QBullet: Cong-Cambridge Analytica Connect; K’taka Poll Dates Out
Here is the roundup of all the important headlines for the day.
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1. Data Firm Whistleblower Names Congress as Client
Christopher Wylie, the whistleblower behind the revelation of major data theft by his former employer Cambridge Analytica, on Tuesday, 27 March, kicked up a fresh controversy after he claimed the Congress was one of the parties in India to engage its services. Testifying in the UK Parliament, Wylie said, “I believe their client was Congress but I know that they have done all kinds of project. I don’t remember a national project but I know regionally”.
Adding that the firm has major offices in India, Wylie added, “India’s so big that one state can be as big as Britain. But they do have offices there, they do have staff”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Karnataka Elections on 12 May, EC to Investigate Schedule 'Leak'
The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday released the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly elections, crucial for both the state’s ruling Congress and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, but the announcement was quickly put in the shade by a controversy over the dates being revealed by a television channel and two political party functionaries who shared it on social media minutes before a public statement by the poll panel.
Polling will take place in single phase on 12 May and the votes will be counted on 15 May, the EC said, immediately following up with the announcement of an investigation of how BJP’s Information technology cell chief Amit Malviya and Karnataka Congress’s Srivatsa B shared the dates on Twitter before Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat got to the part on a live telecast .
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Mamata Banerjee Pitches for United Opposition After Meet With MPs
Positioning herself as a rallying point of anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forces, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday met an array of Opposition leaders and the Shiv Sena, a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), with an eye on the 2019 elections.
Banerjee widened the scope of her engagements and will also meet disgruntled BJP leaders like former ministers Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha on Wednesday.
Banerjee will also talk to her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal during her stay in the national capital, where she will meet Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi at 7 pm on Wednesday.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Congress Leads Signature Drive on Impeachment Plea Against CJI Dipak Misra
The move to bring an impeachment motion against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra gained momentum on Tuesday as the Congress took the lead in signing the draft petition.
Sources said Congress leaders were busy obtaining the signatures of Rajya Sabha members belonging to the DMK, Samajwadi Party, NCP and Left parties, which had conveyed their support to the principal opposition party on the matter. They were also hopeful of getting the Trinamool Congress on board after party chief Mamata Banerjee said that she would go along other Opposition parties.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Steve Smith, David Warner, Cameron Bancroft Sent Home by Cricket Australia
Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft have been sent home by Cricket Australia for breaching the Board’s Code of Conduct in the ball-tampering row during the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
Following the suspension, Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland announced that Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw and Joe Burns would be flown in as replacements for the trio. Tim Paine will officially captain Australia in the Johannesburg Test starting Friday.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Amit Shah Faux Pas in Karnataka: BJP President Calls Yeddyurappa 'Most Corrupt CM'
BJP president Amit Shah made an embarrassing goof-up in election-bound Karnataka on Tuesday. While addressing a press conference in the Devnagere city, Shah termed, albeit mistakenly, his party’s chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa as “the CM who led the most corrupt government in the country”. He, obviously, meant the incumbent CM K Siddaramaiah of the rival Congress party.
“A retired Supreme Court recently said that if we hold a competition for the most corrupt government in the country, then Yeddyurappa government shall be given the No. 1 award,” Shah rattled off as former Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, sitting by his side, looked stunned.
Another party leader nudged Shah, who upon realising the blunder, corrected himself and took Siddaramaiah’s name.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. Build Safe Houses for Lovers, SC Tells States in Bid to Rein in Khap Panchayats
Holding that right of a person to get married with one's choice cannot be smothered by family or community members on the basis of extra-constitutional perception of class honour, the Supreme Court on Tuesday passed a slew of directions to protect such couples facing threat to their life from Khap Panchayat and family members for marrying with a person of other caste and religion.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud asked the local government and police authority not only to provide them protection but also give logistic support to a couple to get their marriage solemnised if the family members and their community opposed the relationship.
It said "human rights of a daughter, brother, sister or son are not mortgaged to the so-called or so-understood honour of the family or clan or the collective and the act of honour killing puts the rule of law in a catastrophic crisis".
(Source: The Times of India)
8. SC Concerned About Misuse of Aadhaar Data by Private Firms
The Supreme Court expressed concern on Tuesday over the potential misuse of Aadhaar authentication data collected by private companies for commercial use and said that safety measures put by UIDAI may not be sufficient to deal with the problem as there is no data protection law in the country.
UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey concluded his four-hour PowerPoint presentation in the courtroom with a strong pitch to convince a Constitution Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan that Aadhaar data was well protected and could not be breached.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. PM for CHOGM, Govt Readies Invite: Feel Free to Use Our Cricket Set-Up
India is likely to let Commonwealth nations have free access to its world class cricketing facilities. An official announcement about this proposed open invitation is likely to take place during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to London next month for the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) summit.
Officials of the Ministry of External Affairs, sources said, had met BCCI representatives a few weeks ago and expressed the government’s desire to use cricket to enhance India’s relations with other Commonwealth countries.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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