CURRENT AFFAIRS
14 December 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Farmer union leaders to sit on hunger strike on December 14.
Hundreds of farmers from Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and several other states, including Maharashtra and Gujarat, sat on a dharna and blocked the Delhi-Jaipur highway after they were stopped by the Haryana Police. The farmers were headed to Delhi under the aegis of Samyukta Kisan Morcha, a joint front of farmer unions, in response to its call for Dilli Chalo. Later in the evening, Gurnam Singh of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chaduni), at a press conference at Singhu border, announced that farmer leaders of all the agitating outfits would sit on a day-long hunger strike tomorrow (December 14) at places where they were protesting. He added that some farmer groups had announced their support to the new farm laws, but those were not associated with them. Rakesh Tikait of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait) said farmers need to stay alert and ensure that no unwanted or wrong elements get involved in the agitation. If the Central government wants to talk and there’s any proposal for talks, they will constitute a committee, which will take a decision on it, he said. In a related development, Punjab Deputy Inspector General (Prisons) Lakhminder Singh Jakhar on Sunday said he has resigned from service in support of farmers protesting against three new farm laws. With the Delhi-Jaipur Highway also blocked, all highways leading to Delhi from Haryana now have farmers holding dharnas seeking repeal of the three contentious farm laws.
B) U.P. officials claim wife of arrested Muslim man did not have a miscarriage.
A 22-year-old Hindu woman whose alleged husband, a Muslim man, was arrested by the Moradabad police last week under the new unlawful conversion ordinance, was admitted to a hospital after complaining of abdomen pain, but was discharged on Sunday, an official said. The woman, identified as Pinki, who was lodged at the Nari Niketan centre, a government women’s shelter home, is three months pregnant. District probation officer, Moradabad, Rajesh Chandra Gupta denied a report published in U.K’s The Telegraph website quoting Pinki’s in-laws as saying she was forced into a miscarriage. Gupta told that the woman had complained of abdominal pain two days ago and was admitted to the district women’s hospital. However, this could not be independently verified from Pinki’s family or from her. A neighbour of her in-laws in Kanth, Moradabad, said the family would visit Pinki on Monday at the Nari Niketan centre. Gupta claimed the girl was not facing any other issues. Her husband, identified as Rashid, and his brother were arrested by the police under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020 on December 5, allegedly based on a complaint lodged by Pinki’s mother. The complaint said Rashid had induced Pinki into marriage and converted her under the garb of providing her a job, the police said. However, according to Rashid, he has been living with Pinki for the past few months; the couple have known each other for two years. Pinki said the two had got married on July 24 in Dehradun. The FIR was lodged under Sections 3 and 5 of the new ordinance against unlawful conversion. At the tehsil office, Pinki was also heckled and humiliated by members of a right-wing group.
C) IRCTC sends nearly 2 crore emails in 5 days flagging Modi’s relationship with Sikhs.
IRCTC sent out nearly 2 crore emails between December 8 and December 12 to its customers, listing 13 decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to support the Sikh community, amidst the farmers’ protest against the Centre’s three farm laws. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, (IRCTC), a railway PSU, emailed to its customers the 47-page booklet, PM Modi and his government’s special relationship with Sikhs as part of the government’s public interest outreach to make people aware of the bills and also to squash myths about them, officials said. The booklets are in Hindi, English and Punjabi. The booklet PM Modi and his government’s special relationship with Sikhs was released by I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on the occasion of Guru Purab on November 30, 2020. The emails, which were discontinued on December 12, were sent to the entire database of the IRCTC, obtained from passengers keying in their details while booking tickets, the officials said. The PSU denied reports that the emails had been sent to only members of the Sikh community. The mails have been sent to all, irrespective of any particular community. This is not the first instance. Earlier also such activities have been undertaken by IRCTC to promote government welfare schemes in public interest, an official statement from IRCTC said. The booklet speaks of the justice given to the 1984 riot victims, FCRA registration granted to Sri Harmandir Sahib, Jallianwala Bagh Memorial, no taxes on langar, and the Kartarpur corridor, among other things under 13 heads.
D) Congress, BJP demand action against Kerala CM for promising free vaccine.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the BJP have demanded action against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for breaching the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) with his ‘announcement’ on Saturday that Covid-19 vaccination will be made available to everyone in the State free of cost. Multiple complaints were filed before the State Election Commission (SEC) on Sunday, asserting that the announcement was made with the sole intention of influencing voters in the local body elections. Demanding action against the Chief Minister, UDF convener M.M. Hassan noted in his complaint that the State government had not received any concrete information from the Centre regarding Covid-19 vaccination, nor had the State Health Department formulated a plan for its administration as and when it became available, Hassan pointed out. Emphasising that announcement ahead of the third phase of the local body polls amounted to a blatant violation of the MCC, he urged the SEC to initiate action against Vijayan. Meanwhile, LDF convener A. Vijayaraghavan defended the Chief Minister, saying the latter was merely explaining the Covid-19 management strategies adopted by the government while replying to a question raised at a press briefing. Vijayaraghavan termed the charge as ‘childish.’ Moreover, the promise of free vaccine found mention in the LDF election manifesto. A reference made by Vijayan to a promise in the manifesto cannot constitute an MCC violation, he said. Interestingly, the BJP had promised free vaccines during its campaign in the recently held Bihar assembly elections and also mentioned it in its manifesto.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks: U.S. court rejects bail plea of Tahawwur Rana.
A U.S. court has rejected the bail plea of Tahawwur Rana, key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack lodged in a Los Angeles prison, awaiting extradition to India. Rana had moved court seeking release from prison till the extradition hearing is finalised, on account of being reinfected with Covid-19. The next extradition hearing is in February 2021. He offered that his location could be monitored through ankle bracelet with GPS and either his daughter or mother-in-law could be made custodians to monitor his movement at home. Rana is wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the 2008 terror attack case that claimed 166 lives. He was released from prison in June after an Illinois court commuted his jail sentence (scheduled to get over in September 2021) as he tested positive for Covid-19. He was provisionally arrested by the federal police in the wake of the pending extradition request from India. In this file courtroom artist’s drawing, Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana (centre) appears before Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago’s federal court.In this file courtroom artist’s drawing, Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana (centre) appears before Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago’s federal court. In his second bail plea, Rana invoked the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures of individuals and property. Dismissing his plea, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian said in an order dated December 10 that Rana continued to pose a significant risk of flight. Notwithstanding its consideration of such information, the Court ultimately concluded that even a location-monitoring condition combined with the proposed bond/other conditions would not negate the significant risk of flight. The Court’s view has not changed, the order accessed said. His first bail plea was rejected in July.
B) German envoy summoned after EU raps Iran over Zam.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday summoned Germany and France’s envoys to protest EU condemnation of the execution of an opposition figure, describing it as an unacceptable interference in Tehran’s affairs, state media reported. Ruhollah Zam was hanged on Saturday after Iran’s Supreme Court upheld his death sentence passed in June over his role in protests during the winter of 2017-18, among other charges. The EU in a statement on Saturday condemned the execution in the strongest terms and emphasised its irrevocable opposition to the use of capital punishment. The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Europe director in turn told Germany’s Ambassador, Hans-Udo Muzel, that Tehran condemned the statement, which it deemed an unacceptable interference in Iran’s domestic affairs, state news agency IRNA said. Germany currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency. IRNA reported later on Sunday that the Ministry also summoned France’s Ambassador after France called the execution an unacceptable and barbaric act and a serious attack on freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
C) China moon probe heads back to Earth.
A Chinese spacecraft carrying rocks and soil from the moon has begun its journey back to Earth, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, putting China on course to become the first country to successfully retrieve lunar samples since the 1970s. Engines on the Change-5 probe were ignited 230 km from the lunar surface early on Sunday, Beijing time, before being shut down after 22 minutes with the craft on a trajectory towards Earth, Xinhua said, citing a China National Space Administration Statement. A successful landing in Inner Mongolia would make China only the third country to haw retrieved lunar samples after the United States and the Soviet Union. The plan was to collect 2 kg (4.4 lbs) of samples, although it has been disclosed how much was actually gathered. The Change-5 was launched on Nov. 24 and a Lander vehicle touched down on the moon on Dec. 1. The mission was expected to take around 23 days in total.
