Daily briefing: PM Modi speaks in Parliament; 3 Manipur gangrape FIRs among cases probed by CBI; and more

In a strong rebuttal to the no-trust motion against his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday hit out at the Opposition INDIA alliance, the Congress and the Gandhi family in particular, saying “people of the country” have “no confidence” in them. The motion was defeated by a voice vote after the Prime Minister’s reply.

Following this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a resolution for Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s suspension, saying he disturbs the House whenever PM Modi and ministers speak or a debate is underway. The resolution was passed by a voice vote.

Meanwhile, the government introduced a Bill in Rajya Sabha that seeks to replace the Chief Justice of India with a Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister in the committee for selection of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

Former Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi, in his column, says the Collegium proposed by this new bill will be more effective if its decisions are unanimous. 

So, what was the Supreme Court verdict that this Bill seeks to overturn? How is the new process under the Bill different from it? To know, read our explainer here.

⚡ Only in Express

Italian Navy’s multipurpose offshore patrol vessel ITS Francesco Morosini made a port-call to Mumbai Thursday. Speaking to The Indian Express, H E Vincenzo De Luca, Ambassador of Italy to India, said that this is a reflection of the new phase of relations between the two countries which have now elevated from bilateral to strategic partnership. Read his full interview

Among the 11 cases relating to the Manipur violence that have been transferred from state police to the CBI, three are of alleged gangrapes and one in which a CRPF assistant commandant is accused of publicly kicking the private parts of a 56-year-old woman.

📰 From the Front Page

The Reserve Bank of India left the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent for the third time in a row amid concerns over rise in inflation. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee revised its FY’24 consumer price index inflation projection to 5.4 per cent from an estimate of 5.1 per cent announced in June, even as it retained its forecast for real GDP growth at 6.5 per cent.

👩‍💻 Must read

References to ‘Brahmanisation’ removed, a paper on inequality withdrawn and matriarchal perspectives introduced in units that dealt with patriarchy: these are among the changes made by Delhi University to its undergraduate syllabus for History as part of the curriculum review based on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Find out more here

🇵🇰 Pakistan’s parliament has been dissolved, three days before its five-year tenure ended. However, Imran Khan’s arrest, and two recent developments, have raised questions over when the next elections are to be held. Shubhajit Roy explains the political churn in Pakistan

A law graduate who studied in a madrasa, a Dalit teacher who started earning for his family when he was in class 6, and a 22-year-old whose mother is an anganwadi worker: meet 25 ‘next-gen’ leaders from Jharkhand, who are headed to universities in UK, with the help of two scholarships run by the state.

⌛ And finally

🏑 From resembling the great Klopp-coached gegenpressing sides, India’s hockey team is fast transitioning into Mourinho-esque mid-block masters. And if the high press had its own magnetic allure, the half-court is no less captivating. Read on to find out how coach Craig Fulton is changing Indian hockey.

Members jostling with each other to find the right spot that is visible on Sansad TV is a common scene in Lok Sabha. But on Thursday, with PM Narendra Modi scheduled to reply to the no-confidence motion, MPs, and even ministers, seemed to be making extra efforts. Find out more in today’s Delhi Confidential!

In the latest episode of the 3 Things podcast, we discuss the Assam Rifles facing an FIR from Manipur police, children swimming across a snake infested river in Madhya Pradesh to reach school, and Haryana gram panchayats boycotting Muslims.

Until next time, 

Anamni Gupta and Arushi Bhaskar