New Delhi: Here are the large headlines from December 31, 2023.
Arvind Panagariya
The Union finance ministry appointed economist Arvind Panagariya, additionally a former advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, because the chairman of the brand new Finance Commission which can look into federal taxes shared with the states.
Panagariya would be the head of the sixteenth Finance Commission, whereas Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey would be the secretary of the fee. Panagariya served as the primary vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog from January 2015 to August 2027, within the rank of a cupboard minister. He is a former chief economist of the Asian Development Bank, held key posts at World Bank, IMF and UNCTAD, and in addition taught on the University of Maryland, US.
The new Finance Commission is prone to submit its report by October 31, 2025. Currently, the Centre shares 42% of federal taxes with states.
Congress
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hit out on the Narendra Modi authorities on the New Year’s eve, alleging that “BJP’s lies are the strongest”, citing the prime minister’s failed promise of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022 amongst others.
Kharge said on X, “Narendra Modi-ji, today is the last day of 2023. You said that by 2022 every farmer’s income will double, every Indian will have a house and 24×7 electricity, The economy will become USD five trillion. All this did not happen but every Indian knows that BJP’s lies are the strongest!”
Meanwhile, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked the Union government for shielding highly effective BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh within the wake of ladies wrestlers’ allegations of sexual harassment towards him, and extra not too long ago, Olympian Vinesh Phogat returning her Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards.
Gandhi stated, “For every daughter of the country, self-respect comes first, any other medal or honour comes after that. Does the price of ‘political benefits’ received from a ‘proclaimed Bahubali’ exceed the tears of these brave daughters? The Prime Minister is the guardian of the nation, it hurts to see such cruelty on his part.”
Party media chief Jairam Ramesh hit out on the BJP for delaying the decennial census, which was due in 2021.
Bhagwant Mann
The rejection of Punjab’s tableau for the Republic Day parade quickly grew to become a political row between the AAP and BJP, when Punjab’s AAP chief minister Bhagwant Mann took to social media to lash out on the Union authorities.
Mann stated that the tableau highlighted the sacrifices of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Lala Lajpat Rai, Udham Singh and others and they won’t be displayed in a “rejected category”. “They are our heroes, we know how to respect them,” he stated.
NDTV reported that after Punjab’s tableau didn’t make the reduce, the Union defence ministry had written to the state authorities to just accept the tableau throughout Bharat Parv from January 23 to 31. However, Mann opposed the transfer, saying that it’s going to not ship the state’s tableau to a “rejected category”.
However, authorities sources dismissed such allegations of “discrimination” as “baseless”, India Today reported.
Tehreek E Hurriyat
Union home minister Amit Shah declared Kashmiri political social gathering Tehreek-e-Hurriyat as an “Unlawful Association” for 5 years, in line with the sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on Sunday. The home ministry claimed that the organisation had been advocating separatism and institution of Islamist rule in Kashmir.
“Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, J&K (TeH) has been declared an ‘Unlawful Association’ under UAPA. The outfit is involved in forbidden activities to separate J&K from India and establish Islamic rule. The group is found spreading anti-India propaganda and continuing terror activities to fuel secessionism in J&K,” Shah stated in a social media put up.
“Under PM Narendra Modi Ji’s zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, any individual or organization found involved in anti-India activities will be thwarted forthwith,” Shah added.
TeH was as soon as helmed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and has performed an vital position prior to now to facilitate talks between the Centre and separatists.
Russia-Ukraine
Soon after what Russia referred to as a “terrorist attack” on the town of Belgorod on Saturday, Russia launched recent drone strikes towards Ukraine on Sunday morning.
NDTV reported that Iranian-made “Shahed” drones focused Ukraine’s north-eastern metropolis of Kharkiv. Many civilian buildings of Kharikiv had been reported to be broken
On Saturday, Ukraine’s attack on Belgorod killed no less than 22 folks whereas many had been left injured, in what was the deadliest attack on Russia for the reason that starting of the battle in February 2022. Moscow stated that the attack used the controversial cluster munitions, and advised an emergency assembly on the UN Security Council that Kyiv had focused a sports activities centre, an ice rink, and a college, with Russian envoy Vasily Nebenzya calling the attack a “deliberate, indiscriminate attack against a civilian target”.
Meanwhile, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Therekov stated, “On the eve of the New Year, Russians want to intimidate our city, but we are not scared.” Ukraine’s allies countered that duty in the end lay with Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading the neighbouring nation two years in the past.
