Morning Brief: Exit Polls: Advantage Modi; Push To Revive 50 Airports; Another BJP Worker Attacked In Kannur

Good Morning, Swarajya Readers! Here's What You Need To Know Today.

BJP Expected To Win Four Out Of Five States: If exit polls of various media houses are to be believed, demonetisation seems to have not stopped the Narendra Modi wave as the Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to win in four out of five states that went to polls recently. The surveys predicted BJP’s win in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, while Congress is expected to stage a comeback in Punjab.

Walk Away From Terrorism, India Tells Pakistan Ahead Of Key Talks: India on Thursday stuck to its stand that Pakistan needs to walk away from terrorism for any government-level dialogue to take place. This comes as the two countries are set to hold talks under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in Lahore. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay rejected the suggestion that India's participation at the Permanent Indus Commission meet on 20-21 amounted to resumption of the dialogue.

Modi Hopes For GST Breakthrough: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hoped for a “breakthrough” on the issue of goods and services tax (GST) by the end of the Budget session. Speaking before the second leg of the session, Modi hinted at having arrived at a “consensus” on certain decisions with states and political parties on the GST issue. “The efforts are on to enlist the co-operation of all to ensure that GST is in place by the end of this session,” Modi said.

After DGMO Talks, Soldier Killed In Pakistan Firing: Pakistani troops violated border ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday and fired on Indian army posts, killing a soldier. This comes few hours after Indian and Pakistan army Director General of Military Operations (DGMOs) spoke. The deceased soldier was identified as Sepoy Deepak Jagannath Ghadge from Satara district of Maharashtra.

Pathankot Attack: Masood Azhar Declared Proclaimed Offenders: A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court declared Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Mufti Rauf Asghar and two key lieutenants – Shahid Latif and Kashif Jan –proclaimed offenders in the last year’s Pathankot airbase attack case. The NIA is planning to bring in US Federal Bureau of Investigation officials as witnesses in the case, the trial of which is set to begin on 10 April.

Venkaiah Naidu: No Scope For Dissent Against Kerala Marxists: There was no scope for dissent against the Marxists in Kerala, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu claimed on Thursday, accusing the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led LDF government in that state of becoming “totally partisan”. His comments came in the aftermath of alleged attacks on Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh workers in Kerala.

Another BJP Worker Attacked In Kannur: A Bharatiya Janata Party leader was injured in an attack by a nine-member gang in Kannur district, Kerala police said on Thursday. BJP’s Kannur mandal vice-president Sushil Kumar suffered stab wounds in the attack at Talap and has been hospitalised. BJP has alleged that activists from Communist Party of India-Marxist were behind the attack.

Rs 4,500 Crore Push To Revive 50 Airports: The government has approved the proposal to revive 50 un-served and under-served airports, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The plan includes airstrips of the state governments, Airports Authority of India, civil enclaves and central public sector undertakings in the three financial years starting 2017-18 at an estimated cost of Rs 4,500 crore.

Parliament Green Light For Raising Maternity Leave To 26 Weeks: The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which will raise the maternity leave for working women in the public and private sector from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for the first two children. The bill will now be sent to the President for his assent before it becomes an Act. It has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha during last winter session.

MUST READ OP-EDS

Direct Action From The Budget Mandates Must Reflect Ground Realities: Direct action from the Budget mandates must reflect ground realities, so that money moves to the right places at the right time. The transformation of the agricultural ecosystem is awaited.

Qatar Airways’ Airline Launch Strategy Is Savvy, But What Happens To Air India? In Qatar Airways’ decision to set up a brand new short-haul carrier in India, there’s a hint of commercial savvy that goes back a millennium and a half. Otherwise, why introduce 100 new planes in crowded Indian skies?

Imagine What Can Be Achieved If All Women Are Empowered To Contribute: If given proper training in vocational and managerial skills, nothing will come in the way of women even from humble backgrounds becoming entrepreneurs in their own right. The more a country empowers its women, the more prosperous it becomes.

Cast(e) Reservations For Higher Education In A Different Mould? Reservation in private higher education institutions is beset with a variety of knotty issues. Clearly, affirmative action must go beyond reservation.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Minority Appeasement Is Driving Bengal’s Witch-Hunt Against Vidya Bharati Schools: Minority appeasement to preserve vote bank has been a common policy of both the Marxists and Trinamool. It is this policy that dictates the shutting down of Vidya Bharati schools while sanctioning a whopping Rs 2,500 crore for madrasas in Bengal.

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

SUBSCRIBE NOW: The March issue of our magazine is out now. The cover story focuses on the growth of intelligence in machines. Can man evolve and adapt himself to co-exist with this new “Species”? Or are we heading towards Anarchy? – Future Shock. Get a copy home and enjoy reading Swarajya in print. Subscribe here to start receiving your copies for just Rs 349.

Swarajya Apps: Enjoy reading this morning brief and all articles from Swarajya on your mobile. Download our Android and iOS Apps.