Front page
No confidence motion in Parliament today. The Narendra Modi government faces its first no-trust vote in the Lok Sabha on Friday. With 314 MPs, including 273 of the BJP in the 535-member House, the ruling NDA is comfortably placed in terms of numbers. The majority mark stands at 266 as 10 seats are vacant. Read ThePrint’s live coverage of the entire event through the day, here.
But winning the motion isn’t about numbers, says opposition. How to declare victory in the face of defeat? Argue that the no-confidence motion isn’t really about the numbers, but about “highlighting how the Modi government has failed to deliver on its promises,” says The Hindu.
Chidambaram, Karti charged in Aircel case. The CBI Thursday filed a supplementary chargesheet against former finance minister P. Chidambaram, his son Karti and 16 others in the Aircel-Maxis deal case, alleging criminal conspiracy and corruption, reports The Hindu. The agency has invoked provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused.
Now govt & SC collegium at war over CJI. In an exclusive by ThePrint, Maneesh Chhibber reports that the Modi government has rejected yet again a name suggested by the Supreme Court collegium. This time the Aniruddha Bose, a Calcutta high court judge, was recommended to be appointed as the chief justice of Delhi high court.
India & Pakistan will be in wargames in China and Russia. India will be participating in wargames alongside Pakistan and China to be hosted jointly by Russia, China and five other countries beginning next week. The invitation and the participation will both have a signature effect on foreign policy, analyses Sujan Dutta for ThePrint.
Rs 1,484 crore spent on PM Modi’s foreign trips, says govt. According to The Indian Express, an expenditure of Rs 1,484 crore was incurred on chartered flights, maintenance of aircraft and hotline facilities during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to 84 countries since June 2014.
Panel formed to pick Lokpal as Kharge boycotts meeting. Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, boycotted the selection committee meeting on the grounds that he was being invited as a “special invitee” without any right of participation, recording an opinion or voting, even as the committee decided to go ahead and constitute a search panel to choose the Lokpal, reports Hindustan Times.
No more Mallyas and Nirav Modis as fugitive offenders bill passed. The Lok Sabha Thursday passed the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill aimed at preventing offenders from siphoning off public funds and fleeing the country, after a two-hour debate, reports The Times of India.
IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla’s aide Akram Saifi resigns. As per The Indian Express, Mohammed Akram Saifi resigned Thursday after he was accused by a UP cricketer of asking to arrange prostitutes in return for selection in the state team. He was suspended following a sting operation, alleging that he sought bribes to facilitate selection of players.
Business Class
The world’s first trillion dollar company? With its nearly $940 billion market capitalisation, it seems Apple Inc. is on course to breach the mark, reports Business Standard. The tech giant crossed the $900 billion market cap mark in November last year following the launch of its “super premium” iPhone X, it writes.
The Reserve Bank of India has given in-principle approval to insurance giant LIC to acquire a majority stake in IDBI Bank, reports Business Standard.
News it’s just kinda cool to know
India to expand polar research to Arctic as well. Three decades after its first mission to Antarctica, the government is refocusing priorities to the other pole — the Arctic — because of opportunities and challenges posed by climate change, says The Hindu.
Soon, Uttar Pradesh to get a ‘digital army’. The UP police will raise a contingent of over 367,000 digital volunteers to counter fake news on social media platforms in the state, director general of police O.P. Singh told Hindustan Times Thursday.
Point of View
On the Narendra Modi’s government first no-trust vote in Parliament today, The Times of India in its editorial writes, “(The) Opposition will look to exploit this opportunity to put government on the mat on issues such as mob lynchings, agrarian distress, bank scams and joblessness – setting the tone for opposition’s Lok Sabha poll rhetoric.”
Meanwhile, outside Parliament, thousands of farmers are marching to protest against the government’s farm policies. Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav in his column in The Hindu writes, “Farmers have already passed a vote of no confidence against this government. Far from helping the farmers, this government has actually harmed them in their hour of crisis. This is a strong indictment, backed by solid evidence.”
The bill to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, has been deferred. The Indian Express in its editorial writes, “The government has argued that the legislation intends to correct an anomaly in the original Act, which placed Information Commissioners on par with election commissioners. However, if the changes proposed in the bill are carried out, they will dilute the RTI Act considerably.”
How important is the export of goods and services for the growth and development of India? NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant in his column in The Times of India writes, “India’s economy cannot survive without exports. In 2017-18, exports of goods and services contributed about 12% of India’s GDP. In contrast, exports made up over 42% of South Korea’s GDP. Similarly, in 2006, when China was growing at nearly 13%, the share of exports in GDP was more than 37%.”
Prime Time
Mob violence menace
Is the government responsible for the rise in lynching cases? News 18’s Zakka Jacob asked whether the attack on Swami Agnivesh was the new normal. The Arya Samaj preacher, who was allegedly attacked by BJP youth wing members in Jharkhand recently, said he felt cheated by the statement given by home minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament. “In spite of me writing to the CM, asking for security, no protection was given to me,” he said.
Political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla said the matter was graver than it seemed. “Somebody is benefiting economically, politically, and socially hence, such mob violence is permitted.”