GOVT, OPPN CLASH OVER SECURITY BREACH, 14 MPs SUSPENDED

As many as 14 opposition MPs were suspended from Parliament for the remainder of the winter session for disrupting proceedings, as the Lok Sabha security breach incident snowballed into a major row on Thursday with the government asking the opposition not to "politicise" the "grave national issue" and the Congress, Trinamool Congress and others demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah.

While TMC's Derek O'Brien was suspended in the Rajya Sabha, as many as 13 opposition MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha for disrupting the proceedings.

Amid opposition protests, demanding a statement from Home Minister Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the security breach incident, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved two resolutions separately for the suspension of the MPs for disrupting the Lok Sabha proceedings. The MPs had moved into the well of the Lok Sabha raising slogans, questioning the security breach, and demanding a statement from the government.

While T N Prathapan, Hibi Eden, Jothimani, Ramya Haridas and Dean Kuriakose, all from the Congress, were suspended when the first resolution was adopted, four Congress MPs -- VK Sreekandan, Benny Behanan, Mohammed Jawaid and Manickam Tagore -- along with PR Natarajan (CPI-M), Kanimozhi (DMK), K Subbarayan (CPI), SR Parthiban (DMK) and S Venkatesan (CPI-M) were suspended through the second resolution.

Later, after several opposition MPs pointed out that Parthiban was named among the suspended MPs even though he was not present in Delhi but was in Chennai, his suspension was revoked.

Soon after the Rajya Sabha House met at noon after an adjournment, chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar warned O'Brien against his unruly behaviour and for disrupting the proceedings. He asked O'Brien to leave the House, but the opposition MP did not relent and protested instead.

The chairman then allowed Leader of the House Piyush Goyal to move a motion to suspend O'Brien under Rule 256. The motion to suspend O'Brien for the remainder of the session was adopted with a voice vote.

O'Brien did not leave the Rajya Sabha chambers even after suspension and the matter of his conduct was referred to the privileges committee of the house. The committee has been asked to submit a report on O'Brien's conduct in three months.

On Wednesday, two persons jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery, shouted slogans and released coloured smoke from canisters that triggered panic and chaos in the house. In a statement, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi said "We all agree" that the unfortunate incident on Wednesday was a serious one concerning the safety and security of MPs.

Joshi said it should be appreciated that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla promptly held a meeting with floor leaders following the incident and listened to the suggestions for further strengthening Parliament’s security.

PARLIAMENT BREACH ACCUSED LEARNT SHOES ARE NOT CHECKED

The Delhi Police is conducting raids to the nab the sixth man suspected to be a key part of the group that breached Parliament, an officer said on Thursday. A resident of Kolkata, Lalit Jha is a teacher by profession and was the main conspirator of the security breach, the officer said.

Influenced by revolutionery Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Lalit and others were highly motivated to commit an act which could draw the country's attention to them.

The security agencies so far have not found their connections with any terror group, the officer said.

According to the officer, all six joined a Bhagat Singh fan page on Facebook after coming in touch with each other on social media.

Lalit, Sagar Sharma, and Maoranjan D had about a year ago met in Mysore where they made a plan to barge into the parliament. They later added Neelam and Amol into the plan.

"In July, Manoranjan came to Delhi and went inside the parliament on a visitor pass issued on the name of an MP. There, he got to know that the frisking of shoes does not happen," the officer privy to the investigations said.

I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MPS' SECURITY, GOVT DOES NOT INTERFERE IN THIS, SAYS LOK SABHA SPEAKER OM BIRLA

A day after the security breach in Parliament, Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said the responsibility of security of Parliament is with the Parliament Secretariat. "The government does not interfere in this and we will not even allow the government to interfere," Birla said responding to demands by the opposition that Union Home Minister Amit Shah make a statement on the matter.

The Speaker said the authority and responsibility of security is with Parliament Secretariat and specifically with Lok Sabha secretariat. "As Speaker I am responsible for the security of members," Birla said in an attempt to pacify the protests.

Birla said he would hold another round of discussion with all parties on the matter.

With the protests continuing, the Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm.

The Lok Sabha secretariat on Thursday suspended eight personnel for the Parliament security breach on Wednesday.

MALDIVES NOW SAYS ENDING PACT WITH INDIA ON HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY

Barely a month after asking India to withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives, the government of President Mohamed Muizzu, whose party rode to power on an ‘India Out’ poll campaign, has decided not to renew the previous government’s agreement with India on a hydrographic survey of the island nation’s waters.

The agreement, signed on June 8, 2019 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Maldives at the invitation of then President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, allowed India to conduct a hydrographic survey of the Maldivian territorial waters, study and chart reefs, lagoons, coastlines, ocean currents and tide levels.

This is the first bilateral pact that the newly-elected Maldives government, which took charge in November, is officially terminating

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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SCALE DOWN GROUND CAMPAIGN IN GAZA WITHIN WEEKS: US TO ISRAEL

The Biden administration has told the Israeli government that it wants Israel to wrap up its large-scale ground campaign in the Gaza Strip around the end of the year and transition to a more targeted phase in its war against Hamas, four senior US officials said.

As the Biden administration envisions, this new phase would involve the use of smaller groups of elite Israeli forces that would move in and out of population centres in Gaza, carrying out more precise missions to find and kill Hamas leaders, rescue hostages and destroy tunnels. US officials said Biden believes that Israel should wrap up the large-scale ground campaign in the Gaza Strip within three weeks, or soon thereafter. They asked for anonymity to discuss the president’s thinking.

The US’ calls for a change in tactics came as Israel’s defence minister said that the war against Hamas “will last more than several months”, signalling determination to continue carrying out strikes in Gaza.

The Israeli military has begun pumping seawater into Hamas’ tunnel complex in Gaza, Wall Street Journal and ABC News have reported, citing unnamed US officials. The Journal reported the process would likely take weeks. ABC News reported that the flooding appears to be limited as Israel evaluates the strategy’s effectiveness. Israel’s military didn’t comment. Some US officials have said the process could help destroy the tunnels.

PUTIN VOWS FIGHT IN UKRAINE TO GO ON UNTIL GOALS ACHIEVED

Russia will press on with its war in Ukraine unless Kyiv does a deal that takes Moscow’s security concerns into account, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, adding that the goals of the “special military operation” would be met regardless. Fielding questions from the public and media at an event dominated by the conflict, Putin said Russia’s core goals remained “deNazification”, “de-militarisation” and securing Ukraine’s neutrality. “There will be peace when we achieve our goals,” the 71-year-old leader said. “Either we get an agreement, agree on certain parameters (on the size and strength of Ukraine’s military)... or we solve this by force,” he added.

Putin said he had detected signs that Western enthusiasm for providing Ukraine with military and financial aid was waning. He accused Kyiv of sacrificing its troops in order to show some success to its Western sponsors as it seeks more aid. He also dismissed the need for a second wave of mobilisation of reservists to fight in Ukraine — a move that has been deeply unpopular. He said there are some 617,000 Russian soldiers there, including about 244,000 troops who were called up to fight alongside professional military forces.

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"PROOF ENOUGH...": BJP POSTS PARLIAMENT ACCUSED'S SELFIE WITH TRINAMOOL MLA

Purported photos of Lalit Jha, alleged mastermind of the parliament security breach, with a Trinamool Congress leader have become the latest flashpoint between the party and the BJP. While the BJP has accused the Trinamool and the whole of INDIA bloc of being complicit in the breach, the Trinamool has pointed out that it is BJP's Mysuru MP wo has been accused of being instrumental in issuing a pass to the two intruders.

The alleged mastermind was Lalit Jha, a teacher from Bengal, who is now on the run. 

Bengal BJP chief Dr Sukanto Majumdar posted a photo of Lalit Jha on X, with senior Trinamool leader Tapas Roy. The caption read, "Lalit Jha, the mastermind of the attack on our Temple of Democracy, had been in close association with TMC's Tapas Roy for a long time... Isn't this proof enough for investigation into the connivance of the leader?"

It was picked by the BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya, who alleged that "So far, people involved in the entire episode have been found to have links with the Congress, CPI(Maoist) and now the TMC".

The Trinamool hit back, alleging that the BJP's  "internal failings led to this unprecedented breach of Parliament's security".

MP GOVT ALSO GETS INTO BULLDOZER ACT

A day after Mohan Yadav took charge as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, the BJP government demolished the homes of three men accused of attacking a party worker — the first such bulldozer action under the new dispensation.

According to police, on December 5, Devendra Singh Thakur, the mandal general secretary of the BJP jhuggi jhopri cell, was allegedly attacked with a sword by one Farukh, following an argument over the election results.

Apart from Farukh, police have arrested four others identified as Aslam, Shahrukh, Bilal and Sameer.

On Thursday, bulldozers razed the homes of three of the men, with officials claiming they did not have requisite permissions under the building plan.

“We demolished the homes of the three men accused in the case after violations were found,” said Manish Raj Singh Bhadoriya, the in-charge of Habibganj police station.

ALLAHABAD HC ALLOWS SURVEY OF MATHURA'S SHAHI IDGAH MOSQUE

The Allahabad high court on Thursday allowed a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple, an important milestone in the temple-mosque dispute in Mathura.

The order on the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah issue is the second temple-mosque dispute in which the high court has given its nod to a survey over the past months.

The Archeological Survey of India recently completed a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque next to Varanasi's Kashi Vishwanath temple, but has sought more time from a local court to submit its report.

While arguing their case for a survey, the Mathura petitioners cited the Varanasi case as well. Reacting to the high court order, the Shahi Idgah Masjid Management Committee said it will challenge it in the Supreme Court.

‘SACRILEGE’ AND SUKHBIR BADAL APOLOGY

Eight years after the anger over sacrilege incidents involving the Guru Granth Sahib contributed to the defeat of the Akali Dal government, followed by a precipitous decline in its numbers, party president Sukhbir Singh Badal Friday publicly apologised for the first time for failing to arrest the culprits.

Badal shared a written apology and posted a video reading aloud the same while addressing a gathering at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Gurbaksh Singh in Amritsar, on the 103rd foundation day of the Akali Dal.

After a recent SIT report practically cleared the Akali Dal for the incidents, which saw torn pages of the Guru Granth Sahib being found in 2015, leading to violence, Badal’s apology is seen as a final attempt by him to put the chapter finally behind him and the party.

The Akali Dal’s political position has only worsened since 2015, having suffered two successive Assembly poll losses – first to the Congress in 2017, and the AAP in 2022 – and having gained little from its desperate decision to part ways with long-time ally BJP over the contested farm laws. In last year’s Assembly elections, the party got only three seats.

NEXT TARGET IS TO BRING ROCKS FROM SURFACE: ISRO CHIEF S SOMANATH

Buoyed by the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission, ISRO chief S Somanath on Thursday said the interest on the moon is not over yet and that the space agency is now eyeing to bring some rocks from its surface.

Delivering a lecture at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre (RBCC) under the ‘Rashtrapati Bhavan Vimarsh Shrinkhala', he shared details of a "sample return mission" to bring back rocks from the moon.

"On the moon, our interests are not yet over. I assure Rashtrapati Ji, that we will bring some moon rocks ourselves," Somanath said. He said it is not going to be an easy mission. "If you want to go to the moon and come back and land and recover everything then you need much more technology than what we actually have to land it," he said.

"So we are currently designing such a mission and we would like to do it in the next four years time. That is our target," he said amid a round of applause for the audience.

BOMBAY HC ORDER UPHOLDS HITACHI EMPLOYEE’S SACKING OVER FB POSTS

Asserting that such acts should be “nipped in the bud”, the Bombay high court Tuesday upheld the termination of an Hitachi Astemo Fie Pvt. Ltd. employee for sharing provocative Facebook posts against the company in 2017. Hitachi Astemo Fie is an auto parts manufacturing company.

“Freedom of speech and expression cannot be allowed to be transgressed beyond reasonableness. If that is allowed, it could lead to disastrous consequences. In a given case, one cannot and should not wait for the consequences to occur,” observed Justice Milind N. Jadhav.

The employee in question was terminated in May 2018, after an enquiry found him guilty of misconduct, because he shared two posts on Facebook against the company, when he was an active office bearer of the union in the company. According to a translation of the two posts in the judgment, they warned the management to not “play with the patience of the workers or else…the management shall be destroyed”, and to not exploit the workmen, “since if the workmen erupt then they shall destroy the management”.

GO AIR TROUBLES MOUNT, IT NEARS COLLAPSE

Another Indian airline founded by a billionaire is on the brink of shutting down for good, having tried and so far failed to attract a savior after entering bankruptcy protection in May.   

Go Airlines India Ltd.’s chances are fading. Chief Executive Officer Kaushik Khona quit at the end of November, saying he couldn’t get the carrier flying again and that staff hadn’t been paid for six months. Go flight attendants and pilots are looking for jobs elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Jindal Power Ltd. — Go’s sole potential buyer under its insolvency resolution process — has decided not to bid. Local media reported that Jindal couldn’t assess Go’s value because it is unclear how many planes it will have, after the aviation regulator signaled its aircraft should be returned to lessors.

If Go collapses for good, it would be the 12th Indian airline to do so this century, despite all having a vast and increasingly mobile population at their door. Go’s backers spoke of the challenge of operating with prohibitively high costs, particularly on fuel, and simultaneously needing to offer cut-price fares.

AT 70,514, SENSEX SCALES NEW HEIGHTS AS FED HINTS AT RATE CUT

Sensex and Nifty on Thursday touched all-time highs on Thursday due to frenzied buying in stocks of IT, tech and realty companies. The rally took place after the US Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged and signalled rate cuts next year. Persistent buying by foreign investors and sliding crude oil prices in the international markets also supported domestic equities, said traders. Falling crude prices also contributed to the sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 929.60 points to settle at 70,514, its all-time closing high. The Nifty also was in the bullish zone with a rally of 256.35 points to settle at a record closing high of 21,183.

The rupee also recovered from all-time lows to close at 83.33 against the US dollar on Thursday. It gained seven paise as the dollar weakened in overseas markets following signals that the US Federal Reserve will not raise the benchmark interest rate in the near future.

WITH A BIG WIN, INDIA DRAW SERIES T20I SERIES 1-1

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav produced a brilliant hundred, and Kuldeep Yadav showcased his spin prowess with a fifer as India secured a comprehensive 106-run series-levelling win over South Africa in the third and final T20I on Thursday.

Suryakumar's 100 off 56 balls, containing seven fours and eight sixes, along with Yashasvi Jaiswal's fluent 60 off 41 balls, carried India to 201 for 7 after being asked to bat first.

Indian bowlers, especially left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep (5/17) hit better lengths to bundle out SA for 95 in 13.5 overs.

INDICATORS

Sensex 70,514 (+930), Nifty 21,183 (+256)

Nasdaq 14,762 (+28) Dow 37,248 (+158), S&P 4,720 (+12)

US$-Rs. 83.30, GBP-Rs. 105.76, Euro-Rs. 91.13, UAE Dhm-Rs. 22.68, Can$-Rs. 61.95, Aus$- Rs. 55.85

GBP 0.78 /US$, Euro 0.91 /US$, Jap.Yen 141.80 /US$, Aus$ 1.49 /US$, Sing 1.32 /US$, Bang Taka 108.42 /US$, Can$ 1.34 /US$, Mal Ring 4.67 /US$, Pak Re 281.75 /US$, Phil Peso 55.65 /US$, Russian Rouble 89.52 /US$, NZ$ 1.60 /US$, Thai Baht 34.97 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.65 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 42,938, Dollar Index 101.66, Brent Crude 76.70, BDI 2438

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 2033 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 6,289 / 5,765, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 79,500

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Great perils have this beauty, that they bring to light the fraternity of strangers.- Victor Hugo

OFF TRACK

The attorney for the complainant in the divorce case put his client on the stand.

“Now as I understand it,” he said sympathetically, “every night when you returned from work, instead of having your wife alone and waiting for you, you found a different man hiding in the closet?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And this, of course, caused you untold anguish and unhappiness, did it not?”

“Why, sure!” came the hurt reply. “I never had any room to hang my clothes.”