Morning Brief: Congress Using Forged Papers To Scandalise Us, Prosecute Its Leaders: EC Tells SC; IMF Praises GST And Bankruptcy Code; And More

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

Congress Using Using Forged Papers To Scandalise Us: EC Tells SC

The Election Commission (EC) has told the Supreme Court that the Congress is using forged papers to scandalise the institution and its leaders should be prosecuted if their allegations are found wrong, the Times of India has reported. Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot have filed a plea in the apex court alleging duplication of voters in the electoral lists in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Senior party leader and advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Nath and Pilot, demanded a probe into the allegations. Responding to this, EC’s counsel said that the petitioners should be prosecuted if their allegations are found false.

Earlier, the EC had clarified that it “has taken all steps to verify the voters' list”. Slamming the Congress in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the body had said that the party’s petition on alleged irregularities in the voters' lists is “misconceived and malafide”. The poll panel had said it will not conduct elections on the “personal whims and fancies” of the Congress of its leaders.

IMF Praises GST And Bankruptcy Code, Predicts Growth At 7.3 Per Cent

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the structural reforms undertaken by the Narendra Modi government, such as the Goods and Services Tax and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, will help the country grow faster. In its report released in Bali during the annual meeting, the world body also talks about other reforms, including the inflation-targeting framework, steps to liberalise foreign investment and improvement in the ease of doing business.

The IMF has projected that India would grow at 7.3 per cent in 2018 and 7.4 per cent in 2019. In the medium term, it says, growth will reach 7.75 per cent. According to the IMF, China will grow at 6.6 per cent in 2018 and 6.2 per cent in 2019. Its growth is expected to gradually slow to 5.6 per cent.

SC Seeks Government’s Response For NRC In Tripura

The SC has asked the Centre to submit its response on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) ‘Tripura People’s Front’ seeking an Assam-like National Register of Citizens for the state of Tripura. “Tripura is in a worse situation,” the NGO claims. In its PIL, the body has alleged that the influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants into the state has made original tribal inhabitants a minority and threatens to destroy the ethnic culture.

The plea was heard by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. It tagged the case to be heard along with a similar case. Recently, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb said that the state will implement NRC. Last Friday, the Home Ministry had issued a statement saying no decision has been taken to implement NRC in Tripura. The state shares a 856 km border with Bangladesh.

Alphabet Shuts Google+ After User Data Exposed

Alphabet’s Google is shutting down its failed social networking website Google+ for consumers following a disclosure that the private data of hundreds of thousands of users may have been exposed to hundreds of external developers. In a blog post, Google said the issue was discovered and patched in March. It claimed that there was no evidence of misuse of user data.

According to reports, personal information including name, email address, occupation, gender and age may have been exposed. Ben Smith, who is the vice-president of engineering at Google, has said that “the consumer version of Google+ currently has low usage and engagement: 90 percent of Google+ user sessions are less than five seconds.” It will be shut down over the next 10 months. Google also announced new security features for other platforms.

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