3 MURDERS IN 10 DAYS, CURFEW CONTINUES IN MANGALURU
Mohammed Fazil, a resident of Mangalapete in Surathkal, was hacked to death with sharp weapons by unidentified miscreants who attacked him near a cloth shop in Surathkal, Mangaluru on July 28 night. The murder was committed days after the killing of Praveen Nettaru, a BJYM worker in Bellare on July 26. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai rushed to Mangaluru on July 28. He met Praveen’s family and handed over a cheque of `25 lakh from the state government relief fund and assured them that his killers and the organisations behind the killing would be punished. But just a week ago, on July 19, another youth named Masud, 19 years old, was killed under the same Bellare Police Station limits. And Mohammed Fazil was murdered on July 28. But the families of Masud and Mohammed Fazil did not receive any such assurances from the CM. However, the police have arrested eight people in relation to the murder of Masud and all of them belong to Hindu organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. They have taken about two dozen people into custody in connection with the murder of Mohammed Fazil.
BIHAR SEEKS REPORT ON FACULTIES’ FRIDAY WEEKLY BREAKUP
Bihar schooling minister and JD (U) chief Vijay Kumar Choudhary has sought a report on faculties following Friday as weekly holiday in the state’s Muslim-dominated districts of Purnia, Kishanganj, Katihar and Araria. Education officers of these four districts in Seemanchal say they’ve acquired “verbal” orders from their division to submit a report. Minister Choudhary mentioned, “As we learnt about it, we have asked these four districts to submit a report.” While BJP is insisting that there must be a uniform weekly break day for faculties no matter the faith of scholars, the JD (U) and NDA member Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) are for established order, saying “tradition and precedent” must be revered. JD (U) parliamentary board chairman and former MP Upendra Kushwaha, in a Twitter put up in Hindi, said, “Is weekly holiday provision in Urdu schools a real issue and an attempt to create an unnecessary controversy? Those who object to a Friday holiday in Urdu schools should know that Sanskrit universities also declare a day off on Pratipada and Ashtami every month.” He posted a vacation calendar of the Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University for reference.
SC REFUSES FRESH PLEAS IN PLACES OF WORSHIP ACT
The Supreme Court on July 29 refused to allow fresh petitions challenging the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 but gave liberty to file intervention applications in the already pending matters. “How many petitions will we have? Can you not intervene in those proceedings?” Justice D Y Chandrachud, presiding a two-judge bench, asked Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, who appeared for one of the new petitioners. Dwivedi agreed with the concern but urged the court to tag the petitions with the existing ones and direct the Registry not to entertain any further petitions. However, the bench stated, “Intervene in that. It’s a query of regulation… In case any individual else desires to withdraw, you’ll be able to at all times transpose yourselves.” The Act mandates that the character of all locations of worship, besides Ayodhya, shall be maintained as it was on August 15, 1947.
CHILD TRAFFICKING RAMPANT IN MADHYA PRADESH
As the world observes the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, Madhya Pradesh has received the dubious distinction of topping all states concerning the number of children missing. Every day 30 children go missing in Madhya Pradesh, out of which nine never return, according to data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). About 10,000 children go missing every year. Most are believed to be trafficked for domestic work, sex, and marriage. Prashant Dubey, from the Awaaz Foundation, a non-governmental organisation on child rights, reportedly said that the government needs to run a specific programme to stop the trafficking of children. Only then can it truly stop the disappearance and trade in children. In the last three years, 14,553 children disappeared in Madhya Pradesh with 11,885 being girls, according to NCRB. Most of the girls came from poor families and belonged to tribal-dominated districts. “There are many reasons behind the disappearance of such a large number of children from Madhya Pradesh,” said Dubey, who has been working in the field for years. “Poverty, hunger, and lack of work are the main reasons for this. The caste and community-based discrimination and unfair treatment in rural areas are also at the root of this problem.”
OVER `4,700 CRORE LIABILITIES OF MGNREGA PENDING TILL JULY 21
The pending liabilities for wage component under Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme stood at `4,720.22 crore as on July 21, 2022, the Ministry of Rural Development informed Rajya Sabha on July 27. In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti informed that the pending liabilities for wage component under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS was highest for West Bengal (`2620.87 crore). The state was followed by Bihar (`1067.83 crore) and Uttar Pradesh (`447.87 crore). Besides, the liabilities for wage component under NREGS were pending for 10 other states – Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Maharashtra. Nagaland, Odisha, Telangana and Puducherry. Apart from the wage liabilities, material component liabilities worth `2,537.32 crore were also pending as on July 21.
IN 8 YEARS, 22 CRORE APPLIED FOR JOB, ONLY 7.22 LAKH WERE SELECTED
The rush for government jobs continued unabated over the last eight years but less than 1 per cent of applications received were selected. Of the 22.05 crore applications received from 2014-15 to 2021-22, only 7.22 lakh or 0.33 per cent, were recommended for appointment in different Central government departments, the government informed the Lok Sabha on July 27. In a written reply, Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the PMO, informed the Lok Sabha that the maximum number of candidates – 1.47 lakh – recommended for appointment was in 2019-20. The year, which also saw elections to the Lok Sabha, accounted for a little more than 20 per cent of the total 7.22 lakh selected during the eight years. The broad trend suggests that the number of candidates selected for government jobs has been declining since 2014-15, with 2019-20 being the only exception. In 2014-15, 1.30 lakh candidates were recommended for appointment but the number dropped continuously in the following years – 1.11 lakh in 2015-16; 1.01 lakh in 2016-17; 76,147 in 2017-18; 38,100 in 2018-19, 78,555 in 2020-21 and 38,850 in 2021-22.
SC/ST DOCTORS, STUDENTS FACE DISCRIMINATION AT DELHI AIIMS
Doctors and students from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities face discrimination at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, alleged a Parliamentary Committee, a report said on July 27. To prevent discrimination, the panel made several recommendations, including hiring doctors from the SC and ST communities and evaluating students without seeing their names. The Parliamentary Panel on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made the statements while scrutinising roles of autonomous bodies and educational institutions in the socio-economic development of the communities with a focus on AIIMS. The committee said that the doctors from the SC and ST categories were not being appointed to the posts despite being eligible, competent and experienced. It has recommended filling up the vacant posts by the next three months. “No faculty seat reserved for SC/ST shall be kept vacant for more than six months under any circumstances,” the panel added.