1. Delhi Bust-Up, Chennai Kiss and Make-Up
Tamil Nadu politics was staring at the possibility of a dramatic merger hours after Delhi Police claimed to have busted an audacious plot to buy a coveted election symbol and dealt a staggering blow to the House of Chinnamma.
In the morning, Delhi Police booked TTV Dinakaran, the nephew of the jailed Sasikala, whose AIADMK Amma faction is now in power in Tamil Nadu.
Dinakaran, who acts as the eyes and ears of Sasikala aka Chinnamma who is serving out a jail term in Karnataka in an assets case, has been charged with trying to bribe Election Commission officials to get the parent party's "two leaves" poll symbol for his group.
At night, several state ministers went into a huddle. They welcomed Panneerselvam's statement on merger talks.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. J&K Campus Chain Reaction
Campuses in Kashmir, simmering for long but so far confined to sporadic displays of discontent, erupted in rage one after another today.
A weekend protest against a checkpoint took on a life its own and snowballed into a backlash against the bloodspill and the controversial video images that marked the by-election in Srinagar last week.
Hundreds of students, many of them in their school uniforms and ties, clashed with security forces in the latest challenge for the embattled Mehbooba Mufti government.
Officials ordered the closure of universities, colleges and higher secondary schools tomorrow and suspended 3G and 4G mobile Internet services across Kashmir.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Army to Order Court of Inquiry Into 'Human Shield' Incident
The Army is going to order a court of inquiry (CoI) into the controversial Budgam incident, which saw Rashtriya Rifles soldiers trussing up a civilian on their jeep's bonnet as a "human shield" while rescuing over a dozen security personnel and election officials from an angry stone-pelting mob on 9 April.
The Army brass contends the Rashtriya Rifles company commander at Budgam, a major from the Army Service Corps, exhibited "quick-thinking, presence of mind and initiative" to prevent bloodshed in "an explosive situation" while responding to an SOS from the trapped security personnel and election staff at a polling booth on 9 April. "It was the safest course of action to save lives," said a senior officer.
4. Yogi Adityanath Says Silence Over Triple Talaq Reminds Him of Draupadi Disrobing
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appeared on Monday to compare the “silence” over the Islamic practice of triple talaq to the disrobing of Draupadi in the Mahabharata epic.
Speaking at an event in Lucknow, the 44-year-old said anyone who remained quiet and didn’t oppose the custom - under which a Muslim man can divorce his wife by pronouncing the word talaq (divorce) thrice – was as guilty as those practising it.
Adityanath’s comments come a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked party workers to stand by Muslim women who want to fight triple talaq, saying dignity was guaranteed to all under the Constitution.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. In Constituency Where Shoe was Hurled at him, Kejriwal Finds Bijli-Paani Gratitude
As Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal returned to Deoli constituency for the first time since the bitter experience of 2014, he received vocal support from locals who said there had been a visible change in the area’s ‘bijli-paani’ situation.
In December 2014, when Kejriwal visited the constituency to address a public rally ahead of Assembly polls, a teenager from the locality had hurled a stone at him. Kejriwal was unhurt and had tweeted wishing the boy well. More than two years later, as Kejriwal went to address the same residents, Tigri village and the neighbouring slum areas came out to give him a patient hearing.
Even though a group of young boys exited the venue after his 25-minute public address raising pro-Modi slogans, older residents of the area backed Kejriwal for “changing their lives”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. CPI(M) May Debate Alliance With Congress in Bengal
The CPI(M)’s West Bengal leadership may again raise the demand for an alliance with the Congress before the party’s Central Committee (CC).
The renewed demand comes in the backdrop of the assembly polls in five states, in which the BJP swept Uttar Pradesh and formed governments in Manipur and Assam with help of allies.
The Bengal lobby of the party also wants to point out to the steep rise of the BJP’s vote share in the recent bypoll in West Bengal.
“When there are talks in different parties for a pact against Narendra Modi-led BJP, can the CPI(M) afford to stay aloof?” said a senior leader from West Bengal, where the party ruled for 34 years and then was ousted by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress in 2011.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Congress Seeks Yogi Adityanath’s Apology for Remarks on Women
The Congress on Monday attacked the UP Chief Minister over his remarks about women in an article that appeared in his weekly journal in 2010 when the Women Reservation Bill was being discussed in Parliament. In the nine-page article, Yogi Adityanath had expressed his reservations against the Bill, while also claiming that “women power does not require freedom, but protection and channelisation”. While Yogi had opposed the Bill, the BJP had supported it.
Seeking an apology from the CM, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about “equality for women”, the “mindset of the BJP is reflected by the article written by the UP Chief Minister on his website”. The Congress also claimed that the article was posted on the website on 12 April, after Adityanath became CM.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Maharashtra: 51 Years Ago, Hamid Dalwai Took Out First March Against Triple Talaq
At a time when the country is debating on “triple talaq”, it was exactly 51 years ago on 18 April 1966 that the historic march against the “draconian law” was taken out in Mumbai by social reformer Hamid Dalwai, along with seven Muslim women.
Protesting against triple talaq, polygamy and halala, Dalwai and seven women had marched towards the Mantralaya in Mumbai and handed over their memorandum of demands to then chief minister Vasantrao Naik.
“This was the first march in India against triple talaq and practices like halala and polygamy. Hamid Dalwai fought all odds to organise this march for the rights of Muslim women. The movement against triple talaq now seen in the country has its roots in this revolutionary march,” said Professor (Dr) Shamshuddin Tamboli of Pune, president of the Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal (MSM), founded by Dalwai on 22 March 1970.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. All Speeches by President, Ministers May be in Hindi
Speeches by Central and state government ministers could be delivered only in Hindi if the recommendations of a parliamentary panel, accepted by President Pranab Mukherjee recently, are implemented.
Mukherjee has accepted some recommendations of the committee of Parliament on official languages which state: “All dignitaries including Hon'ble President and all the ministers especially who can read and speak Hindi may be requested to give their speech statement in Hindi only.'' The committee, headed by former Union minister P Chidambaram, made these recommendations in 2011.
At present, most speeches by the President and central ministers are in English, accompanied on major occasions by a Hindi translation.
(Source: Times of India)
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