCI officials, the former Indian captain is perfect for any role in the Board. Even though he is in a position to make a choice, whether Ganguly will take the plunge when the next Board elections are held, remains to be seen.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Women 'Straying Away' From Indian Culture Reason for Bengaluru Mass Molestation, Says Abu Azmi
Samajwadi Party Mumbai unit chief Abu Azmi courted controversy on Tuesday as he suggested that the reason behind ‘mass molestation’ of women in Bengaluru during New Year’s eve celebrations was because of them ‘straying away’ from Indian culture.
“In these modern times, the more women are naked, the more fashionable, modern and educated they are considered. And this is increasing in the country. This is a blot on our culture,” NDTV quoted him as saying.
Thousands of revellers assembled at Bengaluru’s MG Road for New Year celebrations. Taking advantage of this, miscreants groped and molested women as they ran for their safety.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. 1 Address, 75 Firms, No Employees: Inside India's Domestic Tax Havens
Paan-stained and fraying, the basement cubbyhole is next to an open-air technology hub that is also known as one of the world’s biggest markets for pirated and counterfeit products.
Everything about B-8 too is fake, although it serves as the registered address of at least 75 companies. There are no employees, no assets and, in fact, no real business. It’s just a drop box address – one of 6,460 across Delhi that mask as the headquarters for 41,448 shell companies, official figures accessed by HT shows.
Shell companies, the backbone of any shadow economy, are back in focus after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pulled out 86 percent of the cash in circulation in an ambitious campaign to stamp out corruption and ‘black money’.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Army Chief to Pakistan: We Can Smash Terror Hubs
New Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has warned Pakistan that it should stop aiding and abetting cross-border infiltration and terrorism, saying that his 1.3-million strong force has the requisite will, intelligence and capability to destroy terror wherever it emanates.
Pointing to the “surgical strikes“ conducted by the Army on terror launch pads in PoK on 29 September, Rawat told TOI in an exclusive interview on Tuesday: “The operation's unequivocal message was we have the capability, we are aware of the terror infrastructure that lies across the border and intelligence is forthcoming.“
“If the need arises... we can strike effectively. The surgical strikes achieved good success. The aim and intention was fully achieved. We are not a war-mongering nation, but there are certain thresholds that shouldn't be crossed. Our response will vary,“ he said.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. Journalist Shot Dead in Bihar's Samastipur
A journalist was shot dead by unidentified men in Bihar’s Samastipur on Tuesday. The journalist was identified as Brij Kishor.
Earlier in November last year, a journalist working for a reputed Hindi daily was shot dead in Sasaram, district headquarters of Rohtas district in Bihar. The murder took place exactly six months after another journalist with a Hindi paper, Rajdeo Ranjan, was gunned down in Siwan.
Rajdeo Ranjan was shot dead allegedly by the men of Siwan strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Justice JS Khehar Takes Charge as Chief Justice of India
4 January 2017 marks a historic day for the nation, as the President swears in the 44th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Once appointed, Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar will become the first Sikh Chief Justice of India, taking over from the former Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, who completed his 13-month tenure on 3 January.
According to Manish Tiwari, senior advocate, Supreme Court, the tradition of leading the apex court with distinction, which was a hallmark of former chief justice TS Thakur, will surely continue under the able guidance and vision of the enigmatic Justice JS Khehar.
An administrative and constitutional law expert, Justice Khehar has already made his mark on Indian jurisprudence with several landmark judgements, including the striking down of the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act (NJAC Act), which gave rise to the much-spoken about rift between the Centre and the judiciary in recent times.
(Source: Business Standard)
9. ED Lens on Rs 1,600 Cr Deposit by Cooperatives
Deposits of more than Rs 1,600 crore by over a dozen cooperative banks in the vaults of some prominent banks have come under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has so far arrested 18 people on money-laundering charges. It has also registered 26 cases of alleged illegal exchange of the withdrawn notes.
During an audit of the branch of a private bank, financial investigating agencies found that 13 cooperative banks had deposited huge amounts between 16 and 21 November.
Furthermore, a Surat cooperative bank, under scrutiny for alleged irregularities, had deposited Rs 20 crore with the Bank of Baroda. The information has been shared with the ED.
(Source: The Hindu)
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