Curtains come down on Bharat Jodo Yatra with flag unfurling, rally
In a show of Opposition strength, leaders of several national and regional parties on January 30 braved snowfall and bone-chilling cold to share the stage with Congress leaders at a rally organised to mark the culmination of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar. The Congress rally was held at the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium amid tight security and heavy snowfall.
Modi, Shah, Doval won’t understand the pain inflicted by violence: Rahul Gandhi
Recounting incidents from the past, when violence consumed the lives of his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, at the Sher-i-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar, said, “Those who stoke violence won’t understand the pain it inflicts, nor those who have not suffered it. PM Modi, Amit Shah and Ajit Doval can’t understand the pain inflicted by violence but I can relate to the families of the Pulwama attack victims, with the hundreds of families of Kashmiris and of the security forces.”
The government on January 30 said it was willing to discuss every issue under rules during the Budget Session of Parliament and sought the support of the Opposition in running the proceedings smoothly. Briefing the media after an all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the Budget Session beginning January 31, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the government was willing to discuss every issue in Parliament under rules. “We seek Opposition’s cooperation” in running the House smoothly. At the meet, Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh, RJD’s Manoj Jha, DMK, Left parties and others raised the Adani issue and sought discussion on it in Parliament during the session.
EC withholds Lakshadweep Lok Sabha bypoll after HC suspends conviction, sentence of sitting MP
The Election Commission on January 30 withheld the Lakshadweep Lok Sabha bypoll after the Kerala High Court suspended the conviction and sentence of sitting MP Mohammed Faizal in an attempt to murder case. The poll panel had announced the bypoll recently and it was to be held on February 27. The by-election was announced following the disqualification Mr. Faizal on grounds of his conviction by a sessions court in Kavaratti.
The Supreme Court on January 30 agreed to list on February 3 a petition seeking a direction to restrain the government from “censoring” the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC) documentary titled ‘India: The Modi Question’. Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, senior advocate C.U. Singh made an oral mentioning of the petition filed by senior journalist N. Ram, Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra and advocate Prashant Bhushan for early listing. Union of India through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Twitter Communications India Private Limited and Google India Private Limited have been named respondents in the case.
Probe into hate speeches case ‘substantially’ completed, Delhi Police tells SC
The Delhi Police told the Supreme Court on January 30 that its investigation into hate speech incidents in the national capital has been “substantially completed”. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud gave the police three weeks to complete the probe and file a final report. Advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for petitioner and Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi, said the police did not reveal the steps it intended to take to prevent the alleged hate offenders from doing it again. The court asked the Delhi Police to detail the preventive measures it would have in place in such circumstances.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on January 30 issued the “Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Television Channels in India, 2022”. “The Guidelines, among other things, require private broadcasters to undertake public service broadcasting for 30 minutes every day,” the Ministry said in a release. “In this regard, the Ministry undertook extensive consultations with the private satellite TV channel Broadcasters and their Associations and based on their inputs an ‘Advisory’ has been issued,” the Ministry said. “It is also clarified that the content need not be of 30 minutes at a stretch and could be spread over smaller time slots and requires the broadcaster to submit a monthly report online on the Broadcast Seva Portal,” it added.
India’s G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant on January 30 said the developed world has not helped the developing countries with $100 billion of climate finance per year, despite committing to it way back in 2009. The former bureaucrat said multilateral financial institutions are not equipped to do the same and there is a need to transform them. “If India has to go for climate change (action), the developed world has to give us finance which it had agreed to… We have not polluted the world, yet we will be impacted by climate change,” Mr. Kant said, speaking at the inauguration of model G20 summit at the Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership at Uttan near Mumbai.
Police officers among several killed in suicide blast at a mosque in Pakistan’s Peshawar
Police officers were among the 33 killed and 150 wounded in a blast at a mosque inside a highly sensitive Pakistani police headquarters on January 30, prompting the government to put the country on high alert. The attack happened during afternoon worship in the provincial capital of Peshawar, close to former tribal areas that border Afghanistan where militancy has been steadily rising. A frantic rescue mission was underway at the mosque, which had an entire wall and some of its roof blown out by the force of the blast. “Many policemen are buried under the rubble,” said Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan, who estimated between 300 and 400 officers usually attended prayers at the mosque.
Israeli troops kill man in West Bank: Palestine
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in a flashpoint city in the occupied West Bank on January 30, the Palestine Health Ministry said. The killing marks the latest bloodshed in spiraling violence that comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits the region. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. The Palestine Health Ministry said the man, Nassim Abu Fouda, 26, was shot in Hebron, often a center of clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinians.
Fraud cannot be obfuscated by nationalism, Adani response ignores key questions, says Hindenburg
In the latest round of ripostes, U.S. based short-seller Hindenburg and Gujarat based conglomerate Adani have accused each other of “holding back India’s future” to “calculated attack on India.” In response to a lengthy 413 page rebuttal issued by the Adani Group on late January 29, the U.S. short-seller in an equally hard hitting rejoinder starting “Fraud cannot be obfuscated by nationalism or a bloated response that ignores every key allegation we raised.”
Indian men’s hockey team chief coach Graham Reid resigns following World Cup debacle
Indian men’s hockey team chief coach Graham Reid on January 30 resigned from his position following the host nation’s disastrous outing at the just-concluded World Cup. Reid, who was appointed India coach in April 2019, led the team to a historic bronze medal finish at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The 58-year-old Australian submitted his resignation to Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey, a day after the conclusion of the World Cup in Bhubaneswar, where Germany beat Belgium in a penalty shoot-out to emerge as champions.
Murali Vijay retires from international cricket
Former India opener Murali Vijay on January 30 announced that he is formally retiring from international cricket. Announcing his decision on Twitter, Vijay said he would be “exploring new opportunities in the world of cricket & the business side of it”. In a long post, Vijay thanked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Chemplast Sanmar, his teammates, coaches, mentors, support staff and his fans. Vijay has been playing cricket since 2002. He started off with club cricket in Chennai and made it to TN Under 22 squad in 2004.
