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Journalism of Courage
Good morning!
🚨 Big Story
Despite marshalling all its resources — even bringing in former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — the Opposition INDIA alliance could not prevent the passage of the contentious Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
👉🏼What happened: The Bill was passed with 131 votes in favour and 102 against – the BJD and YSRCP, with 9 MPs each, voted with the ruling alliance while the Opposition was a few votes short of its estimate.
👉🏼What this means: The Bill replaced the ordinance that was promulgated after the Supreme Court ruled that the elected government had control over services. It bolsters the Centre’s hold on the capital’s administration, by giving the Lieutenant Governor more control over transfers and postings of bureaucrats.
👉🏼 What the Opposition said: The politically-charged discussion on the Bill saw a combined Opposition tearing into the government, accusing it of usurping the powers of the elected government in Delhi by bringing a “completely unconstitutional” and “fundamentally anti-democratic” Bill.
⚡Only in the Express
In our opinion section today, Radha Kumar writes on how the abrogation of Article 370 impacted the lives of ordinary people in J&K: “The truth is that the Modi administration’s unilateral imposition of legal and political alterations that affect every aspect of local life, accompanied by incessant police operations that show complete disregard for human rights, have created such fear in the Valley and in Jammu’s Muslim population that ordinary citizens dare not speak.”
📰 From the Front Page
In a significant intervention in violence-hit Manipur, the Supreme Court said it is appointing former Mumbai Police Commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar to be the “overall monitor” of a CBI probe into the instances of sexual violence in Manipur.
A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi returned to the Lok Sabha after his conviction in the ‘Modi surname’ defamation case was stayed by the Supreme Court, sources said the Wayanad MP would be among the speakers on the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government.
A week after he allegedly gunned down four people on board the ill-fated Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express, Railway Protection Force (RPF) Constable Chetan Singh has also been booked under IPC Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence).
Citing a report in The New York Times which alleged that Indian news website NewsClick was among organisations funded by a pro-China US-based network, the government and the ruling BJP claimed that the Congress, NewsClick and China were linked to an “anti-India umbilical cord”. The Congress retaliated by saying that the BJP leaders’ remarks were “defamatory and libellous”.
👩💻Must Read
To unearth “the larger conspiracy behind the murder of Retired Judge, Neelkanth Ganjoo” that happened over 30 years ago, the State Investigative Agency of Jammu and Kashmir Police has sought information from the general public to reopen the investigation in the case. We take a brief look at the circumstances surrounding murder.
A two-day trip which includes travelling on secluded roads through Maoist-affected forest areas — that’s what it would take for police in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district to produce a person before the court, located in the district headquarters over 200 km away. Now, a new sessions court in Gadchiroli’s Aheri taluka has brought justice a little closer.
The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 was passed in Lok Sabha on Monday by a voice vote. The Bill has retained the contents of the original legislation proposed last November, including those that were red-flagged by privacy experts. In its new avatar, the proposed law has also accorded virtual censorship powers to the Centre. We explain.
⌛And Finally…
Three months since ethnic clashes gripped Manipur and a month after schools reopened, educators are grappling with how to address the academic – and emotional – needs of students.
🤫 Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is on a new mission: he wants to see that Indian education institutions get a significant number of foreign students. The Education Ministry has already identified 250 institutes and 2,600 courses to offer to students from various countries. Don’t miss today’s Delhi Confidential for more!
🎧 In the latest edition of our 3 Things podcast, we discuss the three major problems ailing India’s Cheetah project, what data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy reveals about the state of employment in India, and Chandrayaan-3 entering the Moon’s orbit. Tune in!
Until tomorrow,
Ayesha Jain and Rahel Philipose
