QBullet: Congress Loses Arunachal Again, Citizenship Bill and More
The Quint’s compilation of the stories making headlines in dailies across the country.
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1. Aaya Cong, Gaya Cong: Party Loses Govt in Arunachal Again
Two months after its government in Arunachal Pradesh was “restored“ following a Supreme Court order, the Congress was left squirming on Friday with Chief Minister Pema Khandu defecting with all but one of the 42 party MLAs, plus the Speaker, to People’s Party of Arunachal, a regional outfit allied with the BJP-led NDA.
The development is the latest in the dramatic twists and turns in the turbulent politics of the sensitive border state. The Supreme Court had castigated former governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa for dismissing the state government and imposing Central rule in January .
The controversial dismissal of Nabam Tuki’s government had led to Congress rebels forming another government with the BJP’s support.
Read more on The Quint.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Son Emerges as Shivpal Shadow
The embattled Shivpal Singh Yadav appears to be grooming son Aditya Yadav as his answer to nephew and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who has humbled him in the latest round of the power struggle within the Samajwadi Party’s first family.
Aditya, who is in his late 20s, has been chairman of the State Cooperative Federation since February 2013, but was hardly seen in public with Shivpal, the youngest brother of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.
But he has been constantly at his father’s side since the latest crisis broke on Tuesday, with Mulayam replacing son Akhilesh with Shivpal as the state unit president and the Chief Minister hitting back by stripping his uncle of key ministerial portfolios.
A senior Samajwadi Party politician said:
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Madrassa Principal Prevented Riot After ‘Gau Rakshak’ Attack
A madrassa principal’s refusal to be swayed by emotion prevented a communal riot in West Delhi’s Prem Nagar on Wednesday night. Ali Rukman, the 52-year-old principal, was worried and angry after learning that his son-in-law Hafiz Abdul Khalid and another man, Ali Hasan, had been ruthlessly beaten up by cow vigilantes while carting out buffalo remains from the previous day’s Eid-ul-Zuha sacrifice.
But when a mob started gathering to avenge the attack, Rukman told them clearly it was a matter for him and his family to sort it out, and the others should keep out of it.
(Source: Times of India)
4. Singur Syndrome Comes to Town
An attempt by the Mamata Banerjee government to earmark its own land has run into angry women, who have uprooted demarcation pegs, driven away police and claimed their right to around 145 acres.
The events have been unfolding over the past 48 hours – not in Singur, but in Calcutta.
The land in question is valued at around Rs 4,350 crore, at Rs 30 crore an acre, near Ruby Hospital as well as the Urbana housing project. The location and proximity to the residential complex are some of the reasons for the high land value.
At Chowbaga, a kilometre east of EM Bypass, Nirmala Bodhak said:
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Under Fire, Bihar Govt Goes to SC to Put Shahabuddin Back in Prison
Calling Mohd Shahabuddin a “dreaded criminal”, “a terror” and a “menace to the society”, the Bihar government moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking cancellation of bail to RJD leader in a murder case and apprehended disruption in law and order by his “sharp-shooters” if he remains out.
The state government filed a special leave petition (SLP) against the bail order by the Patna High Court and said that “irreparable injury” will be caused to the conduct of around 60 criminal cases pending against the gangster-turned-politician from Siwan.
Read more on The Quint.
(Source: The Telegraph)
6. Students Welcome HC’s Verdict on DU Photocopy Kiosk, Call it ‘Historic’
It was an afternoon of celebrations for students, teachers and photocopy shop owners in Delhi University as the Delhi High Court lifted the ban on Rameshwari Photocopy Service.
The shop, located near Delhi School of Economics in North Campus, was fighting the case since August 2012. Students can now photocopy study material from books published by international publishing giants.
Overjoyed students said it was not just about the photocopy shop, but the larger right to access resource material for education, which was upheld by the court.
Dharmpal Singh, owner of the photocopy shop, said although he was yet to read the order, this meant a huge victory for the students.
Read more on The Quint.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Proposed Citizenship Bill to be Examined by Joint Parliamentary Panel
A joint parliamentary committee, comprising members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, will examine the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the Press Information Bureau of the government announced on Friday.
An illegal migrant, the Act states, “is a foreigner who enters India without a valid passport or travel documents or stays beyond the permitted time”.
A key amendment in the new bill, however, seeks to grant citizenship to people without valid documents from minority communities – Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians – from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, after six years of residence in India.
(Source: Live Mint)
8. ‘Terminator’ Train Gets Set to Fight Chikungunya, Dengue
A ‘terminator’ train, mounted with spraying machines to target insects, will now be pressed into action in Delhi to combat chikungunya and dengue.
The move, a joint collaboration between Delhi’s civic bodies and Northern Railways, will begin from 23 September and continue for two months, with an interval of two weeks. As per the plan, an insecticide spraying machine will be mounted on the last wagon of the special train, which will then make its rounds through the NCR.
The sprayers can sanitise up to a distance of 50-60 meters from the tracks.
(Source: DNA)
9. ‘Centre Against Imposition of Hindi’
Minister of State (Home) Kiren Rijiju said the government was against imposing Hindi on other regional languages like Tamil, Kannada or Telugu, and the Centre will continue to promote Hindi as it was the official language as envisaged in the Constitution. He also said that promotion of regional languages was the responsibility of the respective States.
The BJP-ruled NDA government has come under severe criticism in the past for its efforts to promote Hindi and making it compulsory for all Central government offices to communicate on social media.
(Source: The Hindu)
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