Morning Brief: Nuns Who Protested Against Rape Accused Bishop Face Eviction; Parliament Session From 31 January, Budget On 1 February; And More

Good Morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news brief for today.

Kerala Nuns Who Protested Against Rape Accused Bishop Face Eviction

Four nuns linked to the Missionaries of Jesus congregation, who had protested against a bishop accused of rape last year, have been asked to leave the convent, Hindustan Times has reported. According to the daily, the nuns have received letters from the congregation asking them to return to the vocations they were previously assigned. The nuns, however, have refused to vacate the convent.

Earlier, one of the nuns who took part in the protest received a warning from the congregation for leading a life “against principles of religious life”. The nuns had protested against bishop Franco Mullakkal of the Jalandhar diocese after a nun had accused him of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016. The Left Democratic Front government of Kerala has been accused of not taking action against the bishop. It appointed a special prosecutor after the nuns threatened to resume protests.

Parliament Session From 31 January, Interim Budget On 1 February

The next session of Parliament will commence from 31 January and conclude on 13 February. The interim budget will be presented by the government on 1 February. However, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is in the United States for treatment, is unlikely to be back by then. In Jaitley’s absence, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal may present the budget. He had substituted for Jaitley when he was recovering after a kidney transplant last year. According to reports, the finance minister has been diagnosed with soft-tissue cancer in the thigh.

Both houses of Parliament will have at least 10 sittings. Only five sittings, between 4 and 8 February, will have Question Hour. Private members’ business will be limited to only one day. It will be the last session of the sixteenth Lok Sabha.

PM-Led Panel To Select New CBI Chief At 24 January Meet

The three-member panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet on 24 January to select a replacement for ousted Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief Alok Verma, the Times of India has reported. The other two members of the panel are Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. According to reports, the government wanted to hold the meeting on 21 January and Kharge wanted it on 24 or 25 January.

After Verma’s ouster by the high-power selection panel, M Nageswara Rao was appointed as the CBI’s interim director. He had reversed all transfer orders issued by Verma. Indian Police Service officers of 1983, 1984 and 1985 batch, including DG BSF Rajni Kant Mishra, NIA chief Y C Modi, CISF DG Rajesh Ranjan and DGP Uttar Pradesh OP Singh, are being considered for the post.

NextGen IT-Filing System Gets Approval; Infosys To Implement

The union cabinet has approved the next generation system for processing income tax return filings, The Indian Express has reported. IT major Infosys will implement the project at an estimated cost of Rs 4,241.97 crore. When the system is in place, income tax return processing time will come down to one day. According to the IT department, income tax return (ITR) processing takes 63 days currently.

The system will bring more transparency in the process and end taxpayers’ interface with the Income Tax Department. Infosys is likely to complete the project in 18 months and implement it after three months of testing, the report says.

May Wins Confidence Vote

Amid an impasse over the Brexit deal, British Prime Minister Theresa May has managed to survive a no-confidence vote in Parliament. This development comes just a day after the British Parliament rejected a her bill that lists the terms of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. It was voted down 432-202. May’s Brexit defeat is being called the largest in the history of House of Commons.

This was the second confidence vote faced by May in a month. The last challenge to her leadership came from within the Conservative Party. She had narrowly won that vote and cannot be challenged until December 2019.

From Swarajya

Brexit Vote Is Proof That Referendums Are The Worst Invention of Democracy: Referendums are actually less about democracy and more about making a complex choice binary – and self-defeating. Brexit proves this.

Centre, States Need To Do More To Promote Inter-State Sales Of Farm Produce On ENAM: Now that the inter-state sales have begun, the government should ensure that all the 585 markets hooked to eNAM have required facilities.

Why The Proposed Sharda Peeth Corridor Will Be A Bigger Challenge Than Kartarpur: If a corridor to Sharda Peeth is opened, it will be a huge victory for the Kashmiri Hindus, but its management will be an uneasy responsibility for India.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

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