The Good Word

Himanta: New

India does not

need madrassas

Mar 17, amid chaos in the

Parliament, leading to

adjournment of both

houses for the second

consecutive day, sources

in the BJP today said they

won't let Congress MP

Rahul Gandhi speak in the

House unless he

apologises for his remarks

on Indian democracy in

London. Claiming Indian

democracy was under

threat the MP had sought

for the ‘so-called

defenders of democracy’

the US and Europe to

intervene in India. MSN, NDTV

CBI implicates

Sisodia in another

snoopgate scandal

Volume 7S-96| Pages 1

Mega-demolition razes several acres

of encroachments at Dwarka, Gujarat

Bharat First Visit IndiaWiki.org

Mar 10, the Union Home

Ministry has announced

that 10% of all vacancies

at the Border Security

Force (BSF) will be

reserved for Agniveer

recruits after their four

year term in the army

under the Agnipath

scheme is over. The

upper-age limit for BSF

will also be relaxed by 3

to 5 years for them,

depending on the batch

and they shall be

exempted from the

physical efficiency test.

At: OpIndia

China helps strike

Iran-Saudi deal

Mar 18, after two

regional US banks,

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)

and Signature Bank (SB)

succumbed to the classic

run-on-the-bank, a third

First Republic Bank (FRB)

was given a $30 billion

cash lifeline to keep it

afloat. US banking woes

spilt over to Zurich

based banking major

Credit Suisse (CS) whose

shares plunged 30%

before a central Swiss

bank infusion of $54

billion rescued it. CS was

already struggling after

the meltdowns of

Greensill Capital and

Archegos Capital

Management, which

battered the bank in

2021, causing a loss of

billions of dollars.

US banking woes are

rooted in Fed interest

rate hikes that took the

lending rate from a near

0% in 2020 to 4.75%

today. Banks plush with

deposits during the

pandemic and had

invested in long-term

Treasury bonds which

lost value when the Fed

raised interest rates

At: CNN, CBSNews

US banking woes

batter Europe’s

Credit Suisse Mar 16, the Ministry of

Defence (MoD) gave a

preliminary approval to

major military

modernisation projects

worth ₹ 70,584 crore,

which included 69

maritime helicopters,

225 BrahMos

supersonic cruise

missiles and 307 heavy-

duty artillery guns.

₹ 32,000 crore was

assigned to purchase 60

5.5-tonne advanced

light helicopters (ALHs)

for marine use, being

developed by Hindustan

Aeronautics. These

choppers will have

foldable rotors for

deployment on

warships. ₹ 20,000

crore was set aside for

225 BrahMos extended

range missiles, which fly

almost three times the

speed of sound at Mach

2.8, and possess a strike

range of 450 km.

Of the total granted

capital acquisitions in

2022-23 of ₹ 2.71 lac-

crore almost 99% are

being sourced from

Indian industries.

At: MSN

Mar 13, in what some

claim as the biggest

demolition drive in

Gujarat more than 200

structures have been

razed so far at the

Gandhvi fishing harbour

near the famous

Harsiddhi temple in

Devbhumi Dwarka

district as the state

continued leveling

encroachments for the

second day on Sunday.

In Gandhvi, on Saturday

encroachments were

removed from about 8

acres of land. On Sunday,

structures were razed,

clearing another 12

acres. Till Sunday the

drive had taken down

Two cheetah’s released into the

wild at Kuno National Park, MP

ED finds ₹600 crore

proceeds of crime in

raids against Lalu

MoD clears asset

purchase worth

₹ 70,584 crore

Mar 13, Delhi’s

Karkardooma court

convicted nine persons

involved in the 2020

anti-Hindu Delhi riots.

The court noted that

the main objective of

the convicts who joined

the unruly mob guided

by ‘communal feelings’

was to cause ‘maximum

damage’ to the

properties belonging to

the people of the Hindu

community.

The accused identified

as Mohd Shahnawaz,

Mohd Shoaib,

Shahrukh, Rashid, Azad,

Ashraf Ali, Parvez,

Mohd Faisal and Rashid

have been charged

under sections of the

IPC for rioting, armed

with a deadly weapon,

mischief by fire and

House-trespass. The

conviction brings to an

Mar 16, already arrested

by the CBI in the liquor

excise policy case and

presently in the custody

of ED, former Delhi

Deputy Chief Minister

(DCM) Sisodia’s woes

stand aggravated. The CBI

has registered a fresh

case against him and

seven others in

connection with the Delhi

government's Feedback

Unit (FBU) which was

allegedly used for

snooping and collecting

political intelligence. 60%

of the FBU’s reports were

vigilance department

concerns and the

remaining 40% were

political intelligence.

The FIR has accused them

for criminal breach of

trust and forgery. AAP set

up the FBU in 2015. A

‘secret service fund’ was

provided and a detective

agency engaged. The staff

positions created were

under the Vigilance

department but the team

reported directly to

Sisodia which is against

norms. At: TheNewIndianExpress

Mar 19, the Punjab

Police in collaboration

with the CRPF-RAF,

launched a massive

crackdown on Khalistani

radical preacher Amritpal

Singh. Nearly 78 aides

have been arrested and

several others detained

as Amritpal's cavalcade

was intercepted in

Mehatpur village,

Jalandhar district.

Amritpal maanged to flee

in a dramatic car chase

that lasted over 16 kms.

The 'Waris Punjab De'

group, Amritpal headed,

was being funded by

Pakistan. He was handled

by UK-based AS Khanda

on behalf of Pakistan's

Inter-Services

Intelligence (ISI). Khanda

is a close associate of

Khalistan terrorist

Paramjit Singh Pamma.

The police have

declared Amritpal a

fugitive. Internet

services have been

suspended across

Punjab to facilitate law

and order for a second

day now.

On Feb 23, Amritpal and

supporters, brandishing

swords and guns, had

barged into a police

station in Ajnala and

forced the release of

their aide Lovepreet

Singh. Amritpal had

also threatened Union

Home Minister Amit

Shah saying the

minister would meet

the fate of Indira

Gandhi if he tried to

stop the Khalistan

movement.

At: Republic, TOI, ScoopNews

International Women’s Day , Mar 8 – image courtesy RealSimple

KCR’s daughter

Kavita skips ED

summons again

Mar 19, K Kavitha,

daughter of Telangana CM

K Chandrasekar Rao (KCR)

approached the SC seeking

exemption from appearing

before the ED at its office

for the investigation. She is

willing to be questioned at

her residence instead

contending that a woman

cannot be summoned to

the ED office. She skipped

the ED summons for Mar

16, citing her plea. The SC

will hear the matter on

Mar 24. At: Republic

ISI sponsored Khalistani

Amritpal Singh on the run

BJP: Rahul Gandhi

must apologize in

Parliament

Gross NPAs of

Indian banks at a

decadal low

Mar 9, the gross non-

performing assets (NPAs)

of Indian banks are

expected to decline by

0.9% year-on-year to less

than 5%, in the current

financial year and by

another 1% to a decadal

low of sub-4% by Mar 31,

2024. This fall is from a

peak of 16% in 2018 and is

being attributed to all-

round better governance,

reduced corruption and

higher credit growth.

At: TheWeek

Mar 13, 2023 - Week 11

Mar 19, Delhi Police

turned up at Rahul

Gandhi’s residence and

served him a fresh notice

over his ‘women are still

being sexually assaulted

in India’ remark made

during the Bharat Jodo

Yatra in Srinagar. Gandhi

has sought time to

provide the information

sought by the cops.

At: Republic, BS

Trouble mounts for

Rahul Gandhi, Delhi

cops come home

Delhi court convicts nine, in the

Feb-2020 Delhi anti-Hindu riots

end months of

malicious misreporting

by a section of the

mainstream media that

violence unleashed

against Hindus since

Dec 2019, was an ‘anti-

Muslim pogrom’.

At: OpIndia, Image: Hindu

Mar 11, the Enforcement

Directorate (ED) detected

₹ 600 crore as proceeds of

crime after it raided 24

places linked to RJD

supremo Lalu Prasad

Yadav’s family in

connection with its probe

into the Railways’ land-for-

jobs “scam”. The proceeds

include immovable

properties of ₹ 350 crore

and transactions of ₹ 250

crore routed through

various benamidaars. It

has also seized

“unaccounted-for cash” of

₹ 1 crore. At: TribuneIndia

seven mazars, 50

commercial premises

and 210 residential

buildings. Some

estimate the drive

cleared over 60 acres of

land over seven days.

In Jan this year, the

Government had issued

notices to residents of

Gandhavi and Navadra,

to remove unauthorised

encroachments along

the coast. Residents had

then moved the Gujarat

High Court (HC) seeking

regularisation of their

constructions.

However, the HC last

month set aside

petitions by the villages

after the state raised

concerns about

national security. The

state will now hear

fishermen’s pleas.

At: HindustanTImes, OpIndia, Irshad,

IndianExpress Image: Twitter

Pakistan: Imran

warrant nixed

post clashes

Mar 19, a Pakistan court

cancelled the arrest

warrants against ex-

Prime Minister, Imran

Khan in the corruption

case against him, as

high-voltage protests

unfolded in Lahore

between police and his

supporters. Khan’s

bungalow’s main-gate

had been bulldozed.

At: Yahoo, Independent

Uttarakhand

demolishes 26

illegal mazars

Mar 14, in a major

crackdown, the

Uttarakhand

government rolled

bulldozers over 26 illegal

mazars which were built

on encroached reserved

forest land. As per an SC

order of 2009 no new

religious place can be

constructed on the state

property without

approval. At: OpIndia

10% quota for

Agniveers in BSF;

no physical test

Mar 12, Two cheetahs,

Oban and Asha, have

been released from their

hunting enclosures into

the wild at the Madhya

Pradesh's Kuno National

Park almost six months

after they arrived from

Namibia.

20 cheetahs had been

brought to India from

Africa to help

reintroduce the species

almost 75 years after it

became extinct in our

country. Of these the

first two felines have

now been released into

the wild after allowing

them time to acclimatize.

At: Hindu, DownToEarth

Mar 17, canvassing for

the BJP in Karnataka,

Assam Chief Minister

(CM) Himanta Biswa

Sarma said that new

India does not need

madrassas. He had

closed down 600

madrassas in Assam. His

intention was to close

all madrassas that

produced only

maulanas, in an India

that needed scientists,

engineers and doctors.

At: Organiser

Mar 11, China’s efforts

in brokering a deal

between Iran and Saudi

Arabia have been seen

by analysts as signs of a

‘changing global order’.

During talks in Beijing,

Saudi Arabia and Iran

agreed to re-establish

diplomatic relations and

reopen their embassies

within two months. The

agreement also affirmed

the respect for the

sovereignty and non-

interference in internal

affairs of each other.

China’s role was not

made public prior to the

announcement. At: AlJazeera