After yet another day when the AQI in the Delhi-NCR region hovered in the “severe” region, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that a change in wind direction from northwest to southeast due to a fresh western disturbance affecting northwest India, will help reduce the contribution of smoke from stubble burning, bringing some cheer for people ahead of Diwali on Sunday. However, given the expected slow wind speed, how far this relief will be, is still unknown. Meanwhile, the fate of the Delhi government’s proposed reintroduction of its odd-even car-rationing scheme could be decided Friday, when the matter will be heard by the Supreme Court. On the defensive after the apex court called its odd-even vehicle scheme “optics”, the Delhi government, it is learnt, will likely rely on the “findings of two independent and scientific evaluations by globally reputed institutions” and tell the court that these studies had concluded “that the policy works as an effective emergency measure”. The state is expected to present these findings to the court when it hears the matter related to air pollution Friday. Undaunted by criticism, the Delhi government has also gone ahead and proposed to induce artificial rain on November 20-21 through cloud seeding across the Capital, with the hope that it will bring down suspended particulate matter in the air. It has even proposed to bear the entire cost of the exercise, if the Centre supports the decision. The Winter session of Parliament will commence on December 4 and continue till December 22, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said Thursday. The Winter session is expected to be a stormy affair. The report of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on the "cash-for-query" allegations against TMC MP Mahua Moitra will be tabled in the House during the session. The Ethics Committee, which inquired into these allegations levelled by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey against Moitra, adopted its draft report Thursday, recommending her expulsion from the 17th Lok Sabha for “unethical conduct” and “serious misdemeanours”, as reported by Manoj C G and Liz Mathew. The committee also recommended an “intense, legal, institutional inquiry” by the government in a time-bound manner in view of the “highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct” by her. The report was adopted after voting with six MPs – 5 of the ruling NDA and Preneet Kaur of the Congress, wife of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh who is now with the BJP – in its favour, and four from the Opposition against it. The Opposition MPs – BSP’s Danish Ali, Congress’s V Vaithilingam, CPM’s P R Natarajan and JD(U)’s Giridhari Yadav – submitted dissent notes, disagreeing with the decision. After the meeting, committee chairman Vinod Sonkar said, “The Ethics Committee had prepared a report on the allegations against Mahua Moitra. The single agenda of the meeting was to adopt that report. That report was adopted. Six MPs supported the report and four people have submitted their dissent notes. There was voting. We will send a detailed report along with the recommendations to the Lok Sabha Speaker. Whatever action is to be taken now will be taken by the Speaker.” In a phone interview with PTI, Moitra said, “Even if they expel me in this Lok Sabha, I will be back in the next Lok Sabha with a bigger mandate.” “This is a pre-fixed match by a kangaroo court, which is of no surprise or consequence. But the larger message for the country is that for India, it is the death of Parliamentary democracy,” she said. Read on what could happen next in the Moitra case in Vikas Pathak’s report, here. Over in Telangana, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy, D K Shivakumar, will be campaigning for Congress candidates in the poll-bound state on Friday. Siddaramaiah will address a public meeting in Kamareddy, where the Congress has fielded its state president A Revanth Reddy to take on Telangana CM and BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao or KCR. Shivakumar, who is also Karnataka Congress chief, will participate in an election campaign in Kodad and Huzurnagar, according to the tour programme shared by his office. – With PTI inputs
