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The Morning Wrap: Select Petrol Pumps To Dispense Cash; Arun Jaitley Firm On Demonetisation Decision

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.

Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat was reportedly tear-gassed and beaten up by three masked intruders in her Paris apartment block. The 40-year-old actress had entered her complex with her French partner Cyrille Auxenfans when the masked intruders ambushed them and sprayed their victims with tear gas before punching them.

Rejecting the Opposition's demand, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that there was no question of withdrawing the demonetisation move as it was aimed at purifying the economic situation of the country. "Let me clear it — AAP and the TMC have demanded a rollback of demonetisation. There is no question of rolling it back. This is a clear decision of the government and the PM to purify the economic situation of the country. We will remain firm on this," Jaitley said.

The violent unrest in Kashmir may have subsided, but those hit by pellets will have to live with their injuries for longer if not for the rest of their lives. But two Kashmiri teenagers Suhaib Nazir and Athar Hussain have decided to postpone the operations for their pellet injuries to write their Board exams.

In a bid to ease cash crunch, the government has allowed select petrol pumps to dispense cash up to ₹2,000 through debit card swipe. The facility will be available at 2,500 petrol pumps.

Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra approached a city court seeking prosecution of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly defaming him by levelling false allegations regarding demonetisation of higher currency notes.

In light of the possible bilateral engagement with Pakistan, India has issued yet another note to the neighbouring country regarding the incessant violation at the Line of Control (LoC). According to reports Pakistan has committed over 12 such violations between the period from 9-15 November.

A traffic constable offered to donate one of his kidneys to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is presently undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) post kidney failure. "I came to know about her health through newspapers. If my blood group matches then I am ready to give my kidney to Sushma ji. I have also made an offer through Twitter," he said.

In yet another case of horrifying apathy, a woman from Andhra Pradesh was forced to drag her sick husband down the hospital corridors as the authorities allegedly told her that 'they had not stretchers' to take him in. The hospital administration has now promised to look into the cruel behaviour of the staff and 'take action' against the culprits.

When 86 per cent of currency notes in a country of 1.3 billion people are rendered illegal tender in a matter of hours, it is bound to create a short-term disruption in daily lives. Particularly so, since much of India's economic activity still takes place in the informal sector with no cheque payments, resulting not just in widespread direct and indirect tax evasion but also an inability to assess the true state of the economy, says an editorial in The Hindu.

Can we tackle pollution with the same seriousness as black money or corruption, asks Bahar Dutt in Mint. "We all know that the air quality in Delhi is bad. While the black money apocalypse may have diverted attention from the air apocalypse, the latter hasn't gone away. Winter and the worst months of pollution are still ahead of us," she says.

Arguments in favour of a uniform civil code often project Hindu law as just, in spite of the evidence of its anti-women practices, writes Flavia Agnes in The Indian Express. "Statistics show that divorce among Muslims is higher. But it is seldom highlighted that desertion among Hindus is far higher," the writer 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.