Daily Briefing: Rahul disqualified as MP; India considers translocating a few big cats to Cambodia; and more

Get your weekend started with these top 5 stories from The Indian Express

1) In a major development that the Congress dubbed as an attempt to “silence” his voice, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as an MP, a day after he was convicted by a Surat court and sentenced to two years in jail in a defamation case. The Wayanad seat, which he represented, is now vacant. 

🔴 A notification regarding the same was issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Friday. But is the authority of the Speaker final in this regard? What does Rahul lose along with his LS membership? What options are available to him from here onward? We explain

🔴 Though the BJP said the disqualification was “lawful”, the grand old party asserted that it would fight the battle legally and politically. The Congress is also hoping to turn the developments to sway public mood in its favour.

🔴 Meanwhile, Rahul’s disqualification seems to have brought together various Opposition parties that were not entirely on the same page till now. Most Opposition parties are of the opinion that this could be welded and projected as the ruling BJP’s attempt to silence the Opposition.

🔴 At the same time, the saffron party has also decided to make the best of this issue. The party Friday alleged that Rahul’s remarks were directed against the OBCs and his attitude “insulted” the country’s institutions.

🔴 In her column this week, Neerja Chowdhury writes that Rahul’s disqualification, apart from being a setback to the Congress, “is a message to all Opposition leaders to carefully vet their words before speaking – or some judge in some part of India can take note and can end their membership of Parliament or Assembly.”

🔴 But why is it that the BJP loves to hate Rahul? In our Opinion section today, Suhas Palshikar writes that Rahul will continue to be the political hot topic, no matter what: “To ignore Rahul Gandhi would mean conceding space to him and to a counter-ideology. But to continue to target Rahul can only lead to expanding the space he can occupy.”

2) The Centre has announced the formation of a panel to look into improving the system of pension for government employees. This development comes after at least five Opposition-ruled states adopted the Old Pension Scheme. The panel will work on an approach that will strike a balance between employees’ needs and fiscal prudence, with any changes proposed to be adopted by both Central and state governments.

3) Despite battling TB thrice, Divya Sojal, a nurse from Kerala, continues to take care of her patients from whom she contracted the potentially life-threatening disease. Her lows have not stopped her from building awareness about it. “Let difficulties know that you too are difficult,” the warrior declares with confidence. The Indian Express’ Anuradha Mascarenhas narrates her story.

4) Cambodia has never spotted a tiger since 2007. The species is believed to have become extinct here in the last decade. India, meanwhile, is considering translocating a few big cats to the Southeast Asian country, as ‘Project Tiger’ programme celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. An Indian delegation has already made a preliminary visit to Cambodia and a team from Cambodia has visited India for negotiations.

5) This week, Shubhra Gupta reviews Bheed, starring Ashutosh Rana, Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar and Dia Mirza. “With the context missing, this well-intentioned film becomes less than its powerful moving parts,” she writes. Guess how many stars Shubhra gave to this film… 😉

Until next time,

Anandu Suresh