MAHARASHTRA MLAs' SUSPENSION BEYOND REMAINING SESSION IMPACTS DEMOCRACY: SC

Suspending a member of the house or legislative assembly beyond the remainder period of ongoing session would impact the democratic setup as a whole by permitting the thin majority or coalition govt to manipulate the numbers of the Opposition party in an “undemocratic manner”, the Supreme Court said on Friday.

In its judgment delivered on the pleas filed by 12 BJP legislators who had challenged their one-year suspension from Maharashtra legislative assembly for allegedly misbehaving with the presiding officer, a 3-judge bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar observed that one-year suspension is ”worse than” expulsion, disqualification or resignation.

The top court declared the resolution to be ”ineffective in law”, insofar as the period beyond the remainder of the stated session in which the resolution came to be passed.

It said the 12 MLAs are entitled to all consequential benefits of being the members of the House, on and after the expiry of the period of remainder of the concerned session.

The apex court said that suspension beyond the remainder period of the ongoing session would be violative of ”basic democratic values” owing to the unessential deprivation of the member concerned and more importantly, the constituency would remain unrepresented in the assembly.

BJP DECLARED ASSETS WORTH RS 4,847 CR IN 2019-20, BSP SECOND AT RS 698 CRORE: ADR

The BJP declared assets worth Rs 4,847.78 crore in financial year 2019-20, the highest among all political parties, followed by the BSP at Rs 698.33 crore and the Congress at Rs 588.16 crore, according to poll reforms advocacy group ADR.

The Association for Democratic Reforms prepared its report based on its analysis of assets and liabilities of national and regional parties in 2019-20.

According to the analysis, the total assets declared by the seven national and 44 regional parties during the financial year amounted to Rs 6,988.57 crore and Rs 2,129.38 crore, respectively.

Among the 44 regional parties, the assets of the top 10 parties were worth Rs 2028.715 crore or 95.27 per cent of the total declared by them all combined.

In the FY 2019-20, among the regional parties, the highest assets were declared by the Samajwadi Party at Rs 563.47 crore (26.46 per cent), followed by the TRS at Rs 301.47 crore and the AIADMK at Rs 267.61 crore.

INDIA BOUGHT PEGASUS AS PART OF DEFENCE DEAL WITH ISRAEL IN 2017: CLAIMS NYT

The Indian govt bought Israeli spyware Pegasus in 2017 as part of a $2-billion package for weapons including a missile system, The New York Times reported Friday.

The year-long investigation, the newspaper reported, revealed that the FBI too had bought and tested the spyware “for years with plans to use it for domestic surveillance until the agency finally decided last year not to deploy the tools.”

The report details how the spyware was used globally, by Mexico to target journalists and dissidents, and by Saudi Arabia against women’s rights activists and associates of columnist Jamal Khashoggi who was killed by Saudi operatives. It says that under a set of new deals licensed by the Israeli Ministry of Defence, Pegasus was provided to Poland, Hungary and India, and other countries.

Until now, neither the Indian Govt nor the Israeli Govt has admitted that India bought Pegasus.

INDIA BREAKS ITS SILENCE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE CRISIS, CALLS FOR ‘PEACEFUL RESOLUTION’

Breaking its silence on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, India Friday said it is monitoring developments regularly, and called for a peaceful resolution to the matter.

“We have been closely following the developments relating to Ukraine, including ongoing high-level discussions between Russia and the US. Our embassy in Kyiv is also monitoring local developments,” Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said at a media briefing Friday.

“We call for a peaceful resolution of the situation through sustained diplomatic efforts for long-term peace and stability in the region and beyond.”

Any military action between Russia and Ukraine, which is likely to also involve the US, will have adverse impacts for India, which has strategic relationships with both Moscow and Washington.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST /Jan 29

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Friday 2,35,532

Active Cases 20,04,333 (-1,01,278)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 4,93,198 (613)

Total Vaccination: 165.04 Crores (+56,72,766)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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PUTIN SPEAKS WITH MACRON, LISTS RUSSIA’S KEY CONDITIONS

Russia said on Friday it will not start a war in Ukraine but warned that the US and Nato have ignored its demands and left little room for compromise in the crisis. President Vladimir Putin offered his first reaction to the US and Nato responses to Russia’s demands in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron after weeks of personal public silence on the crisis. Putin said that the West has failed to consider Russia’s key conditions of halting further Nato expansion, stopping the deployment of alliance weapons near Russian borders, and rolling back its forces from eastern Europe, the Kremlin said.

The Kremlin quoted Putin as telling Macron he would study the responses provided by Washington and Nato this week before deciding on further action. AF rench presidency official said Putin had underlined that he did not want the situation to escalate, echoing conciliatory comments by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who said Moscow did not want war.

10 PAKISTAN SOLDIERS DIE IN BALOCH ATTACK

Ten Pakistani soldiers and a militant were killed in an overnight shootout on January 25-26 at a checkpost in Kech district of Balochistan, the restive southwestern province bordering Iran and Afghanistan that has recorded hundreds of casualties in separatist, sectarian and Islamist violence since 2004.

The Pakistani military said a hunt was launched after the gunfight and three insurgents were rounded up. “The armed forces are determined to eliminate terrorists from our soil, no matter what the cost,” the army said.

Separatist group Balochistan Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack followed new militant outfit Baloch Nationalist Army’s January 20 bombing in Lahore killing three people.

THE REST

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NEW CEA TAKES OVER, DAYS BEFORE ECONOMIC SURVEY

A former private wealth manager and academic Venkatraman Anantha Nageswaran has taken over as the Chief Economic Adviser to the Finance Minister, four months after the previous incumbent Krishnamurthy Subramanian stepped down at the end of a three-year term and returned to academia.

Besides being a former executive with Credit Suisse Group AG and Julius Baer Group, he helped co-found the Takshashila Institution and has served as part-time member to the Economic Advisory Council of the PM for two years.

Nageswaran, who recently advocated the opening of educational institutions claiming the “cost of closure exceeds safety-related gains”, will be the lead author of the Economic Survey barely three days before it is to be tabled in Parliament. He will be advising the Finance Minister on key policy matters.

DEAL SIGNED, MANILA TO ACQUIRE BRAHMOS CRUISE MISSILES FOR $375 MILLION

The signing of a $375-million contract with the Philippines on Friday for the supply of 24-30 BrahMos cruise missiles in the anti-ship configuration constitutes India’s largest-ever weapons sale abroad.

“BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) signed a contract with the Department of National Defence of the Republic of Philippines on January 28 for supply of Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile System to [the] Philippines,” announced the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Friday.

The Philippines have contracted for 24-30 BrahMos missiles, along with surveillance-cum-guidance radars, launcher vehicles, command and control centres, and replenishment vehicles. BrahMos Aerospace has undertaken to supply the entire order within three-and-a-half years.

YOGI ADITYANATH INVOKES JINNAH AGAIN WHILE ATTACKING OPPOSITION

“They are worshipers of ‘Jinnah’, we are worshipers of ‘Sardar Patel’. Pakistan is dear to them, we sacrifice our lives on Maa Bharati,” Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tweeted on Friday. This comes just a day after Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh had said that issues of “kisan’s ganna” should be raised, and not Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s name, in the context of state politics.

While the relevance of Jinnah in UP politics goes back a few years, more recently, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had talked about Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah as leaders who fought for India’s independence.

His comments came under fire from CM Adityanath who said that Yadav’s comparison of Jinnah with Patel was “shameful” and called it a “Talibani mentality.” BSP chief Mayawati said Yadav remarks on Jinnah and the BJP’s response to it are part of a well-thought-out strategy of the two parties to vitiate the atmosphere on Hindu-Muslim lines ahead of the Assembly polls.

TIME FOR ‘BJP EXODUS’: AKHILESH AFTER DELAY IN CHOPPER TAKE-OFF

Alleging “foul play and conspiracy” after it took three hours for SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to take off in his chopper from Delhi en route to Muzaffarnagar where he was scheduled to address a meeting with ally Jayant Chaudhary of RLD, the ex-UP CM tweeted: “Abuse of power is a sign of the defeated. This day too shall be registered in the history of Samajwadi struggle. We are on the flight to a historic win.”

Sources at the Delhi airport said there was no “mischief ”. An officer said, “Akhilesh was supposed to go to Muzaffarnagar for a rally. . . Republic Day flight restrictions are on. Due to this, once air traffic resumed on Friday, priority was given to scheduled commercial flights. The chopper in question was in queue to take off. During the wait, it ran low on fuel and had to return for refueling. Due to these factors, it took off at 3 pm instead of 2 pm. There was n o foul play. ”

After he arrived in Muzaffarnagar, Akhilesh said, “The time has come for BJP’s exodus (from UP).”

SENIOR TAMIL NADU IAS OFFICER RESIGNS FROM SERVICE TO FIGHT SIDHU IN AMRITSAR ON A BJP TICKET

Tamil Nadu’s Additional Chief Secretary Jagmohan Singh Raju’s voluntary retirement from service was accepted Thursday. Hours later, he was fielded as a BJP candidate in Punjab.

In his resignation letter to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin Tuesday, Raju said “painful conditions of his home state Punjab” were weighing “heavy on his conscience” and he felt the need to do something since he was a “son of the soil”.

Late in the evening Thursday, after the Stalin govt accepted his resignation, the BJP fielded him as a candidate from Amritsar East. He will be up against Congress Punjab chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia.

MARITAL RAPE: HC ASKS CENTRE IF IT WANTS TO WITHDRAW 2017 AFFIDAVIT

The Delhi high court Friday asked the Centre to inform whether it wishes to withdraw its 2017 affidavit in which it had submitted that marital rape cannot be made a criminal offence as it could become a phenomenon which may destabilise the institution of marriage and an easy tool for harassing husbands.

A bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and C Hari Shankar, which has been conducting marathon hearings on a batch of petitions seeking criminalisation of marital rape, asked Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma to take instructions on this aspect and listed the matter for January 31.

The court's direction came after advocate Karuna Nundy, representing petitioner NGOs RIT Foundation and All India Democratic Women's Association, sought a clarification as to whether she shall address on the written submissions and affidavits filed by the central govt so far or they are withdrawing it.

This assumes significance as the Centre, in its affidavit filed in August 2017, had said the Supreme Court and various High Courts have already observed the rising misuse of Section 498A (harassment caused to a married woman by her husband and in-laws) of Indian Penal Code. It had further said that marital rape has not been defined in an statue or law and while the offence of rape is defined under section 375 IPC, defining marital rape would call for a broad based consensus of the society.

KEVIN PIETERSEN, JONTY RHODES, CHRIS GAYLE RECEIVE PM MODI'S R-DAY LETTERS

Among the "friends of India" who received a letter of appreciation from PM Narendra Modi on the 73rd Republic day of the country, former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen on Friday thanked him for the gesture.

Sharing the letter on Twitter, Pietersen said he was thankful to the Prime Minister for acknowledging his "affection towards India".

"Dear, Mr @narendramodi, Thanks for the incredibly kind words in your letter to me. Ever since stepping foot in India in 2003, I've grown more in love with your country on every visit. "Happy Republic Day to all Indians for a couple days ago. A proud country & a powerhouse globally! I look forward to meeting you in person soon, to thank you for how India is a global leader in protecting its wildlife!" he added.

The PM called Pietersen a friend of India and said, "While your exploits on the cricketing field are still fresh in the memories of all of us, your connect with India and Indians is truly remarkable.

South African great Jonty Rhodes and West Indies swashbuckler Chris Gayle had also received similar letters from the PM.

PAY DUES OR BE DECLARED INSOLVENT: SC TO SPICEJET

“Do you want to run or close shop?” the Supreme Court asked SpiceJet on Friday. It slammed the beleaguered low-cost carrier — facing a winding-up process initiated by Credit Suisse for defaulting on payment of $24 million — for mismanaging its finances. The apex court also warned that the airline would be declared insolvent if it did not pay up its dues.

Sensing the mood of the bench, senior advocate Harish Salve sought three weeks from a bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli to “work out something” to avoid the winding-up process. “We have made an offer and are trying to work out something with Credit Suisse,” Salve said.

Appearing for Credit Suisse, senior advocate K V Vishwanathan told the court that SpiceJet must make a serious offer. “What is on the table is not worth mentioning. The offer has to be credible,” Vishwanathan said.

The CJI minced no words, while trying to point out the unbecoming corporate behaviour of SpiceJet. “Do you want to run or close shop? This is not the way one runs business as an airline. It is a serious matter. If you are not serious, we will declare you insolvent and allow winding up of the airline. What is this. . . ? You do not pay up your dues. ”

GOOGLE PICKS UP 1.28% STAKE IN AIRTEL FOR $700M, TO INVEST $1BN

Google will invest as much as $1 billion (approx. Rs 7,500 crore) in Bharti Airtel and pick up 1.28 per cent stake and in scaling up offerings of India’s second-largest mobile phone operator, the telecom major said today.

Alphabet Inc’s Google will pay $700 million (Rs 734 per share) for a 1.28 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel Ltd and the rest towards multi-year plans that will include devices. This will be the second investment by Google, which had two years ago committed to investing $10 billion in India via its digitisation fund over 5 to 7 years through equity deals and tie-up.

It had in July 2020, invested $4.5 billion for a 7.73% stake in Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms.

While the 2020 investment valued Jio Platforms’ equity at Rs 4.36 lakh crore, the $700 million investment announced on Friday values Bharti Airtel’s equity at Rs 4.1 lakh crore.

Airtel and Google share the vision to grow India's digital dividend through innovative products. With our future ready network, digital platforms, last-mile distribution and payments ecosystem, we look forward to working closely with Google to increase the depth and breadth of India's digital ecosystem," Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said in the statement.

RAFAEL NADAL AND DANIIL MEDVEDEV WILL MEET IN AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL

Once again, the last defense against No. 21 will be Daniil Medvedev.

He has quite the temper, as he showed in an extraordinary rant at a chair umpire on Friday, and he has become quite the spoiler with his long, elastic limbs and unconventional, often outside-the-lines approach to constructing points and demolishing opponents’ game plans and dreams.

In last year’s U.S. Open final, the 6-foot-6 Russian stopped Novak Djokovic from completing the Grand Slam, which requires winning all four major tournaments in the same calendar year, and also kept Djokovic from breaking his tie with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for most career major titles.

On Sunday, with the three men who have dominated this era still deadlocked at 20 Grand Slam titles apiece, Medvedev will face Nadal in the Australian Open final.

“It’s a great rivalry,” Medvedev said of tennis’s Big Three — Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. “I’m happy to have the chance to try to stop one more time somebody from making history.”

Nadal, seeded sixth, was initially in the top-seeded Djokovic’s half of the draw but ended up playing No. 7 seed Matteo Berrettini in the semifinals instead. He feasted on Berrettini’s weaker backhand wing and broke the powerful Italian’s serve four times to prevail, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Medvedev also won in four sets, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, though Medvedev’s victory was considerably more tempestuous. After losing his serve in the ninth game of the second set and receiving a code violation for an obscenity that he said was misinterpreted, Medvedev shouted angrily at chair umpire Jaume Campistol for most of the changeover. He suggested that Tsitsipas’s father was illegally coaching his son from the player box.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

A gossip is one who talks to you about others, a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself. - Lisa Kirk

OFF TRACK

I was teaching my six year old nephew how to unbuckle his seat belt.

"Do I click the square?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Single click or double click?"