UAE to join list of
18 nations that
trade in Rupees
Mar 22, the UAPA
Tribunal upheld the
Central Government’s
decision to declare
Popular Front of India
(PFI) and seven associated
organizations as unlawful
associations and imposing
a five year ban on them.
The Centre had charged
PFI for having links with
terrorist organizations
such as the ISIS and
spreading communal
hatred in the country.
Hundred’s of its activists
were arrested and assets
seized. At: DailyPioneer
Punjab orders
inquiry on cops in
PM security breach
Volume 7S-97| Pages 1
Punjab HC slams cops: 80,000 cops
and you let Amritpal Singh flee?
Bharat First Visit IndiaWiki.org
Mar 20, the Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA) has
recommended a CBI
inquiry into ‘Aman
Biradari’, an organisation
run by left-wing activist
Harsh Mander to probe
alleged FCRA violations.
Mandar was part of the
controversial NAC
headed by then-UPA
Chairperson Sonia
Gandhi. He has a
checkered history of
bringing disrepute to the
judiciary and inciting
Muslim mobs against the
Indian state. At: OpIndia
Xi meets Putin;
offers peace plan
with Ukraine
Mar 23, a defiant
President Emmanuel
Macron pledged to
implement a pension
overhaul and raise the
minimum retirement
age from 62 to 64 years.
Macron invoked a
Constitutional Article a
week ago to adopt the
reform without a
parliamentary vote. He
said he was prepared to
accept unpopularity
because the measure
was necessary and in the
interest of the country.
At: LeMonde
Macron shows
leadership, ups
retirement age Mar 23, Pakistan's
former Prime Minister
Imran Khan alleged that
the PML-N-government
was plotting to
assassinate him like
Murtaza Bhutto, who
was killed in police
firing when his sister
Benazir Bhutto was in
power in 1996. Having
survived one attempt,
Khan said the state will
trigger events with two
squads of shooters who
will mix with Khan’s
followers and shoot at
the police. At: IndiaToday
Mar 22, Khalistani leader
Amritpal Singh has been
absconding for six days
now. Singh managed to
give police a slip when
they intercepted his
convoy on Saturday in
Jalandhar. CCTV captures
show Singh was initially
in a Mercedes. Then he
switched to a Brezza
SUV. Next he fled south-
west to a gurdwara in
Nangal Ambian village
where he changed into a
shirt and pant, and rode
on with three others on
two bikes. Another clip
shows his bike and him
riding pillion on the back
of a motorcycle-cart.
Punjab Police has
Japanese PM Kishida visits India
Centre starts
eviction and sale of
enemy property
Imran Khan claims
PML-N plans to
assassinate him
Mar 22, in what is being
seen as a tit-for-tat
message to UK, security
barricades were
removed from outside
the British High
Commission in Delhi
and its Commissioner’s
residence, days after
India protested the lack
of security outside the
Indian mission in
London. Sunday, a mob
of pro-Khalistan
protestors had
unleashed violence and
vandalism at the Indian
High Commission in
London and even took
down the Indian flag.
This was followed by
pro-India rallies both at
the Indian mission in
London and the UK High
Commission in Delhi
(picture).
At: Independent, IndiaToday
Mar 16, days after the
Centre asked the Punjab
government for an
action-taken report, the
state has ordered
disciplinary action against
the then Punjab police
chief and former Director
General, Sidharth
Chattopadhyaya and two
other police officers over
the major security breach
during Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s visit to
the state in January last
year. The Supreme Court-
appointed committee,
which probed the breach
during had indicted
several state officers for
lapses including the then
Chief Secretary Punjab,
Anirudh Tewari.
Disciplinary proceedings
will also be initiated
against Ferozpur’s Deputy
Inspector General,
Inderbir Singh and the
then Senior
Superintendant Police,
Harmandeep Hans.
Actions against others are
still under consideration
by the state government.
At: Bing, Jagran
Mar 23, in a big jolt to
Rahul Gandhi, a Gujarat
court found has him
guilty in the 2019 ‘Modi
Surname’ defamation
case. The verdict
pronounced by Chief
Judicial Magistrate HH
Varma sentenced him to
two years in jail and
imposed a fine of
₹15,000. However, Rahul
Gandhi secured bail in
the case after the
indictment by the court.
The defamation suit was
filed by Purnesh Modi
(picture) after Gandhi
made derogatory
remarks against the
‘Modi surname’ at a Lok
Sabha election rally in
Karnataka’s Kolar in Apr
2019. ‘Why do all the
thieves, be it Nirav Modi,
Lalit Modi or Narendra
Modi, have Modi in
their names,’ the
Congressman had said
during the rally.
This is not the first time
that the MP from
Wayanad was pulled up
by the judiciary for his
remarks. In the past too
he had to apologise to
the apex court for his
‘chowkidar chor hai’ jibe
for Prime Minister
Modi. ‘Rahul Gandhi
needs to be more
careful in the future. It
was unfortunate,’ a
three-judge Supreme
Court (SC) bench had
cautioned. The SC had
also set aside Gandhi’s
demand for a CBI
inquiry into the Rafael
deal. At: Republic, OpIndia
Image: PurneshModi
World Forest Day, Mar 21, image courtesy Twitter; World Sparrow Day, Mar 20, image courtesy WorldSparrowDay
Gujarat court sentences
Rahul Gandhi to 2 year’s jail
UAPA Tribunal
upholds Centre’s
ban on PFI
ED grills K Kavita a
3rd time in Delhi
liquor excise scam
Mar 20, BRS leader and
daughter of Telangana
Chief Minister, K. Kavita,
appeared before the
Enforcement Directorate
(ED) for a third round of
questioning in the money
laundering case related to
the now-scrapped Delhi
liquor Excise Policy. It is
alleged Kavitha was a
major shareholder in the
company that benefited
from liquor policy for
which ₹100 crores were
paid to AAP. At: Republic, MSN
Mar 20, 2023 - Week 12
Mar 23, having carried out
two encounters and razed
houses of five associates
of Atiq Ahmad the UP
police received a shot in
its arm as it arrested five
key conspirators who
were in touch with Atiq’s
son Asad, in the Umesh
Pal murder. The hunt is
now on for the five
shooters and Atiq’s wife.
At: TOI, MSN
Atiq’s, aide’s home
& office razed, as
cops close in on son
Tit for tat, barricades off at the
UK High Commission in Delhi
Mar 19, the Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA) has
started the process of
eviction and sale of enemy
properties in the country.
Enemy property refers to
any property owned by
individuals or entities that
are considered enemies of
the state and includes
people who took
citizenship of Pakistan and
China.
Presently, there are 12,611
establishments identified
as enemy properties in
India. The total estimated
value of these properties is
more than 1 lac-crore.
Enemy properties will be
sold through e-auction on
the e-auction platform of
the Metal Scrap Trade
Corporation Limited, a
PSU. The Custodian of
Enemy Property for India
(CEPI), an authority
created under the Enemy
Property Act, which was
amended in 2017.
Earlier the Union
Government had sold
movable enemy properties
like shares and gold but
now immovable enemy
properties are being sold.
At: OpIndia
invoked the stringent
National Security Act
(NSA) against Amritpal’s
five associates, including
his uncle Harjit and driver
Harpreet. Four have
been shifted to a jail in
Assam. Over a 122 others
also been arrested. The
cops released a set of
pictures of the 30-year-
old Amritpal in different
avatars to secure public
support in capturing him.
They visited his residence
and questioned his wife
and mother.
The Punjab and Haryana
High Court (HC) slammed
the cops for allowing
Amritpal to escape
despite a force of 80,000,
a swoop-down planned
to suit their needs and
intelligence available
before hand.
At: Republic, IndiaTVNews, TOI,
TribuneIndia Image: HindustanTimes
NATO’s Poland,
Slovakia to supply
jets to Ukraine
Mar 16, Poland became
the first Kiev ally to four
MiG-29 fighter jets to
counter the Russian
invasion. Slovakia joined
issues and has said it will
send a fleet of 13 more
MiG-29 jets. 11 of them
had retired from service
and are going as spare
parts for Ukraine's
existing fleet.
At: Reuters
Twitter accounts
of pro-Khalistan
handles frozen
Mar 20, in a crackdown
against pro-Khalistan
activities, Twitter has
blocked accounts of
people linked to
Amritpal’s ‘Waris Punjab
De’ (WPD) group and
even some Canadian
government officials.
This comes close on the
heels of the arrest of the
WPD social media chief.
At: Republic
MHA asks for CBI
inquiry on Harsh
Mandar’s NGO
Mar 20, the Japanese
Prime Minister (PM)
Fumio Kishida visited PM
Modi in Delhi on a 27-
hour visit. The two sides
discussed shoring-up of
ties in defence, Indo-
Pacific and Quad
security, investment,
trade, clean energy and
high technologies. Six
agreements were signed
and Japan announced an
investment of $42 billion
in India’s private sector.
This year, India’s
presidency of the G20
has coincided with
Japan's presidency of the
G7. In 2021-2022 Indian
trade with Japan
touched $ 15 billion in
imports and $ 6 billion of
exports. At:Tribune, TOI, Outlook
Mar 20, UAE may soon
join 18 other countries
that have agreed to trade
in the Indian Rupees and
replace dollars as a cross-
border transaction mode.
The 18 countries are
Russia, Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Botswana, Fiji,
Germany, Guyana, Israel,
Kenya, Malaysia,
Mauritius, Myanmar,
New Zealand, Oman,
Seychelles, Tanzania,
Uganda and the United
Kingdom. UAE is the third
largest trading partner of
India after the US and
China. In FY22, India-UAE
bilateral trade stood at
about $73 billion.
At: FirstPost, FinancialExpress
Mar 22, Chinese
President Xi Jinping
offered a 12-point peace
plan to Russian
President Vladimir Putin,
on Ukraine, in their in-
person meet. The plan
calls for an end to
Western sanctions on
Russia while advocating
upholding of sovereignty
of all countries. Kyiv was
open to ‘parts’ of the
proposal, while the US
has dismissed it. Putin
praised Xi for it but said
it would work only if
Kiev agreed to it. At: MSN
UBS buys Credit
Suisse; $17 billion
bonds worthless
Nepal: Prachanda
wins confidence
vote comfortably
Mar 23, Prime Minister
(PM) Prachanda bagged
172 votes to clinch a
confidence vote in
Nepal’s 275-seat House
of Representatives. The
vote was held after two
parties, including ex-PM
and pro-China, Oli’s
party had of walked out
of Prachanda’s alliance
of seven parties, over
the PM’s decision to
support a rival and pro-
India NC’s Presidential
candidate. At: IE-1-2, MSN
Mar 23, bonds worth
$17 billion, issued by
Credit Suisse, have
turned worthless
overnight after rival UBS
Group AG bought out
the beleaguered bank in
a deal $3 billion with the
help of Swiss authorities.
This move that
subordinates AT1 bond
holders to equity
holders has not gone
down well with the bond
investors.
At: Bing, CNBC