1. Governor Takes Charge, Centre Adopts Hard Line
Security forces are preparing to resume counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the government is set to mount pressure on the leadership of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, officials said on Wednesday, 20 June, as Kashmir governor NN Vohra took charge of the state administration and put the Assembly under suspended animation.
As Jammu and Kashmir came under Governor’s Rule, a day after the state’s nearly 40-month-old coalition government collapsed, home minister Rajnath Singh said that the Centre will not tolerate terrorism any longer, after ending a month-long halt on counter-insurgency operations.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Panama Papers: New Records Reveal Fresh Financial Secrets of Indian Clients
Two years after the Panama Papers blew the lid off how the global elite, including over 500 Indians, park and move their money in and out of secret tax havens, the Panama Papers are back — to reveal telling new details.
More than 1.2 million fresh documents, at least 12,000 of them linked to Indians, have been investigated by The Indian Express, in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung. Just as was done with the earlier set of over 11.5 million documents in 2016.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. In Reversal, Trump Orders Halt to His Family Separation Rule
Bowing to pressure from anxious allies, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday, 20 June, ending the process of separating children from families after they are detained crossing the US border illegally.
It was a dramatic turnaround for Trump, who has been insisting, wrongly, that his administration had no choice but to separate families apprehended at the border because of federal law and a court decision.
(Source: AP)
4. Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian Quits
Taking a dig at the government’s style of functioning after Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian announced his decision to quit his job, with close to a year of his tenure remaining, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, 19 June, said the while the brightest people are quitting, the former finance minister is breaking the news on Facebook.
“Ex ? FM is locked in his room, breaking news on Facebook. BJP Treasurer has the keys to the Indian Economy. The brightest flee the sinking ship, as the “invisible hand” of the RSS steers it onto the rocks. Meanwhile, Captain DeMo is fast asleep. It’s crazy out there !” tweeted Gandhi.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Assam to Kerala, States Gear up to Mark Yoga Day on 21 June
Thousands of people across the country are gearing up to celebrate the fourth edition of the International Yoga Day on Thursday, 21 June, with mass sessions of exercise and meditation.
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the celebrations at Ramabai Ambedkar Sabha Sthal in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow as thousands of people across the country struck various poses and talked about the benefits of the ancient physical and spiritual discipline during events to celebrate the day.
The United Nations declared 21 June as the International Day of Yoga in 2014 after Modi called for the day to be adopted as a global celebration of yoga, an ancient practice that began in India more than 5,000 years ago.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Meetings Resume at Secretariat but Bureaucrats Wait on Kejriwal
Ministers and civil servants of the Delhi government held at least 20 meetings in different groups at the Secretariat on Wednesday, 20 June, as the national capital’s administration resumed functioning as usual after a four-month stand-off was resolved the previous day.
Unease persisted in the bureaucracy as the government announced that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will go on 10 days’ leave, throwing into uncertainty a meeting civil servants had sought with him after avoiding interaction with ministers due to “safety concerns” that stemmed from an alleged attack on chief secretary Anshu Prakash by ruling Aam Aadmi Party legislators on 19 February.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. IFS Officers Threaten to Move Court on Envoy Appointments
Adept otherwise at preventing any internal controversy from leaking out of its sanctified existence, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is struggling to quell resistance from young IFS officers who are questioning what they describe as an opaque process of appointment of ambassadors.
The unrest among these officers is over recent appointments of as many as 5 promotee officers from IFS B category as ambassadors. These young IFS officers are now threatening to move court against the manner in which IFS B, who join service as assistants, are being inducted into IFS by MEA.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Embrace Hinduism to Get Passport Renewed, Inter-Faith Couple Told
When Tanvi Seth and her husband Anas Siddiqui reached the Passport Sewa Kendra at Ratan Square on Wednesday, 21 June, they had little idea of the ordeal that was to follow.
"When I reached counter C5, the official, Vikas Mishra, told me there was an issue with my file since I had married a Muslim, and yet retained my maiden name. He shouted at me and insulted me in front of everyone and sent me to the office of an additional passport officer, who was sympathetic to me and asked me to reach the main branch in Gomtinagar on Thursday," Tanvi, who has a six-year-old daughter with Anas, told TOI.
Tanvi said her documents were complete, yet her file was stopped. The official called out Anas' name and insulted him, too. "He told Anas to convert to Hinduism for his passport to be renewed. This is a case of moral policing and religious prejudice. I was made to feel insulted; I broke down," she said in a tweet addressed to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. Army Operations Kill More Civilians Than Terrorists: Ghulam Nabi Azad
Congress leader and former J&K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad sparked a controversy when he said Army operations in the state killed more civilians than terrorists, eliciting a strong response from the BJP, which accused the Congress of trying to demoralise the armed forces.
In a TV interview, Azad also said the BJP's language of "all out operations" in J&K indicated that a "massacre" was being planned. The BJP said the comments were unfair to Army personnel who put their lives on the line to protect civilians.
(Source: The Times of India)
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