'“Modi is a coward and a psychopath” tweeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal just after his office was raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation without permission, or even forewarning. The tweet made it clear that relations between the two governments and leaders have now deteriorated to perhaps a point of no return. The CBI that reportedly stormed into the Chief Ministers office, sealed off the floor and refused to allow officials to enter.
'A family was evicted by fellow patrons at a cinema hall here on November 29 for allegedly not standing up when the national anthem was played. As per a State government order passed in 2003, cinema halls in Maharashtra are required to play the national anthem before the start of each movie. The incident came to light when a moviegoer in the same theatre (PVR Cinemas in the suburb of Kurla in central Mumbai) filmed the altercation and posted it on Twitter and Facebook, leading to an online uproar...
'From relative anonymity to becoming the subject of a campaign to free him, Kovan, a small-town anti-liquor campaigner based in Trichy, Tamil Nadu is now being seen as a symbol of the state’s abuse of power against an individual.
'The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has taken cognizance of the "indecent" remarks made by Haryana's Health Minister Anil Vij against IPS officer Sangeeta Kalia and has sought a report from the state Chief Secretary in the matter. Slamming Vij's "get out" remarks against the woman officer, the Commission's member Ishwar Singh said on Saturday that he has sought a report from the Haryana government within a week.
'...Parliament has lost its importance. While Modi described Parliament as the “temple of democracy”, he has, so far, not attended as many of its meetings per year as his predecessors. Instead of promoting inside Parliament the bills he needs passed, Modi has resorted to more ordinances than recent governments. In one year, he has issued about 14 ordinances. In contrast, UPA 2 issued only 25 ordinances (four per year). This is not only because of the NDA’s lack of a majority in the Rajya Sabha.
'The Indian government sought the maximum number of content restrictions from the various platforms of social networking behemoth Facebook in the first six months of this year than any other country globally. The world's biggest social networking platform said it granted requests from authorities in India for some 15,155 pieces of content to be blocked on its platform, its WhatsApp and Messenger apps and its photo-sharing app, Instagram. This was revealed by Facebook in its latest report on government data requests for the period between January and June this year...
'Actor Anupam Kher led a march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday, alleging that the return of awards by writers, artistes and others against “rising intolerance” was an act to defame the country. A delegation of a select few artists from the group met Prime Minister Narendra Modi later, who said “Indian culture goes beyond tolerance and talks of acceptance”. The President’s office posted a picture of the delegation’s meeting with him on Twitter.
'Human rights activists and environment campaigners have criticised the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying their efforts have led to harassment and other reprisals since it took power more than a year ago. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) cancelled Greenpeace's permit to operate in India on Friday, in the latest move against nongovernmental organisations.
'Mobile internet services in Kashmir Valley were blocked on Saturday morning as a precautionary measure in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Srinagar. "Mobile internet services have been temporarily discontinued in the Valley in the wake of the PM's visit," officials said. They said it was a precautionary measure in view of the high profile visit. The officials said all service providers had been directed to disconnect the mobile internet services from 10 AM till the Prime Minister leaves the Valley...'
'The government is arresting separatists and shutting down social media to thwart the ‘Million March’ challenge to Modi’s Srinagar rally tomorrow... What threatens to upset the PDP’s plans is the call for a ‘Srinagar Million March’ on November 7 by separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, which has found support from other separatists as well. To make matters worse, the march is expected to culminate at the TRC Ground, just metres away from the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium, the Prime Minister’s venue.
