QBullet: Manmohan Demands Apology from PM; Condom Ads Restricted

The Quint’s roundup of headlines from national dailies.

File photo of former prime minister Manmohan Singh. 

(Photo: AP)

1. Modi Cannot Lamely Question My Public Service Record: Manmohan

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 11 December hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleging that the Congress party met with Pakistan officials to discuss upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections.

In a statement, Singh said that he was “pained and anguished by falsehood and canards being spread” by Modi, as the Gujarat elections unfold. Singh accused Modi of spreading “falsehoods in a lost cause”.

Singh asserted that Modi was setting a "dangerous precedent" with his "insatiable desire to tarnish" every Constitutional office, including that of a former prime minister and Army Chief.

Read the full story on The Quint.

2. TV Channels Can Show Condom Ads Only Between 10 pm and 6 am: I&B Ministry

The government has ordered television channels not to air condom advertisements before 10 pm and after 6 am, a decision prompted by complaints of explicit content in such ads.

The information and broadcasting ministry said these ads should be slotted for late night to prevent exposing children to “indecent and inappropriate” content.

In an advisory issued on Monday to the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, the ministry said its attention has been drawn to channels carrying advertisements of condoms “repeatedly, which are alleged to be indecent, especially for children”.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

3. India-China-Russia Trilateral Call for Joint Action on Terror Outfits, Delhi Remains Skeptical of Beijing

Even as China continues to block consensus over Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar at the United Nations Security Council, the India-China-Russia trilateral, for the first time, called for cooperation to take decisive and concerted action against globally-proscribed terrorists and terror entities on Monday.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, however, did not mention Jaish-e-Mohammad in the list of terror groups, although she mentioned Lashkar-e-Taiba, Taliban, ISIS and al-Qaeda. In her bilateral meeting with Wang Yi on Monday, she stressed the need to meet more frequently and without any agenda to strengthen mutual trust.

While the RIC statement is viewed positively, South Block sources said they do not expect any radical change in China’s behaviour.

(Source: Indian Express)

4. 1.6 Crore Abortions a Year in India, 81% at Home: Study

A total of 15.6 million (1.56 crore) abortions took place across India in 2015, against the 7 lakh figure the Centre has been putting out every year for the last 15 years, according to a research paper published in The Lancet Global Health medical journal on Monday.

Not only do a lot more Indian women than previously thought undergo abortions every year, an overwhelming number — 81 percent — take medicines at home instead of going to hospitals, the study has said.

"The government figure talked of surgical abortions carried out in its own hospitals. The private sector was not counted, nor were medical abortions," said the main author, Dr Chandra Shekhar of International Institute of Population Sciences in Mumbai.

Overall, 12.7 million (81 percent) abortions were medication abortions, 2.2 million (14 percent) were surgical, and 0.8 million (5 percent) were through other methods, probably unsafe. Medical abortions using mifepristone and mifepristone-misoprostol combipacks need a doctor's prescription.

(Source: The Times of India)

5. Railways Halts 2004 Job Scheme for Children of Staff Opting for VRS

The Railways has stopped an employment initiative launched in 2004, when it started giving jobs to children of employees in the lower tier in return for voluntary retirement, and decided to approach the Supreme Court to determine if the scheme is constitutionally tenable, official sources told The Indian Express.

The Liberalised Active Retirement Scheme for Guaranteed Employment for Safety Staff (LARSGESS), which was started during former railway minister Nitish Kumar’s term in 2004, was suspended indefinitely last month following an order from the Rail Ministry. The order issued to all zonal railways stated: “Keep LARSGESS on hold till further orders.”

Moula Ali Railway Station. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The move comes after the Punjab and Haryana High Court said in July, while hearing a case over the scheme, that it violated the Constitution on the “principle of equal opportunity” for all in government jobs.

“Such a policy was violative of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India..,” the court found. It asked the Railways to “revisit the offending policy keeping in view the principle of equal opportunity in public employment….”

(Source: Indian Express)

6. After One-Horse Race, Rahul Is Now Cong Chief

Though her influence will not fade completely, the curtain fell on the Sonia Gandhi era in Congress with her son and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi elected as party president with expectedly no other challenger in the fray.

Rahul was elected Congress president after a long suspense over just when he would grasp his family legacy. His elevation follows Sonia’s 19 years at the helm, the longest tenure in the party’s 132-year history, and comes at a time when the 2019 Lok Sabha elections are not too far off.

The Gandhi scion will formally assume the top post on 16 December — two days ahead of results to Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections which will set the tone for his initial stint in office.

His immediate goal will be to get the Congress battle-ready and lead it into the next national election.

(Source: The Times of India)

7. Rajasthan Becomes First in Country to Offer E-Mail IDs in Hindi

Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to offer free e-mail address in Hindi to its residents. The facility —[e-mail] (in Devanagari script) — will lead to millions of new users who are not comfortable with English e-mail ids, officials said.

During Digifest Kota in August 2017, chief minister Vasundhara Raje had shown the intent to have a vernacular e-mail service for the residents who are not fluent in English as she felt that language should not be a hindrance for anybody using emails or electronic communication. Hence, the vernacular e-mail, in Hindi, was launched on 3 December. Rajasthan is the first, and currently the only state, to have a vernacular e-mail.

Akhil Arora, Principal Secretary, IT Department

The first e-mail id that was created was that of the chief minister, [e-mail] (in Devnagari). All the government personnel in the state will soon have an email id in Hindi too.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

8. Venkaiah Naidu Wants Automatic Suspension of Unruly Members in Parliament

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu suggested on Monday automatic suspension of unruly lawmakers disrupting proceedings in legislatures and naming them publicly for their behaviour.

The suggestion from Naidu, who is the Rajya Sabha chairperson, came four days before Parliament sits for its winter session.

Legislatures may display the names of the members in public domain with an observation that they have violated rules in disregard of the directions of the Chair and, thereby, adversely impacting the functioning of the House.

Source: Hindustan Times

9. Bound in Love Forever: Virat and Anushka Tie the Knot

It’s official. Putting an end to months of speculation, Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma finally tied the knot on 11 December in Tuscany, Italy. The private ceremony took place earlier this morning amidst close family and friends – there were less than 50 people present.

According to a spokesperson of the couple, the couple will be hosting a reception in New Delhi for their relatives on 21 December, which will be followed by a reception for film industry friends and cricketers in Mumbai on 26 December.

Virat and Anushka would move to their new residence in Worli, Mumbai in December.

Read the full story on The Quint.

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