QBullet: President’s 1st R-Day Eve Speech; 85 Padma Awardees Named
Here’s a roundup of the top headlines of the day.
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1. President Speaks: Disagree Without Mocking Dignity, Respect– Neighbour’s Space and Rights
A day after violent protests rocked the country against the screening of a film, including an attack on a Gurgaon school bus with children on board, President Ram Nath Kovind weighed in on Thursday, calling for a “civic-minded” society where one can disagree without “mocking” the other’s dignity, a social contract where neighbours respect each other’s “space, privacy and rights.”
In his first Republic Day-eve address to the nation, the President struck another timely chord when he underlined the need for institutions to be “disciplined and morally upright” adding they are always “more important” than individuals in office. The institutions should also respect their “fraternal relationship” with other institutions, he added.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. India, ASEAN to Bolster Maritime Security Ties
With an eye on growing Chinese influence in the region, India and the ASEAN nations on Friday decided to step up maritime and counter-terror cooperation and bolster connectivity plans during a commemorative summit, the second such gathering in a little over five years.
The summit between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) also looked at ways for the speedy conclusion of a balanced and mutually beneficial Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a trade pact being negotiated by 16 nations.
The summit marked India’s 25 years of engagement with ASEAN, which is key to New Delhi’s Act East policy and the Indo-Pacific strategy. The 10 members of ASEAN and India have a combined population of about 1.8 billion and a combined GDP of more than US$4.5 trillion.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. ‘Padmaavat’ Releases Amid Tension
Cinema halls in several states did not screen Padmaavat as the controversial film on legendary queen Padmini opened across the country on Thursday amid the Karni Sena’s national bandh call evoking a poor response.
While the film’s screening was stalled by theatre owners in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan fearing violence, it was shown in many cinema halls in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana amid tight security. In other states, the film opened without incident.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a contempt petition on Monday against the states where the film was not screened while the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal dismissed an appeal by the Jauhar Smriti Sansthan seeking a stay on the movie’s release saying it distorted historical facts.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Padma Vibhushan For Maestro Ilaiyaraaja, Bhushan For Dhoni
Repeating last year’s trend, the government has once again conferred the coveted Padma awards on a cross-section of “unsung” achievers who have contributed to diverse fields such as social welfare, arts, traditional medicine and healing, and even recycling of waste, all while keeping well away from the spotlight.
The few well-known names among the 85 Padma awardees this year — which include three Padma Vibhushan, nine Padma Bhushan and 73 Padma Shri — are music composer Ilayaraja (Padma Vibhushan), Hindustani classical music exponent Ghulam Mustafa Khan (Padma Vibhushan), cricketer MS Dhoni, Bhojpuri singer Sharda Sinha , painter Laxman Pai, snooker player Pankaj Advani (all Padma Bhushan), actor Manoj Joshi and tennis player Somdev Devvarman (both Padma Shri).
(Source: The Times of India)
5. After Rate Cut and Dip in Two Months, GST Collections up in December
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collections in December marked a rebound to touch Rs 86,703 crore (till 24 January), reversing the sliding trend of last two months, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Thursday.
Though the December collections still remained 4.7 percent below the monthly target of Rs 91,000 crore and 7.8 percent lower than Rs 94,063 crore collected for July (as on August 31), the rise in GST revenue assumes significance as it was for the first full month after the rate cut on over 200 items, effective from 15 November.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. School Van Stopped, Driver Shot in Leg, 5-Year-Old Boy Abducted
On Republic Day eve, with the capital under unprecedented security cover for the event as well as the ASEAN summit and the release of ‘Padmaavat’, two criminals on a bike intercepted a school van, shot at the driver and rode away with a five-year-old boy after dragging him out of the vehicle.
After the daring crime on Thursday morning, the kidnappers are learnt to have fled towards the Delhi-UP border. The van driver is recuperating in hospital.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. Rahul Picks New Head of His Core Team
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has handpicked former bureaucrat Koppula Raju as the new head of his core team, party functionaries familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The 61-year-old Raju, who will now work from the Congress president’s 12 Tughlaq Lane residence, is an important Dalit face in the party and has headed its Scheduled Castes department since August 2013, working out of Congress HQ at 24 Akbar Road in the capital.
“Raju will be assisted in his new role by a team of professionals and young party leaders in handling Gandhi’s official work,” a party official said on condition of anonymity. “He is already in the process of finalising his team.”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat: Caste in Politics Because Voting is on Caste
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat Thursday said that politicians are compelled to resort to caste politics because votes are cast in India based on caste.
Speaking at conference titled ‘Nationalism and Ethical Practices in Business’ at the Bombay Stock Exchange, Bhagwat said, “Samaj mein ethical practices ki jitni aadat hai, utni politics mein reflect hoti hai… Udhaharan ke liye, jaat-paat ki rajneeti mujhe nahi karna, aisa mein sochke bhi jata hoon lekin samaj toh jaat-paat par vote deta hai, toh mujhe karni hi padti hai. Mujhe wahan tikna hai, tabhi toh mein parivartan laoonga… toh samaj parivartan se rajneetik vyavastha mein parivartan hota hai, ulta nahi hota.(The ethical practices of the society is reflected in the politics of the country. For example, I don’t want to use caste politics but I am compelled to use it because the society votes based on caste. If I stay in power, only then can I change the system. So if the society changes, the politics of the country will also change, not vice-versa).”
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Cong Smarts as Rahul Gets 4th-Row Seat at R-Day Gala
A fourth-row seat for Rahul Gandhi at the Republic Day parade kicked up a controversy with party members protesting against the arrangement, though defence ministry officials clarified that a special dispensation that gave Sonia Gandhi a front-row seat had not been extended to the new Congress president.
While there was no official word from Congress over the seating arrangement, Congress members, speaking off the record, slammed the government, accusing it of resorting to “cheap politics”. They said the decision was a breach of protocol and an attempt to “demean” the party, and added that Sonia had been seated in the front row for the last three years.
(Source: The Times of India)
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