1. Thrashed, Stabbed, Set Ablaze, Rape Survivor Runs for Help in a Ball of Fire
In a rerun of the Hyderabad horror, a 23-year-old gang-rape survivor was stabbed multiple times, doused in petrol and set ablaze by five men, including two of her alleged rapists, in her village in Unnao district early Thursday, 5 December morning, while she was on her way to meet her lawyer.
The girl, who was thrashed with sticks before she was stabbed brutally, ran through the morning mist in a ball of fire, screaming for help before an eyewitness called up the police. She suffered 90% burns and was shuttled from a primary health centre to Unnao district hospital and then to a government hospital in Kanpur, before being rushed to Civil Hospital, Lucknow.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Justice Mishra Apologises After Lawyers Raise Concern
Supreme Court judge justice Arun Mishra offered an apology in court on Thursday, 5 December after he sparked a storm by threatening contempt of court action against senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, prompting expressions of concern by lawyers about the atmosphere in his courtroom.
“If I have hurt someone, I am ready to apologise not once but hundred times,” said justice Mishra after senior advocates, including Kapil Sibal, Dushyant Dave, Mukul Rohatgi and AM Singhvi, gathered in his court and told the judge that lawyers, particularly young lawyers, had qualms about arguing cases before him.
On Tuesday, justice Mishra, heading a five-judge Constitution bench hearing land acquisition cases, threatened contempt of court action against Sankaranarayanan saying he was repeating some arguments already made by other lawyers appearing in the matter.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Rahul, Maya Oppose Citizenship Bill
A day after the Union Cabinet cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday, 5 December, that his party would oppose it. BSP president Mayawati also criticised the Bill, and said it should be sent to a parliamentary committee for review.
The Bill, that aims to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, is set to be introduced in Parliament during the ongoing Winter Session.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. 66.25% Voter Turnout in Bypolls to 15 Karnataka Assembly Seats
Fifteen Assembly seats in Karnataka where bypolls were held on Thursday, 5 December registered 66.25% voter turnout till 6 pm.
The bypolls for 15 Assembly segments were being held following the disqualification of the MLAs from the Congress and the JD(S) which led to the collapse of the coalition government of HD Kumaraswamy.
The counting of votes will be conducted on 9 December.
(Source: DNA)
5. Manmohan Singh Blames PV Narasimha Rao for Anti-Sikh Riots
Giving then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi a clean chit, former PM Manmohan Singh has put the blame on then home minister PV Narasimha Rao for the escalation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Dr Singh said the riots could have been avoided if Narasimha Rao called in the army to intervene and stop the violence. Speaking at an event on the birth centenary of former PM Inder Kumar Gujral, Dr Singh said Gujral had informed Rao that the situation was grave.
“When the sad event of 1984 took place, Gujralji on that very sad evening went to Narasimha Rao and told him the situation is so grave that it is necessary to call in the Army. If that advice had been heeded, perhaps the massacre could have been avoided,” he said.
(Source: Deccan Chronicle)
6. Chidambaram Targets Govt on Economy, Kashmir
A day after his release from Tihar jail, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram launched a scathing attack on the government for economic mismanagement, calling the slowdown “a man-made catastrophe."
“Government is clueless on the economy; it is stubborn, mulish in defending catastrophic mistakes like demonetisation and flawed GST,” said the former finance minister.
Chidambaram said the Congress was better equipped to pull the economy out of slowdown, but “we have to wait for better times”.
(Source: The Tribune)
7. Bajaj has Guts, Says Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has blamed the economic slowdown on a lack of trust in the government of the day and an atmosphere of fear that are forcing industry to close the taps of fresh investment.
“It (the economic situation) is very alarming. People are suffering from uncertainty…. Nobody wants to set up industries. This is the reality today…. Rahul Bajaj has guts, so he could speak up, but can everybody do it?” Mamata asked during her address after inaugurating the 18th edition of Infocom, an ABP initiative.
The chief minister was referring to the weekend statement by veteran industrialist Bajaj in front of home minister Amit Shah that corporate India lacks confidence that the government would appreciate open criticism.
(Source: The Telegraph)
8. Few Attend Debate on Farmers in Lok Sabha
Every political party tends to invoke farmers and agricultural issues, but when a discussion on the farming crisis and crop loss was held in Lok Sabha on Thursday, 5 December the House wore an empty look.
Fittingly, one member pointed out during the debate that 95 percent of the members of Lok Sabha were connected with farming in one way or the other, but this did not reflect in their attendance.
At one point of time, only 21 members of Parliament belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies and 31 from Opposition were present in the House during the debate. And this ratio remained more or less the same as the House discussed crop loss and its impact on farmers under Rule 193.
(Source: The Asian Age)
9. 3rd Warmest Nov in India Since 1901
Last month was the third warmest November in India since 1901, with warmer than usual nights due to recurrent spells of rain and cloud cover. The mean temperature in India in November was 0.72 degree Celsius higher than normal (climatological mean). The warmest November was in 2015, when mean temperature was 0.87 degree C higher.
India witnessed its second warmest November in 1979, when mean temperatures were 0.86 degrees higher than normal.
“When only the average minimum temperature is considered, November this year was the second-warmest since 1901,” said Arvind Kumar Srivastava, head of IMD Pune’s Climate Research Division.
(Source: The Times of India)
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