Daily wrap: 15 die in Surat fire; May resigns; Odisha Cong chief quits
British Prime Minister May announces resignation
Theresa May on Friday (May 24) announced that she is quitting as UK Conservative leader on June 7, sparking a contest for Britain’s new Prime Minister. She stepped down after failing to win over her ministers with a revised strategy over her plans for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. It is expected that May, 62, will stay on in Downing Street as caretaker Prime Minister to oversee the state visit of US President Donald Trump, planned for early June, with a new Tory leader expected to be in place by the end of July.
Record shows 78 women MPs in new Lok Sabha
The highest-ever number of women have been elected in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Out of 542 MPs who will take oath as members of the lower house in the next few days, 78 are women, with Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal leading at 11 each. A total of 724 women candidates contested from across the country with Congress fielding the maximum women at 54, followed closely by BJP at 53. With over 14 per cent female MPs, the 17th Lok Sabha will have the highest number of women candidates since 1952.
Meghalaya HC overrules controversial Hindu nation judgment of Justice SR Sen
The Meghalaya High Court has overruled the controversial judgment of Justice SR Sen which had stated that India should have been declared a Hindu country during Partition, the Bar and Bench reported. A division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir and Justice HS Thangkhiew ruled that the judgment of Justice SR Sen was legally flawed and inconsistent with the constitutional principles. The observations made and directions passed in the judgment were totally superfluous, the court said.
Surat fire incident: PM expresses anguish over 15 student’s death
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (May 24) expressed anguish over the fire tragedy at a commercial complex in Gujarat’s Surat in which several students attending a coaching class lost their lives and many others were trapped. He also asked the Gujarat government and local authorities to provide all possible assistance to those affected. At least 15 students of the coaching class were killed when they jumped off the commercial complex after it caught fire, Gujarat Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said. The fire engulfed the third and fourth floor of the Taxshila Complex in Surat. Visuals on TV channels showed students jumping off the third and fourth floors of the building.
Day after resounding win, all eyes on Modi’s mega swearing-in and cabinet
A day after the BJP’s massive victory, all eyes are set on government formation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to meet his cabinet today evening (May 24). While there is no official word on the exact date of PM Modi’s second oath-taking, various reports suggested it will take place between May 28-30. However, some other reports said the ceremony would be on May 26, the same day as Modi took oath as PM five years ago.
Naveen Patnaik: The man with a plan
Be it a cyclone or a tsunami-like ‘Modi wave’, Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik knows how to dodge it in time. Despite the resurgence of the BJP in the state, which has not only replaced the Congress as the Opposition in the Assembly, but also increased its Lok Sabha tally by eight from a mere one (of a total of 21 seats) in 2014, Naveen has weathered the storm and held BJD’s fort in the Assembly with 112 seats out of the 146 constituencies. The Chief Minister, who for the first time simultaneously contested from his home turf Hinjili (in Ganjam district) and Bijepur constituencies, has won from both.
Odisha Cong chief resigns over party’s poor show in polls
Even as Naveen Patnaik, after a sweeping victory in the Odisha Assembly elections prepares for a fifth term in office, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President Niranjan Patnaik has decided to call it quits by resigning from the post.
Massive win, but not a cakewalk for BJP everywhere
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came back to power with a thumping majority, but it wasn’t a cakewalk in all the constituencies. The saffron party successfully increased its vote share to about 40 per cent, becoming the only party after Congress to secure such high vote share in the general elections. The last time when Congress secured close to 40 per cent vote share nationally was in 1989 (39.6 per cent). An increase in its vote share indicates that the party has further improved its presence in the urban and rural constituencies. In some constituencies, however, the party faced a close battle. In one instance, a BJP candidate won by a margin of just 181 votes.
Also read: From Modi to Didi: What the 2019 Lok Sabha election results teach everyone
BJP all set to push Citizenship Bill again after another stellar show in NE
A day after BJP’s stellar performance, party’s chief strategist from the Northeast and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is riding high on the latest electoral success in the region. The BJP bagged 14 of the 25 Parliamentary constituencies in the Northeast. Replying to Amit Shah on Twitter, Sarma thanked the BJP national chief and described his [Sarma’s] three-year journey in the BJP as rewarding. Both Sarma and the BJP are now confident of going ahead with the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) again.
2 Indian climbers die at Mount Everest due to overcrowd
Three people, including 2 Indians have died on Mount Everest due to ‘traffic jam’, expedition organisers and officials said on Friday, taking the toll to seven. Nihal Bagwan and Kalpana Das died while descending from heavily traversed Nepal side, while another person, an Australian climber died on the Tibetan side of the mountain.
