1. BJP’s Nirmal Singh Resigns as J&K Deputy Chief Minister Ahead of Cabinet Rejig
Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh resigned from the Mehbooba Mufti government in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, 29 April, paving way for a new BJP face for the post in a cabinet reshuffle.
“I have resigned as the deputy chief minister of the government,” Singh said. His decision came after he reportedly met BJP president Amit Shah in New Delhi.
State assembly speaker Kavinder Gupta will be the new deputy CM, a BJP leader said, according to news agency PTI.
BJP’s state unit chief, Sat Sharma, and the MLAs from Kathua and adjoining Sambha – Rajiv Jasrotia and Devinder Kumar Manyal – are among the BJP leaders who will be inducted into the state government as cabinet ministers on Monday, officials told PTI.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Rahul Questions PM’s ‘Silence’ on Key Issues, Says Congress Will Win 2019 Elections
In one of his sharpest attacks on the NDA government’s policies and PM Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday, 29 April said that the “country’s watchman is silent” on graft and predicted his party’s victory in the upcoming round of assembly elections and next year’s Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing his first public gathering in the national Capital since taking over as the party president, the 47-year-old accused Modi of making “hollow promises and speaking lies,” during his speech at the ‘Jan Aakrosh (public anger)’ rally at Ramlila Maidan.
The rally, held with the Red Fort as a backdrop and attended by a battery of senior Congress leaders, including former party president Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was seen by experts as the flagging-off of the party’s 2019 campaign.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. SC, ST, OBC Markings Seen on Chests of Recruits, MP Police Order Probe
A probe was ordered on Sunday, 29 April after photographs surfaced of newly recruited constables with markings of “SC,” “ST,” and “O” for OBC on their chests during their medical examination in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district, triggering accusations of caste-based segregation.
Dhar superintendent of police Birendra Kumar Singh said there was no instruction to mention the caste of a candidate on his chest.
“An inquiry has been initiated. Those found guilty will be punished,” he said.
District officials, who did not want to be named, explained that the initials – SC for scheduled caste, ST for scheduled tribe and O for OBC, or other backward class – were put on the chests of male candidates from these categories as they have different selection norms under the reservation policy.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. After Modi-Xi Meeting, India-China Hotline Likely to Cool down Tense LAC
The heightened military tensions all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since the Doklam faceoff last year are expected to somewhat de-escalate now, even though some troop confrontations will continue to take place, with India and China set to actively work towards establishing a hotline between top commanders as well as resuming military exchanges and exercises.
Senior defence officials on Sunday, 29 April said the decision at the informal summit between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan to issue "strategic guidance" to their militaries basically boiled down to ordering their respective troops to defuse confrontations during patrolling in accordance with existing protocols and mechanisms.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. Rahul Gandhi Flight Incident: DGCA Probe Finds a Snag in Hydraulic System
A preliminary investigation by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation into the free fall and shuddering experienced by a chartered plane carrying Congress president Rahul Gandhi from New Delhi to Hubballi last week has revealed an erratic hydraulic system associated with the autopilot mechanism.
The aircraft, a Falcon 2000 owned by Religare Aviation and chartered by the Congress through a New Delhi-based charter blocker, is said to have become unstable in flight as the pilots struggled to reconnect the autopilot a few times before deciding to land manually. The aircraft landed without incident on its third attempt.
A senior DGCA official said the investigation report, which would be ready in another week’s time, would look at any possibility of error in the maintenance practice followed.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Waiver Delay Pushes Maharashtra Crop Loans down 40 Percent
The farm loan waiver scheme declared last year was aimed at making defaulting farmers eligible to borrow again from banks. Yet, fresh crop loans from banks fell 40 percent in 2017-18 compared to the previous year. While Rs 42,172 crore was disbursed as loans in 2016-17, it dropped to Rs 25,316 crore in 2017-18.
Bankers blame the decline on the delayed implementation of the waiver scheme. Until the old loan is written off, banks cannot extend fresh credit. “Recoveries of loans from farmers have been hit since many are expecting to be included in the loan waiver or waiting for the money to reach their accounts,” said a senior banking official.
The reason fresh crop loans have acquired urgency is because the kharif sowing season begins in June.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. PM Modi Summons Tripura CM Biplab Deb over Controversial Statements: Report
PM Modi has summoned Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb over his controversial statements. A senior BJP leader on Sunday, 29 April said Deb has been summoned to meet Modi and BJP President Amit Shah on 2 May in the national capital.
Deb, who took charge of Tripura last month, has made several remarks which have triggered widespread criticism. He had stated that the Internet and satellite communication existed during the Mahabharata era. He also questioned the crowning of Diana Hayden as Miss World in 1997.
The chief minister also stated that mechanical engineers should not opt for civil services, but civil engineers should. He has also asked the educated youth to set up paan shops instead of running after political parties to get government jobs.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Congress Says PM Taking Fake Credit With Claims of Complete “Electrification of All Villages”
Electrification of all villages in the country, one of the government’s biggest promises, has been completed, claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, 29 April.
In a series of tweets, Modi expressed his gratitude to all those involved in the project and announced that Leisang village in Manipur, was the last one to get access to electricity on 28 April.
Reacting to BJP’s claims, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that it was Congress that electrified 97 percent of villages in the country but “did not boast”.
“On 26th May, 2014; only 18,452 villages were without electrification. BJP Govt took 46 months to complete this at an average of 4,813 villages per year. This is – ‘celebrating inefficiencies’ & taking ‘fake credit’ for Congress work,” he said on Twitter.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Pakistan Removes Chief Prosecutor in 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack Case
Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has abruptly removed the chief prosecutor from the Mumbai terror attack case for “not taking the government line”, an official said on Sunday, 29 April, in a major setback to India’s efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“The Interior Ministry has removed Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Special Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar, who had been representing as chief of prosecution in the Mumbai attack case since 2009, from the high-profile case,” an official of the FIA privy to the development told PTI.
Azhar has been told that his services in the Mumbai attack case are no more required, he said.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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