The Evening Wrap: G-7 backs ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza, reaffirms Ukraine support

G-7 Foreign Ministers said on November 8 that they supported “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the Hamas-Israel war but refrained from calling for a ceasefire. The group also said after talks in Japan that their support for Ukraine in its war with Russia “will never waver” while calling on China not to support Moscow in the conflict. “We stress the need for urgent action to address the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza... We support humanitarian pauses and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement, and the release of hostages,” a joint statement said. The Ministers also emphasised “Israel’s right to defend itself and its people in accordance with international law as it seeks to prevent a recurrence” of the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. It added: “We call on Iran to refrain from providing support for Hamas and taking further actions that destabilise the Middle East, including support for Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-state actors, and to use its influence with those groups to de-escalate regional tensions.” The Israeli military has relentlessly bombarded Gaza since October 7, when Hamas militants launched an attack that left 1,400 dead in Israel, most of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities. The Hamas-run Health Ministry says the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 10,300 people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on November 6 there would be no fuel delivered to Gaza and no ceasefire unless more than 240 hostages seized by Hamas were freed. On the Ukraine war, the G-7 statement said, “Our steadfast commitment to supporting Ukraine’s fight for its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity will never waver.” “We further call on China not to assist Russia in its war against Ukraine, to press Russia to stop its military aggression, and to support a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” it said. The Ministers from the G-7 — the United States, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Britain and Canada — also said that they “welcome China’s participation in the Ukraine-led peace process”. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba joined the G-7 meeting by video conference. With Ukraine’s counteroffensive struggling to gain ground after almost two years of war, President Volodymyr Zelensky has regularly met Western leaders to try to stave off fatigue over the conflict. Bihar: 95.49% people don’t own any vehicle, says caste survey report A whopping 95.49%% of people in Bihar don’t own any vehicle, while only 3.8% have two-wheelers and a minuscule 0.11% have cars, according to the caste survey report. The detailed report, which also threw light on migration from Bihar, said that 45.78 lakh people are working in other states, while 2.17 lakh are abroad. The report, which was tabled in both Houses of the Legislature on Tuesday, said that 12.48 crore of the 13.07 crore people don’t own any vehicle. “Only 49.68 lakh people, or around 3.8% of the population, own two-wheelers, while just 5.72 lakh people, or 0.11%, have four-wheelers. Only 1.67 lakh people, or 0.13%, own tractors,” it stated. A total of 11.99 lakh of the 2.01 crore people belonging to general category own two-wheelers. Of the 2.17 lakh people who have gone abroad, 23,738 are engaged in higher studies. Among those working in other countries, 76,326 people belong to the general category. Similarly, 45,78,669 people from Bihar, or 3.5% of the population, are working in other states. The Bihar government tabled a report on the economic condition of 215 Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and Extremely Backward Classes in the Legislature on Tuesday. Listen to today’s episode of the In Focus podcast India’s diplomatic challenge with eight Navy veterans on death row in Qatar A court in Qatar has handed death sentences to eight Indian citizens, all of them former personnel of the Indian navy. The ex-navy-men were convicted on espionage charges. India has termed the sentencing ‘deeply shocking’ and has said it is exploring all legal options. The Indians were all employees of a defunct company, Doha-based Dahra Global, and had been arrested in August 2022. How did these Indian nationals end up in this situation? What are the chances that their lives can be saved? And what can New Delhi do to bring them safely back to India? Kerala moves Supreme Court against Governor for the second time in two weeks Kerala on November 8, 2023 (Wednesday) moved the Supreme Court for the second time against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, accusing him of trying to “defeat the rights of the people” of the State by indefinitely sitting on crucial Bills, especially those addressing post-COVID public health concerns. The State, represented by advocate C.K. Sasi, said the arbitrary show of lack of urgency by the Governor violates the fundamental right to life of the people of Kerala. “The conduct of the Governor in keeping Bills pending for long and indefinite periods of time is manifestly arbitrary and also violates Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. Additionally, it defeats the rights of the people of the State of Kerala under Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution, by denying them the benefits of welfare legislation enacted by the State Assembly.” The 461-page special leave petition appeals a Kerala High Court judgment of November 30 last year, which refused to fix a time limit for the Governor to deal with Bills presented to him under Article 200 of the Constitution. Kerala submitted that the first proviso to Article 200, which governs the conduct of the Governor when a Bill is presented to him for assent, mandates for immediate consideration and action. The Governor can either declare his assent to the Bill, return it with a message to the House or refer it to the President. However, the Article requires the Governor to act “as soon as possible”, that is within a reasonable time. Kerala said eight key Bills were currently pending with the Governor. Some of these Bills have been held back for over two years. Senior advocate K.K. Venugopal, appearing in the case for the State, recently informed the Supreme Court that the Governor continues to be unfazed even after Kerala’s having moved the top court against him. “Many of the Bills involve immense public interest, and provide for welfare measures which would stand deprived and denied to the people of the State to the extent of the delay… Grave injustice is being done to the people of the State, as also to its representative democratic institutions (i.e. the State Legislature and the Executive), by the Governor by keeping Bills pending for long periods of time, including three Bills for longer than two years. The Governor appears to be of the view that granting assent or otherwise dealing with Bills is a matter entrusted to him in his absolute discretion, to decide whenever he pleases. This is a complete subversion of the Constitution,” the petition said. Besides Kerala, other non-BJP ruled States have also approached the Supreme Court against their Governors for “unreasonably” delaying the passing of crucial Bills into law. Their pending Bills too cover sectors such as public health, higher education, Lokayukta and cooperative societies. Tamil Nadu has accused Governor R.N. Ravi of toying with the citizens’ mandate by sitting on the Bills by neither assenting nor returning them. It said the Governor has positioned himself as a “political rival” who has caused a “constitutional deadlock” by simply sitting on the Bills for months together. Punjab has complained that several Bills passed by the Vidhan Sabha were stuck with the Governor, threatening to bring the administration to a “grinding halt”. The Supreme Court had to intervene in April for Telangana Governor to clear Bills pending since September 2022, compelling advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the State, to submit that legislatures in Opposition-ruled States were at the mercy of the Governors, who had become a law unto themselves. Delhi HC seeks Centre and State’s stand on PIL to include ‘dharma’ and ‘religion’ in school syllabus The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and the State government to respond to a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to the authorities to include a chapter on “dharma” and “religion” in the syllabus of primary and secondary schools “in order to educate the masses and control the religion-based hatred and hate speeches”. In his petition, lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay asserted that “dharma” is not religion as the former is “non-divisive”, “non-exclusive”, and “transcends narrow boundaries of religion”. He sought for a direction to use the “proper meaning” of the term “religion” and not use it as a synonym of “dharma” in official documents, including the birth certificate, Aadhaar card, school certificate, ration card, driving licence, domicile certificate, death certificate, and bank account. “If we try to define religion then we can say that religion is a tradition, not dharma. Religion is a cult or a spiritual lineage that is called a ‘sampradaya’ (community). So, religion means community,” the plea said. “In daily life, we say this person follows ‘Vaishnav dharma’ or Jain dharma, or someone follows Buddhism or Islam or Christianity [—] that’s not right. Instead, we should say that a person follows ‘Vaishnav sampradaya’ or this person follows ‘Shiv sampradaya’ or follows ‘Buddha sampradaya’. This person follows Islam or Christian sampradaya,” the plea said. “There have been many wars and war-like situations for religion. Religion works on a mass of people. In religion, people follow someone or someone’s path. On another side, dharma is a work of wisdom,” the plea added. “Religion has been one of the most potent divisive forces in all history” while “dharma” is “different because it unites”, Upadhyay said. “There can never be divisions in dharma. Every interpretation is valid and welcome. No authority is too great to be questioned, too sacred to be touched. Unlimited interpretative freedom through free will is the quintessence of dharma, for dharma is as limitless as truth itself. No one can ever be its sole mouthpiece,” the petition said. The High Court has posted the case for further hearing on January 16. Cash-for-query row: Lokpal has ordered CBI probe against Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, claims BJP MP BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on November 8 said the Lokpal has ordered a CBI probe against TMC MP Mahua Moitra on his complaint of alleged corruption by her. This comes days after the BJP MP accused Moitra of asking questions in the Lok Sabha to target the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for gifts. The matter is being looked into by the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha. Moitra has denied the charge of receiving any pecuniary benefit. In a post on X, Dubey wrote, “On my complaint, Lokpal today ordered a CBI inquiry against accused Mahua Moitra for indulging in corruption at the cost of national security.” However, there was no official word from the Lokpal. The Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha will meet on Thursday to adopt a draft report on the cash-for-query allegation against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Moitra, accusing her of asking questions in Lok Sabha to target the Adani Group at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for gifts. The 15-member committee has seven members from the BJP, three from the Congress, and one each from BSP, Shiv Sena, YSRCP, CPI(M) and JDU. The committee is likely to take a grim view of the charges against Moitra, more so after she accused its chief Vinod Kumar Sonkar of asking filthy and personal questions to her in the last meeting before walking out in a rage along with opposition members. There are indications that the committee may make a recommendation against Moitra in its report to Speaker Birla amid a possibility of dissent notes from opposition members. So far, the draft report has not been circulated to the members of the committee, sources in the opposition said. In Brief: Delhi air pollution | December winter break of schools rescheduled, now to be from November 9-18 In view of air pollution in the national capital, the December winter break of all schools has been rescheduled and it will be now from November 9 to November 18, a circular of the Delhi Directorate of Education stated on Wednesday. Earlier, due to bad air quality, holidays were announced from November 3 to November 10. In the wake of implementation of GRAP-IV measures due to Severe Air Quality prevailing in Delhi and seeing that no respite from such adverse weather conditions in near future is predicted by the IMO, the Winter Break for the session 2023-24 is ordered to be preponed so that schools can be totally closed and both children and teachers can stay at home,” the circular stated. ED issues fresh summons to Abhishek Banerjee in West Bengal recruitment scam The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee to appear before it here on November 9 in connection with the alleged school jobs scam, a TMC leader said on Wednesday. Banerjee will appear before the ED on Thursday, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare Minister and TMC spokesperson Shashi Panja said, alleging that the party national general secretary is a victim of “vendetta politics”. She also alleged that the BJP does such vendetta politics to “harass” leaders ahead of crucial election early next year. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 08 November 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( G-7 backs ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza, reaffirms Ukraine support [G-7 Foreign Ministers said on November 8 that they supported “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the Hamas-Israel war but refrained from calling for a ceasefire.]( The group also said after talks in Japan that their support for Ukraine in its war with Russia “will never waver” while calling on China not to support Moscow in the conflict. “We stress the need for urgent action to address the [deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza](... We support humanitarian pauses and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement, and the release of hostages,” a joint statement said. The Ministers also emphasised “Israel’s right to defend itself and its people in accordance with international law as it seeks to prevent a recurrence” of the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. It added: “We call on Iran to refrain from providing support for Hamas and taking further actions that destabilise the Middle East, including support for Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-state actors, and to use its influence with those groups to de-escalate regional tensions.” The Israeli military has relentlessly bombarded Gaza since October 7, when Hamas militants launched an attack that left 1,400 dead in Israel, most of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities. The Hamas-run Health Ministry says the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 10,300 people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on November 6 there would be no fuel delivered to Gaza and no ceasefire unless more than 240 hostages seized by Hamas were freed. On the Ukraine war, the G-7 statement said, “Our steadfast commitment to supporting Ukraine’s fight for its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity will never waver.” “We further call on China not to assist Russia in its war against Ukraine, to press Russia to stop its military aggression, and to support a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” it said. The Ministers from the G-7 — the United States, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Britain and Canada — also said that they “welcome China’s participation in the Ukraine-led peace process”. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba joined the G-7 meeting by video conference. With Ukraine’s counteroffensive struggling to gain ground after almost two years of war, President Volodymyr Zelensky has regularly met Western leaders to try to stave off fatigue over the conflict. Bihar: 95.49% people don’t own any vehicle, says caste survey report A whopping [95.49%% of people in Bihar don’t own any vehicle]( while only 3.8% have two-wheelers and a minuscule 0.11% have cars, according to the caste survey report. The detailed report, which also threw light on migration from Bihar, said that 45.78 lakh people are working in other states, while 2.17 lakh are abroad. The report, which was tabled in both Houses of the Legislature on Tuesday, said that 12.48 crore of the 13.07 crore people don’t own any vehicle. “Only 49.68 lakh people, or around 3.8% of the population, own two-wheelers, while just 5.72 lakh people, or 0.11%, have four-wheelers. Only 1.67 lakh people, or 0.13%, own tractors,” it stated. A total of 11.99 lakh of the 2.01 crore people belonging to general category own two-wheelers. Of the 2.17 lakh people who have gone abroad, 23,738 are engaged in higher studies. Among those working in other countries, 76,326 people belong to the general category. Similarly, 45,78,669 people from Bihar, or 3.5% of the population, are working in other states. The Bihar government tabled a report on the economic condition of 215 Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and Extremely Backward Classes in the Legislature on Tuesday. Listen to today’s episode of the In Focus podcast India’s diplomatic challenge with eight Navy veterans on death row in Qatar [A court in Qatar has handed death sentences to eight Indian citizens, all of them former personnel of the Indian navy](. The ex-navy-men were convicted on espionage charges. India has termed the sentencing ‘deeply shocking’ and has said it is exploring all legal options. The Indians were all employees of a defunct company, Doha-based Dahra Global, and had been arrested in August 2022. How did these Indian nationals end up in this situation? What are the chances that their lives can be saved? And what can New Delhi do to bring them safely back to India? Kerala moves Supreme Court against Governor for the second time in two weeks [Kerala on November 8, 2023 (Wednesday) moved the Supreme Court for the second time against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan]( accusing him of trying to “defeat the rights of the people” of the State by indefinitely sitting on crucial Bills, especially those addressing post-COVID public health concerns. The State, represented by advocate C.K. Sasi, said the arbitrary show of lack of urgency by the Governor violates the fundamental right to life of the people of Kerala. “The conduct of the Governor in keeping Bills pending for long and indefinite periods of time is manifestly arbitrary and also violates Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. Additionally, it defeats the rights of the people of the State of Kerala under Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution, by denying them the benefits of welfare legislation enacted by the State Assembly.” The 461-page special leave petition appeals a Kerala High Court judgment of November 30 last year, which refused to fix a time limit for the Governor to deal with Bills presented to him under Article 200 of the Constitution. Kerala submitted that the first proviso to Article 200, which governs the conduct of the Governor when a Bill is presented to him for assent, mandates for immediate consideration and action. The Governor can either declare his assent to the Bill, return it with a message to the House or refer it to the President. However, the Article requires the Governor to act “as soon as possible”, that is within a reasonable time. Kerala said eight key Bills were currently pending with the Governor. Some of these Bills have been held back for over two years. Senior advocate K.K. Venugopal, appearing in the case for the State, recently informed the Supreme Court that the Governor continues to be unfazed even after Kerala’s having moved the top court against him. “Many of the Bills involve immense public interest, and provide for welfare measures which would stand deprived and denied to the people of the State to the extent of the delay… Grave injustice is being done to the people of the State, as also to its representative democratic institutions (i.e. the State Legislature and the Executive), by the Governor by keeping Bills pending for long periods of time, including three Bills for longer than two years. The Governor appears to be of the view that granting assent or otherwise dealing with Bills is a matter entrusted to him in his absolute discretion, to decide whenever he pleases. This is a complete subversion of the Constitution,” the petition said. Besides Kerala, other non-BJP ruled States have also approached the Supreme Court against their Governors for “unreasonably” delaying the passing of crucial Bills into law. Their pending Bills too cover sectors such as public health, higher education, Lokayukta and cooperative societies. Tamil Nadu has accused Governor R.N. Ravi of toying with the citizens’ mandate by sitting on the Bills by neither assenting nor returning them. It said the Governor has positioned himself as a “political rival” who has caused a “constitutional deadlock” by simply sitting on the Bills for months together. Punjab has complained that several Bills passed by the Vidhan Sabha were stuck with the Governor, threatening to bring the administration to a “grinding halt”. The Supreme Court had to intervene in April for Telangana Governor to clear Bills pending since September 2022, compelling advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the State, to submit that legislatures in Opposition-ruled States were at the mercy of the Governors, who had become a law unto themselves. Delhi HC seeks Centre and State’s stand on PIL to include ‘dharma’ and ‘religion’ in school syllabus The [Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and the State government to respond]( to a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to the authorities to include a chapter on “dharma” and “religion” in the syllabus of primary and secondary schools “in order to educate the masses and control the religion-based hatred and hate speeches”. In his petition, lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay asserted that “dharma” is not religion as the former is “non-divisive”, “non-exclusive”, and “transcends narrow boundaries of religion”. He sought for a direction to use the “proper meaning” of the term “religion” and not use it as a synonym of “dharma” in official documents, including the birth certificate, Aadhaar card, school certificate, ration card, driving licence, domicile certificate, death certificate, and bank account. “If we try to define religion then we can say that religion is a tradition, not dharma. Religion is a cult or a spiritual lineage that is called a ‘sampradaya’ (community). So, religion means community,” the plea said. “In daily life, we say this person follows ‘Vaishnav dharma’ or Jain dharma, or someone follows Buddhism or Islam or Christianity [—] that’s not right. Instead, we should say that a person follows ‘Vaishnav sampradaya’ or this person follows ‘Shiv sampradaya’ or follows ‘Buddha sampradaya’. This person follows Islam or Christian sampradaya,” the plea said. “There have been many wars and war-like situations for religion. Religion works on a mass of people. In religion, people follow someone or someone’s path. On another side, dharma is a work of wisdom,” the plea added. “Religion has been one of the most potent divisive forces in all history” while “dharma” is “different because it unites”, Upadhyay said. “There can never be divisions in dharma. Every interpretation is valid and welcome. No authority is too great to be questioned, too sacred to be touched. Unlimited interpretative freedom through free will is the quintessence of dharma, for dharma is as limitless as truth itself. No one can ever be its sole mouthpiece,” the petition said. The High Court has posted the case for further hearing on January 16. Cash-for-query row: Lokpal has ordered CBI probe against Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, claims BJP MP BJP MP [Nishikant Dubey on November 8 said the Lokpal has ordered a CBI probe against TMC MP Mahua Moitra]( on his complaint of alleged corruption by her. This comes days after the BJP MP accused Moitra of asking questions in the Lok Sabha to target the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for gifts. The matter is being looked into by the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha. Moitra has denied the charge of receiving any pecuniary benefit. In a post on X, Dubey wrote, “On my complaint, Lokpal today ordered a CBI inquiry against accused Mahua Moitra for indulging in corruption at the cost of national security.” However, there was no official word from the Lokpal. The Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha will meet on Thursday to adopt a draft report on the cash-for-query allegation against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Moitra, accusing her of asking questions in Lok Sabha to target the Adani Group at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for gifts. The 15-member committee has seven members from the BJP, three from the Congress, and one each from BSP, Shiv Sena, YSRCP, CPI(M) and JDU. The committee is likely to take a grim view of the charges against Moitra, more so after she accused its chief Vinod Kumar Sonkar of asking filthy and personal questions to her in the last meeting before walking out in a rage along with opposition members. There are indications that the committee may make a recommendation against Moitra in its report to Speaker Birla amid a possibility of dissent notes from opposition members. So far, the draft report has not been circulated to the members of the committee, sources in the opposition said. In Brief: Delhi air pollution | December winter break of schools rescheduled, now to be from November 9-18 In view of air pollution in the national capital, the [December winter break of all schools has been rescheduled]( and it will be now from November 9 to November 18, a circular of the Delhi Directorate of Education stated on Wednesday. Earlier, due to bad air quality, holidays were announced from November 3 to November 10. In the wake of implementation of GRAP-IV measures due to Severe Air Quality prevailing in Delhi and seeing that no respite from such adverse weather conditions in near future is predicted by the IMO, the Winter Break for the session 2023-24 is ordered to be preponed so that schools can be totally closed and both children and teachers can stay at home,” the circular stated. ED issues fresh summons to Abhishek Banerjee in West Bengal recruitment scam The [Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee]( to appear before it here on November 9 in connection with the alleged school jobs scam, a TMC leader said on Wednesday. Banerjee will appear before the ED on Thursday, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare Minister and TMC spokesperson Shashi Panja said, alleging that the party national general secretary is a victim of “vendetta politics”. She also alleged that the BJP does such vendetta politics to “harass” leaders ahead of crucial election early next year. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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