QBullet: Modi Says Choice in Kashmir Is Between Tourism, Terrorism

The Quint brings to you the top stories making headlines in dailies across India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting after inaugurating the Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, in Chenani (J&K) on Sunday. (Photo: PTI)

1. Choice is Between the Path of Tourism And Terrorism, PM Modi Tells Kashmir’s Youth

Industrious Kashmiris were chiselling through a rocky mountain to shape their future when some of their fellow brothers were busy throwing stones.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi summoned an allegory on Sunday to describe the situation in trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir after inaugurating the Chenani-Nashri all-weather tunnel, the longest in the country.

I want to tell the misguided youth of Kashmir, realise the power of a stone. On the one hand, there are some youth who pelt stones, on the other hand, there are young men from the same Kashmir who carve stones to build infrastructure.

Narendra Modi

The Prime Minister urged the youth of the Valley to choose between “tourism and terrorism”, saying “40 years of bloodshed” has not done anyone any good.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

Also Read: In Photos: Chenani-Nashri, India’s Longest Road Tunnel in J&K

2. States Seek Legal Ways to Beat Highway Booze Ban

While the West Bengal government is seeking legal opinion on whether its decision to de-notify state highways – after the Supreme Court ban on sale of alcohol along highways – could be construed as contempt of court, uncertainty gripped others in different parts of the country. Goa stood out as an outlier defying the ban.

In Chandigarh, the Punjab Hotel Association decided to approach the Supreme Court against its order banning serving of liquor at pubs, restaurants and hotels up to 220 metres (in smaller municipalities with populations under 20,000) of national and state highways, even as states from Maharashtra to Jharkhand saw booze shops within the specified distance shut down.

(Source: The Times of India)

Also Read: The Final Pub Crawl: Gurugram’s CyberHub Will Never Be The Same

3. Srinagar: Policeman Killed, 11 Others Injured in Grenade Attack in Nowhatta

A policeman was reportedly killed while 11 other police personnel were injured after militants launched a grenade attack against them in Nowhatta area of old Srinagar on Sunday. According to a police official, the militants threw the grenade on a police party next to Ganjbaksh Park in Nowhatta area of the city at around 7.00 pm when the cops retracted from there after day-long law and order duty.

The injured cops (four CRPF jawans and seven police jawans) were immediately taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The official said miscreants had engaged the cops by throwing stones on them in the same area.

(Source: The Indian Express)

Also Read: One Cop Killed, Eleven Injured in Grenade Attack in Old Srinagar

4. Don’t Blame EVMs For Poor Show in Punjab, Poll Panel Tells AAP

Polling officials collecting Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) during 2014 Lok Sabha elections. (Photo: PTI)

The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday hit back at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying it should “introspect” on its performance in the recently-concluded assembly elections in Punjab instead of blaming the functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

The poll panel’s comment was in response to a representation that AAP had submitted to the EC on 25 March seeking verifications of votes cast using EVMs in the Punjab assembly elections.

The party urged for crosschecking of the votes polled with the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) data to settle the issue of EVM safety.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

Also Read: DeQoded: Are Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) Tamper-Proof?

5. US Govt Report Criticises India Over Corruption, Lack of Transparency

A US State Department report has panned the Indian government over alleged human rights violations, citing the police case against activist Teesta Setalvad and encounter killing of eight suspected SIMI activists in Madhya Pradesh.

The report on ‘Human Rights Practices in India for 2016’ also referred to restrictions on foreign funding of NGOs, including some whose views the government believed were not in the “national or public interest”, female genital mutilation and dowry-related deaths as human rights problems in the country.

It mentioned about the rejection of renewal of government permission to 25 NGOs to receive foreign funds, including senior lawyer Indira Jaisingh’s ‘Lawyers Collective’ and US-based Compassion International’s two primary partners, noting that several voluntary organisations said these actions threatened their ability to continue to operate in India.

(Source: PTI)

Also Read: SIMI ‘Encounter’: 11 Questions That Were Raised but Not Answered

6. BJP Corporators to Sing National Song at Meets

BJP corporators in Bareilly have decided to sing Vande Mataram at the start of every board meeting of the Bareilly municipal corporation (BMC). The corporators claimed that a resolution regarding this had already been passed by the board years ago, but the erstwhile Samajwadi Party government had put the brakes on it.

As of now, the BMC board has a majority of SP corporators and it is likely that the upcoming session of the board will be a stormy affair.

I have spent four terms here as a corporator and singing <i>Vande Mataram</i> before every board meeting was a practice before SP’s Dr IS Tomar became the mayor. We have now unanimously decided to sing the national song ahead of every board meeting of the civic body.

Vikas Sharma, Leader of BJP Corporators

(Source: The Times of India)

Also Read: ‘India Will Develop Under BJP’: Former SP Spokesperson Joins BJP

7. AAP Leader Sanjay Singh Slapped by Woman Party Worker

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh was on Sunday slapped by a woman party worker who claimed she was not allowed to raise the issue of alleged corruption in poll ticket distribution in the party.

Simran Bedi, a party volunteer from Rajouri Garden assembly constituency, said she slapped Singh as the party did not allow her to raise the issue despite several attempts.

Singh was campaigning for the party for Rajouri Garden assembly bypoll.

Slapped Sanjay Singh as all my attempts to raise the issue of alleged corruption in the party went unheard. I tried meeting the top brass, including Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh, but no one was willing to listen to me.

Simran Bedi

(Source: PTI)

8. Will Reduce Pendency of Cases, PM Tells CJI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured Chief Justice of India Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar on Sunday that the government would make efforts to reduce pendency of cases and use technology to make justice delivery system more efficient.

I assure the CJI the government will back my ‘sankalp’ (resolve) to bring down the burden on the judiciary and reduce pendency of cases.

Narendra Modi at the 150th anniversary celebration of the Allahabad HC

"I urge those involved with the start-up sector to innovate on aspects where the technology can help the judiciary." He said that video conferencing should be used for deposition in courts by those facing trial, witnesses, to save time and money, and also reduce anomalies.

(Source: The Times of India)

Also Read: Tech Can Help Judiciary: Modi at Allahabad HC’s 150-Yr Anniversary

9. Anti-Romeo Squad Row: Prashant Bhushan Calls Lord Krishna ‘Legendary Eve Teaser’, Draws Flak

An anti-Romeo squad in action (Photo: The Quint)

Prominent lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan on Sunday stirred a controversy on social media after describing Lord Krishna as a “legendary eve-teaser” while weighing in on the Uttar Pradesh government’s Anti-Romeo squads, which were introduced to curb instances of harassment of girls and eve-teasing.

His comments came in light of the recent video footages which showcased innocent men being subjected to harsh treatment allegedly in presence of the state forces, instead of cracking down on those who actually stalk and molest women. Incidents of men being forced to squat and even to tonsure their heads have been shown in the cell phone videos.

The Swaraj Abhiyan co-founder also dared newly-appointed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath whether he would have the guts to label his self-appointed teams as Anti-Krishna squads.

Source: The Indian Express

Also Read: BJP’s ‘Anti-Romeo’ Squads: Young Women Tell Barkha What They Think

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