CURRENT AFFAIRS
20 October 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) No visitors allowed inside Durga Puja pandals across West Bengal: Calcutta High Court.
No visitors will be allowed inside Durga Puja pandals across West Bengal, and the Puja mandap will be treated as a containment zone this year, the Calcutta High Court said in an order on 19 October. A Division Bench of Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Arijit Banerjee said that only organisers of the Durga Puja committees can enter pandals in numbers ranging from 15 to 25. No Entry notices should be put up near the pandals this year, and an awareness drive should be taken up to inform people about the High Court’s order. Hearing a public interest litigation on the issue of Durga Pujas being allowed in the State during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Court observed that the police does not have enough resources to control the crowd if people descend on the streets. The Calcutta High Court said that small Durga Puja pandals of 5 metres and large puja pandals of 10 metres should be declared a no-entry zone. The distance will have to be measured from the place where the boundary of Durga Puja pandal ends. The Court also directed that the names of Durga Puja organizers allowed inside puja pandal be displayed outside the pandal, and this cannot be changed every day.
B) Highly disappointed with actions of Republic Network: BARC.
TV viewership rating agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has charged Republic TV with misrepresenting its private and confidential communication, saying it has not commented on the ongoing investigation into the alleged manipulation of ratings. In a statement, said it was cooperating with the law enforcement agencies in their ongoing investigation in the Television Rating Points (TRP) manipulation case. Responding to claims by Republic TV that an email from BARC gives proof of the channel not being involved in any alleged malpractices, the agency said it was highly disappointed with the broadcaster’s actions. BARC India is highly disappointed with the actions of the Republic Network by disclosing private and confidential communications and misrepresenting the same. BARC India reiterates that it has not commented on the ongoing investigation and without prejudice to BARC India’s rights, it expresses its dismay at the actions of the Republic Network. Mumbai police, on a BARC complaint, is investigating allegations of manipulation of TRP ratings. Republic TV is one of the four channels being investigated. The BARC statement came after Republic TV disclosed what it said was an email conversation between the agency’s CEO Sunil Lulla and Republic Media Network CEO Vikas Khanchandani.
C) Bombay HC asks police to summon Arnab if he is to be accused in FIR.
The Bombay High Court on 19 October has asked the Mumbai Police to issue summons to Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami, if he is proposed to be added as an accused in the FIR in the TRP manipulation case. A Division Bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and M.S. Karnik was hearing a criminal petition filed by ARG Outlier Media Private Limited and Goswami, who is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Republic Media Network. The plea seeks to quash the FIR registered by Kandivali Police Station against them on October 6. The charges have been made under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing on behalf of Goswami, argued that Mumbai Police had mala fide interest, that they might arrest Goswami, and sought interim protection from arrest. To this, the court said it could not pass that order as Goswami had not been named as an accused. The court said that in case the Investigating Officer proposes to name Goswami as accused in the case, then, as done with the 8 persons, summons shall be issued to him and he shall then cooperate with the police. The court directed Mumbai Police to produce papers of the investigation in a sealed cover on November 4, and said it would hear the matter on November 5.
D) Muthiah Muralitharan asks Vijay Sethupathi to ‘step away’ from his biopic.
Retired Sri Lankan cricketing icon Muthiah Muralitharan has asked actor Vijay Sethupathi, who was roped into starring in his biopic, 800, to step away from the project so as to not encounter problems in his career in future. Vijay Sethupathi shared Muralitharan’s statement with a message ‘Nandri, Vanakkam’ as if to suggest that he won’t be starring in 800. In a statement from the United Arab Emirates, Muralitharan, who is currently working as a bowling coach for the Sunrisers Hyderabad team at the Indian Premier League, said that he doesn’t want to be the reason to derail the career of a great artist like Vijay Sethupathi. As soon as the official poster of 800 was launched, political leaders and many from the Tamil film industry said that the actor should not act in the biopic of a person who had made comments that were perceived to be in support of the war waged by Sri Lankan forces against the LTTE, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians.
E) ED questions Farooq Abdullah in J&K Cricket Association case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 19 October has questioned former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah in connection with the alleged misappropriation of funds of the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association, of which he was the president. Abdullah, whose statements have been recorded in the case multiple times since 2018, was summoned again to the ED’s Srinagar office for another round of questioning. The move came days after he, along with Mehbooba Mufti, who was recently released after 14 months of detention, and some other political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir came together on the issue of Article 370. The ED’s money-laundering case alleging misappropriation of ₹43.69 crore is based on an FIR registered in 2015 by the CBI on a direction from the J&K High Court.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Australia to join Malabar naval exercise next month.
Amid the ongoing stand-off with China in eastern Ladakh, the Ministry of Defence on 19 October has announced that Australia would join the Malabar 2020 naval exercise, consisting of India, Japan and the U.S., to be held next month, more than 3 years after Australia first requested to join. As India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and in the light of increased defence cooperation with Australia, Malabar 2020 will see the participation of the Australian Navy, the Ministry said this in a statement. The exercise is scheduled to be held end-November and the planning conference to finalise the modalities of the exercise is scheduled to be held virtually end of October, according to an official source. This will formally bring together the militaries of the four countries in the Quad group. After years of reluctance due to Beijing’s sensitivities, India has finally agreed to Australia’s inclusion in Malabar, which began as a bilateral exercise between India and the U.S. in 1992 and was expanded into a trilateral format with the inclusion of Japan in 2015.
B) Army apprehends Chinese soldier in Demchok sector.
A Chinese soldier was apprehended in Demchok sector in Eastern Ladakh after he strayed across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Army said this on 19 October. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldier has been identified as Corporal Wang Ya Long. The PLA soldier has been provided medical assistance, including oxygen, food and warm clothes to protect him from the vagaries of extreme altitude and harsh climatic conditions. A request has also been received from the PLA about the whereabouts of the missing soldier. As per established protocols, he will be returned to Chinese officials at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point after completion of formalities.
