Sasikala and Dinakaran Ousted From AIADMK And 5 Other Updates

1. Sasikala and Dinakaran Ousted From AIADMK

The two factions of AIADMK came close to reuniting on Tuesday, after they decided to oust V.K Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dinakaran from the party. The decision was taken during a meeting that was held at Chief Minister EK Palaniswami’s house. Finance Minister D Jayakumar said, “It was a unanimous decision, based on the views of the CM, ministers, MLAs, functionaries and the public. More than 1.5 crore AIADMK cadres wish that the family of Dinakaran should be kept out”. The decision came after the Delhi Police filed a FIR against party Deputy General Secretary TTV Dinakaran for allegedly offering bribe to the Election Commission to get hold of the frozen “two leaves” symbol.

2. US President Donald Trump Signs Executive Order On H-1B Visas

United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday, introducing changes to the H-1B temporary visa scheme, which is used by companies in the country to hire foreigners for high-skilled jobs. According to the order signed by the President, dubbed as the “Buy American, Hire American” order, four federal departments of labour, justice, homeland security and state will crack down on alleged “fraud and abuse” in the immigration policy, in order to protect American workers. It further urges the departments to propose new reforms to ensure H-1B visas are awarded to either the most skilled or the highest paid applicant. Donald Trump said, “We’re going to defend our workers, protect our jobs and finally put America first. Right now, H-1B visas are awarded in a totally random lottery and that’s wrong.”

3. Lovely’s Decision To Join BJP Is An Act Of Betrayal, Says Congress

The Congress Dubbed former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely as political opportunist after his decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said, “it is an act of betrayal from his side to leave the grand old party at a time when Congress is going through bad phase”. Senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit said, “This is a sad news. I think it is a betrayal to leave the party at a time when it is going through a bad phase. It is a political opportunism. Whom should we trust if such people, who got so much respect and support, leave the party”. Meanwhile, Lovely’s decision to join BJP was hailed by Vijendra Gupta saying that people have finally started believing in the saffron party. Party President Amit Shah formally welcomed Arvinder Singh Lovely in the presence of Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, ahead of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls.

4. SBI Card Will Charge Rs 100 For Payments Under Rs 2,000 by Cheque

State Bank of India announced on Tuesday that it’ll start imposing a fee of Rs. 100 on payments worth below Rs 2,000 made through cheques. The rule came into effect from 1st April and SBI CEO, Vijay Jasuja said, “We offer several seamless digital modes of payment which we are seeking to encourage, in line with the government’s focus towards digital payments and this step will facilitate the same”. The decision is said to be made due to a large number of cheques being left in drop boxes. However, customers who clear the cheques over the counter or use SBI cheques will not be charged this fee.

5. Petrol Pumps To Remain Shut on Sundays in Eight States From 14th May

Following PM Modi’s call for conservation of oil, around 20,000 petrol pumps in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Puducherry, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Haryana will remain closed on Sundays, starting from 14th May 2017, said the Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers. However, provisions have been made to provide fuel in case of emergencies.

6. Market Opens in Green, Rupee Strengthens Against US Dollar

BSE’s Benchmark Sensex was trading higher by 54.45 points (0.18%) during the early trade on Wednesday due to the forecast of a normal monsoon and positive Asian trends. The 30 share barometer was trading at 29,373.55 on early morning. NSE’s Nifty too gained 15.35 points and remained over the 9100-mark at 9,120.50. Indian Rupee, on the other hand, recovered by 8 paise against the US Dollar due to fresh selling of the foreign currency and high opening in domestic equity. The green currency was valued at Rs 64.55 during Wednesday’s early trade.