1. Narendra Modi: Killing In The Name Of Gau Bhakti Is Unacceptable.
Speaking at the centenary celebrations of the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a serious message to all the cow vigilantes in the country. He said that killing in the name of Cow is unacceptable in our country. “Killing people in the name of cow is unacceptable. No one has the right to take the law into his/her hands. We belong to a land of non-violence. Violence is not the solution to any problem,” said the Prime Minister. He added that Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation, would not approve of such incidents. The remarks came in the backdrop of several lynching incidents in the country, the recent being the Junaid Khan lynching which also enticed the #NotInMyName protests, all over the country.
2. Congress Boycotts ‘Midnight GST Rollout Celebrations’.
The Congress Party on Thursday announced that they have decided to boycott the midnight celebrations for GST roll out in the Central Hall of Parliament. They have also branded the celebration as a ‘tamasha’ of the Narendra Modi government. Addressing a press conference here, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Congress party will boycott the GST celebration to be held on 30 June midnight for the rollout of GST in Parliament’s Central Hall. They have given two major reasons behind the boycott. “First till now, only three-midnight celebrations are held in Central Hall i.e. 15 August 1947, 1972 freedom silver jubilee and 1997 freedom golden jubilee. Second, the Prime Minister and his party leaders are not taking cognizance of farmers’ distress, brutal killing of Dalits and the minorities people, rising unemployment, border insecurity, etcetera,” he said.
3. Vice President Elections To Happen On 5th August.
On Thursday, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Nasim Zaidi announced that the elections for the position of vice-president will happen on 5th August 2017 and the results will be announced on the same day. The term for current Vice President Hamid Ansari will end on 10th August. Ansari has served two consecutive terms in the Parliament. The last date of nominations will be July 18, and scrutiny of papers will be held on July 19. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is July 21, and poll if required would be held on 5th August.
4. Mumbai Railway Station Renamed.
Mumbai’s Railway Station was renamed on Thursday and now it has been named Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Earlier the station was known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. However, as per the Central Railway notification, the code initials of the station will remain the same, ie. CSTM. The change in the name has happened due to a notification of the Maharashtra Government on 2nd June 2017. It was Shiv Sena who demanded the addition of Maharaja to the name of the station. The Centre in May had given its consent for the renaming of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Elphinstone Road railway station. As reported by ANI, Maharashtra Government wants to rename Elphinstone Road railway station to Prabhadevi railway station.
5. Centre Approves Rs 795.54 crore For Drought-Hit Karnataka.
On Thursday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a central meeting of the High-Level Committee (HLC). The meeting was scheduled in connection with the centre providing assistance to the drought-hit Karnataka. Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley and the Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Radha Mohan Singh attended the meeting. The committee at the meeting examined the proposal report, presented by the Inter-Ministerial Central Team that visited the drought-affected state. Acting upon the report, the HLC has approved the assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) to tune in Rs 795.54 crore to Karnataka.
29th June 2017
Jyotsna Amla