Today's Top Stories
Shouldn't Have Made Comments Like 'Goli Maaro': Amit Shah after BJP's Loss in Delhi Assembly Polls
In his first comments after the Delhi Assembly election results were declared on February 11, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said BJP leaders should not have made statements like "goli maaro" (shoot them) and "Indo-Pakistan match" in the run-up to the polls. Shah said the party may have suffered because of hate statements made by its leaders. "Our party has distanced itself from such remarks," he said at an event here. Shah, however, said the BJP does not fight elections just for victory or defeat but believes in expanding its ideology through polls.
'Our Arrogance Has to Go': In Wake of Delhi Poll Debacle, Senior Congress Leader Jairam Ramesh Says Party Has to Reinvent Itself
Voicing concern over the Congress debacle in the Delhi Assembly polls and the crisis it is facing in some states like Bihar and the Uttar Pradesh, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh suggested that the party "ruthlessly" reinvent itself or face the prospect of becoming irrelevant. Senior leader Veerappa Moily has also called for a "surgical" action to revive the party in the context of the election drubbing. Asked about the leadership issue in the party, Ramesh said local level leaders have to be encouraged and nurtured, adding that they have to be given freedom and autonomy.
In Other News
No more: Former TERI chief RK Pachauri, who was admitted to the Escorts Heart Institute in the national capital after a prolonged cardiac ailment, died on Thursday. He was 79. Pachauri was put on life support on Tuesday and had undergone an open heart surgery at the hospital.
Downing Street rejig: Rishi Sunak, son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy, has been appointed as Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer after Sajid Javid resigned in a shock development. The appointment of the 39-year-old Sunak, the Treasury chief secretary since last July, was confirmed by 10 Downing Street in a tweet.
Bidar sedition case: A Karnataka court will hear the bail plea of a Bidar school headmistress and a mother of one of the school’s students who have spent a week in jail for a play critical of the Citizenship Amendment Act. Former CM Siddaramaiah also called for a review of the “antiquated laws" – referring to sedition – which had been slapped on the school.
Out of danger: A Kerala student from Wuhan university, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus thereby becoming the country's second such case, was discharged from the isolation ward of the hospital after two consecutive samples sent for testing at the National Institute of Virology, Pune, turned out negative.
History lessons: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar triggered a Twitter storm stating that Jawaharlal Nehru did not want Vallabhbhai Patel in his Cabinet in 1947. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and noted historian Ramchandra Guha in response tweeted screenshots of letters by Nehru, in which Patel was on top of the new Cabinet.
On Our Specials
Collision course: Angered at being denied an invitation to the convocation ceremony at Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University, West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has issued a show-cause notice to the institute’s vice-chancellor and took the first step that may result in the V-C’s exit. Two months ago, in a similar instance, the Governor was forced to return from the convocation at Jadavpur University after the staff association objected to his presence given his support for the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. He was also forced to leave the Calcutta University’s convocation last month under similar circumstances.
Jumping the gun: A government that has been avoiding any mention of an economic slowdown for months together as GDP growth fell to multi-year lows, has now begun changing the narrative by talking of ‘green shoots’. The RBI has also lapped up this narrative. Sindhu Bhattacharya writes that the FM and the RBI have jumped the gun. It is true that some high frequency indicators of the recent past have shown positive sales trend in some sectors. But inflation has been uncharacteristically high, touching a record in December as well as January and latest factory activity data also show that the slowdown is far from over. Any sustained revival in the economy could still be far, far away.
On Reel
Exercising its constitutional powers, the Supreme Court on Thursday made it mandatory for all political parties to give reasons for allowing candidates with criminal antecedents to contest in general and assembly polls. Watch to know more.
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