QBullet: Torrential Rains Pound Chennai; Mukul Roy Joins BJP

Here are the top stories of the day.

Vehicles move through a waterlogged road during heavy rain in Chennai on Friday.

(Photo: PTI)

1. Mukul Roy Joins BJP, Says Its a ‘Privilege’ to Work Under Modi

Mukul Roy said the regional party could not have grown without the BJP’s support.(Photo: PTI)

Former Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy on Friday officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Roy, a founder member of the TMC, was inducted into the party at BJP headquarters in the national capital. The former TMC leader, known for his organisational skills, joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.

Roy said he is privileged to work under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Today I have Joined BJP and it’s my proud privilege to work under PM Modi,” said Roy.

The 63-year-old leader recalled how the TMC forged an alliance with the BJP soon after Banerjee founded it and became a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He said the regional party could not have grown without the BJP’s support.

(Source: The Indian Express)

Also Read: Mukul Roy Resigns as TMC MP, Indicates No New Party in the Offing

2. Torrential Rains Pound Chennai

Torrential downpour threw normal life out of gear in several parts of the metropolis and neighbouring districts on Friday even as the death toll in rain-related incidents in the state mounted up to eight.

Rains lashed the city overnight. Though there was some respite during the day, it started raining heavily towards the evening.

Sharp showers battered parts of Chennai such as Mylapore, Foreshore Estate, southern suburbs of Tambaram, Chrompet and Pallavaram.

A government release said 105 relief camps have been set up in Chennai.

(Source: Times of India)

Also Read: Chennai Rains: Boats on Roads, Buses Under Water, It’s That Bad

3. Jignesh Mevani Meets Rahul Gandhi, Says Will Work to Defeat BJP

Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi during an election rally in Navsari on Friday and said the two sides will “will work to defeat the janvirodhi (anti-people) BJP government” in the state.

The Dalit leader clarified that he was not joining the Congress but said he along with all Dalit organisations and activists would go all out to defeat the BJP in the Gujarat elections.

“We have a charter of 17 demands for justice and Rahulji has agreed to implement most of them if the Congress comes to power,” said Mevani, a lawyer fighting land rights cases of Dalits.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

Also Read: Be a Bit Giving, Bitgiving? Jignesh Mevani’s Crowdfunding Closed

4. Messages Must Specify Deadline for Linking Aadhaar: SC To Banks, Telcos

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered banks and telecom service providers to specify the last date for linking bank accounts and cellphone numbers with Aadhaar in their messages to customers.

The bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan was hearing petitions challenging the validity of the Aadhaar Act and the decision to link bank accounts and mobile numbers with the unique identification number.

The petitioners’ counsel told the court that the messages sent by banks and telecom service providers, warning that their services would be deactivated if Aadhaar was not linked, were creating panic among customers, and the last date should be mentioned.

(Source: The Indian Express)

Also Read: Your Aadhaar Isn’t Being Linked to Voter ID... At Least, Not Yet

5. Stop Ads If Papers Print 'Anti-National' Articles: Centre to J&K

The ministry of home affairs has asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to stop advertising in local newspapers that allegedly publish “anti-national articles”.

Without naming any newspaper, the ministry has told the state government that some publications were publishing “highly radicalised content glamorising terrorists and anti-national elements”.

The Centre has written to the Mehbooba Mufti-led government in the state to deal strictly with such newspapers. In a letter dated 18 October, and addressed to senior officials of the state government and the Jammu & Kashmir police, the home ministry says:

It is understood that some newspapers in J&K are publishing highly radicalised content glamorising terrorists and anti-national elements. This is against the Constitution of India as well as the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

Also Read: Delhi Is to Be Blamed for Rise in Kashmir’s Youth Militancy

6. 'China Aware of India's Concerns on Azhar'

Masood Azhar, Chief of the Jaish-e-Mohammad. (Photo: Reuters)

China is well aware of India’s concern regarding Pakistan-based Masood Azhar, leader of the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The MEA’s statement came a day after China blocked India’s latest bid to place Azhar under the 1267 Counter-terror Committee of the UN Security Council, which argued that China’s block on the initiative that came on Thursday, would not scuttle India’s global counter-terror campaign.

MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, explaining that the issue of designating Masood Azhar has been part of an ongoing dialogue with Beijing, said:

On this issue we have taken up the matter with the Chinese side at different levels, including at the highest level. So our concern on this issue is very well known to the Chinese

(Source: The Hindu)

Also Read: US Moves UN for JeM Chief Masood Azhar’s Ban; China Opposes

7. Engineering Degrees Secured Since 2001 via Correspondence Invalid: SC

In a major setback to thousands of students who pursued engineering studies through correspondence courses offered by deemed universities in the last 16 years, the Supreme Court declared on Friday that the degrees were invalid, putting them at risk of losing jobs obtained on the basis of the certificates.

A bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit noted that the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) did not approve distance learning programmes in engineering studies and the approval granted by the Distance Education Council (DEC) for such courses was illegal.

The SC decision exposes the extent to which the regulatory system was compromised as the courses were being run for more than a decade and a half without attracting serious scrutiny.

(Source: The Times of India)

Also Read: Varsities Must Award Students Degrees on Time or Face Action: UGC

8. MP Suspends Five Police Officers For Laxity

File photo of MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.(Photo: PTI)

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday the hearing in the gang rape of a 19-year-old civil service aspirant in Bhopal would be conducted in a fast-track court and that action will be taken against police officials for refusing to register her complaint, as the opposition Congress intensified its protests about his “tall claims” about women’s safety.

Officers in charge of MP Nagar, Habibganj and GRP police stations have been suspended for failing to act promptly after the family of the woman approached them one after the other to lodge a complaint. The city superintendent of police in the area has also been transferred.

Inspector general of police (law and order) Makrand Deouskar confirmed the suspensions and the transfer.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

Also Read: Man Rapes Toddler In Front of His Two Children in Delhi

9. Case in Varanasi Against Kamal Haasan for Terror Remark

A day after Kamal Haasan said in his column in a Tamil magazine, which hit the stands on Thursday, that right-wing Hindus have moved from engaging in debates to employing terrorism to propagate their agenda, a case was filed against the actor in Varanasi on Friday.

Haasan has been booked under Sections 500 (punishment for defamation), 511, 298 (hurting religious sentiment), 295-A (intend to outrage religious feelings), and 505-C (attempt to incite hatred enmity between classes) of the Indian Penal Code.

Haasan's comment in the magazine set off an uproar from Hindutva forces as well as BJP leaders, who have damned him for such an accusation. While senior BJP leader, Vinay Katiyar described the actor's mental state as "unstable", the party's general secretary, H Raja dubbed Kamal Haasan as a "supporter of terrorists".

(Source: Times of India)

Also Read: Politics Can Wait! Kamal Haasan May Launch Anti-Corruption Forum

More From The Quint

• Rise of Vigilantism in Kashmir in the Name of Braid Chopping
• If You’ve Had Enough Of “Libtards’’, Here’s What You Can Do
• Aurangzeb, the Big Bad Mughal Badshah With Serious Daddy Issues
• Watch: The Quint Unboxes the Much Awaited Apple iPhone X