NEWS IN BRIEF – MAY 10, 2016 1. Advantage Cong as SC keeps 9 rebels out of U'khand vote, Declines To Stay High Court Order Barring Them:New Delhi : Less than 18 hours before dismissed Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat is to face a crucial trust vote in the state assembly , the Supreme Court on Monday refused to permit nine disqualified rebel Congress MLAs to vote, raising hopes in the Congress camp of winning the much anticipated floor test. A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh is sued notice to Rawat and the secretary of the assembly in addition to seeking their response on the rebel MLAs' plea for a stay on the high court order upholding their disqualification earlier in the day .However, it declined to stay the HC order, thus barring the rebels from the trust vote. [TOI p1] 2. BJP senses defeat without rebels' backing, Declines To Stay High Court Order Barring Them: New Delhi : Less than 18 hours before dismissed Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat is to face a crucial trust vote in the state assembly , the Supreme Court on Monday refused to permit nine disqualified rebel Congress MLAs to vote, raising hopes in the Congress camp of winning the much anticipated floor test.[TOI p14] 3. Uttarakhand Confidence Vote may be a Close Call, ADDING TO SUSPENSE One Cong MLA not in touch with party leadership; a BJP MLA remains out of bounds for his party:Dehradun : The result of the unique trust vote ordered by the SC in Uttarakhand on Tuesday seems to be going down to the wire. A day before the crucial vote of confidence of dismissed Congress CM Harish Rawat, BSP's two MLAs have not indicated how they will vote even after both met party chief Mayawati on Monday. Their votes would be decisive in a trial of strength which in all likelihood would be a close call.[ET p2] 4. Modi Govt Passes Uttarakhand Budget, ON EVE OF FLOOR TEST Centre is taking this step as it is a constitutional necessity: Jaitley:New Delhi: The NDA government got the Uttarakhand Budget and Appropriation Bill passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday, justifying the move on the grounds that it was a “constitutional necessity“ as the state was under President's rule and funds had to be sanctioned immediately. But several parties questioned the move as it came a day before the floor test in the state assembly.[ET p2] 5. As Rawat faces Uttarakhand floor test today, recalling use, misuse of Art 356 : New Delhi : Article 356 of the Constitution, which empowers the Centre to dismiss a state government, has been frequently used to settle political scores and demonstrate political dominance. The decades of the 70s and 80s were especially notorious for its misuse — and almost all dispensations have used the provision during their time in power at the Centre.[IE p13] 6. As Rawat faces Uttarakhand floor test today, recalling use, misuse of Art 356 : The Uttarakhand High Court and the Supreme Court on Monday, refused any relief to the nine disqualified Congress MLAs of Uttarakhand, raising hopes in the Congress that the numbers in the apex court-monitored floor test on Tuesday will swing in favour of deposed Chief Minister Harish Rawat and mark the end of President’s rule in the State. The vote of confidence will now involve 27 Congress MLAs, 28 BJP MLAs, six PDF members and one nominated member. The total members to vote being 62, Mr. Rawat will need 32 votes to be reinstated as the Chief Minister. [The Hindu p1] 7. LS passes 4-month budget for U’khand : NEW DELHI: A day ahead of the floor test in the Uttarakhand assembly, the Lok Sabha passed a four month budget of ` 13,640 crore for the state on Monday amid resistance from Opposition parties. The Bill was passed by a voice vote. [HT p1] 8. 26/11 planners our people says former ISI chief : New Delhi : The planners of the 26/11 attacks were “our people” but it wasn’t “our operation”, the then-ISI chief Gen. Shuja Pasha had admitted shortly after the Mumbai attacks in 2008, says former Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. Husain Haqqani. The revelation, which appears in a forthcoming book on India-Pakistan relations, recounts the visit by General Pasha to Washington on December 24-25, 2008, where he made the startling admission.[The Hindu p1] 9. BJP protests at 11 Delhi Jal Board offices : New Delhi :: The BJP on Monday staged demonstrations at 11 Delhi Jal Board (DJB) offices, including its headquarters at Varunalaya, demanding the arrest of those guilty in the Rs. 400 crore Water Tanker Scam during the former Sheila Dikshit government.[The Hindu p1] 10. BJP, Congress field candidates for M.P. By election : Bhopal : The Congress on Monday announced the candidature of former MLA Pratap Singh Uike for the Ghodadongri (ST) Assembly seat by-poll. Uike will be pitted against BJP’s Mangal Singh Dhurve in the by—election scheduled to held on May 30.[The Hindu p1] 11. We will create one crore jobs by next year : Dattatreya : New Delhi :Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said on Monday that the government’s initiatives will lead to creation of one crore jobs by next year. [The Hindu p15] 12. Swamy and Jairam clash in RS : New Delhi : A war of words erupted between BJP MP Subramanian Swamy and the Congress’ Jairam Ramesh Monday when the Congressman, citing the Rajya Sabha bulletin, asked whether or not the documents submitted by Dr Swamy last week had been authenticated, which he had referred to in his speech on the AgustaWestland issue on May 4.[AA p1] 13. Will chop off legs of anti-nationals in Jadavpur varsity, say ABVP activists : KOLKATA: The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) organised a protest rally on Monday to counter the demonstration by students of Jadavpur University (JU) a few days ago. The JU students had taken out a rally to protest against the alleged molestation of some students by outsiders (ABVP activists) on Friday night. The screening of Vivek Agnihotri’s controversial film Buddha in a Traffic Jam had triggered clashes and caused tension on campus on Friday, following which some JU students had alleged that they were molested. [HT p13] 14. MP govt paid 14 crore to 235 websites for advertisements : BHOPAL: Fresh trouble erupted for the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh after media reports emerged that it paid ` 14 crore over four years for advertisements to undeserving websites, many of them run by the same people or their families. [HT p13] 15. Farmlands flattened for PM’s mega event : INDORE: Agricultural land was flattened, irrigation lines damaged, and electric poles and trees uprooted to make way for the ‘Vichar Mahakumbh’ extravaganza in Ninora, a hamlet 10 km from Ujjain, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. [HT p13] 16. Parties look for numbers before D-day : DEHRADUN/NEW DELHI: Both the BJP and the Congress on Monday claimed the support of the two BSP legislators who hold the key for the outcome of the trust vote in the assembly on Tuesday. On the day the Congress claimed that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislators were with party MLAs at a resort in Mussoorie, the BJP extended support to the BSP in the panchayat polls in Haridwar. The party claimed that in return, the BSP has promised to maintain distance from the Congress and it could be by abstaining from the trust vote. [HT p13] 17. Second-oldest unit of United Spirits in Bihar loses fizz to liquor ban : PATNA: The ban on consumption and sale of alcohol in Bihar has forced the second-oldest liquor unit of United Spirits in the country, located at Hathidah in Mokama — some 60km west of the state capital — to stop production. The unit was established by Vittal Mallya, father of troubled liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who now holds only 4% stake in United Spirits after its takeover by Diageo. [HT p15] 18. New book provides a glimpse of ‘unseen Indira’ : NEW DELHI: A new book on Indira Gandhi authored by her physician for nearly two decades till her assassination in 1984, provides interesting peeps into the former Prime Minister’s responses to challenges in her personal and political life. [HT p15] 19. Either PM is lying or Parrikar is: Cong : New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks about Sonia Gandhi in the context of AgustaWestland payoffs in election meetings created a storm in Rajya Sabha Monday, with the Congress stalling the House and subsequently giving a notice seeking permission to move a breach of privilege against the Prime Minister.[IE p6] 20. Covering water train, Express photographer dies in Jhansi accident : New Delhi : Ravi Kanojia, Principal Photographer with The Indian Express, died Monday in an accident while in Jhansi on an assignment to cover a water train in the drought-hit region. He was 34. He is survived by his parents and three sisters.[IE p1] 21. Top court agrees to hear plea for CBI probe into Panama : New Delhi :The Supreme Court Monday agreed to examine a plea for ordering a CBI investigation against Indian offshore bank account holders named in the Panama Papers, published by The Indian Express after an eight-month investigation in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.[IE p1] 22. RBI may share defaulter details if probe agencies want the info : New Delhi : THE Reserve Bank of India has indicated its willingness to share details regarding borrowers who have taken large loans of over Rs 5 crore with the government if such information were to be sought by vigilance and investigative agencies, or for court cases.[IE p1] 23.