QBullet: PM Modi Slams ‘Critics’; Govt Bans 2 TV Channels

Catch all headlines across newspapers here.

(Photo: PTI)

1. We Want to Change Status Quo, Our Critics Don’t Want It: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, 6 March, strongly countered critics questioning initiatives such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, making triple talaq punishable and revocation of Jammu & Kashmir’s special status, saying the opposition stemmed from his determination to change the status quo which was holding the country back.

“When the status quo changes, then these people (critics) start seeing particular disruptions. Those who describe themselves as messiahs of gender justice oppose our decision on triple talaq. Those who tell the world about the rights of refugees oppose CAA when it is enacted for refugees. Those who swear by the Constitution are against removal of Article 370—a temporary arrangement—to fully implement the provisions of the Constitution in J&K,” the PM said at the sixth edition of the Economic Times Global Business Summit.

(Source: The Times of India)

2. YES Depositors’ Money Safe, Probe On, Says FM

Thousands of YES Bank customers on Friday, 6 March, scampered to withdraw all or part of the Rs 50,000 a month they are allowed to take out of the beleaguered bank — the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) clamped the moratorium on Thursday night — even as finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured depositors that their money was safe.

By Friday evening, State Bank of India had stepped in with a rescue plan that, if approved, will see it buying a 49 percent stake in YES Bank for around Rs 2,450 crore.

The proposed draft reconstruction scheme says the bank’s authorised capital will be increased to Rs 5,000 crore from the current Rs 800 crore and that SBI will buy shares at a minimum price of Rs 10 each. It also says SBI will not reduce its holding in the bank to below 26% for three years.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

3. Govt Bans Two TV Channels: ‘Critical of RSS, Siding With One Community’

“Siding” with one community and being “critical towards Delhi Police and RSS” — these are the reasons cited in two unprecedented orders by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting banning two Malayalam news channels, Asianet News and Media One News, for 48 hours starting 7.30 pm Friday, 6 March, for their coverage of the Delhi riots.

Both the orders accuse the channels of having “highlighted the attack on places of worship and siding towards a particular community” during their reporting on the riots.

In the order against Media One News, the I&B Ministry said that the channel “questions RSS and alleges Delhi Police inaction,” “seems to be critical towards Delhi Police and RSS” and focuses on “vandalism of CAA supporters”.

(Source: The Indian Express)

4. DMK General Secretary Anbazhagan No more

K Anbazhagan, DMK’s general secretary for 43 years, four-time Minister and a close friend of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, died in the wee hours of 7 March. He was 97 and is survived by two daughters and a son born through his first wife. He had served as MLA for nine terms and as Lok Sabha MP for one term.

DMK president M.K. Stalin has announced mourning for a week when party flags will fly half-mast.

Mr Anbazhagan, one of the stalwarts of the Dravidian movement, was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai on 24 February following age- related health complications. His condition remained critical ever since in view of his old age.

(Source: The Hindu)

5. Yes Bank Founder Rana Kapoor's Mumbai House Raided by ED

A day after the Reserve Bank of India imposed a moratorium on Yes Bank and superseded its Board of Directors, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday, 6 March, raided the Mumbai residence of its founder Rana Kapoor.

The raids were conducted in connection with a money-laundering probe against him, officials said.

PTI reported that the ED is probing Kapoor's role in connection with the disbursal of a loan to a corporate entity and the subsequent alleged kickbacks that were reportedly received in his wife's accounts.

(Source: DNA)

6. Flight to Bring Swabs of 300 Indians in Coronavirus-Hit Iran

The government is in talks with Iranian authorities to bring back Indians from the Persian Gulf country, senior officials said on Friday, 6 March.

A flight from Iran is expected to land in the country tonight and would be bringing around 300 swabs of Indians there who are suspected of having coronavirus, they said.

Iran is one of the countries that has been severely affected by the outbreak. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said all are fully geared up to screen passengers and also follow up cases, amid the virus outbreak.

(Source: Deccan Chronicle)

7. Global Coronavirus Infections Pass 100,000

Coronavirus has infected more than 100,000 people across 91 countries globally, according to an AFP tally Friday.

The death toll reached 3,407, while the total number of infections hit 100,002, after a surge in cases worldwide since Thursday at 1700 GMT, notably in virus hotspot Iran which clocked 1,234 new cases.

Outside China, a total of 19,450 cases have been recorded around the world since the epidemic began, including 365 deaths.

(Source: Deccan Herald)

8. All-Party Panel to Scan Indiscipline in Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha on Friday, 6 March, decided to form an all-party committee headed by Speaker Om Birla to look into instances of indiscipline by members in the House even as the Opposition termed the suspension of seven Congress MPs for the remaining period of the budget session as a harsh decision and urged withdrawal.

The announcement of formation of such a committee was made by BJP MP Kirit P Solanki, who presided over the House, as Speaker Om Birla continued to keep off the House, stressing his annoyance with the conduct of Opposition members. The committee is likely to scan recorded footage to identify all those who had engaged in unruly behaviour.

(Source: The Telegraph)

9. Videograph All Autopsies, Preserve DNA Samples of Riot Victims, Delhi HC Directs Hospitals

The Delhi High Court on Friday, 6 March, directed all government hospitals to videograph post-mortem of those killed during the communal violence in northeast Delhi last week.

A Bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and I S Mehta asked authorities to collect and preserve DNA samples from all the bodies, and to not dispose of any unidentified body till 11 March, the next date of hearing.

“All the government hospitals in Delhi under the aegis of both state and central governments are directed to videograph the post-mortem conducted on all bodies lying in their mortuaries,” the Bench said.

(Source: The Tribune)