Today’s Top News Headlines and Latest News at 8:30 pm on 4 April 2024

Beginning today's evening bulletin with the top national news: Expressing strong displeasure on the contents of an affidavit placed before it alleging sexual violence against the women of Sandeshkhali, the Calcutta High Court today reportedly, said if the "case was even one per cent true, it is absolutely shameful". Hearing arguments seeking an independent probe into the alleged instances of violence against women and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali,the court remarked, quote "The entire district administration and ruling dispensation must owe a moral responsibility. Even if [the affidavit] 1% is true it is absolutely shameful. And West Bengal says it is safest for women? If one affidavit is proved to be right all of this falls." Unquote.

Next up: Officially kicking off the BJP poll campaign in Bihar from Jamui today, with his first election meeting in the state since the announcement of the poll schedule, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Opposition over corruption and issues of national security. Sharing the dais with him, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar reached out to Muslims, assuring them that there would be "no communal discord" under the NDA government in the state. Attacking the Congress for its "weak" foreign policy, Modi said that today’s India goes inside enemy territory to strike. He contrasted this with the "weak government" run by the Congress.

Moving on: The Supreme Court today asked both Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to abide by its directions on use of symbols, party names and disclaimers in publicity material for the assembly and general elections. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan, while disposing of the applications filed by both sides on non-compliance of its March 19 order, said it is high time that leaders of both factions should be somewhere else and not courts. It directed the Sharad Pawar faction to sensitise party workers on using the name ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ and symbol ‘man blowing turha’ (a traditional trumpet also known as tutari) in poll campaigns.

In news from South: In Karnataka, a state known for its political volatility, alliances have become common during Lok Sabha elections over the last 30 years. Out of the seven elections since 1998, five have seen the state’s political parties fight as part of alliances. Another key aspect of these associations is the dominance of national parties while allocating seats to their regional allies. For instance, in Lok Sabha elections 2024, the BJP will contest 25 of the 28 seats, leaving just three for Janata Dal (Secular). In 2019, the BJP secured its biggest tally ever in Karnataka – winning 25 of the 28 seats. Congress was in alliance for a Lok Sabha election for the first time in Karnataka.

The death toll from the blast at a pharmaceutical company’s chemical reactor in Telangana’s Sangareddy district rose to six today, after the body of a worker was recovered and another person died in the hospital. According to officials, five people, including the plant’s managing director, were killed on Wednesday evening and 18 others were hospitalised after the massive blast at the factory of S B Organics Limited at Chandapura village, about 100 km from Hyderabad. Based on a complaint alleging negligence on the part of the management, the police charged the management of S B Organics under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and started an investigation.

The Ministry of Defence, in response to a petition filed by a Brigadier against his Annual Confidential Report (ACR) which graded him ‘above average’ and not ‘outstanding’, has said that if every officer is graded outstanding, it would defeat the very purpose of appraisal. Based on the Defence Ministry’s argument, the Delhi High Court on March 18 dismissed the petition filed by Brigadier Rohit Mehta who was commissioned into 63 Cavalry in June 1992. Upon promotion to the rank of Brigadier in March 2018, Mehta commanded 62 Armoured Brigade from March 2018 to July 2020 and earned 5 Confidential Reports (CRs) during this period.

Shifting focus to international news: Three former Supreme Court justices have joined more than 600 members of the British legal profession in calling for the government to halt arms sales to Israel, saying it could make Britain complicit in genocide in Gaza. Their call was also backed by two of the country’s leading intelligence experts, who argued that Britain needed to use any leverage it could to persuade Israel, and its biggest backer the United States, to change course in the conflict. The British government has been a staunch ally of Israel since the eruption of hostilities on Oct. 7 but Foreign Secretary David Cameron has hardened his language in recent months over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

And lastly: French President Emmanuel Macron said today that he had no doubt Russia would malevolently target the Paris Olympics this summer. In response to a reporter’s question about whether he thought that Russia would try to target the Olympics, he said that he has no doubt whatsoever, including in terms of information. Macron’s comments, delivered at an event in Paris for the inauguration of the new Olympics aquatic centre, represent his most explicit acknowledgment to date of foreign threats to the security or smooth running of the games. The Games will take places amid a complex global backdrop, with Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza complicating efforts to safeguard the Olympics.

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