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As uncertainty ensued over the 40 lakh names missing from the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India said “no genuine Indian citizen should have any fear or panic in regard to the filing of claims and objections”, The Indian Express reports.
The daily also tells us the stories of some of the people left out of the NRC: A school teacher, a pair of twins, former MLA, a BEd student, and a Delhi-based social worker have all been left out of the list.
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has warned of an ‘impending civil war and bloodbath’ because of the NRC. BJP president Amit Shah has criticised her statements, saying the list will be implemented to the “last full stop”.
The Supreme Court stepped in to direct authorities not to “initiate any coercive action” against the 40 lakh people left out of the NRC draft, The Hindu reports. The court also asked the government to come up with a fair standard operating procedure to handle any claims and objections.
Rohingya refugees will also be counted, as the government’s targeted effort to identify ‘illegal migrants’ continues, The Hindu reports. The home ministry has sent an advisory to all state governments, asking them to observe and collect biometric data of Rohingya migrants living in India. The daily reports that “the government also made it clear that Rohingya were ‘illegal migrants’ and not ‘refugees'”.
11 women have reportedly been found missing from a home run by the same Muzaffarpur NGO responsible for the shelter where 32 girls were allegedly sexually abused. Hindustan Times reports that the two homes are barely 200 metres from each other, adding that an FIR has been registered against NGO Seva Sankalp Ewam Vikas Samiti (SSEVS) in connection with the 11 missing women.
A UK court has asked India to submit a video of Vijay Mallya’s future prison. Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot, the judge presiding over Mallya’s extradition case in London, has given public prosecutor Mark Summers three weeks to procure a video of Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai so she can see “how the windows are”, The Times of India reports. This is in continuation of the main argument made by Mallya’s counsel against extradition — that Indian prisons violate basic human rights.
A study by Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has found that the number of non-smokers with lung cancer in north India is now the same as that of smokers, Rahiba Parveen reports for ThePrint. “The alarming trend has once again highlighted the adverse effects of second-hand smoking… with doctors calling it an ‘impending epidemic’,” the report states.
Government unveils draft of proposed GST returns. The government Monday made public the draft version of proposed returns under the GST regime that will entail “single monthly return for all taxpayers except small taxpayers, composition dealers, persons liable to deduct tax at source or to collect tax at source and staggered return filing dates based on the turnover of the registered person”, reports The Indian Express.
News it’s just kind of cool to know
If you’re looking to get a million-dollar shot of the stars while in outer space, you might have to rethink your plans. Firstpost reports that the reason why no astronaut has ever managed to get stars in the background while clicking pictures in space might have more to do with photography than astrophysics. Read to find out.
The fight for the one-piece swimsuit: It’s not just Miss America where an uproar has been caused over a swimsuit — the fight has gone digital too. Two women have approached the Unicode Consortium to allow a very simple pink one-piece bathing suit to join the itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot bikini in the emoji lexicon in an effort to “desexualise” swimsuits, reports The New York Times.
Point of View
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, in a column for Hindustan Times, writes about the controversial alcohol ban in Bihar. Defending his policy and its implementation, he writes, “Advocating that a drinking ban must be backed by awareness campaigns shows lack of awareness about the sweat and toil of an effective ongoing public campaign.”
With 12 per cent of Assam’s population suddenly finding itself labelled foreigners, panic has set in. An editorial in the Tribune suggests that a simple solution seems unlikely. Quoting the troubles the state is already facing, it says, “While a legal, non-discriminatory headcount makes sense, the humanitarian compulsions should not be ignored. India can’t turn its back on those already in.”
Discussing India’s healthcare situation, Chennai-based orthopaedic surgeon George Thomas, in a column for The Hindu, writes about how policymakers have shown little inclination to provide equitable medical care in India. It says, “The only pressure group which can ensure at least equitable medical care is the electorate. Until such time as it demands this from governments, we will continue to witness the tragic drama of two levels of medical care in India.”
Enough with the cricket analogies, please. An editorial in The Indian Express says, “How many reverse swings, headline writers are asking themselves, can bowl out readers now that Imran Khan is definitely more a career politician than a cricketer?” Arguing that it’s time the cricketing metaphors for Pakistan’s prime minister-elect left gracefully for the pavilion, it advises, “As for the commentators of politics and society, it’s time to leave the field. Better retired hurt than hit wicket.”
Prime Time
The NRC debate
As Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the BJP government over the NRC, Times Now’s Navika Kumar discussed the need to deal with illegal migration and appeasement politics.
Ram Madhav, national general secretary of the BJP, said Mamata was playing cheap politics.
Dinesh Varshney of the CPI, too, criticised the CM’s statements, and said,”All illegal immigrants should be dealt with as per the Indian law.”
Judge Loya case
The SC Tuesday turned down a petition seeking a review of its April decision against a fresh probe in the Judge Loya case, and Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami consequently accused the “lobby” of floating a conspiracy theory.
There have been claims that the death of Judge Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, occurred under “mysterious circumstances”.
Ahmed Abdi, a petitioner in the Judge Loya case, defended his move and said, “The same Supreme Court and same law of the land give me the right to go for a review. What’s wrong with that?”
BJP leader Shazia Ilmi demanded an apology from the Congress and its supporters, saying, “This was frivolous, scandalous, mischievous and not just an attack on the judiciary, but also on his family. Today they have egg on their face but they’re so brazen they won’t apologise.”