Daily bulletin: Swearing-in ceremony for new CMs in Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh; Opposition likely to rake up Rafale row in Parliament; day's top stories

Opposition likely to keep Rafale heat on in Parliament The developments in the Rafale case are likely to rock Monday’s proceedings in Parliament after both Houses got adjourned on Friday because of the ruckus caused by the Supreme Court verdict. The apex court had ruled that the details of the Rafale fighter jet deal — pricing and the government’s decision-making process — were in no doubt and did not need to be investigated. On Monday, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is likely to move a privilege motion against the government in the Rajya Sabha, according to sources. The Congress is also likely to register a demand for the recall of the verdict. [caption id=“attachment_5711861” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] A fresh controversy developed as discrepancies emerged in the apex court’s verdict and the submission made by the government. In its 29-page order, the court had said that the pricing details of the fighter aircraft had been shared with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had further examined the CAG’s report. “Only a redacted portion of this report was placed before Parliament and is in public domain,” the bench had said. However, on Saturday, while PAC chief Mallikarjun Kharge denied that a report mentioning details of the price of the jets existed, the Centre filed an affidavit seeking a “factual correction” in a paragraph of the court’s judgment ruling saying that the Supreme Court had misinterpreted its earlier affidavit, clarifying in the fresh one that in its report to the CAG, the Centre had only cited the procedure followed in reaching the fighter jet deal and that it had not submitted pricing details of the jets. Meanwhile, the BJP is scheduled to hold 70 press conferences across the country on Monday to rubbish the Opposition’s charges in the case. New chief ministers to take oath of office in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh respectively A show of Opposition unity is to be the underlying theme of the swearing-in ceremonies of Madhya Pradesh chief minister-designate Kamal Nath, Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot. The ceremony of oath-taking for Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, who will be sworn in as deputy chief minister, is scheduled for 10 am. Congress president Rahul Gandhi is expected to be present. Nath will oath at the Lal Parade ground in the state, and the event is scheduled for 1.30 pm. The ceremony for Bhupesh Baghel will take place around 4.30 pm in Raipur. Leaders expected at the ceremony include former prime minister HD Devegowda, former Union minister Sharad Yadav, Congress leader Mallikarjun Khadge, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, DMK working president MK Stalin, party leader Kanimozhi, JMM leader Hemant Soren, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha chief Babulal Marandi, Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and other leaders likely to attend. However, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Nath, according to reports. There was, however, no reason cited for Banerjee not going to Bhopal for the swearing-in ceremony on Monday, an official of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said. Delhi court to deliver verdict on Sajjan Kumar’s acquittal in anti-Sikh riots case Delhi court to deliver its verdict on pleas challenging the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, even as some members of the Opposition protested against the Congress’ choice for Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath due to his alleged involvement in the case. The judgment will be delivered by a bench of justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel, officials said on Saturday. In October, the high court had reserved its order on the pleas challenging a trial court judgment which had acquitted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar but convicted the other five accused in the case related to the killing of five people in Delhi Cantonment area following the assassination of Indira Gandhi on 31 October, 1984. The CBI has filed an appeal challenging the acquittal of Kumar and said that the trial court “erred in acquitting Sajjan Kumar as it was he who had instigated the mob during the riots”. India vs Australia, 2nd Test at Perth, Day 4 Australia will resume from their overnight score of 132/4 on the fourth day of the second Test against India at the Optus Stadium in Perth. While the game is poised in the home team’s favour, given anything above 250 will be difficult to chase on this pitch, a couple of early wickets could tilt the balance in Virat Kohli and Co’s favour. India currently leads the four-Test series 1-0 after their 31-run win at Adelaide.   Apple Music to become available on Amazon’s Echo smart speakers from today Apple Music will become available on Amazon’s Echo smart speakers starting Monday, signalling increasing collaboration between the tech heavyweights. Apple Music subscribers who own Echo devices will be able to listen to Apple Inc’s library of 50 million songs. Earlier back in November, Amazon said it would carry more Apple products globally in time for the holiday shopping season. Sambhavtaha, Tungrus win big at Critics Choice Short Film Awards Short films Sambhavtaha and Tungrus won big at the Critics Choice Short Film Awards held in Mumbai. The ceremony was organised by The Film Critics Guild and Motion Content Group. Tungrus, a 14-minute documentary, won the Best Film Award - Non-Fiction. Rishi Chandna won Best Director - Non Fiction and Neha Mehra won the Best Editor for Tungrus. Another short film, The Black Cat bagged Best Cinematography (A Vasanth) and Best Music (Advait Nemlekar) at the Short Film Awards The short (fiction) film Sambhavtaha won multiple awards, including Best Film - Fiction, Best Actor for Vikas Patil and Best Director and Best Writer - Fiction for Gaurav Madan. With inputs from agencies