The Good Word

THE GOOD WORD Jan 3, 2022 - Week 1

Volume 7S-34| Pages 1

Massive security breach during PM’s travel in Punjab as convoy is halted

by protestors. SC asks High Court to seize records of travel arrangement

Bharat First Visit IndiaWiki.org

Jan 6, in a set back to the

former West Bengal Chief

Secretary (CS) Alapan

Bandopadhyay, the

Supreme Court (SC) set

aside a Calcutta High

Court (HC) order paving

the way for the Central

Administrative Tribunal

(CAT) in Delhi to hear the

case related to disciplinary

action initiated against

him by the Centre. The HC

had made unsavory

observations against the

Centre and asked the CAT

in Kolkata, rather than

Delhi, to hear the matter.

The Union government

had initiated disciplinary

proceedings against

Bandopadhyay for his

absence from a meeting

chaired by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi to discuss

the effects of cyclone

'Yaas' in May last year.

The Mamata government

then tried to grant

Bandopadhyay an

extension as CS but the

Centre recalled the officer

to Delhi. Bandopadhyay

refused to report, inviting

disciplinary action which

he challenged in the HC.

At: NewIndianExpress

Shri Ramana Maharshi birth anniversary - Dec 30 – image courtesy - QuotesGram

Kazakhstan orders

shoot to kill

against protestors

Jan 8, nationwide

protests broke out in

Kazakhstan over last

week after the

government removed

the cap on liquefied

petroleum gas (LPG)

leading to a steep rise in

fuel prices. Agitators

protested against the

price rise and

corruption. President

Tokayev flew in 2,500

Collective Security

Treaty Organisation

(CSTO) troops and

ordered his army to

shoot to kill without

warning. Earlier Russian

paratroopers had

cleared the Almaty

airport of protestors.

Over 4,000 protestors

have been detained and

at least 44, including 18

security personnel and

26 ‘armed criminals’

were killed in the

violence. The country is

in a state of emergency.

Image: Yahoo.com, At: Republic

Jan 1, Beijing released a

45 second video that

showed the Chinese flag

being unfurled in Indian

Ladakh’s, Galwan valley

on New Year’s day.

However, social media

platform, Weibo, users

soon caught on that the

PLA troops included

actors Wu Jung and his

wife Xie Nan, who is also

a TV anchor. All actors’

Weibo accounts were

suspended after their

names were exposed on

the site. Some Indian

media outlets and

politicians, including

Rahul Gandhi, jumped to

criticize the Indian

government for the

incursion. The Indian

government, however,

called the Chinese bluff

and put out its own

video of Indian soliders

in Galwan.

At: NewsX

Chinese actors

play soldiers in

propaganda film Jan 7, In an interim

order, the apex court

upheld the 27% Other

Backward Classes (OBC)

quota and a 10% quota

for the Economically

Weaker Section (EWS)

based on the criteria

laid down in Jan 2019.

This comes as a relief to

the Centre. It will allow

the resumption of

counseling, or college

selection by students,

for NEET-Post Graduate

and Under Graduate

courses for the

academic session of

2021-2022.

The court has decided

to examine the validity

of the EWS criteria as

laid down by the

Pandey Committee of a

family income of ₹8 lac

per annum or less. It

will hear the petitions

in the third week of

March. Petitioners had

challenged the ₹8 lac

per annum threshhold

as arbitrary. 15% of

MBBS and 50% of

MS/MD course seats

are filled through an

all-India quota.

At: OdishaTV, HindustanTimes

SC sets aside

Calcutta HC order

on Badhopadhyay

guards immediately

took positions on the

flyover. Fingers on

weapon triggers

betrayed their surprise.

Security officials tried to

contact the Punjab

Chief Minister (CM)

Channi on phone, but

the CM did not answer.

In video footage the

local SP is seen sipping

tea with the protestors.

PM Modi expressed his

displeasure at Bathinda

airport, saying ‘Apne

CM ko thanks kehna, ki

main Bhatinda airport

tak zinda laut paya’.

The Ministry of Home

Affairs (MHA)

immediately sought a

report from the Punjab

government about this

serious breach. The PM’s

travel plans had been

communicated to the

state police in advance.

Punjab Police was

expected to make

arrangements for

security, logistics and

contingency plans.

‘Today’s Congress-made

happening in Punjab is a

trailer of how this party

thinks and functions.

Repeated rejections by

the people have taken

them to the path of

insanity.” tweeted

Jan 5, in a major breach

of security just before

the Assembly elections

in Punjab, Prime

Minister (PM) Narendra

Modi’s entourage was

stopped mid-route to a

rally in Ferozpur, Punjab

from Bathinda after

protesters blocked a

national highway. Modi,

who was on his first visit

to Punjab after revoking

the farm laws, was

forced to cancel his rally

and return to the

national Capital after

being halted for over 15

minutes on a flyover,

within 10 km of Pakistan

and in firing range. SPG

Nagaland AFSPA

extended for six

months

Heavy snowfall in Badrinath

Dec 30, despite

demands for the

withdrawal of the

Armed Forces Special

Powers Act (AFSPA), the

Ministry of Home Affairs

(MHA) on Thursday

extended its application

to Nagaland for a period

of six more months.

Dec 23, the MHA had

formed a committee to

look into the possibility

of withdrawing AFSPA

from Nagaland which

has 45 days to submit a

report. It was set up in

the wake of an incident

on Dec 4, where security

forces had killed 14

civilians in Oting, in what

appeared to be a case of

mistaken identity, acting

on an intelligence tip off

about insurgents. The

Indian Army had

expressed regret and

had committed to take

action following a court

enquiry. The Nagaland

Assembly had then

asked the Centre to

withdraw AFSPA.

At: RepublicWorld

Jan 6, the Ministry of

External Affairs (MEA) on

Thursday slammed China

for indulging in

provocative behaviour in

issuing new names to 15

locations in Arunachal

Pradesh (AP). The MEA

termed it a ‘ridiculous

exercise to support

untenable territorial

claims’. It reiterated, AP

has always been and will

always remain an

inalienable part of India.

Jan 1, 2022, Chinese

videos appeared with

soldiers unfurling flags in

areas purported to be

Galwan. Later, Indian

security establishment

released pictures of

Indian soldiers in Galwan

dismissing those claims.

MEA also said the

proposed Chinese bridge

on Pangong lake was

being constructed on an

area under illegal

occupation by China for

around 60 years now and

India has never accepted

such illegal occupation.

At: WION

Image: IBTimes, At: OpIndia,

TelegraphIndia

Dec 29, heavy snowfall covered the Badrinath valley giving the region a

tranquil appearance. Image – courtesy Twitter

Jan 7, India’s economy is

forecast to grow by 9.2%

in the current fiscal year

helped by a robust farm

sector and

strengthening recovery

in manufacturing,

construction and

services sector. If that

growth is realised it

would be the fastest

growth since 1988-89

when the economy

expanded by 9.6%.

The nominal GDP

growth (ie GDP at

current prices) is

estimated at 17.6%. The

size of the economy

based on current prices

in dollar terms is

estimated to be $3.1

trillion.

The Omicron variant has

cast a shadow on growth

and strength of the

recovery. It will also

determine if the current

year’s growth estimate

is achievable.

Accordingly to the

World Bank, India’s

GPD in current dollar

terms had risen to $2.9

trillion in 2019 before

falling to $2.7 trillion in

2020 due to Covid’s

impact.

This growth rate would

also help it retain the

fastest growing major

economy tag in the

world. The economy

has recovered after the

bruising impact of the

strictest lockdown

imposed to prevent the

spread of the

coronavirus led to a

record 24.4%

contraction in the June

quarter of 2020-21.

Image: DineshRajput

At: TimesofIndia

Pune court grants

bail to Kalicharan,

physical custody no

longer needed

SC allows OBC,

EWS quotas in

NEET exams

Jan 8, the Chief Judicial

Magistrate of Pune

granted bail to seer

Kalicharan Maharaj in a

hate speech case he

alleged to have delivered

during an event in Pune in

December last year. A case

was lodged against

Kalicharan and others at

Khadak police station in

Pune. On December 28.

They were booked under

sections 295 A (outraging

religious feelings), 298

(deliberate intention of

wounding religious

feelings), and 505 (2) (false

statement, rumour made

in place of worship, etc,

with intent to create

enmity). They were

accused of making

inflammatory speeches

and hurting religious

sentiments of Muslims and

Christians during the ‘Shiv

Pratap Din’ programme

organised by Ekbote-led

Hindu Aghadi outfit on

December 19, last year to

celebrate the killing of

Adilshahi commander Afzal

Khan by Chhatrapati Shivaji

Maharaj in 1659.

At: OpIndia

India is now a 3.1 trillion dollar

economy

Union Home Minister

Amit Shah.

The PM briefed President

Kovind about the incident.

The MHA formed a three-

member committee to

probe the breach which

recorded statements of

state police chief S

Chattopadhyaya and 13

other senior police and

civil officials in Ferozepur

on Friday. It shot a letter

to SSP Bathinda asking to

show cause why

disciplinary proceedings

should not be initiated

against him.

The state has formed its

own investigation

committee and registered

a farcical FIR 18 hours

after the incident under

section 283 of the IPC

which carries a maximum

fine of ₹200 on conviction

and doesn’t name the

group that organised the

protest.

On Friday, the Supreme

Court (SC) heard a

petition filed by an

organisation, Lawyers

Voice that called the

incident the single biggest

China gets an

earful from India

over border

lapse in security of any

Indian Prime Minister in

recent years and sought

a probe into the

connivance of the Punjab

Government and Police

in the matter. The

Centre backed the plea.

The SC directed the

Registrar General (RG) of

the Punjab and Haryana

High Court to seize and

secure all the evidence

and records related to

the security breach. The

three-judge bench

headed by Chief Justice

NV Ramana , also

directed Director

General of Police

Chandigarh and a senior

officer of the National

Investigation Agency

(NIA) to assist the RG.

The top court asked the

Central Government and

State to stay their probes

until the matter is heard

by the court on Monday.

The Congress appears to

be trying to trivialize the

issue or foist a caste or

anti-Sikh light on it.

Image: Twitter At: RepublicWorld,

IndiaTVNews, MSN, HT