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The Morning Wrap: The Real Loser In UP; Aadhar May Be Mandatory For Tax Filing

Our selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers.
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The Morning Wrap is HuffPost India's selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers. Subscribe here to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning.

In the aftermath of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, secularism has emerged as the biggest loser. As Sandip Roy points out, "sabka saath, sabka vikaas" (with everyone, for everyone's development) could have been a great slogan for a truly secular party but has now been co-opted by the right.

India ranks 131st out of 188 countries on the United Nations Development Programme's new Human Development rankings for 2015. This puts it in the "medium human development" category of nations compared to Sri Lanka (73rd) and China (90th), which are "high human development" countries.

Don't be distracted by stories about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's personal conduct towards Muslims and his frugal lifestyle. For a man who occupies political office what matters is his speeches and beliefs stated in public, which, in his case, have always been communal and divisive.

The Supreme Court has urged the conflicting parties in the Babri Masjid Ram-Janmabhoomi dispute to sit with the Chief Justice of India JS Khehar and resolve the pending disputes in the issue. The matter should be negotiated on the basis of the give-and-take approach, the court said, and brought to a close.

Dashing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's hopes, the Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe into the Narada News sting operation, which has allegedly exposed politicians from the Trinamool Congress taking bribes. The court called the case "rarest of the rare" before ordering the investigation.

Captain Amarinder Singh, the chief minister of Punjab, has no quarrels with one of his cabinet ministers, Navjot Singh Sidu, appearing in TV show, should the law of the country allow it. In an interview with the Hindustan Times, he spoke about this and his plans for the state's development and upliftment.

Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley has proposed that the Aadhar Card be made mandatory while filing of tax returns from 1 July 2017 onwards. The recommendation has been made as part of the Finance Bill 2017, which was presented in the Lok Sabha by the minister for discussion.

Online marketplace Snapdeal, struggling to raise fresh funds, is in preliminary talks with two of its biggest rivals — Paytm E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd and Flipkart India — for a potential sale that could value the company at less than the total equity raised by parent Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd, according to Mint.

A list of fake universities, released by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to warn students against enrolling into them, has caused a controversy because some of the names mentioned in it do not exist or have long closed down already.

If his pledge for building a New India by 2022 is to come true, PM Modi will need to change how different parts of government relate to each other and the world, writes C. Raja Mohan in The Indian Express. The ease of doing business and administrative reforms are essential in this regard to improve overall efficiency in the country.

An editorial in the Hindustan Times lauds the Delhi high court for issuing directions to the state to expedite setting up halfway houses for mentally ill prisoners so that they can be treated and are able to eventually rehabilitate into society.

If the opposition to Narendra Modi doesn't come from outside, and from the left, it will come from inside, and to his right, warns Mihir Sharma. All indications point to the fact that PM Narendra Modi may be getting too powerful for his own good, which, in the absence of a credible opposition, may not bode well in the long run.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.