News18 Daybreak | Meeting of High-Power Committee on CBI Chief Selection Remains Inconclusive and Other Stories You Need to Watch Out For

Meeting of high-power committee on CBI chief selection remains inconclusive

The high-power committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Thursday but could not decide on who would take up the mantle of CBI director. Reports have said that the committee went over dozens of names with the Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi insisting on getting a detailed background information of the officers.

Details: The hunt for a new CBI chief began after former director Alok Verma was divested of his powers by a committee that consisted of Prime Minister Modi, Mallikarjun Kharge and CJI nominated Justice A.K. Sikri. The opposition leader had been the only dissenting member in the committee and had said that the Central Vigilance Committee report, based on which the decision was taken, lacked “substantial findings”.

The feud that was: Crisis struck the CBI ranks after Alok Verma and the former deputy director Rakesh Asthana accused each other of bribery. Soon after, Verma was unceremoniously removed from the position and was named as the Director General of Fire Services, a post he refused.

Meanwhile, the Centre also decided to oust Rakesh Asthana as the deputy and handed the Gujarat IPS-cadre a less significant portfolio.

Why it matters: Critics have said that the Centre’s role in the developments have undermined the autonomy of the intelligence agency with Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan accusing the government of taking these measures “to stop a probe into the Rafale deal at any cost”. (During his time as CBI chief, Verma, had initiated a probe into the controversial Rafale deal.)

Sources say Modi to contest from Varanasi as Rahul hops to Odisha on campaign trail

Top sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party have said that Prime Minister Modi will be contesting from Varanasi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and a second constituency will be decided by the BJP parliamentary board, which consists of national president Amit Shah, national general secretary Shri Ramlal and Union Ministers belonging to the party.

Many say however that it is possible that the Prime Minister is fielded from a constituency in Bengal or Odisha as the party is looking to expand in the two states. In the 2014 general elections Modi had contested from Vadodara and Varanasi.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi will be addressing a rally in Bhubaneshwar, where he is scheduled to hold a public meeting. The Congress president will also meet farmers, civil society members, officials of HAL and intellectuals.

President Kovind to address the nation on Republic Day eve as chief guest South African president arrives for two-day visit

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, will address the nation today on the eve of the 70th Republic Day. The chief guest at the Rajpath parade, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has begun his two-day visit in India. Ramaphosa is accompanied by First Lady, and a high-level delegation.

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Former ICICI CEO, husband and Videocon MD booked by CBI over charges of criminal conspiracy

The CBI on Thursday booked ICICI bank CEO Chanda Kochar, her husband Deepak Kochar and Videocon Group MD Venugopal. Dhoot by the Central Bureau of Investigation over charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating in a case linked to irregularities in loans. In the FIR filed by CBI one of the accused sanctioned loans to private companies in a criminal conspiracy and the others accused cheated ICICI bank. The CBI is conducting raids at Videocon’s offices in Mumbai and Aurangabad and Nupower Renewables and Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd’s office at Nariman point in Mumbai.

Rescue teams in Meghalya extract body of miner, post-mortem report awaited.

The body of one of the miners was extracted from an illegal ‘rat-hole’ mine in Meghalaya’s Jaintia Hills on Thursday almost 40 days after 15 miners got trapped inside. The Indian Navy along with the National Disaster Response Force could retrieve the body from a depth of 355 feet despite the possibility of it disintegrating. The whole operation took 7 hours and the body, which hasn’t been identified yet, was sent for post-mortem analysis.

Court refuses to extend July 31 deadline for the final NRC list, verification hearings slated for mid-February

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to extend the July 31 deadline for the final publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. The court has asked the NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela, the Assam chief secretary and the Election Commission of India to meet within a week to decide on how the verification hearings will be conducted. Hajela informed the court that there are more than 36.2 lakh claims for inclusion in the final document and more than 2 lakh objections against names included in the December 31 list. The hearings will begin from February 15.

Sources confirm border transgression by PLA triggering fears of another Doklam standoff

Chinese troops have reportedly transgressed a section of their border with Bhutan near Doklam raising fears of another standoff with the Indian army. Sources have said that the transgression took place in the end of last year and the Indian security establishment conducted a meeting to discuss the consequences of the situation. In 2017, a 73-day standoff ensued between the army of the two countries over the construction of a road by the People’s Liberation Army in the Doklam plateau.

Central government posts to be filled as per 10 percen reservation starting February

Beginning next month, all central government posts will be filled as per the recently approved 10 per cent EWS reservation, according to an official order. Railways minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday declared that 23000 posts will be provided under the quota, making the Railways the first government department to implement the 10% EWS reservation. The Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill on providing 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education to the general category poor was passed by Parliament on 9 January.

Delhi Police deploy 25000 personnel after terror suspects caught

Delhi Police on Thursday arrested two suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) members, who were planning to carry out terror strikes in the national capital during the Republic Day celebrations. The arrested members of the JeM had identified the Lajpat Nagar market, the Haj Manzil, the Turkman gate, Paharganj, India Gate and the IGL gas pipeline in east Delhi as the potential targets. Nearly 25000 security personnel have been deployed from the Delhi Police and central security forces.

Suspensions on Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul lifted, cricketers to head back to the pitch

The suspensions on Indian cricketers Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul were lifted by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) on Thursday, two weeks after they were sent home from the tour of Australia for their ‘sexist’ comments on a talk show. Pandya and Rahul will be joining the Indian team on the for the New Zealand series while Rahul will be joining the India ‘A’ squad that is currently playing against England in Thiruvananthapuram.