Daily News Dose: Lookout notice issued against the third YC activist in flight protest case | June 16, 2022

Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I'm your host, Deepa Soman, and these are the major news stories of the day:

1. ED says that Rahul Gandhi claimed to have no knowledge of the Young India - Associated Journal Ltd deal

2. India records 38.4% jump in daily Covid tally with 12,213 new cases

3. Flight protest case: Lookout notice issued against the third Youth Congress activist

4. Protests against army's 'Agnipath' scheme continue in various states; road, railway traffic disrupted

5. Joe Biden nominates Indian-American security expert Radha Iyengar to top Pentagon position

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Let's get into the details....

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1. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has told the Enforcement Directorate that all the decisions and transactions related to Young India's acquisition of Associated Journal Ltdwere taken by late party leader Motilal Vora.

The Gandhi scion, who was grilled for three straight days in connection with the National Herald case, denied having knowledge of any sort of loan taken by Young India, according to ED sources. Infact, he was not aware of the accommodation entry of Young India, according to ED. Gandhi said that the late Vora was engaged in all these sorts of affairs. Vora held 12 per cent stakes in Young India, while Rahul and Sonia had 76 per cent stakes. Apparently, Rahul Gandhi was taking time to review his statements which resulted in a lengthy questioning session. 

As per the sources, Gandhis are the major beneficiaries in the deal and since Vora has passed away, the needle of suspicion is pointed towards them.

2. The single day rise in new coronavirus infections were recorded over 12,000 after 111 days, registering 38.4 per cent jump in daily cases. The active cases have also increased to 58,215, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Thursday.

A total 12,213 cases were reported in a span of 24 hours, taking India's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4 crore 32 lakh 57,730 while the death toll has climbed to 5,24,803 with 11 fatalities.

The active cases comprise 0.13 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.65 per cent, the health ministry said.An increase of 4,578 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.35 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was at 2.38 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4 crore 26 lakh 74,712, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent.

3. The Kerala Police will issue a lookout circular against one of the Youth Congress workers accused of protesting against the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on board an IndiGo flight from Kannur to Trivandrum.

Sunith Narayanan, the third accused in the case, is absconding, the Police said.Youth Congress workers Farzeen Majeed and Naveen Kumar have been listed as the first and the second accused in the case. The duo has been remanded to judicial custody until June 27.The case has been registered by Valiyathura Police under the charges of attempt to murder and conspiracy, based on a complaint from the Chief Minister’s gunman S Anil Kumar.Meanwhile, the Court rejected the bail applications filed by the accused persons. The accused protestors are to appeal to the High Court against the trial court’s bail denial.

Meanwhile, the Police have not booked LDF convenor E P Jayarajan for pushing aside the Youth Congress workers while they protested on the flight, even on the second day after the incident. The Police claim that they have not raised any official complaints so far.

A report compiled by the airline says that the protest and sloganeering lasted only for a few seconds. After the landing, the directions for removing the seat belt were given, following which the cabin crew were also directed to open the exit doors. It was apparantly after the doors were opened that the Youth Congress workers protested and sloganeered against the CM. The cabin crew had tried to pacify the protestors, the report added.

Going by the rules, the action of LDF Convenor E P Jayarajan - pushing the Congress workers - is more serious than that of the workers sloganeering against the CM, Indigo sources said.  

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Before we move on with rest of the news, here's a quick reminder to checkout Onmanorama's other podcasts, WackyNews and News Brake. Wacky News is a collection of weirdest news from across the globe and News Brake is the clutter free explainer about The News of the week. These shows are available on all podcast platforms. 

Now, back to Daily News Dose.

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4. Protests against the Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme for hiring jawans on a short-term contractual basis continued across Bihar, Delhi and various parts of North India, as aspirants preparing for jobs in defence forces disrupted railway and road traffic in various districts.

Under the scheme, about 45,000 people between the ages of 17.5 years and 21 years will be inducted into the services for four years, during which they will be paid a monthly salary between Rs 30,000-40,000 plus allowances. They will also be entitled to medical and insurance benefits. However, after the tenure, only 25 per cent of them will be retained and they will apparently go on to serve for a full 15 years in non-officer ranks. The remaining will exit the services with a package between Rs 11 lakh - ₹ 12 lakh, but won't be eligible for pension benefits. 

However, under the previous system, youngsters between 16 and a half and 21 years were selected for a minimum of 15 years of service and they used to get a pension too, after retirement.

The new policy has drawn criticism and questions from several quarters, including a section of veterans. Critics have argued that a four-year tenure will hit fighting spirit in the ranks and make them risk-averse. 

5. US President Joe Biden has nominated security expert Radha Iyengar Plumb to the post of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. She is the latest Indian-American to be named for a key position in the US government. 

Currently serving as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Plumb was nominated for the top Pentagon position on Wednesday. Prior to her appointment as Chief of Staff, Plumb was the Director of Research and Insights for Trust and Safety at Google, leading their cross-functional teams on business analytics, data science and technical research. She has also previously served as the Global Head of Policy Analysis at Facebook, where she focused on high-risk/high-harm safety and critical international security issues.

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That brings us to the end of this episode. Be sure to come back tomorrow. As always, thanks for listening to Daily News Dose.