The Evening Wrap: Deaflympics gold medallist Virender Singh to return Padma Shri over WFI election

Deaflympics gold medallist Virender Singh Yadav, better known as Goonga Pehlwan, has now decided to return his Padma Shri to the government, showing solidarity with the country’s top wrestlers who have objected to the election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist Sanjay Singh as WFI president. Throwing his weight behind Olympic bronze medallist grappler Sakshi Malik, who announced her retirement from the sport soon after Sanjay Singh’s victory in the recent WFI polls, Virender said he would return the honour as a mark of protest against the election of Brij Bhushan’s close aide. “I will also return the Padma Shri for my sister and the country’s daughter. Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, I am proud of your daughter and my sister Sakshi Malik,” Virender wrote on X. He also urged the country’s iconic sports personalities such as Sachin Tendulkar and Neeraj Chopra to give their opinion on the issue. Virender had received the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth highest civilian award, in 2021. Before that, he was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2015. Bajrang Punia, one of the prominent faces of the protest against the former WFI chief, returned his Padma Shri on December 22. Drone strike hits ship off India: maritime agencies A drone strike damaged a merchant ship off India on December 23 but caused no casualties, two maritime agencies said, with one reporting the vessel was linked to Israel. The attack caused a fire on board, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO. Ambrey, a maritime security firm, said the “Liberia-flagged chemical/products tanker... was Israel-affiliated”, and had been on its way from Saudi Arabia to India. Both agencies said the attack occurred 200 nautical miles southwest of Veraval. The Indian Navy had dispatched a maritime patrol aircraft, which arrived overhead the merchant vessel. Safety of the crew and ship was ascertained. A warship was also dispatched to provide assistance as required, an Indian Navy official said. Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region located in Gurugram is coordinating the communication between the Navy and shipping company, officials said. The Indian Coast Guard has directed ICGS Vikram, which was on deployment in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, towards the vessel, MV Chem Pluto, located around 217 nautical miles off Porbandar. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strike, which came amid a flurry of drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a vital shipping lane in the Red Sea. Supply of ‘non-standard’ drugs in government hospitals | Delhi L-G recommends CBI inquiry Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena recommended a CBI inquiry into the alleged procurement and supply of “non-standard” drugs in Delhi government hospitals, Raj Niwas officials said on December 23. When asked about the matter, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that the government will come out with a detailed response. He also alleged that there is an attempt to obstruct the work of the government through such inquiries. The Raj Niwas officials said that in a note to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, the Lt. Governor mentioned that it is concerning that these medicines are being given to lakhs of patients. “It is with a sense of deep concern that I have perused the file. I am, to say the least, anguished at the fact that lakhs of hapless people and patients are being supplied fake drugs that have failed quality standard tests,” read the note to Kumar. These drugs, procured by the Central Procurement Agency under the Delhi Health Services, were supplied to Delhi government hospitals and may also have been supplied to the ‘Mohalla Clinics’, the Lt Governor said in his note. “Tested by government as well as private analysts/laboratories as per rules and statutory provisions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, these have failed and are categorised as ‘Not of Standard Quality’,” he said. Saxena, in his note, also said that “these drugs procured by spending huge budgetary resources are a grave threat to public health and safety” and have the “potential of endangering lives of people”. The Directorate of Vigilance had submitted a report in the matter. There were complaints of sub-standard medicines being supplied in Delhi government hospitals. Subsequently, samples were collected from the government hospitals, the Raj Niwas officials said. Karnataka government still considering withdrawal of hijab ban, says Siddaramaiah A day after expressing himself vehemently against the ban on hijab imposed by the erstwhile BJP government, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah maintained that the State government had not yet withdrawn the ban on hijab but was contemplating such a move. When reporters asked Siddaramaiah on December 23 whether the withdrawal on ban on hijab will come into effect from the ensuing academic year, the CM said the government had not yet withdrawn the ban. “When a question in the regard was asked, I said the government was thinking about withdrawing it”, he said. He said he will have to discuss the matter with officials at the government level and take a decision. Addressing the gathering at a programme in Nanjangud in Mysuru on December 22, Siddaramaiah said people can wear a dress of their choice and eat the food of their choice while stating that the circular banning hijab in educational institutions will be withdrawn. Meanwhile, opposition BJP came down heavily on the announcement, with the Leader of Opposition R. Ashok saying that the Congress government was trying to sow the seeds of religious identity politics in classrooms with this move. “We want the children in classrooms to feel equal and so there are uniforms prescribed. We will fight this tooth and nail,” he said. “The State’s coffers are empty and the ruling party MLAs are themselves saying not a single stone has been laid for works in the State since this government has come to power. With no funds for development, Siddaramaiah is trying to distract the people ahead of Lok Sabha elections,” Ashok said. In Brief:Two held guilty in 2005 Shramjeevi Express blast case A local court in Jaunpur has held two persons guilty in the 2005 Shramjeevi Express blast case in which 14 people were killed. Additional District and Sessions Judge Rajesh Kumar Rai held Nafikul Vishwas and Hilal guilty in the case, District government advocate Virendra Maurya said. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on January 2. Fourteen people were killed and 62 others were injured when an explosion ripped apart a coach of the Patna-New Delhi train near the Jaunpur station in Uttar Pradesh on July 28, 2005. BJP MLA Ramdular Gond disqualified after 25-year jail in rape case BJP MLA Ramdular Gond, who was recently sentenced to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a girl nine years ago, has been disqualified as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, official sources said on December 23. Ahsan Ullah Khan, additional district and sessions judge of the MP-MLA court in Sonbhadra, had also imposed a fine of ₹10 lakh on Gond. The sum would be given to the rape survivor. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 23 December 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]( Deaflympics gold medallist Virender Singh to return Padma Shri over WFI president election [Deaflympics gold medallist Virender Singh Yadav, better known as Goonga Pehlwan, has now decided to return his Padma Shri to the government]( showing solidarity with the country’s top wrestlers who have objected to the election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist Sanjay Singh as WFI president. Throwing his weight behind Olympic bronze medallist grappler Sakshi Malik, who announced her retirement from the sport soon after Sanjay Singh’s victory in the recent WFI polls, Virender said he would return the honour as a mark of protest against the election of Brij Bhushan’s close aide. “I will also return the Padma Shri for my sister and the country’s daughter. Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, I am proud of your daughter and my sister Sakshi Malik,” Virender wrote on X. He also urged the country’s iconic sports personalities such as Sachin Tendulkar and Neeraj Chopra to give their opinion on the issue. Virender had received the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth highest civilian award, in 2021. Before that, he was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2015. Bajrang Punia, one of the prominent faces of the protest against the former WFI chief, returned his Padma Shri on December 22. Drone strike hits ship off India: maritime agencies [A drone strike damaged a merchant ship off India on December 23 but caused no casualties]( two maritime agencies said, with one reporting the vessel was linked to Israel. The attack caused a fire on board, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO. Ambrey, a maritime security firm, said the “Liberia-flagged chemical/products tanker... was Israel-affiliated”, and had been on its way from Saudi Arabia to India. Both agencies said the attack occurred 200 nautical miles southwest of Veraval. The Indian Navy had dispatched a maritime patrol aircraft, which arrived overhead the merchant vessel. Safety of the crew and ship was ascertained. A warship was also dispatched to provide assistance as required, an Indian Navy official said. Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region located in Gurugram is coordinating the communication between the Navy and shipping company, officials said. The Indian Coast Guard has directed ICGS Vikram, which was on deployment in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, towards the vessel, MV Chem Pluto, located around 217 nautical miles off Porbandar. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strike, which came amid a flurry of drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a vital shipping lane in the Red Sea. Supply of ‘non-standard’ drugs in government hospitals | Delhi L-G recommends CBI inquiry [Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena recommended a CBI inquiry into the alleged procurement and supply of “non-standard” drugs in Delhi government hospitals]( Raj Niwas officials said on December 23. When asked about the matter, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that the government will come out with a detailed response. He also alleged that there is an attempt to obstruct the work of the government through such inquiries. The Raj Niwas officials said that in a note to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, the Lt. Governor mentioned that it is concerning that these medicines are being given to lakhs of patients. “It is with a sense of deep concern that I have perused the file. I am, to say the least, anguished at the fact that lakhs of hapless people and patients are being supplied fake drugs that have failed quality standard tests,” read the note to Kumar. These drugs, procured by the Central Procurement Agency under the Delhi Health Services, were supplied to Delhi government hospitals and may also have been supplied to the ‘Mohalla Clinics’, the Lt Governor said in his note. “Tested by government as well as private analysts/laboratories as per rules and statutory provisions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, these have failed and are categorised as ‘Not of Standard Quality’,” he said. Saxena, in his note, also said that “these drugs procured by spending huge budgetary resources are a grave threat to public health and safety” and have the “potential of endangering lives of people”. The Directorate of Vigilance had submitted a report in the matter. There were complaints of sub-standard medicines being supplied in Delhi government hospitals. Subsequently, samples were collected from the government hospitals, the Raj Niwas officials said. Karnataka government still considering withdrawal of hijab ban, says Siddaramaiah A day after expressing himself vehemently against the ban on hijab imposed by the erstwhile BJP government, [Chief Minister Siddaramaiah maintained that the State government had not yet withdrawn the ban on hijab but was contemplating such a move](. When reporters asked Siddaramaiah on December 23 whether the withdrawal on ban on hijab will come into effect from the ensuing academic year, the CM said the government had not yet withdrawn the ban. “When a question in the regard was asked, I said the government was thinking about withdrawing it”, he said. He said he will have to discuss the matter with officials at the government level and take a decision. Addressing the gathering at a programme in Nanjangud in Mysuru on December 22, Siddaramaiah said people can wear a dress of their choice and eat the food of their choice while stating that the circular banning hijab in educational institutions will be withdrawn. Meanwhile, [opposition BJP came down heavily on the announcement]( with the Leader of Opposition R. Ashok saying that the Congress government was trying to sow the seeds of religious identity politics in classrooms with this move. “We want the children in classrooms to feel equal and so there are uniforms prescribed. We will fight this tooth and nail,” he said. “The State’s coffers are empty and the ruling party MLAs are themselves saying not a single stone has been laid for works in the State since this government has come to power. With no funds for development, Siddaramaiah is trying to distract the people ahead of Lok Sabha elections,” Ashok said. In Brief: Two held guilty in 2005 Shramjeevi Express blast case [A local court in Jaunpur has held two persons guilty in the 2005 Shramjeevi Express blast case]( in which 14 people were killed. Additional District and Sessions Judge Rajesh Kumar Rai held Nafikul Vishwas and Hilal guilty in the case, District government advocate Virendra Maurya said. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on January 2. Fourteen people were killed and 62 others were injured when an explosion ripped apart a coach of the Patna-New Delhi train near the Jaunpur station in Uttar Pradesh on July 28, 2005. BJP MLA Ramdular Gond disqualified after 25-year jail in rape case [BJP MLA Ramdular Gond, who was recently sentenced to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a girl nine years ago, has been disqualified as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly]( official sources said on December 23. Ahsan Ullah Khan, additional district and sessions judge of the MP-MLA court in Sonbhadra, had also imposed a fine of ₹10 lakh on Gond. The sum would be given to the rape survivor. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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