Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. Tune in to get updated about the major news stories of the day.
Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I'm your host, Vishnu, and these are the major news stories of the day:
1. CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Opposition spar in UDF motion on gold smuggling case
2. Kerala to begin satellite imaging to get exemption from Ecologically Sensitive Zones requirement
3. Former Kerala Finance Minister T Sivadasa Menon dies at 90
4. India bans Twitter accounts of several Pakistan journalists, diplomatic missions
5. Actor Shammy Thilakan rubbishes allegations levelled by Ganesh Kumar MLA
6. Kerala to enforce mask rule again, violators to be penalised
Let's get into the details:
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1. The discussion on the Opposition's adjournment motion in the Kerala Assembly regarding the diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case, in which allegations had cropped up against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his family members and top bureaucrats, witnessed heated arguments.
Congress member Shafi Parambil, who introduced the motion, said people want to know the facts about the issue, while the others, including Opposition Leader VD Satheesan, mounted an attack on the chief minister and the government on the issue. Satheesan dared the chief minister to order a CBI probe on the gold smuggling case.
Meanwhile, CPM's V Joy and AN Shamseer, among others, defended Pinarayi Vijayan on behalf of the ruling front.
This was the second adjournment motion discussed by the second term of the Pinarayi-led LDF govt; the first one being on the SilverLine project.
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2. The Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre, under the Finance and Planning Department, will use satellite images to identify human habitations, business and trading establishments, educational institutions, places of worship, hospitals, agricultural areas and plantations that fall within the proposed one-km ecologically sensitive zones around wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the state.
Kerala Forest Minister A K Saseendran announced this in the state Assembly on Tuesday. The scientific exercise will be carried out to strengthen Kerala's case before the Supreme Court for a special exemption from the ecologically sensitive zones requirement.
It was on June 3 that the SC issued a notification directing states to declare an extent of one kilometre as ecologically sensitive zones around protected areas.
Saseendran said the LDF government had in 2020 itself sked the Centre to exempt areas with high population density and those with government and quasi-government institutions within its fold.
However, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan said that in 2019, the LDF Cabinet had taken a policy decision endorsing the one-km ecologically sensitive zones around protected areas. He also said it was this endorsement that manifested as the SC notification.
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3. Veteran CPM leader and former minister T Sivadasa Menon passed away on Tuesday. He was 90 years old. He was undergoing treatment at the Aster MIMS Hospital in Kozhikode. Menon's mortal remains will be brought to his daughter's house at Manjeri in Malappuram on Tuesday and his funeral will be held with state honours at 10.30 am on Wednesday.
The three-time legislator was a minister twice in the E K Nayanar-led LDF governments. Menon represented the Malampuzha legislative constituency from 1987 to 2001. He was the Minister for Electricity and Rural Development in the Nayanar Cabinet from 1987-91.
He was the Chief Whip of the Opposition after the LDF lost the 1991 state polls. Once LDF returned to power in 1996, he served as the Finance Minister.
During his stint as Excise Minister, he transferred the ownership of toddy shops to cooperatives. He also served as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.
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4. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad has claimed that India has banned the official Twitter accounts of several Pakistani diplomatic missions, journalists and some prominent personalities under the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The ministry, in a tweet, said it was deeply concerning that India blocked the flow of information to Indian Twitter by withholding access to various official accounts, before listing the banned accounts, which include those of the Pakistani Embassy in the UN, Turkey, Iran and Egypt.
The Ministry called out Twitter, saying that social media platforms should abide by the applicable international norms. It also stated the government of Pakistan was urging the tech company to restore access to the restricted accounts immediately and ensure adherence to democratic freedoms of speech and expression.
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Before we move on, here's a quick reminder to checkout Onmanorama's other podcasts, Wacky News and News Brake. Wacky News is a collection of the weirdest and strangest news from across the globe and News Brake is a clutter-free explainer of the major news story of the week. Both shows are available on all podcast platforms.
Now, back to Daily News Dose.
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5. Amid the ongoing rift between Shammy Thilakan and the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes, commonly known as AMMA, the actor on Tuesday came down heavily on his colleague and politician K B Ganesh Kumar MLA over the latter's remark that Shammy was a nuisance to his neighbours.
Calling the remark baseless, Shammy said the statement was just absurd. He also said a police officer in the DySP rank, who is a relative of the Pathanapuram MLA, was behind the allegations against him. According to Shammy, he has only questioned the violations of rules committed by a real estate mafia who built a high-rise in front of his house in Kollam. He asked why would an officer in Kollam complain to Ganesh Kumar, who is the MLA of Pathanapuram, about Shammy. He further accused Ganesh Kumar of violating AMMA's rules by holding dual posts and of misusing the association's funds for his election campaign.
Shammy Thilakan is facing disciplinary action by AMMA for allegedly violating the association's code of conduct on various occasions. On Monday, he said he received a 'charge sheet' from AMMA's disciplinary committee and had been asked to respond to it by July 4. However, he maintains that he has only been fighting the injustices caused by the association.
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6. In response to the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, the Kerala Government has decided to enforce with renewed vigour the earlier order on the mandatory use of face masks. Kerala Police has ordered all its district police chiefs to ensure implementation of the state government notification to make the wearing of masks mandatory in public, workplaces, gatherings and while using transportation. In an order dated June 22, the police department has referred to an April 27 directive of the state Disaster Management Authority making it compulsory to wear masks in "public places, gatherings, workplaces and during transport" which is still in force. The April 27 order also states that violation of the direction would be punishable under provisions of the Disaster Management Act. Offenders will be charged Rs 500 as fine.
The police department order comes in the wake of a gradual increase in the daily COVID-19 infection numbers and active cases in the state. Last week alone, the state reported close to and over 3,000 cases on a daily basis. On Monday, the state recorded 2,993 fresh infections, according to data on the Government of Kerala dashboard.
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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.