Pro-Khalistani protesters attack Indian Consulate in U.S.
A group of pro-Khalistani protesters on March 20 attacked and damaged the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, prompting sharp condemnation from Indian Americans who demanded immediate action against those responsible for it. Raising pro-Khalistan slogans, the protesters broke open the makeshift security barriers raised by the city police and installed two so-called Khalistani flags inside the Consulate premises. Two consulate personnel soon removed these flags. Soon thereafter, a group of angry protesters entered the consulate premises and started hitting the door and windows with the rods that they had in their hand.
OROP arrears case | Supreme Court asks Centre to pay ₹28,000 crore dues by February 2024
The Supreme Court on March 20 gave the government leeway to pay in instalments ₹28,000 crore in arrears due to veterans under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme. The staggered payment of OROP arrears would be made to various categories of eligible pensioners, totalling 21 lakh persons, from April 2023 till February 2024. The entirety of the arrears was supposed to be paid by March 2023 according to an earlier deadline given by the court. The hearing also saw a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud toss back to the government a “sealed cover” containing documents purportedly on the “financial implications” and “live wire” issues connected to the OROP expenditure. Chief Justice Chandrachud told the government that there were “no secrets in the court”.
The Kerala High Court on Monday declared null and void the election of A. Raja , LDF candidate from the reserved assembly constituency of Devikulam in Idukki district. The court passed the verdict while allowing a petition filed by D. Kumar, defeated UDF candidate challenging the election of Mr. Raja from the constituency. Mr. Raja won the constituency by a margin of 7848 votes. Mr. Kumar argued that those who belonged to the scheduled caste in the State of Kerala among Hindus alone will get the status of scheduled caste within the State to contest in a constituency reserved for scheduled castes, and this will not apply to A. Raja, who is a Christian by religion.
Another day of deadlock in both Houses of Parliament
The Parliament’s deadlock continued on Monday morning, with both Houses adjourned over sloganeering and demands for discussion of the Adani issue. Speaker Om Birla asked Opposition and Treasury Bench members to meet him in his chamber to resolve the deadlock so that House proceedings may continue. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day soon after reconvening in the afternoon, while the Lok Sabha adjourned proceedings after the laying of papers and Standing Committee reports.
In a bid to fulfil one of its key electoral promises, the Tamil Nadu government will launch the Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme, providing financial assistance of ₹1,000 per month to women heads of eligible households, this year, on September 15, the birth anniversary of late Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai. State Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, who made this announcement as part of the 2023-24 budget he presented in the Assembly on Monday, said that ₹7,000 crore has been allotted for the scheme. He said that the scheme, once implemented, will be one of the biggest cash transfer schemes implemented by any State government in India’s history.
Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina offers India to use Chattogram, Sylhet ports
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has offered India to utilise the country’s ports in Chattogram and Sylhet, asserting that it would boost connectivity and enhance people-to-people contacts in the region. “India can use our Chattogram and Sylhet ports if they want,” Dhaka Tribune newspaper quoted Prime Minister Hasina as saying when Ram Madhav of India Foundation called on her at her official residence Ganabhaban on March 19. An unambiguous apology from Rahul Gandhi can end the logjam in Parliament, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on March 20 as he slammed the Congress leader for his recent remarks in the United Kingdom. Addressing a press conference, the BJP leader categorically rejected Mr. Gandhi’s claims on the prevailing situation in India and urged him to clarify if he was “playing to an agenda”. During his interactions in the United Kingdom recently, Mr. Gandhi alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under attack and there is a “full-scale assault” on the country’s institutions.
Russia opens criminal probe into ICC after Putin arrest warrant
Russia said on March 20 that it had opened a criminal investigation into International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan after the court based in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin. “The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Ahmad Khan” and several ICC judges, the Investigative Committee said, based on their “unlawful” decision to seek Mr. Putin’s arrest. Mr. Khan is being investigated on the grounds of “criminal prosecution of a person known to be innocent... and preparation of an attack on a representative of a foreign state enjoying international protection,” the statement from the Investigative Committee said.
Remarks on PM Modi: SC transfers 3 FIRs against Pawan Khera to Lucknow, extends bail till April 10
The Supreme Court on March 20, 2023 clubbed three FIRs lodged against Congress leader Pawan Khera for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and transferred them to the Hazratganj police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow. Extending the interim bail till April 10, a Bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices P.S. Narasimha and K.B. Pardiwala took note of the facts that three FIRs were lodged against Mr. Khera. Out of the three FIRs, two were lodged at the Cantonment police station in Varanasi and the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow. The third FIR was lodged in Assam.
Sikh student assaulted in Canada; turban ripped off
In an apparent hate crime, a 21-year-old Sikh student from India was attacked in Canada’s British Columbia province by a group of unknown men who ripped off his turban and dragged him across the sidewalk by his hair, according to a media report. Gagandeep Singh was assaulted when he was heading home on Friday night, CTV news reported. Councillor Mohini Singh said she heard of the attack shortly after it happened and went to visit Mr. Gagandeep. “I was horrified when I saw him. He could only speak in soft tones and he couldn’t open his mouth,”’ she told the news channel.
Claims of a spike in poverty and inequality in India during the COVID-19 pandemic are patently false as such claims are based on uncomparable different surveys, according to a paper co-authored by eminent economist Arvind Panagariya. The paper also noted that inequality fell in the country during Covid years, both in rural and urban areas as well as nationally. Mr. Panagariya, Columbia University Professor and former Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog and Vishal More of Intelink Advisors, New Delhi have co-authored a detailed paper ‘Poverty and Inequality in India: Before and After COVID-19’.
Will be forced to launch another protest if govt. does not fulfil demands: SKM
Farmers’ outfit Samyukta Kisan Morcha on March 20 said it will be forced to launch another protest if the government does not fulfil its demands, including a law on minimum support price (MSP), debt waiver and pension. A 15-member SKM delegation met with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar at Krishi Bhawan in the afternoon and submitted a demand charter, farmer leader Darshan Pal said.
New Zealand beats Sri Lanka by an innings to take series 2-0
Lanky fast bowler Blair Tickner and spinner Michael Bracewell slogged all day in a Basin Reserve gale to bowl New Zealand to an innings and 58 run win over Sri Lanka in the second test Monday and a sweep of the two-match series. The win was completed with only minutes remaining on the fourth day and capped New Zealand’s extraordinary summer of home test matches, which includes a one-run win over England at the Basin Reserve and a two-wicket win over Sri Lanka from the last ball of the first test.
