Morning Brief: AMU Asked To Explain Why It Revoked Suspension Of Students Booked For Sedition; India, Japan Sign $75 Billion Currency Swap Deal; And More

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

AMU Asked To Explain Why It Revoked Suspension 'Seditious’ Students

Uttar Pradesh Police Department has asked the Alighar Muslim University (AMU) to explain why it revoked the suspension of two students from Kashmir who were booked for sedition, The Indian Express has reported. According to the report, it has asked for a report on the university’s internal inquiry conducted by a three-member committee. Station House Officer Vinod Kumar, who is looking into the case, said, “We want to see what evidence and facts are mentioned in the inquiry report that led to cancellation of suspension (of the students)”.

AMU had revoked the suspension of the two students who had allegedly raised anti-India slogans and were part of the group which had tried to organise a prayer meet for a terrorist after he was killed by the security forces. According to the Times of India, the decision was taken after a committee looked into the matter and reported that it did not find evidence of the involvement of these students. This development had come after more than 1,200 Kashmiri students at the university threatened to quit en masse. A video in which some students can be seen raising slogans seeking ‘Azaadi’ has surfaced.

India And Japan Sign $75 Billion Currency Swap Deal

Japan and India entered into a $75-billion currency swap arrangement on Monday during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ongoing visit to the country. Under the arrangement, reports claimed, India can acquire dollars from Japan in exchange for rupees. In a statement, the Finance Ministry said the deal will help bring greater stability to foreign exchange and capital markets. Japan had offered a $50 billion currency swap in 2013 and one for $3 billion in 2008.

India and Japan have signed six agreements in areas ranging from high-speed railways to cyber security. The two countries have also agreed to start a 2+2 Dialogue involving their respective foreign and defence ministers. India and the United States held a 2+2 dialogue last month. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis had participated in the meet.

Urban Naxals Case: Contempt Notice To S Gurumurthy For Tweets

The Delhi High Court has started contempt proceedings against Swaminathan Gurumurthy for allegedly questioning the integrity of the judge who gave relief to far-left activist Gautam Navlakha, one of the five people arrested in connection with the probe into the Bhima Koregaon violence. Navlakha, who has been accused by many of being sympathetic to the Naxals in Central India and militants in the Kashmir Valley, was set free after he approached the court.

According to a report, the court issued contempt notice to the journalist after a letter by advocate Rajshekhar Rao. The advocate had accused Gurumurthy of attacking a sitting judge of the high court in tweets and trying to scandalise the judiciary. The court, reports said, also directed that the tweets be removed.

Trump Will Not Attend Republic Day Parade Due To Scheduling Issues

US President Donald Trump will not be in India as the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations next year due to scheduling constraints, the White House has said. The annual State of the Union address to both Houses of the Congress by Trump is likely to be around the Republic Day, which celebrated is on 26 January.

Trump was invited to India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their talks in Washington last year. In July, the White House had confirmed that Trump had been invited to visit India. Former US President Barack Obama had attended India's Republic Day parade in 2015. The date of his SOTU address, which can be made between 22 January and the first week of February, was postponed.

Republic Day-Like Event Planned For Unveiling Of Statue of Unity

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the Statue of Unity tomorrow in a three-hour long inauguration ceremony. In a Republic Day-like event, fighter jets of the Indian Air Force will make a fly past over the statue and the Surya Kiran team will perform aerobatics. The foundation stone for the statue was laid by Modi in 2013, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. It is coming up at Sadhu Bet, an island on the Narmada 3.32 km downstream from the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Around 80 per cent of the work on the statue has been completed so far.

The 182-metre tall statue is being built with 25,000 tonnes of iron and 90,000 tonnes of cement. When complete, the statue will be the world’s tallest, overtaking the 208 metre-tall Spring Budhha statue in China. The Statue of Unity will be almost twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in the United States. It will offer visitors a view of the surrounding area with a viewing deck at a height of 500m. It will house an audio-visual gallery, feature a laser light and sound show on Patel’s life, a virtual tour of the Sardar Sarovar Dam and a tribal museum.

From Swarajya

The Savarn Andolan Has Complicated Matters For Political Parties In MP But Is Likely To Fizzle Out: BJP believes that the Savarn Andolan is not big enough to upset the apple cart, and is counting on the upper caste votes.

Why Sabarimala Is More Important Than Ram Mandir Right Now: Amit Shah will have to win this test of wills first. Pehle mandir bachao, phir mandir banao. The BJP’s pathway to the south will be opened if it wins this contest.

With Deputy Governor Acharya’s Criticism Of Government Going ‘Viral’, RBI Needs To Introspect: Why the Reserve Bank should introspect on how it is handling this conflict with the government.

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

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