AFTER TMC BATS FOR MAMATA, JD(U) SAYS NITISH FITS THE BILL

After the Congress’s poor show in the recent Assembly polls, the JD(U) has renewed its demand to project party supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as probable prime minister face of the INDIA bloc, adding that the party’s brand of politics would dominate the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Coincidentally, the JD(U) announced that Nitish would not attend the INDIA bloc meeting, which was to be held on Wednesday before it was postponed, saying the CM was not keeping well.

This was after RJD had confirmed the participation of its chief Lalu Prasad and Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav in the meeting.

JD(U) chief national spokesperson KC Tyagi said: “Though it is the call of INDIA bloc constituents to decide whether the alliance should go with a PM face or not, we will reiterate that Nitish Kumar has all the qualities a PM should have. Nitish Kumar’s brand of development and socialist politics will dominate the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.”

Tyagi also highlighted the caste angle, saying Nitish was the only leader in the INDIA bloc who had shown the courage to hold a caste survey and, on the basis of it, to increase the quota cap from 50% to 65%. “While some states conducted similar surveys before, none dared release the report because of political reasons… The INDIA bloc should revisit its politics, with Nitish Kumar playing a key role in it,” said Tyagi.

Days ago, the JD(U)’s Bheem Sansad meeting in Patna saw Nitish being greeted with slogans of “Desh ka PM kaisa ho, Nitish Kumar jaisa ho.”

On Monday, the Trinamool Congress had put forward its supremo Mamata Banerjee’s claim to lead the INDIA bloc, saying a person who had beaten the BJP “multiple times” and had long administrative experience should be picked.

IN LOK SABHA, BILL TO AMEND THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR REORGANISATION ACT, 2019

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday started a discussion on a Bill seeking to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which aims to increase the strength of the UT Legislative Assembly from 107 to 114. Nine seats are to be reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the concept of “one flag, one PM, one constitution” was not a political slogan and the BJP firmly believed in the principle and finally implemented it with regard to J&K. “We have been saying since 1950 that there should be ‘Ek Pradhan, Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan’ (one PM, one flag and one Constitution) in the country... and we did it. How can a country have two PMs, two constitutions and two flags? Those who allowed this were wrong. PM Modi corrected it,” said Shah, who introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha.

Congress MP Manish Tewari asked if the 2019 Act could be amended in the first place when the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench was hearing the matter on the reorganisation of the state. He said Parliament should have waited for the Supreme Court’s decision. Tewari too sought to know when elections would be conducted in J&K. “Will these will be held alongside the Lok Sabha polls in 2024,” he asked.

The amendments propose to provide representation to “Kashmiri Migrants”, “Displaced Persons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir” and Scheduled Tribes in the legislative Assembly of the UT. The Bill authorises the Lt Governor to nominate members from the three categories to the Vidhan Sabha.

TOP LEADERS UNAVAILABLE, INDIA BLOC MEET PUT OFF

With top Opposition leaders unavailable for the anti-BJP INDIA bloc meeting scheduled for today, the Congress yesterday decided to postpone the gathering until a date “convenient to all”.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had called the December 6 meeting of the bloc after the party’s rout in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

However, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar were set to skip the meeting for varied reasons. Mamata yesterday said she had no information of any meeting and was proceeding for a pre-scheduled tour of north Bengal. The SP said it was yet to decide whether to attend.

Stalin is busy addressing the impact of a cyclone in Tamil Nadu and Nitish Kumar is learnt to have conveyed he was unwell.

BEWARE OF DIVISIVE AGENDA: PM STEPS UP ATTACK ON OPPOSITION

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday warned people against what he termed as the Opposition’s divisive agenda and said the anti-BJP bloc would have many more meltdowns as days pass by.

Reacting to the use of unparliamentary references some senior Opposition leaders including Congress’ Rahul Gandhi made about him during the campaign for five state polls and also to the north-south divide articulation by others, the PM posted on X today, “May they be happy with their arrogance, lies, pessimism and ignorance. But beware of their divisive agenda. An old habit of 70 years can’t go away so easily.” The PM added that people have to be ready for many more meltdowns.

On Sunday when the Congress suffered a rout in north Indian states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and won Telangana in the South, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram had tweeted, “South India!” in indications that the BJP was confined only to the north.

BJP leaders rejected the north-south divide argument outright, pointing to how it has won eight seats in the Telangana Assembly polls this year as against one in 2018, and bagged 13.90 per cent vote share.

In Tamil Nadu, the BJP has a massive poll outreach plan ready. With PM Modi’s recent pro-Tamil campaigns — Kashi-Tamil Samagam in Varanasi; Saurashtra-Tamil Samagam in Gujarat and the installation of Sengol, the spectre that symbolised transition of power in the Chola dynasty point to BJP’’s well crafted southern push. Five south Indian states (Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Kerala, Telangana and Karnataka) have 128 LS seats with the BJP currently holding 29.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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ISRAEL TROOPS POUNDING SOUTH GAZA, UNICEF SAYS SAFE AREAS ‘TOO SMALL & TOO FEW’

Israel forces stormed southern Gaza’s main city on Tuesday in what they called the most intense day of combat in five weeks of ground operations against Hamas militants, and hospitals struggled to cope with scores of Palestinian dead and wounded. In what appeared to be the biggest ground assault in Gaza since a truce with Hamas unravelled last week, Israel said its troops — who were backed by warplanes — had reached the heart of Khan Younis and were also surrounding the city. “We are in the most intense day since the beginning of the ground operation,” the commander of the military’s Southern Command, General Yaron Finkelman, said. He said Israeli forces were also fighting in Jabalia, a large urban refugee camp and Hamas hotbed in northern Gaza next to Gaza City, and in Shuja’iyya, east of the city.

Israel military chief of staff Herzi Halevi said his forces had begun the “third phase of the ground operations”, moving in the south after seizing much of the north and “severely damaging Hamas.”

Israeli bombardments have driven 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents from their homes, most fleeing south. Crowded southern areas are now sheltering triple their usual population.

Unicef said the few small areas designated “safe” by Israel were inadequate for the hundreds of thousands of people in desperate need of shelter. “These are tiny patches of barren land or they’re street corners. They’re sidewalks. They’re half-built buildings. There is no water,” spokesman James Elder said.

Meanwhile, in a rare punitive move against Israel, the US state department said on Tuesday it will impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers implicated in a rash of recent attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Secretary of state Antony Blinken announced the step after warning Israel last week that President Joe Biden’s administration would be taking action over the attacks.

QATAR SAYS PUSHING TO REPAIR GAZA TRUCE, SLAMS INT’L INACTION

Qatar’s ruler hit out at “shameful” international inaction over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza as he opened a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Doha on Tuesday. “It is shameful for the international community to allow this heinous crime to continue for nearly two months, during which the systematic and deliberate killing of innocent civilians continues, including women and children,” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said. Qatar was a key mediator in negotiations that resulted in a seven-day truce. Qatar’s ruler said his country was “constantly working to renew” the truce, but added this was “not an alternative to a permanent ceasefire”. He called UN Security Council “to assume its legal responsibility and act to compel Israel to return to credible negotiations to achieve a just solution to the Palestinian issue”.

THE REST

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MICHAUNG INFLICTS INFRA DAMAGE IN ANDHRA, WEAKENS

The severe cyclonic storm Michaung, which crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast close to Bapatla on Tuesday and subsequently weakened into a cyclonic storm, left a trail of destruction in its wake. There was no loss of human life on Tuesday, on account of this cyclone.

The storm damaged 770-kilometre roads, uprooted 35 trees and killed three livestock, among others. Nearly 40 lakh people from 194 villages and two towns were affected by Michaung's impact, including the inundation of 25 villages.

US CONFIRMS DY NSA RAISED PANNUN ISSUE WITH INDIAN OFFICIALS

Confirming that the alleged plot to assassinate Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was discussed in meetings between its visiting Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer and top Indian officials, the White House said he “acknowledged India’s establishment of a committee of enquiry”.

“Mr Finer acknowledged India’s establishment of a committee of enquiry to investigate lethal plotting in the United States and the importance of holding accountable anyone found responsible,” the White House said in a readout.

CONGRESS NAMES REVANTH REDDY AS TELANGANA CM

Two days after the Congress trounced the BRS in Telangana, the party’s central leadership announced Tuesday that Anumula Revanth Reddy, who energetically led the Congress poll campaign in the state, will be the next Chief Minister.

The 54-year-old president of Telangana Congress will take oath Thursday along with a few ministers. Reddy will be the first Congress Chief Minister of Telangana, a state which the Congress-led UPA government had carved out in 2014 but had to wait for a decade to come to power since the erstwhile TRS, which led the agitation for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, reaped the political benefit after its creation.

While the Congress swiftly decided on Revanth for the post of Chief Minister, given the fact that a majority of the newly-elected Congress MLAs had favoured him, deliberations are on to accommodate a clutch of senior leaders – almost all of them his critics – as ministers. The Congress said it will recognise all senior leaders and underlined “this is not going to be a one-man show”.

BJP YET TO DECIDE ON CMs FOR MP, RAJASTHAN, CHHATTISGARH

Madhya Pradesh caretaker Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said he was never a CM contender, neither in the past nor today and had always discharged the duty the BJP had assigned him. “I am a simple party worker. I have never been a CM contender, neither earlier nor today. In my capacity as a humble worker, I will discharge whatever role is given to me,” said Chouhan, moments after welcoming a Ram Rath Yatra in Bhopal where people shouted pro-Chouhan slogans.

In Rajasthan, MLAs continue to meet ex-CM Vasundhara Raje with nearly 50 of those 115 elected believed to have paid courtesy visits. Rajasthan BJP general secretary Arun Singh today said the parliamentary board chaired by PM Modi would take the final call on the CM and that would be acceptable to all.

In Chhattisgarh, ex-CM Raman Singh has been lying low after winning Rajnandgaon, though he is not out of the race for the top post.

DMK MP APOLOGISES FOR 'GAUMUTRA STATES' JIBE AS CONGRESS JOINS CRITICS

DMK Lok Sabha member DNV Senthil Kumar on Tuesday triggered a row by describing the Hindi heartland as "gaumutra states", drawing instant condemnation from the BJP as well as its ally Congress, whose leaders asked him to tender an apology.

While participating in a discussion on J&K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill in the House, he said the BJP can win elections only in the Hindi heartland states and not in south India.

While his description of the Hindi heartland as "gaumutra" states was expunged by the Lok Sabha speaker later, the remarks sparked a controversy with several members across party lines condemning the DMK leader and the video of his speech going viral on social media.

Facing flak, he later apologised. "Commenting on the results of the five recent state assembly elections, I have used a word in a inappropriate way. Not using that term with any intent, I apologise for sending the wrong meaning across," he said in a post on X.

BJP leaders termed Senthil Kumar's remarks as "hate speech" and said the voters will "wipe out" the INDIA bloc from southern India as well in the next elections.

"Very unfortunate choice of words. Unparliamentary. Senthil Kumar must forthwith apologize and withdraw his comments," Congress Lok Sabha member Karti Chidambaram said on X.

Speaking in Lok Sabha, Senthil Kumar said, "You (BJP) cannot come to South India. You see all the results of what happens in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka  ... we are very strong over there. He went on to say, "We will not be surprised if you have an option of converting all these states into Union territories so that you can come into indirect power because you can never dream of setting foot over there and taking control of all the southern states."

KARNI SENA CHIEF SHOT DEAD AT HOME BY ATTACKERS DISGUISED AS GUESTS

Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena's president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was shot dead in the living room of his house in Jaipur on Tuesday by three men. One of the assailants was also gunned down by his accomplices, the police said.

One of Gogamedi's security guards sustained bullet injuries in the exchange of fire with the assailants, who had gone to his house in the Shyam Nagar area on the pretext of meeting him, the police said.

Rajasthan DGP Umesh Mishra said the Rohit Godara gang has claimed responsibility for the murder and searches have been launched to trace the two assailants who managed to flee.

The incident was caught on CCTV and triggered protests by Gogamedi's supporters.

In the CCTV footage, the attackers are seen whipping out their weapons and firing indiscriminately at Gogamedi, who is sitting on a couch opposite them and eventually falls down.

Gogamedi formed Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena after he was expelled from Sri Rajput Karni Sena in 2015 over differences with its founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi. Both these outfits had protested against Deepika Padukone starrer "Padmaavat" in 2018 over alleged distortion of historical facts about the Rajput community.

A purported social media post of Rohit Godara, affiliated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, is going viral online in which he claims to have ordered the killing of Gogamedi as the Rajput leader was supporting his gang's enemies and was working to strengthen them.

The police said Gogamedi's family has refused to give their assent for post-mortem examination. DCP (Jaipur South) Yogesh Goyal said police are talking to Gogamedi's family to convince them to give their consent for the post-mortem.

DELHI HC: HIKE INCOME CAP FOR EWS SCHOOL ADMISSION TO RS 5 LAKH

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday ordered the Delhi government to increase the cap on annual family income for admission to schools under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category from Rs 1 lakh (Rs 8,333 per month) to Rs 5 lakh (Rs 41,667 per month) “with immediate effect”.

Asking the Delhi government to decide expeditiously on increasing the threshold income to a “commensurate amount which corresponds to the living standards of the intended beneficiaries”, the HC said Rs 5 lakh would be the new cap till a decision is taken.

Saying that the criteria must be scientific and based on actual data, the single-judge bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav asked the Delhi government to assess prevailing economic conditions and other relevant factors.

CHANGE TERMS OF USE TO REFLECT INDIAN LAW VIOLATIONS: GOVT TO BIG TECH COMPANIES

As it moves to curb the spread of deepfakes on the Internet, the Centre has warned big tech social media companies to modify their terms of use – the contract between the companies and their users – to clearly reflect the types of audio, video and text on their platforms that violate existing Indian laws.

During a meeting Tuesday with tech companies on dealing with deepfakes, the IT Ministry is also understood to be doubling down on the in-app reporting feature currently offered by social media companies by requiring them to treat user complaints at par with issues raised with their grievance officers. The meeting was chaired by Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

The government believes that the terms of use of global social media companies like Meta and Google do not offer Indian users enough understanding of the types of content that violate specific laws of the country.

While all major social media companies have their own community guidelines about what is and is not permissible on their platforms, people who post objectionable content are often unaware that they are breaking existing Indian laws and could be tried for them. The idea is that clearly showing the violations of current laws could act as a potential deterrent to users posting unlawful content on such platforms.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

There isn't any formula or method. You learn to love by loving, by paying attention and doing what one thereby discovers has to be done. - Aldous Huxley

OFF TRACK

A hat was passed around a church congregation to take up some repairs

Presently it was returned to him...embarrassingly empty.

Slowly the parson inverted the hat and shook it meaningfully. Then raising his eyes heavenward, he exclaimed, "I thank you, Lord, that I got my hat back from this congregation."