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Express News Service
Rajya Sabha LoP Indecisive Congress junks one-man-one-post rule
Mallikarjun Kharge had resigned as the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha hours before filing his nomination for the post of Congress president. He did this to uphold the principle of one-man-one-post adopted by his party at the Udaipur Chintan Shivir. The party was expected to appoint his replacement. But the decision remained pending as a large number of senior leaders threw their hats in the ring. Among the top contenders were P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh. Names of Pramod Tiwari, Shaktisinh Gohil and Jairam Ramesh were also mentioned. But no decision was taken. The party has decided that Kharge will continue to hold the post during the Winter Session of Parliament, which is scheduled to start on December 7.
Battle 2024 Nitish lays LS poll groundwork with caste census
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has rolled the political dice by announcing the start of caste census in the state. The chief minister has deftly called the exercise as a survey. He has clarified that since conducting any type of ‘census’ falls under the central government’s purview, his government will undertake a ‘survey’. The state cabinet has already approved the survey and sanctioned Rs 500 crore for the purpose. Caste census has been a contentious issue in the country. It is said to be one of the reasons that led to Kumar falling out with the BJP. The BJP has been opposed to caste census. The central government led by it had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, saying that conducting a caste census was “administratively difficult and cumbersome”. It has also refused to release the caste data collected through the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC 2011), saying that it was replete with flaws and was unusable. All caste-based parties have been demanding to know the exact number of different castes in the country and their social and economic status. Kumar has fired the first salvo. It will not be long before other states follow suit and a demand for taking up this enumeration at the national level starts resonating across the country.
French Connection
ED stand on Pernod Ricard role shocks industry
The role of French spirit maker Pernod Ricard has been under the scanner in the Delhi liquor scam. The company’s employee, Manoj Rai, has been named in the CBI’s FIR as one of the persons “actively involved in irregularities in framing and implementation of excise policy of GNCTD of Delhi for the year 2021-22”. Its India and South Asia head had resigned in a huff. The Enforcement Directorate’s submission before a Delhi court, however, indicates that the agency may have decided to go soft on the multinational giant. In a remand application for one of the accused, Amit Arora, the ED told the court “…investigation has revealed that Pernod Ricard, one of the biggest manufacturers having approximately 47% market share in the country, also a subject of the ongoing investigation, was in fact coerced/directed by Vijay Nair…”, another accused in the case who, according to the ED, is close to the Aam Aadmi Party and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Industry sources expressed shock at the ED stand as they say Pernod Ricard not only had a role in the framing of the new policy through Rai, but was also one of the major beneficiaries of the policy. Before implementation of the new excise policy, the company’s market share in Delhi had slipped to around 20%. After the new policy was brought in, Pernod Riacard’s share skyrocketed to around 50%. Sale of its top-selling brand like Royal Stag whisky went up fourfold from around one lakh cases per month to around four lakh cases. Similar was the case with its other brands. Liquor industry is abuzz with the possible reasons for the ED’s soft pedaling.
Rajya Sabha LoP
Indecisive Congress junks one-man-one-post rule
Mallikarjun Kharge had resigned as the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha hours before filing his nomination for the post of Congress president. He did this to uphold the principle of one-man-one-post adopted by his party at the Udaipur Chintan Shivir. The party was expected to appoint his replacement. But the decision remained pending as a large number of senior leaders threw their hats in the ring. Among the top contenders were P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh. Names of Pramod Tiwari, Shaktisinh Gohil and Jairam Ramesh were also mentioned. But no decision was taken. The party has decided that Kharge will continue to hold the post during the Winter Session of Parliament, which is scheduled to start on December 7.
Battle 2024
Nitish lays LS poll groundwork with caste census
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has rolled the political dice by announcing the start of caste census in the state. The chief minister has deftly called the exercise as a survey. He has clarified that since conducting any type of ‘census’ falls under the central government’s purview, his government will undertake a ‘survey’. The state cabinet has already approved the survey and sanctioned Rs 500 crore for the purpose. Caste census has been a contentious issue in the country. It is said to be one of the reasons that led to Kumar falling out with the BJP. The BJP has been opposed to caste census. The central government led by it had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, saying that conducting a caste census was “administratively difficult and cumbersome”. It has also refused to release the caste data collected through the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC 2011), saying that it was replete with flaws and was unusable. All caste-based parties have been demanding to know the exact number of different castes in the country and their social and economic status. Kumar has fired the first salvo. It will not be long before other states follow suit and a demand for taking up this enumeration at the national level starts resonating across the country.
French Connection
ED stand on Pernod Ricard role shocks industry
The role of French spirit maker Pernod Ricard has been under the scanner in the Delhi liquor scam. The company’s employee, Manoj Rai, has been named in the CBI’s FIR as one of the persons “actively involved in irregularities in framing and implementation of excise policy of GNCTD of Delhi for the year 2021-22”. Its India and South Asia head had resigned in a huff. The Enforcement Directorate’s submission before a Delhi court, however, indicates that the agency may have decided to go soft on the multinational giant. In a remand application for one of the accused, Amit Arora, the ED told the court “…investigation has revealed that Pernod Ricard, one of the biggest manufacturers having approximately 47% market share in the country, also a subject of the ongoing investigation, was in fact coerced/directed by Vijay Nair…”, another accused in the case who, according to the ED, is close to the Aam Aadmi Party and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Industry sources expressed shock at the ED stand as they say Pernod Ricard not only had a role in the framing of the new policy through Rai, but was also one of the major beneficiaries of the policy. Before implementation of the new excise policy, the company’s market share in Delhi had slipped to around 20%. After the new policy was brought in, Pernod Riacard’s share skyrocketed to around 50%. Sale of its top-selling brand like Royal Stag whisky went up fourfold from around one lakh cases per month to around four lakh cases. Similar was the case with its other brands. Liquor industry is abuzz with the possible reasons for the ED’s soft pedaling.
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