Your Daily Wrap: Rajya Sabha suspends 19 Oppn MPs, FIR against Ranveer Singh; and more
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other party leaders were detained today by the Delhi Police for protesting against the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s summons to party president Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald money laundering case. The Congress leaders were planning to march from Parliament House to Rashtrapati Bhavan, but the Delhi Police stopped them and detained several of the leaders in buses. Right before he was detained, Rahul told the media: “India is a police state, Modi is a king.” The Congress termed the detentions as an “absolute misuse of power” by the BJP and Delhi Police. Meanwhile, the ED has asked Sonia to appear for the third round of questioning tomorrow.
If the Congress staged a protest near the Parliament House, several Opposition MPs were seen protesting in the House over price rise and GST hike. The uproar led to the suspension of 19 Rajya Sabha MPs. Deputy Chairman Harvansh said the MPs were suspended for the entire week for showing “utter disregard” to the House and the authority of the Chair. The decision was taken as opposition MPs did not heed to Deputy Chairman Harvansh’s pleas to leave the Well of the House and go back to their seats. The suspended MPs include seven from the TMC and six from the DMK, three from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, two from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and one from the Communist Party of India. But under what rules can MPs be suspended from Parliament? Read Express Explained to know more.
The government today approved armed forces’ arms procurement proposals worth Rs 28,732 crore, which include swarm drones, bulletproof jackets and carbines. The proposals were approved in a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The Defence Ministry also said the “DAC also approved the proposal of procurement of 14 fast patrol vessels for the Indian Coast Guard under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) with 60% IC.”
The Mumbai police has registered an FIR against actor Ranveer Singh for allegedly posting his photographs from his nude photoshoot on his Instagram account. The action came after a Mumbai-based lawyer and an NGO lodged a complaint with the police on Monday. A note released by the police that his act has attempted to outrage the modesty of women. What sections of the law have police applied against the actor? And what is the section of the Information Technology Act that Ranveer has allegedly violated? Read here. Also, do read this Opinion piece by our colleague Yashee where she argues that the actual threat to women is not the photoshoot, but the patriarchal beliefs and conservativeness that the photoshoot’s critics are displaying.
Political Pulse
As the Samajwadi Party loses its old guard, the BJP seems to be making a play for another stalwart, the late Harmohan Singh Yadav, one of the founders of the SP along with Mulayam Singh Yadav. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a virtual address at the 10th death anniversary of Harmohan Singh, noting: “When the country’s democracy was crushed during the Emergency, all the major parties came together and fought to save the Constitution. Chaudhary Harmohan Singh Yadavji was also a fighting soldier of that struggle.” The SP continues to have a hold over the Kanpur-Bundelkhand region, and co-opting Harmohan may help the BJP – which has identified the Akhilesh Yadav-led party as the only one standing in its way in UP – capture some of the Yadav votes. Read Lalmani Verma’s report.
From the Urdu Press: In their reports and commentary over the last week, leading Urdu dailies hailed the election of Droupadi Murmu as India’s first-ever tribal President. They also found Chief Justice of India N V Ramana’s anguish over the state of democracy and media in the country deeply significant and resonant. In the Kafkaesque trials and tribulations of journalist and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair they found glaring signs of a weakening democracy that got some redemption when the Supreme Court intervened and fortified the cause of justice and freedom.
Express Explained
The 15th President of India, Droupadi Murmu, assumed office Monday with a ‘Johar’ greeting to the country. What is the meaning of the word ‘Johar’? Do all tribal communities use this word for greeting? Since when has the Johar greeting been used? We explain.
European Union countries have agreed to an emergency plan to use less gas, as they attempt to save fuel for a winter of uncertain Russian supplies. Moscow has slashed gas flows to Europe since its invasion of Ukraine in February and this week said it would cut them further, making it harder for EU states to fill their gas storage ahead of winter. A look at how Europe plans to use less gas this winter.
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