1. SC Rejects Bengal BJP Yatra, Echoes Govt Fear
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the Bengal government’s decision not to permit the BJP’s proposed yatra in the state, ruling that the court could not say the “apprehensions expressed by the state government are totally unfounded”.
Although the BJP had initially called the political programme rath yatra – originally scheduled for December as chariot journeys from various parts of Bengal converging in Calcutta – the party rechristened it Ganatantra Banchao Yatra (Save Democracy March) after the Bengal government expressed apprehensions about its possible impact on communal harmony.
The BJP appealed in Calcutta High Court and then the Supreme Court after the state government declined permission to the 43-day yatra.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. Mamata Plans 'Mega Rally' Bigger Than Jyoti Basu's
Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said her Brigade meeting on Saturday would be a “mega” rally that would be attended by virtually all regional parties with the common intent of ousting the BJP from the Centre.
“Jyoti Basu had organised a similar meeting in 1977, where some national leaders had participated. But that was not as big as the one to be held on 19 January. It will be a mega rally,” Mamata said on Tuesday evening after a meeting with the senior leadership of Trinamul, MPs and police at Nabanna.
The Bengal chief minister named several leaders who she said had already confirmed participation: Sharad Pawar of the NCP, HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswami of the JDS, N Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi party, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah of the National Conference and Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Two Nursing Students Held for ‘Planned’ Puppy Murders
Police on Tuesday arrested two NRS Medical College and Hospital nursing students for the brutal killing of 16 puppies on the campus on Sunday, with investigators concluding it was a planned murder and not a spur-of-the-moment act. At least three others were also directly involved in the crime and were being questioned, officials added.
What has shocked some of the investigators, who have probed several murders and violent crimes in the course of their career, is the type of cooperation and planning that seem to have gone into the “mass murder” of the puppies and the possible involvement of many more hostel residents. The puppies and their mothers were lured into the nursing students’ hostel’s backyard and then corralled inside a compound, with all exits blocked, officials said. According to them, “only two persons would have found it impossible to do all this.”
(Source: The Times of India)
4. 70-Yr-Old Baruipur Woman Undergoes Eastern India’s First Stool Transplant
A 70-year-old woman suffering from severe bouts of diarrhoea has successfully undergone a faecal microbiota transplant (FMT) – also known as stool transplant – a procedure performed for the first time in eastern India at the Indian Institute of Liver and Digestive Sciences, Sonarpur. This procedure is done only in a handful of hospitals across the country, including at AIIMS, Delhi.
Namita Majumder, a Baruipur resident, was admitted to a local nursing home three months ago, with severe diarrhoea and passing of blood with stool. When a month-long hospitalisation yielded no results, her family approached doctors at the Sonarpur institute.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. JU’s ‘Virginity Professor’ Faces NCW Heat
National Women’s Commission (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma on Tuesday wrote to Bengal DGP Virendra to investigate and take appropriate criminal action against Jadavpur University professor Kanak Sarkar. She has also sought to meet JU vice-chancellor Suranjan Das on Friday on the issue.
The state women’s commission is also likely to lodge a suo motu complaint against Sarkar for his now-deleted Facebook posts extolling the value of a woman’s virginity, commission chairperson Leena Gangopadhyay told TOI on Tuesday. It is also likely to summon Sarkar for questioning. The state commission has written to JU vicechancellor Suranjan Das, seeking an explanation into whether action, if any, has been initiated against Sarkar. “We will take all steps as per law,” Das said.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. Kolkatans Turn Prisoners in Own Homes as Cars Block Their Gates
The row over parking of a car in front of the gate of a house in Salt Lake on Monday has turned the focus on the plight of several Kolkatans, whose house entrances are regularly blocked by vehicles illegally left there.
A brother-and-sister duo living at BK Block in Salt Lake was reportedly beaten up on Monday when they objected to a car being parked right in front of the entrance to their home. They were to drive out for work but could not. Pratip Ghosh, in his early 20s, said, “My sister and I had merely asked the motorist to park the car a little ahead as it blocked our gate. Thereafter, eight to 10 men barged into our home and attacked us.” Two persons were later arrested.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. City Revels in Harvest Festivities of Communities
It is that time of the year when various communities celebrate their harvest festivals. Makar Sankranti marks the festivities among a cross section of communities cutting across the country. Kolkata saw a lot of celebrations – Bhogali Bihu from Assam, Lohri from Punjab, Uttarayan from Gujarat, Pongal from Tamil Nadu and the state’s own Poush Sankranti.
It was all about feasting, bonfire, traditional attires, music and dance. While some celebrations like Bihu and Lohri started a little ahead of Sankranti, others like Pongal started on Tuesday and will continue till the weekend. For Gujaratis it was a two-day affair that started on Monday.
(Source: The Times of India)
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