QBullet: India Warns Pakistan, Infighting in AAP and More
The Quint brings you a collection of important news stories from the previous day.
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1. Citizens Don't Have Absolute Right Over Their Bodies: Government
The Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that citizens could not claim "absolute" right over their body parts and refuse to give digital samples of their fingerprints and iris for Aadhaar enrolment.
"The concept of absolute right over one's body was a myth and there were various laws which put restrictions on such a right," attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told a bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan.
His assertion came in response to a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act which provides for mandatory mention of Aadhaar while filing income tax returns and applying for PAN number from 1 July this year.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Rein in Your Border Action Teams, India Warns Pakistan
India sternly warned Pakistan army on Tuesday on the growing number of border action teams (BATs) and training camps along the volatile Line of Control and said it reserved the right to respond to the “dastardly and inhuman“ beheading of two Indian soldiers at a time and place of its choosing.
Director-general of military operations Lt Gen AK Bhatt conveyed the pointed message on BATs – seen as responsible for the beheadings – on hotline to his Pakistani counterpart, Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza.
Army vice-chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand said the Pakistan army would have to own up to the brutality and face the consequences for mutilating the bodies of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. NN Vohra, Rajnath Singh Discuss Valley, Opening Talks in J&K an Option on the Table
With the Valley in turmoil and tension mounting on the Line of Control after a Pakistan Army border action team killed and mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers, J&K Governor NN Vohra met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday and urged New Delhi to consider initiating a dialogue process with the state’s mainstream political parties led by the National Conference and the Congress which could later include the state BJP as well.
The Indian Express has learnt that the Centre has been told that a decision on extending the dialogue process to possibly include separatist leaders, including those of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, could be taken at a later stage after the views of mainstream political parties, who have a historic stake in the state, have been shared with the government.
Although Governor’s rule has been imposed thrice during his two terms, Vohra is said to have conveyed that imposing it again without initiating any political dialogue would serve no purpose, given the situation in the Valley.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Pakistan Army Brass Ordered Attack to Avenge Losses on Line of Control
The savage ambush on the Line of Control which led to the decapitation of two Indian soldiers on Monday is believed to have been authorised by Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa following a visit to Pakistani military positions in Haji Pir on 30 April, Indian intelligence and military sources have told The Indian Express. Local commanders, sources said, had underlined the need for reprisal strikes following the killing of seven to ten soldiers in a 17 April Indian artillery assault.
Lt General Nadeem Raza, who commands the Pakistan X Corps, responsible for Kashmir, pushed back against concerns that the retaliatory action could lead to escalation on the LoC, sources said, along with Major General Azhar Abbas, head of the Murree-based 12 Infantry Division, the formation whose units have been at the receiving end of the artillery duels on the LoC since last year.
“Ever since the cross-Line of Control strikes that followed the Uri terrorist attack, things haven’t really quietened down,” an Indian intelligence official said. “The skirmishing has been costly for Pakistan, and we think it’s trying to show India it is now willing to risk escalation, despite the weakness of its military position on the Line of Control.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Kumar Vishwas Alleges Conspiracy, Manish Sisodia Says 'Stop Airing Grievances’
Within minutes after Kumar Vishwas told a press gathering that a few people within the Aam Aadmi Party were conspiring against him, a visibly angry Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia hit out at him, saying that airing his grievances in front of the camera was affecting the party workers’ morale.
Speaking about the party’s efforts to placate Vishwas, Sisodia said that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal already spoke to him at great length. Appealing to Vishwas to raise his issues within the party forum, Sisodia said the foot soldiers of the party are being effected by this ‘On Air’ tussle. He also asked Vishwas to attend the party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) at Kejriwal’s residence.
Earlier, an emotional Vishwas categorically denied that he will be joining any party and emphasised that he never aspired to become chief minister or deputy chief minister. “I have said this 10 times, told Manish Sisodia, told Arvind Kejriwal, I never wanted to get any post or join any party. I will remain a volunteer,” said Vishwas. Alleging that a few are working against him, Vishwas said that he will not apologise. “I will not ask apology from anyone,” he said.
(Sources: The Indian Express)
6. 'Top Univs Will Be Free to Decide Curricula'
In a bid to incentivise excellence in higher education, the government plans to ensure top-ranked colleges and universities enjoy full autonomy in framing curriculum and hiring faculty, HRD minister Prakash Javadekar has said.
In an exclusive conversation with TOI, Javadekar said:
He said higher education regulators UGC and AICTE had become “stumbling blocks,” requiring reform. We want more autonomous colleges selected on merit based on the NAAC rating and NIRF (National Institute of Ranking Framework) rankings,” Javadekar said, adding that a major shift in policy is underway that is intended to incentivise research, innovation and quality learning.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. Infosys to Hire 10,000 Americans
IT services firm Infosys Ltd said it plans to hire 10,000 US workers in the next two years and open four technology centres in the US, starting with a centre this August in Indiana, the home state of US vice-president Mike Pence.
The move comes at a time when Infosys and some of its Indian peers such as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Wipro Ltd have become political targets in the US for allegedly displacing US workers’ jobs by flying in foreigners on temporary visas to service their clients in the country.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. Stone Smashes Ballot – Anantnag Poll Scrapped After 'Scary' Tag
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "ballot not bullet" exhort has been turned on its head in Kashmir; the Election Commission's decree to scrap the Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll means it's the ballot that has retreated to the bullet, or rather, to the pelted stone.
The decision rings with multiple implications, none of which cast favourable light on either Mehbooba Mufti's PDP-BJP power coalition or Modi's ultra-nationalist establishment. The most worrying of them is this: Has democracy been forced to pack its bags and panic out of the Valley?
In a 10-page order announcing the cancellation last night, the Election Commission said state government officials had informed it that the situation in south Kashmir "is not good, the overall situation is scary and not very conducive (to holding the election)".
(Source: The Telegraph)
9. PM Modi Raises Visa Revamp With Turnbull but Australia Unlikely to Relent
Despite its strong objection to Australia's decision to scrap the 457 visa facility, which largely affected Indians, India may have to live with the Australian overhaul of its popular temporary work visa programme.
PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday in a telephonic conversation with his counterpart Malcolm Turnbull expressed concern about the possible impact of the changes in the skilled professionals' visa programme on Indians. The two leaders agreed to remain in close touch over the issue, said a government statement.
The opposition Australian Labor Party has backed the decision taken by the Turnbull government though it said that Australia was looking to attract high-skilled workers.
(Source: The Times of India)
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Published: 03 May 2017,07:01 AM IST