- Tharoor Blames Right-Wing Activists For Attacks, Death Threats
Blaming right-wing activists for death threats and vandalising his office, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor demanded action and the intervention of the Prime Minister against ‘anti-national elements’. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar sought to distance his party from the attack on Tharoor’s office in Thiruvananthapuram, saying law and order situation has to be dealt with by the state government. Read more here.
- The Prime Minister Of India Just Broadcasted The Phone No., Home Address And Email Of A Girl To The Whole World
Yes, PM Modi just tweeted out a letter he received from a girl, who thanked him for writing the book Exam Warriors. In a rush to promote his book and his awesomeness, the Prime Minister did not bother to remove the girl’s contact details – email address, phone number and home address – that were written at the end of the letter. Women take great pains in order to keep their contact information private but it seems that the PM can’t care less which is unsurprising given he himself follows many people who threaten with rape. Read more here.
- Talk To A Muslim? Thanks, But No Thanks.
#TalkToAMuslim hashtag, which was trending on Twitter India on Tuesday, received flak from many Indian Muslims. The idea behind this supposedly well-meaning hashtag was to urge people to speak to the country’s Muslims. However, several people have criticized the usefulness of this hashtag, saying “it imbues TALKING to Muslims with a stigma that never was.” Read more here.
- Four Critical Stories That Escaped Your Attention While The BJP Had You Busy Hating Muslims
Diverting attention from important issues of public interest has become the hallmark of the BJP government. For the past week, BJP spokespersons and cabinet ministers have hogged considerable media coverage by screaming who is anti-Hindu or which party is a ‘Muslim party’. Read more here.
- NewsFlash: It Is Now ‘Seditious’ To Criticise Rape
Bhartiya Janta Party’s IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya on Wednesday accused Shah Faesal of committing a seditious act by speaking against rape culture in India, in his tweet. Malviya took to Twitter and said, “Rahul Gandhi’s ‘tukde tukde gang’ moment is back! This time he backs a seditious IAS officer, who is under investigation…” Read more here.
- I Am Stunned How Politicians Are Cooking Up Facts And Making False Claims: Former US President Barack Obama
Speaking at an event in South Africa on Tuesday, former United States President Barack Obama warned the country of “strongman politics”. This comes soon after President Donald Trump’s conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Obama said, “Look around. Strongman politics are ascendant suddenly, whereby elections and some pretence of democracy are maintained, the form of it, but those in power seek to undermine every institution or norm that gives democracy meaning.” Read more here.
- Advocate, Representing The Main Accused In Kathua rape, Made Additional Advocate General
Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday appointed Aseem Sawhney, who represents the main accused in Kathua rape case, as an additional advocate general. Sawhney had examined two prosecution witnesses in the case, while his father, A K Sawhney, had examined the rest. When asked whether he will now withdraw himself from the case, Sawhney told The Indian Express, “I shall not appear in the case. There should be no clash of interest.” Read more here.
- There’s Fear Indian Democracy Could Metamorphose Into Illiberal One Based On Hindutva: Ansari
Former vice president Hamid Ansari today termed India’s electoral democracy a “success story” but said there was apprehension that it could metamorphose into an “illiberal” democracy based on the principles of a socio-political philosophy called Hindutva. Speaking at the launch of his book, he said “correctives” were essential, and it was the duty of the citizens and of the civil society to raise questions. Read more here.
- HC Seeks Authorities Stand On Lack Of Breastfeeding Facilities In Public Places
The Delhi High Court today sought the stand of the Centre, AAP government and civic authorities here on providing facilities to mothers to breastfeed in public places, observing that they were being provided all over the world. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said the matter needs to be examined by all the land owning agencies and civic bodies and issued notice to the municipal bodies and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) apart, from the Centre and the AAP government.Read more here.
- PM Modi Has No Intention To Legislate On Political Empowerment Of Women: Cong
The Congress today alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has no intentions of legislating on the political empowerment of women and he had lied to Indian women in the 2014 manifesto. Sushmita Dev, MP and All India Mahila Congress chief, slammed Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for urging the Congress to provide women with a “new deal” of equality and adequate representation by joining hands to pass the bills on women’s reservation, instant triple talaq and nikah halala in Parliament. Read more here.
- Bihar Yet To Get Rs 344.41 Cr From Centre For MNREGA: Minister
Bihar Rural Development Minister Sharwan Kumar today claimed that the state government was yet to receive Rs 344.41 crore from the Centre on account of the MNREGA scheme for the current and last financial years. Talking to reporters here, Kumar said that “MNREGA work would be expedited further if it gets its backlog (dues) from the Centre.” Read more here.
- RSS, AIMIM ‘Two Sides Of The Same Coin’, Says Congress
Alleging that the RSS and AIMIM were “two sides of the same coin”, the Congress today accused both the organisations of polarising people. They are the two sides of the same coin. They do polarisation and run their own agendas,” Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said. “They are allowing a certain mentality to grow just for their own advantage, she added. Read more here.