| 1. Sai in Chhattisgarh, suspense in Raj & MP |  | What- The BJP on Sunday picked Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal leader, as the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh, ending the suspense over who would helm the state after the party won the assembly election held in November.
- Sai was elected as the BJP's legislative party leader during a meeting of 54 newly elected MLAs on Sunday.
- After the meeting, a delegation of BJP MLAs led by Sai met Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan to stake a claim to form the next government.
- However, the CM suspense continues in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh — the other two states that the BJP won in the just-concluded assembly elections.
Who- Sai, 59, comes from a family of former Jan Sangh leaders — two elder brothers of his father were MLAs, representing the precursor of the BJP.
- Sai started his political career as a village sarpanch and rose to become a Union minister. He was MoS Steel and Mines in the first Modi government.
- A four-time Lok Sabha member was made the Chhattisgarh BJP president after the party lost the 2018 assembly polls and held the position until Arun Sao was given the responsibility in 2022.
A 'promise' delivered?- A promise made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the election made rounds on social media. Addressing a poll rally in the Kunkuri constituency last month, Shah told voters if they elected Sai in the election, he would call him a "bada aadmi [big man]" if the party came back to power in Chhattisgarh.
What about Rajasthan and MP- The BJP is yet to decide its CM faces in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
- The three BJP central observers, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are likely to hold a meeting with newly elected party MLAs to elect the CM in Jaipur today. The party has directed the MLAs to remain in Jaipur until further notice.
- A similar meeting of the BJP legislators is likely to take place in Madhya Pradesh too to elect the next CM. More here
| |
|
|
|
| 2. Was Modi's Article 370 move valid? SC verdict today |  | The question- Was the decision taken by the Narendra Modi government on August 5, 2019, to end the special status that Article 370 of the Constitution had bestowed on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, constitutionally valid?
- A Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud will deliver its judgment today on a bunch of petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370.
- In the same August 2019, the Centre also got Parliament's approval for the bifurcation of J&K, creating two Union Territories in its place — J&K and Ladakh.
After a long hearing- The top court had reserved its verdict in the case on September 5 after a 16-day hearing.
- During the hearing, the top court heard Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, senior advocates Harish Salve, Rakesh Dwivedi, V Giri and others on behalf of the Centre and the intervenors defending the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370.
- Senior advocates, including Kapil Sibal, Gopal Subramanium, Rajeev Dhavan, Zaffar Shah and Dushyant Dave, had argued on behalf of the petitioners.
The issues- The issues raised during the hearing included the constitutional validity of the abrogation of Article 370, the validity of the J&K Reorganisation Act, which split the erstwhile state into two Union Territories, the imposition of the governor's rule in J&K on June 20, 2018, and the imposition of President's Rule on December 19, 2018, and its extension on July 3, 2019.
- The petitions were referred to the Constitution bench in 2019. The arguments in the matter had commenced on August 2.
SC had queries- During the hearing, the apex court had asked who can recommend the revocation of Article 370 in J&K when no Constituent Assembly, the concurrence of which is required before taking such a step, exists there.
- The top court had also asked how can a provision (Article 370), which was specifically mentioned as temporary in the Constitution, become permanent. More here
| |
|
| 3. Mayawati's political heir is... |  | What- BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday declared her nephew Akash Anand as her "uttaradhikari [heir]", a party office-bearer said.
- However, the BSP did not mention any such decision in its official statement.
- Udayveer Singh, the BSP's Shahjahanpur district unit chief, said, "Akash [Anand] has been declared the 'uttaradhikari' by Mayawatiji. He has been given the responsibility to strengthen the party organisation where it is weak all over the country except in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand."
Where- Mayawati announced the decision during an all-India meeting of the BSP in Lucknow that was attended by party leaders from across the country.
- Confirming the development, the party MLC Bhim Rao Ambedkar said, "We have got a youth leader in Akash Anand. In states where the party organisation is weak, Anand will be strengthening it."
Who- Akash Anand, 28, is the son of Mayawati's brother Anand Kumar, whom she had appointed national vice president of the party in 2019.
- Anand, however, emerged as a prominent BSP face during the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Around the same time, he was appointed the party's national coordinator — a position he still holds.
- Anand's anointment as her political heir comes on the back of Mayawati's decades-long criticism of dynastic politics, targeting the Congress and the Samajwadi Party.
Anand in politics- An MBA graduate from London, Anand was first noticed in politics in 2017, accompanying Mayawati in election rallies and sharing the stage with the likes of Akhilesh Yadav and Ajit Singh in the UP polls.
- During the 2019 parliamentary polls, Anand addressed his first rally in Agra.
- He launched a 14-day "Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay Sankalp Yatra" earlier this year.
- For the recently held assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, Mayawati deployed him to prepare the BSP's campaign covering the issues of Dalits, OBCs, religious minorities and tribals.
| |
|
| 4. INDIA bloc gets a date but are leaders ready? |  | A meeting proposal- The Opposition bloc INDIA will hold a meeting of the top leaders of its constituents on December 19 in Delhi.
- Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote on X on Sunday, "The 4th meeting of the leaders of INDIA parties will be held on Tuesday, December 19th, 2023 in New Delhi at 3 pm."
A counter to Modi- The parties intend to move forward with the unity theme — "Main Nahin, Hum" (We, Not Me) — as a counter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the meeting, PTI reported quoting a senior Congress leader.
The timing- The meeting is being held against the backdrop of the Congress's poor show in the just-concluded assembly elections, where it suffered defeats in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, but won the polls in Telangana.
- The BJP, on the other hand, asserted that people have affirmed their faith in "Modi's guarantees" and will re-elect his government in 2024.
Agenda ready?- The challenge before the Opposition parties is to set an alternative positive agenda to counter the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls next year.
- Another challenge is to finalise a seat-sharing formula across states, which different regional parties dominate.
- Thirdly, the INDIA bloc has to come out with a common programme that they aim to present to the voters as their manifesto for the 2024 polls.
- Also, the INDIA bloc constituents have to formulate a strategy for joint-election rallies.
- Finally, the INDIA bloc may have to decide on who to project as an alternative face against PM Modi.
Are leaders ready?- Top JDU leader Nitish Kumar, the Bihar CM, wants a seat-sharing formula first while his party leaders are busy projecting him as a PM face.
- SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, unhappy with the Congress during the assembly polls, wants clarity from the Congress on seat-sharing and joint rallies.
- TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal CM, has been pushing for a greater role in the INDIA bloc in the 2024 polls.
| |
|
| NEWS IN CLUES | | 5. Identify this US state | Clue 1: Quentin Tarantino and Morgan Freeman were born here
Clue 2: It is the third-largest tobacco producer in the US
Clue 3: The Jack Daniel’s whiskey is produced here
Scroll below for answer
| |
|
| 6. Was Karni Sena leader's murder plotted in Canada? |  | Shooters arrested- It was a 72-hour-long high-voltage chase across five states by a joint team of the Delhi Police's crime branch and the Rajasthan Police to nab two shooters, who had gunned down Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi.
- Gogamedi, the Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena chief, was killed in Jaipur's Shyam Nagar area on December 5.
The chase- After the murder, the shooters first went to Hisar and then left for Manali. They shifted their base to Mandi, before checking into a hotel in Chandigarh, from where they were ultimately caught on Saturday night.
- Identified as Nitin Fauji and Rohit Rathod, the shooters had taken along an accomplice, named Udham Singh, with them from Hisar.
- The cops spotted them on CCTV in Hisar. They subsequently scanned records of their old and current accomplices. Udham Singh figured on that list and was found absconding.
- Using electronic and physical surveillance, the cops managed to get their hands on the suspects. They were handed over to Rajasthan Police SIT on Sunday morning.
A Canada plot?- The shooters have reportedly told the police that the murder was plotted by the gang of Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and Rohit Godara.
- Bishnoi is lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail while Brar and Godara are said to be operating from Canada.
- The Lawrence Bishnoi gang was reportedly outraged that Gogamedi had abruptly left a protest-cum-condolence meet organised after gangster Anandpal Singh's encounter by the Rajasthan Police's anti-terror squad in 2017.
- The shooters further claimed that on instructions of Bishnoi and Brar, gangster Godara assigned the task of eliminating Gogamedi to his henchman Virendra Charan.
The shooters- Charan zeroed in on shooter Rohit Rathod, who was earlier lodged with him in Ajmer jail in a rape case, for the task. Rathod was furious with Gogamedi for reportedly supporting the rape survivor.
- Nitin Fauji, too, was lodged in jail with Charan in a kidnapping case. He was roped in, promising him a life in a foreign country.
- The two men were given weapons through courier and the gang leaders, including Brar, gave instructions to them on Signal app. More here
| |
|
| 7. How tax raids turned into a Congress-BJP battle |  | A record seizure- The seizure of "unaccounted" cash after Income Tax department raids against an Odisha-based distillery group and its linked entities is expected to reach Rs 290 crore, making it the "highest-ever" black money haul by any agency in a single operation, according to a PTI report, even as the raids continued for the sixth consecutive day on Sunday.
- Premises linked to Congress's Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, were also covered as part of the searches.
Timing- The raids came days after the December 3 poll results, which left the Congress almost wiped out from the Hindi heartland states. The party, along with its allies in the INDIA opposition bloc, are now preparing for the 2024 general election.
Congress distances itself- The Congress has distanced itself from Sahu after the recovery of a huge amount of cash from a liquor company linked to him.
- "The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dheeraj Sahu, MP. Only he can explain, and should explain, how huge amounts of cash have been reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties," AICC general secretary Communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X on Saturday.
- Meanwhile, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Sunday accused the Centre of targeting only the Congress and not BJP leaders through IT wings.
- The party has also sought clarification from Sahu on the matter.
But- The BJP seems to be leaving no stone unturned in attacking Congress on the issue.
- Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy on Sunday sought to know why Rahul Gandhi was silent on the issue.
- Several other ministers, including Anurag Thakur, Smriti Irani and Meenakshi Lekhi, attacked the Congress on the issue over the weekend.
- Tagging a newspaper clip of the cash recovery, PM Modi on Friday posted on X: "The countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the honest 'speeches' of their leaders.....Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modi's guarantee."
| |
|
| 8. Why COP28 may disappoint climate campaigners |  | Just two days before the UN climate talks in Dubai are scheduled to end, negotiators on Sunday released a draft document to guide countries’ efforts to adapt to climate change and monitor collective progress. However, it falls short of expectations. Mitigation vs adaptation- The Paris Agreement in 2015 introduced the concept of a Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), a parallel to the global mitigation goal aimed at limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius as compared to pre-industrial levels.
- Unlike mitigation, where progress can be tracked using a single metric, adaptation requires a more complex approach.
- The Glasgow-Sharm El-Sheikh Work Programme on the Global Goal on Adaptation, initiated at COP26 in Egypt, started a series of workshops and negotiations to establish an operational framework for the GGA at COP28.
Where the draft falls short- Though the document acknowledged that the finance required for adaptation "remains insufficient" to respond to worsening climate change, it does not explicitly mention the gap between the money available and the actual financial support needed for adaptation.
- The draft reiterates that developed countries should at least double adaptation support to developing nations by 2025 compared to 2019 levels, but it lacks reference to any baseline.
- It also includes goals without specific targets related to water, food, health, and agriculture.
- Ana Mulio Alvarez, a researcher at the climate think tank E3G, viewed the draft as the basis for a reasonable GGA framework. "However, without robust means of implementation (finance, technology and support from developed countries), the framework will remain hollow and toothless," she told PTI.
| |
|
| 9. A 'yes' to pauses but a veto to ceasefire demand |  | What- The US has vetoed a UN Security Council demand for an immediate ceasefire, even as it has kept up pressure on Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians during a fierce offensive against Hamas militants across Gaza.
Why- Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the UN Security Council: "We do not support this resolution's call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war."
- The US and Israel oppose a ceasefire, saying it would only benefit Hamas, which Israel has vowed to annihilate in response to the militants' deadly Oct. 7 cross-border rampage.
- Washington instead supports "pauses" like the seven-day halt in fighting that saw Hamas release some hostages and the humanitarian aid flow increase. The deal broke down on December 1.
'Spiralling nightmare'- Decrying a "spiralling humanitarian nightmare", UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared that nowhere in Gaza was safe for civilians, hours before the US vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by the vast majority of its members calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
Resolution- The vote left Washington diplomatically isolated on the 15-member council. Thirteen members voted in favor of the draft resolution put forward by the United Arab Emirates on Friday, while Britain abstained.
What it means for Palestine- Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour told the council the vote means that "millions of Palestinian lives hang in the balance."
And, violence continues- Israel Defence Forces troops continued to operate deep inside the Gaza Strip on Saturday as fighter jets struck Hamas assets across the Palestinian enclave.
| |
|
|
| Answer To NEWS IN CLUES |  | Tennessee. Severe storms and tornadoes in US’s Tennessee left at least six people dead and caused what local emergency services described as extensive damage with tens of thousands of residents without power on Saturday. As many as 23 people were left hospitalised. The storms and tornadoes damaged scores of houses and businesses, especially in Montgomery County north of Nashville, close to the Kentucky state line.
COURTESY : TIMES TOP 10 |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment