Daily Bulletin: SC to hear Sena's plea against Guv's refusal to extend deadline; Modi leaves for BRICS Summit; day's top stories

Political deadlock in Maharashtra reaches SC as Shiv Sena challenges governor’s refusal to extend deadline for govt formation The Shiv Sena on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s decision of not granting it three days to submit the letter of support for government formation in the state but failed to get an urgent hearing in the matter. The petition is expected to come up before the apex court on Wednesday morning. The lawyer representing the Shiv Sena told PTI that the apex court registry has informed that it is “not possible to constitute a bench today”. “The Supreme Court has asked us to mention the writ petition that we filed at 10.30 am on Wednesday before the court,” Advocate Sunil Fernandes, who filed the petition on behalf of the Shiv Sena, told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_7633371” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray. PTI[/caption] He said the fresh/second petition challenging the imposition of President’s Rule in the state is being readied. “The decision on when to file it (fresh petition) will be taken tomorrow,” he had said. The Shiv Sena has sought a direction from the apex court to quash the Governor’s decision, taken on Monday, of not giving it the opportunity to prove majority on the floor of the House. In a petition, filed through advocate Fernandes, the party claimed it was invited to form the government on Monday and had indicated its willingness to do so on Tuesday. The governor’s decision is “unconstitutional, discriminatory, unreasonable, capricious and mala fide”, the party said in the plea, adding that “the governor can’t act in a manner to only suit the majority political party” at the Centre or act on the Central government’s “diktats”. ‘No hurry to call it quits with BJP’: Uddhav Thackeray amid saffron party claims Devendra Fadnavis making efforts to form govt  Amid the political stalemate in Maharashtra with Uddhav Thackeray entering into talks with Maha-agadhi allies – Nationalist Congress Party and Congress – to back Shiv Sena in forming government, the pre-poll alliance between the BJP and Shiv Sena looks precarious despite both parties formally refusing to call it quits. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday after the President’s Rule was imposed in the state, Thackeray said, “We have six months’ time, what’s the hurry to call it quits. Six months is a long time in politics and a lot can happen. Even if the alliance looks like it has ended, it is the doing of BJP, not us. They didn’t stick to their promises.” A similar sentiment was echoed by BJP leader Narayan Rane when he said, “The BJP will try to form government. Devendra Fadnavis is putting in all efforts in this direction. I think NCP-Congress are trying to make a fool out of Shiv Sena.” Rane was speaking to reporters after the Core Committee meeting of the BJP held at Varsha Bungalow, the official residence of the chief minister of the state. The Rajya Sabha MP did not confirm whether he was in touch with any leaders from the Opposition factions but said that as per the recent statements issued by Congress and NCP, it felt like the two parties were trying to lure and trick the long-term NDA ally – Shiv Sena. “I cannot say that any leader of opposition is in contact with me, but all I will say is that I am trying to help form the government. Ahmed Patel has clearly stated that there is a delay. I do not think the Shiv Sena can go with them. I think NCP and Congress are trying to make a fool out of Shiv Sena,” said Rane. President’s Rule was imposed in the state on Tuesday after an impasse on government formation could not be resolved. The BJP, with 105 seats, stepped back from staking claim to form a government, while the Sena, which went to the governor on Monday evening, could not get letters of support from the Congress and NCP. CJI office under RTI Act: Supreme Court to deliver verdict today  The judgment on the plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision to bring the office of the Chief Justice of India under the ambit Right to Information Act will be announced by the Surpreme Court on Wednesday. A five-judge constitution bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi will pronounce the judgement at 2 pm. Other members of the bench are Justices NV Ramana, DY Chandrachud, Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna. The notice regarding the pronouncement of judgement was made public on the official website of the Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon. Narendra Modi leaves for Brazil to attend BRICS Summit, says focus will be on bolstering counter-terror cooperation The BRICS summit will focus on strengthening ties among the world’s five major economies in key areas such as digital economy, science and technology, and also build mechanisms for counter-terrorism cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday as he left for Brazil to attend the event. Modi, who left for Brazil in the afternoon, will be in the country on 13-14 November to attend the 11th BRICS summit. The prime minister said he will also meet Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to discuss ways to enhance the bilateral strategic partnership. “I look forward to exchanging views with other BRICS leaders with the aim to further strengthen intra-BRICS cooperation, particularly on the theme of the summit ‘Economic growth for an innovative future’,” Modi said in his departure statement. During the summit, the five major economies of the world will aim to significantly strengthen their cooperation in science, technology and innovation, he said. “The BRICS countries will also look to enhance cooperation on digital economy and build mechanisms for counter-terrorism cooperation within the BRICS framework,” Modi said. “Our business and industry play an important role in Intra-BRICS ties. I will be addressing BRICS Business Forum and interacting with BRICS Business Council and New Development Bank,” he said. On the bilateral meeting with the Brazilian president, he said Brazil and India share close and ever expanding bilateral relations, including in the spheres of defence, security, trade, agriculture, energy and space. Close cooperation between the two countries in multilateral forums has been a significant aspect of our strategic relationship, Modi said. Supreme Court to deliver verdict on pleas of disqualified Congress-JD(S) MLAs in Karnataka The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Wednesday its verdict on the pleas of 17 disqualified Congress-JD(S) MLAs of Karnataka challenging the orders of the then Assembly speaker KR Ramesh Kumar to disqualify them. A three-judge bench of justices NV Ramana, Sanjiv Khanna and Krishna Murari had on 25 October reserved its verdict on the petitions filed by these disqualified MLAs. Kumar had disqualified these 17 rebel MLAs of ruling the Congress-JD(S) coalition ahead of a trust vote in July. The then chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had resigned after losing the trust vote, which paved the way for the BJP-led government in the state under BS Yediyurappa. By-polls to 15 out of these 17 Assembly seats which fell vacant following the disqualification of MLAS are scheduled on 5 December and candidates are required to file their nomination papers between 11 November and 18 November. Tight security in place at Sabarimala ahead of pilgrimage season  Over 10,000 police personnel will be posted in phases in and around Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple for security during the two-month long pilgrimage season starting 17 November. During the Mandala Makkarvillakku festival, 10,017 police personnel will be posted around the temple complex in five phases, a police press release said. DGP Loknath Behara said there will be stringent security in and around Sabarimala during the pilgrimage season this year. The release said 24 Superintendents of Police and Assistant SPs, 112 Dysps, 264 inspectors, 1185 Sub-Inspectors will be posted in the team. A total of 8402 civil police officers, including 307 women, will also be on duty around the shrine complex, the release added. Lenders of Jaypee Infratech to meet on 18 November to comply with SC direction Lenders of debt-ridden Jaypee Infratech will meet on 18 November to take forward the process of insolvency resolution after the Supreme Court directed early this month to complete the process within 90 days. Crisis-hit Jaypee group firm Jaypee Infratech went into insolvency in 2017 after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted an application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium seeking resolution of the firm. Jaypee Infratech, a subsidiary of Jaiprakash Associates, has an outstanding debt of nearly Rs 9,800 crore. In the first round of insolvency proceedings, the Rs 7,350 crore bid of Lakshdeep, part of Suraksha Group, was rejected by lenders. Google allegedly gathered personal health records in 21 US states Google has unveiled a new effort called ‘Project Nightingale’ after being accused of collecting personal health records of millions of patients without their knowledge. The gathered data included “lab results, doctor diagnoses, and hospitalisation records, among other categories, and amounts to a complete health history, complete with patient names and dates of birth.” It’s being reported that as many as 150 Google employees may have had access to this data. FIR registered against makers of National Award winning Gujarati film Hellaro The makers of Gujarati film Hellaro, which bagged the National Award for Best Feature Film this year, were booked for the alleged use of a “derogatory term” in a dialogue to refer to a Scheduled Caste character, police said on Tuesday. The FIR was registered on Monday evening after a complaint was filed by Congress corporator Jamnaben Vegda. She claimed that she was agitated after hearing the word “Harijan” being used by one of the characters in the film, reports Press Trust of India.