49 MORE OPPN MPs SUSPENDED; 141 SUSPENSIONS SO FAR

As many as 49 more opposition lawmakers were suspended from Lok Sabha on Tuesday for unruly behaviour, taking the total number of MPs facing action in both Houses of Parliament to 141, a day after 78 opposition members were suspended from Parliament.

The latest suspension prompted the INDIA bloc to announce nationwide anti-govt protests on Friday.

While the opposition bloc slammed as "undemocratic" the suspension of MPs for display of placards demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the December 13 security breach in Parliament, the govt justified the action as it accused the suspended MPs of insulting Lok Sabha Speaker, Rajya Sabha Chairman and the institution of Parliament.

A political row broke out as Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee derisively mimicked Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar during the opposition's protest on the stairs of Parliament against the MPs' suspension, drawing strong condemnation from the ruling BJP.

Rahul Gandhi was seen making a video of the performance by Banerjee who appeared to mimic the way Dhankhar walked by leaning forward and made reference to having a spine.

Dhankhar gave vent to his anguish in Rajya Sabha, saying he was personally hurt as his farmer and Jat backgrounds were targeted. "Imagine what must be going through my heart when your senior leader videographs a Member of Parliament mocking the institution of the chairman," he said in Rajya Sabha.

As Lok Sabha met on Tuesday, opposition members trooped into the Well of the House raising slogans and waving placards, prompting Speaker Om Birla to warn them of action citing rules of procedure. However, as the protest continued, he adjourned the proceedings till noon.

The unruly scenes were repeated when the House reassembled, prompting the govt to draw up a list of 25 opposition members for suspension from Lok Sabha. The opposition benches then offered additional names from their ranks to the govt in three tranches, taking the total number of members to be suspended from the Lok Sabha to 49.

Among the 49 members suspended on Tuesday were National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Congress members Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari, NCP leader Supriya Sule and Samajwadi Party member Dimple Yadav.

Lok Sabha took up legislative business when it re-convened at 2:00 pm.

PM: OPPOSITION DISRUPTING PARL IN FRUSTRATION OVER POLL DEBACLE

PM Narendra Modi on yesterday launched a blistering attack on the Opposition, saying it was disrupting Parliament out of frustration over the recent Assembly poll losses in the Hindi heartland and would lose further electoral ground in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing the weekly BJP parliamentary party meeting in Parliament, the PM said the ruling BJP would gain strength in the 18th General Election while the Opposition, whose sections appeared to be offering indirect support to perpetrators of the Lok Sabha security breach, would shrink more.

“The Opposition is rattled by the Assembly poll losses and is disrupting Parliament in frustration...They are lending a political colour to the security breach on December 13. Their sole motive is to unseat the BJP govt whereas the BJP govt’s sole motive is to build a brighter India,” PM Modi said, asking MPs to educate first-time voters on the contrast between governance patterns in India under 10 years of the Congress-led UPA rule vis-a-vis nine years of the BJP-led NDA rule.

About the December 13 breach, the PM said everyone who believed in democracy should have condemned the incident in one voice. In a veiled attack on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi who attributed the breach to “unemployment and inflation under the BJP govt,” the PM said some sections in the Opposition appeared to be offering indirect support to those who breached the Parliament security cover.

MAMATA, KEJRIWAL BACK KHARGE AS OPPN’S PM FACE, HE SAYS LET’S WIN FIRST

Springing a surprise at the Opposition INDIA bloc meeting on Tuesday, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee suggested that the alliance should have a face — either as a convenor or as a prime ministerial candidate. She went on to name Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, a move that was seconded by AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who she had met on Monday.

Responding to questions on the alliance’s PM candidate, Kharge said the parties first need to focus on winning the polls. The decision on who becomes the PM can be taken later, he said. “If we do not have MPs, what is the objective of talking about the PM. So, we will contest collectively to win majority,” he said. “After winning, our MPs will follow the democratic process (to elect PM),” he said.

Sources said that no other party leader expressed an opinion on the proposal to name a PM candidate. JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, however, reiterated that he was not in the race for any post including PM.

A party leader said since a discussion on the prime ministerial candidate was not part of the agenda, there was no structured discussion on it.

Citing the recent Assembly elections, several leaders, including Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav, JD(U)’s Lallan Singh and RJD leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav are learnt to have argued that the Congress should not have put the alliance on the back-burner.

In a tacit admission, the Congress leaders are learnt to have urged them to forget the past and move forward, focusing on forging stronger ties to take on the BJP unitedly in the Lok Sabha elections.

According to sources, there was a broad understanding that seat-sharing talks should be completed before December 31, and the parties should hold joint rallies and campaigns before the Ram Temple consecration ceremony on January 22.

NETANYAHU CALLS MODI, BRIEFS HIM ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

A week after India for the first time voted in favour of a draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that demanded an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza and unconditional release of all hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and briefed him on the recent developments in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

After the phone conversation, Modi tweeted, “Had a productive exchange of views with PM @netanyahu on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, including shared concerns on the safety of maritime traffic. Highlighted India’s consistent stand in favour of early restoration of peace & stability in the region with continued humanitarian assistance for the affected.”

This is the second time that Modi and Netanyahu have spoken after the October 7 Hamas attacks; the first conversation had taken place on October 10 — days after PM Modi had expressed “shock” at the “news of terrorist attacks in Israel”.

In a statement, the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel said, “The two leaders discussed the importance of securing freedom of navigation in the Bab-el-Mandeb, which is threatened by the aggression of the Houthis, instigated by Iran, and the global interest in preventing attacks on the global economy and trade, as well as the Indian and Israeli economies.”

Yemen’s Houthis have targeted Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea in the wake of Israel’s war with Hamas. In the past few days, some of the world’s largest container shipping companies have rerouted their ships around South Africa.

The two leaders also discussed advancing the arrival of workers from India to Tel Aviv, the Israeli PMO statement said. Israel urgently needs workers to continue its construction projects.

Netanyahu also thanked PM Modi for “India’s support of Israel’s just war to eliminate the Hamas terrorist organization”, the Israeli PMO statement said.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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A US-LED NAVAL FORCE TO PROTECT SHIPS IN RED SEA

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has announced a new military effort in the Middle East: Operation Prosperity Guardian. It will bring together a coalition of nations to safeguard the dangerous waters of the Red Sea, North Arabian Sea and western Indian Ocean from surprisingly sophisticated attacks by Iranian-sponsored terrorists from the Houthi rebellion in Yemen.  

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In recent weeks, the Houthis have conducted an escalating series of attacks against merchant shipping using drones, ballistic missiles and commandos on helicopters and speedboats. As a video released by the Houthis shows, these well-equipped teams move with military precision.

The new mission is aptly named, as it is designed to protect the 15% of global shipping that passes through the region. The US Navy will command it through Task Force 153, a counterpiracy flotilla based in Bahrain. So far a robust group of nations have signed on: local states Bahrain and the Seychelles, as well as North Atlantic Treaty Organization members Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the UK. In addition, nearly 40 countries already participate in Task Force 153 and many are likely to soon join Operation Prosperity Guardian.

‘NEITHER INDIA, NOR US BUT WE OURSELVES…’: NAWAZ SHARIF

Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said neither India nor the US were behind the cash-strapped country’s miseries but “we shot ourselves in our own foot”, indirectly referring to the powerful military establishment for its woes.

During a conversation with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ticket aspirants, the party supremo, who is eying to become prime minister for a record fourth time, pointed out that he was ousted from power three times in 1993, 1999 and 2017.

“Today where Pakistan has reached (in terms of the state of the economy) this is not done by India, the US or even Afghanistan. In fact, we shot ourselves in our own foot...they (a reference to the military) imposed a selected (govt) on this nation by rigging the 2018 polls that led to the sufferings of the people and downfall of the economy,” Sharif said.

The 73-year-old leader also castigated the judges for legitimising military dictators. “The judges garland them (military dictators) and legitimise their rule when they break the Constitution. When it comes to a prime minister the judges stamp his ouster. The judges also approve the act of dissolution of the parliament...why?” he asked.

DONALD TRUMP INELIGIBLE TO SERVE AS US PREZ, SAYS COLORADO SUPREME COURT

Donald Trump is ineligible to serve as US president because of his actions inciting the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, Colorado’s highest court found, in an unprecedented ruling that’s headed for the US Supreme Court. 

Colorado’s Supreme Court issued the ruling Tuesday, barring Trump from the state’s primary ballot, but stayed the decision to allow the former president to appeal, which his campaign said he plans to do. He has until Jan. 4, under the state court’s ruling.

The ruling was the first to say that Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results render him ineligible to run again under a post-Civil War-era provision of the US Constitution that bans insurrectionists from holding public office.

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INDIA PARTIES CAST DOUBTS ON EVMs

Close on the heels of Congress losses in the Hindi heartland states of MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, INDIA bloc leaders on Tuesday passed a resolution saying that there were many doubts on the integrity and functioning of the EVMs and demanded 100 per cent counting of VVPAT slips.

“INDIA parties reiterate that there are many doubts on the integrity and functioning of the EVMs. Our suggestion is simple — instead of the VVPAT slip falling in the box, it should be handed over to the voter who shall then place it in a separate box after having verified his or her choice,” a resolution adopted at the fourth meeting of INDIA bloc yesterday said.

RECORD RAINS IN SOUTHERN TN CLAIM 10 LIVES; STATE BLAMES POOR IMD FORECAST

Unprecedented rains that battered south Tamil Nadu claimed 10 lives and brought the region to a standstill, leaving individuals, families, and a trainload of people stranded for days.

While there was a brief respite from the incessant downpour on Tuesday, collaborative efforts from the defence, national, and state disaster response forces took the lead in executing rescue and relief operations.

Indicating that the state was not sufficiently forewarned of what was coming, Tamil Nadu chief secretary Shiv Das Meena said on Tuesday that the forecast of heavy rainfall by India meteorological department was 'wrong' as extremely heavy rainfall was received in the affected districts within a short period of two days.

GYANVAPI SUIT NOT BARRED BY PLACES OF WORSHIP ACT: HIGH COURT

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed pleas challenging the maintainability of a 1991 suit seeking the “restoration” of a temple where the Gyanvapi mosque now exists in Varanasi, while observing that the “religious character” of a disputed place can only be decided by the court.

The High Court dismissed five connected petitions filed over the years by the mosque management committee and the Uttar Pradesh Central Sunni Waqf Board. It held that the suit filed before the district court was not barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, that mandated that the “religious character” of a place could not be changed from what existed on August 15, 1947.

In an important observation, Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said the Act did not define the term “religious character” and this could only be determined through evidence in court presented by the opposing parties.

WHO TAGS JN.1 COVID STRAIN AS ‘VARIANT OF INTEREST’

With cases of the Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 on the rise across several countries, the WHO on Tuesday designated it as a “variant of interest” separate from its ancestor BA.2.86 that is commonly referred to as Pirola.

WHO maintained that there was no evidence to suggest any additional public health risk posed by the variant. “Despite this, with the onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, JN.1 could increase the burden of respiratory infections in many countries,” the statement said. It also said that the current vaccines continue to protect against severe disease and death due to JN.1.

A variant is designated as VOI by WHO if it shows a growth advantage over other circulating variants — meaning its proportion increases along with any increase in the total number of cases. A variant can be designated as VOI also if it is predicted to or known to change characteristics such as transmissibility, virulence, antibody evasion, or susceptibility to therapies and diagnostics.

Once designated as VOI, the WHO monitors and tracks its global spread.

GOOGLE MAPS GETS STREETWISE IN INDIA WITH AI, EXPANDS ACROSS 3,000 CITIES

A year after the panoramic Street View was launched in India, Google Maps now allows users to view and explore over 3,000 cities and towns in the country. Last year, Google had announced its tie-ups with Tech Mahindra and Genesys International, which gave access to images of buildings and streets to Google, which then deployed artificial intelligence (AI).

It allowed the company to extract details of over 300 million buildings and overlay them on maps. This ability to give precise information allows better search on Google Maps.

The use of Street View is very important in India, owing to the country’s uniqueness in terms of the way addresses are shared, the modes of transport and constant road repairs and changes to routes.

The company also introduced the Live View walking feature in India. It will provide users with overlays, including arrows and markers, in real time when they point their camera towards the roads while navigating. This will be done using AI, Street View and augmented reality.

2ND ODI: SA SCORE A HUGE WIN, LEVEL SERIES

Opener Tony de Zorzi slammed a magnificent maiden hundred to complement a superlative effort by his team's bowlers, led by pacer Nandre Burger, as South Africa humbled India by eight wickets in the second ODI to level the three-match series 1-1 in Gqeberha on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old de Zorzi, playing only his fourth ODI, smashed nine fours and six maximums during his counter-attacking 122-ball 119 not out as South Africa completed the 212-run chase with 7.3 overs to spare.

Put in to bat, opener B Sai Sudharsan and skipper KL Rahul made well-compiled fifties but once they were gone, India stumbled their way to 211 all out in 46.2 overs.

TOP BUYS OF IPL AUCTION 2024; STARC, CUMMINS MAKE THE MOST

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc on Tuesday became the most expensive player in the IPL history with an eye-popping bid of Rs 24.75 crore, minutes after his skipper Pat Cummins fetched Rs 20.50 crore pay packet as pacers raked in the big moolah at the auction in Dubai Tuesday.      

Gujarat Titans and KKR were involved in a long and exhilarating bidding battle for Starc before the latter lapped him up for a record deal.

Cummins was taken by Sunrisers Hyderabad

Among the fast bowlers, the others who broke the bank were Harshal Patel (Rs 11.75 crore to Punjab Kings), Alzarri Joseph (Rs 11.50 crore to RCB), Spencer Johnson (Rs 10 crore to Gujarat Titans), Shivam Mavi (Rs 6.40 crore to LSG), Umesh Yadav (Rs 5.80 crore to Gujrat Titans), Gerald Coetzee (Rs 5 crore to Mumbai Indians) and Shardul Thakur (Rs 4 crore to CSK).

In the batters category, Daryl Mitchell had a massive payday with Chennai Super Kings spending Rs 14 crore for the New Zealand batter. SRH grabbed World Cup final hero Travis Head for Rs 6.80 crore.

Some other key buys:

Rovman Powell (RR Rs 7.40 crore.)

Uncapped Sameer Rizvi, a 20-year-old from Uttar Pradesh (CSK Rs 8.40 crore.)

Hard hitting batter, Kumar Kushagra, (DC Rs 7.20 crore)

Shahrukh Khan (GT Rs. 7.40 crore)

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Don't practice until you get it right, practice until you can't get it wrong. – Unknown

OFF TRACK

After work one day, a guy went to meet his mistress. He was astonished to wake up and find that it was three in the morning.

"My God!" he shouted, "My wife is going to kill me!"

Unsure of how he would explain it, he ran out to the nearest pay phone and called his wife excitedly.

"Honey, thank God !" he began, "Don't pay the ransom. I escaped!"