Archives for March 2020

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the decision will help boost the income of farmers.

NEW DELHI: Export of all varieties of onion will be free from March 15, the government announced on Monday, lifting around six-month-old curbs on shipments of the bulb following a correction in prices and improvement in local supplies.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) also announced removing the minimum export price (MEP) for outward shipments of the commodity.

“The export of all varieties of onions has been made free without any condition of letter of credit and MEP, with effect from March 15, 2020,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

Farmers in several parts of Nashik district in Maharashtra agitated over falling onion prices, with an official informing that average per quintal price for Monday was Rs 1,450 at Lasalgaon, the country’s largest market for the kitchen staple.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the decision will help boost the income of farmers.

The government last week decided to lift the ban on export of onions in view of projected sharp fall in prices due to bumper rabi crop.

In September 2019, the government banned onion exports and also imposed an MEP of USD 850 per tonne.

The move came after prices started skyrocketing due to supply-demand mismatch. In December last year, the prices hit Rs 160 per kg in certain parts of the country. The prices are hovering at around Rs 30 per kg at present.

Expected monthly harvest in March is over 40 lakh MT compared to 28.4 lakh MT last year, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had tweeted on Wednesday.

There was a shortage of onion as kharif crop was adversely affected due to excess rains and floods in key producing states, including Maharashtra.

Currently, the arrival of rabi (winter) crop of onion has begun in small quantities and would increase from mid-March onwards. Exports of onion are expected to arrest sharp the fall in domestic prices.

Opposition MPs including those belonging to the Congress, Left, TMC, SP, BSP and DMK were up on their feet shouting slogans and accused the government of failing in its duty.

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha proceedings were on Monday adjourned till 2 pm after the entire opposition vociferously protested over the issue of communal violence in the national capital, with members alleging that the government slept while Delhi burnt.

Opposition MPs including those belonging to the Congress, Left, TMC, SP, BSP and DMK were up on their feet shouting slogans and accused the government of failing in its duty.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said the issue was definitely important but the priority should be to restore normalcy and then discuss ways and means of preventing it.

When his appeals to members to resume their places went unheeded, he adjourned proceedings till 2 pm.

Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad charged that the Central government “slept” when violence rocked Delhi for three days.

While members shouted slogans such as ‘Delhi is Burning’, three TMC members sported black bands on their eyes.

Naidu ordered them to remove them as sporting badges is not allowed inside the house.

The members complied, but the vociferous protests continued, forcing the adjournment.

Earlier, when the House met it mourned the death of former member A V Swamy, followed by Naidu reading out a record of department-related standing committees that considered demands for grants for 24 departments.

He said the proceedings of the House during the first half of the current Budget session were “largely purposeful” with 96 per cent sitting.

The House in the second half, that began Monday after a three-week break, would be more meaningful, he hoped.

Naidu said he has received notices from members of opposition parties seeking adjournment of proceedings to discuss the present situation in Delhi and other parts of the country.

“The matter is definitely important and deserves to be discussed,” he said, adding he will admit a discussion and allot time after discussing with the minister concerned as well as the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition.

“Our priority should be restoring normalcy. We should see that normalcy is restored and then we can discuss ways and means of preventing it (such violence),” he said, adding he wanted the House to send out a message in one voice on the issue.

Let peace be restored, he said.

However, members continued their protests, forcing the adjournment.

The violence in Jafrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar, Bhajan Pura, Yamuna Vihar and Mustafabad areas of northeast Delhi has left at least 42 dead and over 200 injured.

Congress, Trinamool and AAP MPs staged separate dharnas on Monday near the Gandhi statue in Parliament, demanding answers from the government on the Delhi riots on the first day of the second half of the Budget Session.

Covering their eyes with black bands and holding a finger on their lips in an apparent imitation of the Gandhi’s Three Monkeys, MPs like Mohua Mitra, Sukhendu Shekhar Rai were part of the protest.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, Shashi Tharoor and others held placards demanding answers on the Delhi riots and the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah.

Another protest, this time by four AAP MPs — Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, N D Gupta and Sushil Gupta — was held in front of Gandhi statue of Parliament against violence in Delhi.

They raised slogans of “BJP murdabad”.

At least 42 people died and more than 200 were injured during the communal riots in northeast Delhi.

Opposition MPs have also given notice in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to discuss the Delhi riots.

Those who gave notice include Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, NK Premachandran (RSP), PK Kunhalikutty (Muslim League), Elamaram Kareem (CPIM), Binoy Viswam (CPI).

Senior advocate Sarajevo Havana, appearing for Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference, had said that he is supporting Center on the question that no reference is needed to a larger bench.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday said there are no reasons to refer a batch of pleas, challenging the constitutional validity of the Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 on August 5 last year, to a larger seven-judge bench.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice N V Ramana pronounced the order.

The apex court had on January 23 reserved its order on the issue of whether the batch of pleas would be referred to a larger seven-judge bench.

Article 370: 5 judge Constitution bench of the SC held that there is no need of setting up a larger bench

Opposing the plea, the Centre had said that abrogation of provisions of Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, has become a “fait accompli” leaving the sole option to accept the change.

Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference, had said that he is supporting Centre on the question that no reference is needed to a larger bench.

A number of petitions have been filed in the apex court including those of private individuals, lawyers, activists and political parties and they have also challenged the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which splits J&K into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The Supreme Court had earlier heard the detailed arguments and submissions from the respective petitioners and respondent, including that of the Centre’s, and had reserved its judgement on the batch of petitions.

In August last year, the government abrogated Article 370, which accorded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the region into two Union territories- Jammu and Kashmir and Lambada.

Chief Minister Conrad Sangma took stock of the situation at a meeting with Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbai and top police officials and civil administration.

GUWAHATI: A person was stabbed to death in Shillong on Saturday as parts of Meghalaya continued to remain tense following Friday’s clashes at Ichamati in East Khasi Hills between members of Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and non-tribals at a meeting over Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and Inner Line Permit (ILP).

Friday’s clashes had left one person dead and several others injured. Fresh violence erupted in Shillong’s Bara Bazar area on Saturday and a vegetable vendor was stabbed to death and at least six others injured. 

The incident forced the authorities to re-impose curfew. It was imposed for 10 hours in Shillong and its adjoining areas on Friday night. Mobile internet services have also been suspended in six districts for 48 hours from 10 pm of Friday while SMS services have been limited to five per day.

Chief Minister Conrad Sangma took stock of the situation at a meeting with Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbai and top police officials and civil administration. He also met Governor Tathagata Roy and briefed him on the law and order situation. A probe into Friday’s violence was ordered.

Madhya Pradesh is planning reservation in educational institutions, and it will be more than 5 per cent, water resources minister said.

BHOPAL: After Maharashtra, now Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh could reserve seats for Muslims in educational institutions. Dropping hints about the reservation, Madhya Pradesh Water Resources Minister Hukum Singh Karada, on Saturday, said, “We too are preparing a detailed plan for minorities. You will see that we’ll provide more relaxation than what Maharashtra has announced. I won’t be able to give details, as I’m not authorised to make any announcement, but I can assure that the relaxation would be more than Maharashtra.”

Speaking to journalists in Agar-Malwa district, Karada said, “Just wait and watch, surely our government will give a more liberal message soon.” Sources within the state Congress confided that there is a plan to grant reservation to Muslims in educational institutions in Madhya Pradesh. On Friday, Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik informed the state legislative council that their government will pass legislation to extend five per cent reservation to Muslims in educational institutes. Malik on Saturday said that the Maharashtra BJP leaders were trying to create confusion among people on reservations to the Muslim community but the Maha Vikas Aghadi will manage to dispel all doubts. 

Reacting to Karada’s statement, BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said the Congress is showing its “true colours”. Stressing that the BJP will oppose the decision, he said, “After more than doubling the honorarium of Muslim clerics, now the state government… is planning to grant reservation to Muslims, which is against the Constitution. The BJP is opposed to providing reservation on religious lines, so we’ll protest.”