SC asks government to not cut any more tress in Aarey

  • The Court asked the Maharashtra government to maintain the status quo in Aarey Colony, Mumbai, and to not cut any more trees.
  • The petitioners were asked by the court to show documents to prove it was an eco-sensitive zone.
  • The court also asked the government to release all the people who were detained or arrested for protesting against the cutting of trees.
  • Earlier last week, the Bombay High Court had rejected petitions against the tree felling, after which protests had begun.
  • After the order, the state government began the process of cutting trees to make way for a metro shed.

India, Bangladesh held talks and inaugurated three bilateral projects

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina held talks in New Delhi on Saturday, signed agreements and inaugurated bilateral projects related to LPG import, vocational training and social facility,
  • PM Hasina also raised the issue of NRC and said that the country is keeping an eye on the developments associated with the National Register of Citizens in Assam, even as India told the country that it was an internal matter.
  • PM Hasina also added that she was satisfied with Modi’s assurance that the exercise would not affect her country.

Case against 49 individuals who wrote to PM Modi against mob lynching

  • Bihar Police filed an FIR against 49 eminent personalities in Muzaffarpur district under Indian Penal Code sections related to sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with an intent to provoke breach of peace.
  • The list of personalities include historian Ramchandra Guha and filmmakers Mani Ratnam, Aparna Sen, Anurag Kashyap, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shyam Benegal, author Amit Chaudhuri, scholar Ashis Nandy, and actor Konkona Sen Sharma.
  • The letter had stated that the “Jai Shri Ram” slogan had become a “provocative war cry” and the reason for a number of lynchings. Now, they have been accused of tarnishing “the image of the country”, and undermining “the impressive performance of the prime minister” besides “supporting secessionist tendencies.