The Evening Wrap: M.P. to bring law against 'love jihad'

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the biggest news stories of the day [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Tuesday 17, November 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap [Here are the biggest news stories of the day]( [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Madhya Pradesh ‘love jihad’ Bill proposes 5 years imprisonment Madhya Pradesh Home Minister[Narottam Mishra on Tuesday said the BJP government was planning a law]( under which anyone convicted of ‘love jihad’ could be sentenced to five years imprisonment. Speaking to reporters, [Mr. Mishra said]( the government would table the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2020 in the next Vidhan Sabha session. “We are deciding that the use of inducements, seduction, fraud or duress for marriage and religion conversions will invite five years’ imprisonment,” he said. Further, he said the Bill would propose that the offence to be cognisable and non-bailable. “Similarly, we are making a provision to declare marriages for religious conversion based on inducements, duress, fraud and seduction as null and void.” In the Bill, he added, those abetting the offence would be considered as culprits along with the main accused. “For action, it will be necessary for those bound by the religious conversions or their parents or siblings to file a complaint,” he said. As for those indulging in religious conversions for marriages, they will have to inform the District Magistrates at least a month in advance, along with religious persons organising the conversions, said Mishra. The announcement comes after similar plans were made public by the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana governments. Amit Shah calls Gupkar Alliance an ‘unholy global gathbandhan’; Mehbooba, Omar hit back Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday termed the coalition of political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, known as the Gupkar Alliance, [an “unholy global gathbandhan”]( against the national interest. He questioned whether the Congress, reported to be in informal seat-adjustment arrangements with the People’s Alliance of the Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) for the District Development Council (DDC) polls, endorsed what the leaders of the alliance had said on the restoration of Article 370. [ Home Minister Amit Shah. File ] Home Minister Amit Shah. File In a series of tweets, Shah said the “Indian people will no longer tolerate an unholy ‘global gathbandhan’ against our national interest. Either the Gupkar Gang swims along with the national mood or else the people will sink it.” He accused the parties making up the alliance, such as the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), of trying to collude with foreign powers and showing disrespect to the national flag. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and NC vice president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday hit back at Shah for his comments. “Old habits die hard. Earlier BJP’s narrative was that the ‘tukde tukde’ gang threatened India’s sovereignty and they are now using ‘Gupkar Gang’ euphemism to project us as anti-nationals. Irony died a million deaths since it is BJP itself that violates the constitution day in and day out”, said Mufti in a tweet. Questioning the BJP's criticism of the PAGD, she said fighting elections in an alliance “is also anti-national now”. Mufti said, “BJP can stitch as many alliances in its hunger for power but somehow we are undermining national interest by putting up a united front”. Abdullah also took to Twitter to respond to Shah’s tweet. “I can understand the frustration behind this attack by the Home Minister. He had been briefed that the People’s Alliance was preparing to boycott elections. This would have allowed the BJP and newly formed king’s party a free run in J&K. We didn’t oblige them,” he said. It was only in J&K that leaders could be detained and called anti-national for participating in elections and supporting the democratic process. “The truth is all those who oppose the ideology of the BJP are labelled ‘corrupt and anti-national,’” he said. Meanwhile, responding to Shah’s tweet, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “The Congress is neither a part of the Gupkar Alliance nor is it a part of the PAGD… Will Mr. Amit Shah bother to explain why did the BJP form a coalition government with the PDP that he is now attacking?” The exchange of tweets comes just as J&K prepares to hold its maiden polls for the District Development Council from November 26. Not happy with Centre’s affidavit on pleas over media reporting of Tablighi congregation: SC The [Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed displeasure]( over the Centre’s affidavit in the case related to media reporting on a Tablighi Jamaat congregation during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, and said it should consider setting up a regulatory mechanism to deal with such content on TV. [ ] “First you did not file a proper affidavit and then you filed an affidavit which did not deal with the two important questions. It cannot be done this way,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. “We are not satisfied with your reply,” the top court said. “We want to know what the mechanism is to deal with these contents on television. If there is no regulatory mechanism, then you create one. Regulation cannot be left to organisations like NBSA [News Broadcasting Standards Authority,” said the Bench, also comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian. The Centre’s affidavit, filed by Amit Khare, Information and Broadcasting Secretary, had claimed that media coverage over the past few months have “predominantly struck a balanced and neutral perspective”. The Bench, which was hearing the pleas filed by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind and others alleging that a section of the media was spreading communal hatred over the Tablighi Jamaat congregation during the onset of pandemic, asked the Centre to file a fresh affidavit dealing with the mechanism to regulate electronic media under the Cable TV Network Act. The top court has posted the matter for hearing after three weeks. Second phase of Malabar exercise begins in northern Arabian Sea The navies of India, the US, Australia and Japan on Tuesday began the [second phase of the Malabar naval exercise]( in the northern Arabian Sea. The exercise involved two aircraft carriers and a number of frontline warships, submarines, and maritime reconnaissance aircraft, officials said. [ Aircraft carriers and warships participate in the second phase of Malabar naval exercise, a joint exercise comprising of India, US, Japan and Australia, in the Northern Arabian Sea on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. ] Aircraft carriers and warships participate in the second phase of Malabar naval exercise, a joint exercise comprising of India, US, Japan and Australia, in the Northern Arabian Sea on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. The major highlight of the four-day exercise is participation of the Indian Navy’s Vikramaditya carrier battle group and the Nimitz strike group of the US Navy. The USS Nimitz is the world’s largest warship. The first phase of the Malabar exercise took place in the Bay of Bengal from November 3-6 and featured a number of complex drills, including anti-submarine and anti-air warfare operations. Terrorism, biggest problem confronting the world: PM Modi at BRICS Terrorism is the biggest problem before the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday. [Addressing the 12th BRICS summit](, he asserted that there was a need to confront the countries that supported and sponsored terror. “We have to ensure terrorists and those who support and sponsor terrorists are held guilty and this problem is addressed in a collective manner,” he said. BRICS is a grouping that comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. [ Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File ] Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File Modi acknowledged the Russian support to the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which has acquired a definite shape. India would continue supporting this strategy, he said. The BRICS summit is important as it provides the Chinese and the Indian leadership an opportunity to exchange their thoughts on key priorities in the backdrop of the continued tension in eastern Ladakh. Both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS have provided recent opportunities for exchange of ideas between the two sides. Centre places Lakshmi Vilas Bank under moratorium, caps withdrawal limit at ₹25,000 The [government on November 17 placed Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) under a one-month moratorium](, superseded its board, and capped withdrawals at ₹25,000 per depositor. [A file picture of a Lakshmi Vilas Bank branch in Adyar, Chennai.]A file picture of a Lakshmi Vilas Bank branch in Adyar, Chennai. The step was taken by the government on the advice of the RBI in view of the declining financial health of the private sector lender. In a statement, the RBI said in the absence of a credible revival plan, with a view to protect depositors’ interest and in the interest of financial and banking stability, there was no alternative but to apply to the Central government for imposing a moratorium under Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. “Accordingly, after considering the Reserve Bank’s request, the Central government has imposed moratorium for thirty days effective from today,” it said. As per the moratorium order, Lakshmi Vilas Bank will not, without RBI’s permission, “make, in the aggregate, payment to a depositor of a sum exceeding twenty-five thousand rupees lying to his credit, in any savings, current or any other deposit account, by whatever name called”. T.N. Manoharan, former non-executive chairman of Canara Bank, has been appointed as the administrator of the bank. Meanwhile, the RBI has also placed in public domain a draft scheme of amalgamation of Lakshmi Vilas Bank with DBS Bank. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 88,96,779at the time of writing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,30,810. In Brief: The Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has announced that it is canceling the operations of both Lucknow-Delhi and Mumbai-Ahmedabad Tejas Express trains. In a statement, the IRCTC said, “The management has decided to cancel all departures of IRCTC Tejas trains due to low occupancy levels resulting from coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.” Malaysia’s flagship budget carrier AirAsia Group Berhad on Tuesday indicated that it could exit India. In a statement, the group said it was reviewing its investment in low-cost carrier AirAsia India, which has been “draining cash” and causing much financial stress. AirAsia India is a joint venture between AirAsia Investment Ltd and Tata Sons. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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