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The Morning Wrap: Maharashtra CM To Reshuffle Cabinet; MP Complains Because Airline Gave Him 'VIP Treatment'

The Morning Wrap: Maharashtra CM To Reshuffle Cabinet; MP Complains Because Airline Gave Him 'VIP Treatment'
Aircraft from Spicejet jostle for space on a runway at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on July 13, 2011. Boeing have projected India would require about 1,300 commercial planes worth USD150 billion in the next two decades to meet the demands of its growing and more affluent population. The forecast from the world's largest aerospace company was 15 percent higher than projections of 1,150 planes for USD130 billion Boeing announced in August 2010 for India's civil aviation market. AFP PHOTO/RAVEENDRAN (Photo credit should read RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
RAVEENDRAN via Getty Images
Aircraft from Spicejet jostle for space on a runway at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on July 13, 2011. Boeing have projected India would require about 1,300 commercial planes worth USD150 billion in the next two decades to meet the demands of its growing and more affluent population. The forecast from the world's largest aerospace company was 15 percent higher than projections of 1,150 planes for USD130 billion Boeing announced in August 2010 for India's civil aviation market. AFP PHOTO/RAVEENDRAN (Photo credit should read RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

Essential HuffPost

Leading feminist portal Feminism In India (FII) recently announced that they have changed their editorial policy and that men won't be allowed to write on women's experiences for them anymore. They also added that upper caste people and heterosexuals will not be allowed to write on Dalit and LGBT issues respectively. The reason behind this policy, FII said, was that they wanted "no appropriation". Obviously, Twitter exploded in response.

The government is mulling a cash payout among a slew of incentives for people willing to surrender their vehicles older than 11 years. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is proposing a vehicle modernisation policy aimed at voluntary scrapping of old polluting vehicles and reducing air pollution. Under the proposed draft policy, people who surrender their old vehicles and buy new ones are likely to receive benefits including up to 8-12 per cent discount on the total cost of the new vehicles; value of scrap material from the old vehicles; and a partial excise duty rebate of up to 50 per cent.

According to The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, in India, one can get away with being cruel to most animals by paying a fine of anything between ₹10 and ₹50. That won’t even buy you a decent cup of coffee in most cities in this country. If one repeats the offence within three years, the penalty may go up to anything between ₹25 and ₹100. They could also be thrown in jail for three months. But that’s about it. Over the last few days, the nation has been following with bated breath the story of a dog, now christened ‘Badhra’, who was thrown off the roof of a multi-storey building in Chennai by two medical students. It was not enough for these men to have simply committed such a crime; they also decided to record it on camera and broadcast it on social media. The debased bravado of these men was condemned almost unanimously. The torturers have been suspended by their college for their regressive actions. But what has the law been able to offer to the poor animal in terms of redress? Just the aforementioned nominal fines to the offenders as punishment, followed by almost instant release on bail.

Main News

As the controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik faces heat, the Maharashtra government has ordered a probe into his speeches that were reported to have inspired some of the Dhaka attackers. The Centre added that "appropriate action" would be taken against him. Everything, including Naik's speeches, his social media accounts, sources of funding (of a foundation run by him in Mumbai) will be scrutinised, said Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio.

Almost two years after Devendra Fadnavis became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, he is now set to expand his cabinet today and is reported to bring in about nine to ten new ministers in. While Fadnavis is not expected to drop anyone, he will reshuffle portfolios especially as eight are up for grabs after the controversy-ridden minister, Eknath Khadse quit.

After the attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 20 hostages, including an Indian girl, were murdered, Bangladesh has launched a clampdown on social media sites spreading jihadist propaganda, saying the country's young were being radicalised online. Authorities said the deadly siege at an upmarket cafe popular with foreigners had been an "eye-opener", exposing the role of social media in recruiting young men to jihadist groups.

Off The Front Page

Shah Rukh Khan confirmed that he is set to work with Anushka Sharma in Imtiaz Ali’s next film. The film, which will go on the floors in August, is a love story but 'a love story keeping with Khan's age in mind', say media reports.

The likeable and sarcastic genius Iron Man aka Tony Stark is set to retire and a new character a Black woman Riri Williams is set to step in his shoes, or, his suit. Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis told Time that Williams is a science genius and catches Stark's attention when she builds her own Iron Man suit in her dorm room.

Newly-elected Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh recently stumped SpiceJet Airlines when he complained that he was being given 'special or VIP treatment' on the airplane. Vivek Tankha wrote to the promoter of the airways saying that a particular passenger should not be treated differently because of his/her social status.

Opinion

No justice can undo what military action against the Iraqi people in 2003 has wrought. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair cannot shrug off his role in this, says Parvathi Menon in The Hindu. "The Iraq Inquiry is not a court and was not set up to make a legal case against Blair and individuals in his government who took wrong decisions that led to such disastrous consequences. Blair has tried to brazen it out, and indeed feels so sure of his actions that he even claims he can look the nation and the families of the British soldiers who died “in the eye”. But the painful reality of life after an unjust war is an experience that Iraq’s people suffer every day. There is no justice that can undo what military action conducted on false premises against their country in 2003 has wrought," she writes.

A lot of Indian women want casual sex, but too many Indian men aren’t ready for them, writes Priya Alika Elias for BuzzFeed. "There are words for women who don’t call you after sex: slut, whore, randi. The women who do reach out after are called clingy, crazy, needy. There’s no way to avoid shaming — one needs to choose the shame one wants... Guys shouldn't get weird after casual sex with a woman... Most importantly, treat they should treat the woman with respect. 'This is somebody who chose to have sex with you. Don’t shame her for it, unless sex with you is a shameful act'," she writes.

Providing an enabling culture for professional development is an urgent intervention required to improve education, writes Anurag Behar in Mint. "Teachers are driven by the complexity of their role which demands deep expertise, street-smarts, moral commitment, a humane approach and a Buddha-like disposition. And all this requires a lifetime of work. Providing active support and an enabling culture for such professional development of our eight million teachers is perhaps the most urgent intervention required to improve the quality of education in India," he says.

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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.