Top Stories on 18th May in a capsule

SC to hear petition against pro tem speaker at 10.30 am today

The Supreme Court will hear Congress petition against the appointment of BJP legislator KG Bopaiah as the pro tem Speaker on Saturday at 10:30 am. Bopaiah will be presiding over the floor test that has been scheduled on Saturday 4 PM that will decide whether the newly appointed CM has a majority in the Vidhan Sabha or not. The Congress earlier had sought an urgent hearing against Governor Vajubhai Vala's decision. The Congress had alleged that the Governor has flouted parliamentary convention of appointing the senior most MLA as the pro tem Speaker. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had said that eight-time Congress MLA RV Deshpande is the senior most MLA and should have been chosen as the pro tem speaker instead.

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Monsoon to hit Kerala coast on May 29, three days ahead of schedule

The India Meteorological Department (Met) on Friday predicted that southwest monsoon is expected to hit the Kerala coast on 29 May, two days ahead of its normal date of arrival on 1 June. The beginning of the southwest monsoon, which provides over 70% of the annual rainfall to the country, is marked by its onset over Kerala coast, which is normally on 1 June. However, since 2014, with an exception of last year, when the monsoon arrived two days early on 29 May, the summer monsoon has been recording a delay in onset. In its second long-range forecast released on Friday, the government’s weather office stated that this year, the south-west monsoon would arrive over Kerala on 29 May, with a model error of ± 4 days.

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SC approves draft scheme for Cauvery water distribution by Centre

The Supreme Court on Friday gave a nod of approval to the draft scheme submitted by the Centre that will govern Cauvery water distribution between the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Puducherry. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra comprising justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud rejected the suggestions of Karnataka and Kerala governments over the scheme stating that they lacked merit. It also rejected Tamil Nadu’s plea seeking initiation of contempt against the Centre for non-finalisation of Cauvery scheme. The Cauvery Water Management Authority with its headquarters in Delhi will now be responsible of the implementation of proper distribution of Cauvery water as per the directions of the apex court given in the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal’s order of 2007 along with modifications made to it by the apex court in February.
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3-time BJP MLA chosen as a temporary Speaker for floor Test tomorrow

Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala on Friday appointed three-time BJP MLA KG Bopaiah as the pro tem speaker of the assembly, instead of going by tradition and appointing the senior-most MLA for the position. The news of appointment holds importance as the speaker will play a crucial role in the floor test scheduled for 4pm on Saturday. As per the order of the Supreme Court on Friday, since the speaker would conduct the floor test, he would also exercise powers like a regular speaker. This also means his powers could help the ruling party stay in power. Since the BJP has a speaker from its own party, it can succeed in making Opposition MLAs abstain or defect to the BJP in an attempt to narrow the vote margin. Also, the Opposition cannot consider all this to be illegal because the Speaker has the powers to deal with complaints under the anti-defection law. In 2010, KG Bopaiah, a trusted friend of CM Yeddyurappa, had disqualified 11 rebel BJP MLAs and 5 independents when they protested against his illegal mining scam.
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Pakistan violates ceasefire in J&K ahead of PM Modi’s visit

One BSF jawan and 4 civilians were killed and 12 others injured after Pakistani troops opened firing in J&K's LoC in BS Pura on Friday. The firing, which continued for the third straight day, comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti hit out at Pakistan and said that Islamabad has shown no respect for the fasting month of Ramzan. ‘Sad that while our country took the lead in starting peace initiatives with cessation of operations during Ramzan, Pakistan has shown no respect whatsoever for this holy month’, Mufti said in a series of tweets. Meanwhile, schools within the 3-km radius of the International border, which often come under the cross-border firing, have been declared closed by the state administration.

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11 dead, 15 injured in Himachal after Dumper runs over Purnagiri pilgrims

At least 11 pilgrims including four children were killed after a dumper ran over them early morning on Friday in Champawat district of Uttarakhand. While nine pilgrims died on the spot, two succumbed to their injuries after they were admitted to a hospital nearby. 15 others were injured in the accident out of which eight are stated to be critical. A 250-member group of pilgrims, mostly from Bareilly (UP) and its neighbouring areas, were walking to the Purnagiri hill temple when the accident occurred around 5 am near the Bechai sales tax office, informed the police. The Army and the police launched a rescue operation and rushed the injured to Tanakpur Hospital and the critically injured were moved to Khatima Hospital in US Nagar for advanced medical care.

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UP Govt asks ex-CMs to vacate bungalows in 15 days

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday served notices to six former chief ministers, who have been occupying government bungalows in Lucknow, and asked them to vacate the same in 15 days. The move comes after the Supreme Court on May 7 struck down the amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1981 to provide for the allotment of government residence to former chief ministers at his/her request for a lifetime. Six former chief ministers who have been asked to vacate the government bungalows include Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati, ND Tiwari, BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Kalyan Singh.

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Cambridge Analytica files voluntary bankruptcy in U.S court 

British political consulting group Cambridge Analytica filed for voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York on Friday. The firm, whose attorney filed late Wednesday, announced early May that it would close and file for bankruptcy in Britain and the United States after failing to recover from the Facebook data scandal. Earlier this month, the company - which worked on Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign - claimed its business had been ruined by "numerous unfounded accusations" which rendered operating the business ‘no longer viable’. In court papers filed with a New York court, Cambridge Analytica said it had assets of up to $500,000, and debts in the range of in the range of $1m to $10m. Despite the firm's shutting down and laying off staff, the authorities will still pursue a probe into how the firm used Facebook data.
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UK Prince Charles to walk down the aisle with bride Meghan Markle at Royal Wedding 

TV actress Meghan Markle’s soon-to-be father-in-law Prince Charles will walk her down the aisle on Saturday in place of her father fell ill just days before the ceremony, an official statement released by the UK Kensington Palace said on Friday. The wedding is slated to happen at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor for her wedding to Prince Harry. The palace says he “is pleased to be able to welcome Ms Markle to the Royal Family in this way. Harry’s father has a lifetime of experience in appearing at large-scale public events amid intense scrutiny. The palace said Markle had asked Charles to offer a supporting arm. People had speculated that since Markle’s father is not coming, her mother will walk her down the aisle.