Today’s Big Stories
SC to decide on floor test today after Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress put up a show of strength
The Supreme Court will give its order on Maharashtra government formation today, it said on Monday while hearing the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine's plea against the governor's decision to swear in Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister.
In the wake of this, the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress held a show of strength at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Mumbai, wherein 162 MLAs of the combine came together and pledged to not be lured by anything and do nothing to benefit the BJP.
Pledging support: At the hotel, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said “There will not be any problem in proving our majority. The one who is suspended from the party cannot give any orders. On the day of the floor test, I will bring more than 162 MLAs. This is not Goa, this is Maharashtra."
Meanwhile, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said, "The strength of our alliance cannot be captured in any camera lens. We have arrived, clear our way."
A curious case: NCP's Ajit Pawar, in a letter dated November 25, was given a clean chit by the state Anti Corruption Bureau in as many as nine irrigation scam cases, misappropriating funds to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore. ACB’s Director General Paramvir Singh, however, claimed that the closure of the cases had nothing to do with the political developments in the state and was recommended by his department three months ago.
What next: The Congress, Left parties, NCP, TMC, RJD, TDP and DMK have planned a joint protest on Constitution Day today against the political developments in Maharashtra and installing of a Devendra Fadnavis government with Ajit Pawar as deputy chief minister. On Monday, both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned after Congress MPs protested in the Well of the House.
In Other News
Released after 110 days: The Jammu and Kashmir administration announced the release of two political leaders, who have been under detention since August 5, besides shifting of two others to their houses from the MLA hostel. Dilawar Mir, who is from PDP, and Ghulam Hassan Mir, were under detention for over 110 days and were released by the new union territory administration.
Giving up?: The nearly two-month-old strike by employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation over various demands was called off on Monday, a top trade union leader said. The TSRTC employee unions’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) leader, Aswathama Reddy, said the decision to end the strike after 52 days was taken to halt alleged attempts to 'privatise' the corporation.
On another path: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that all refugee colonies on central government and private lands up to 3 acres will be regularised. The move by the Trinamool Congress government comes after Amit Shah announced for a nationwide implementation of the National Register of Citizens.
SC thunders: Why are people being forced to live in gas chambers? It is better to kill them all in one go… get explosives in 15 bags at one go," the Supreme Court said on Monday, pulling up the governments of Haryana and Punjab for increase in stubble burning despite its order prohibiting it.
Clear stance: Sri Lanka will work with India and it won't do anything that will harm its interests, newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said ahead of his visit to New Delhi later this week. Rajapaksa, who is considered pro-China, said he wanted Sri Lanka to be a "neutral country" and work with all the countries.
On Our Specials
Cash for votes?: Some leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular) have alleged that cash was offered to voters at Bookanakere, the native village of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa (the ‘B’ in his name stands for Bookanakere). In a leaked viral video, currency notes can be seen being distributed to voters in a village. The video, apparently shot from the top of a building, shows some men handing out cash to people, Deepa Balakrishnan reports.
Worlds apart: One of the first steps undertaken by the US government was the establishment of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in February 1958. DARPA's achievements have been extremely significant. They include the ARPANET that led to the Internet, stealth technology, microelectronics, sensors for surveillance and reconnaissance, unmanned aerial vehicles, and infrared night vision systems. Lt Gen (Retd) DS Hooda writes that the DRDO, on the other hand, has an employee strength of about 30,000 and a network of more than 50 labs. With the running cost of this kind of establishment, it is apparent that only limited amounts would be available for research.
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