Making sense of breaking stories
Holding children hostage the worst form of terror
At least 24 people, including 21 children, died in a gunbattle in Peshawar after armed terrorists entered an army-run school. The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack. "Our suicide bombers have entered the school, they have instructions not to harm the children, but to target the army personnel," Taliban spokesperson Muhammad Umar Khorasani told Reuters. Such claims on the part of the TTP are bunkum as their act of terror has already left three children died and 28 injured. The lives of hundreds of others continue to be in danger.
Modi's warning to MPs comes too little too late
According to reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told BJP MPs that their statements are hurting the party and government's image and that no one should cross the Lakshman Rekha. Modi's warning is too late as leaders like Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Sakshi Maharaj and Yogi Adityanath have already vitiated the atmosphere with their controversial remarks. Ideally Modi should have rebuked the MPs or even taken action against Jyoti in public, who also happens to be a minister. By taking swift action, Modi would have laid the ground rules early into his tenure.
Delhi lives up to rape capital tag
If one goes by the latest statistics of the Delhi Police, rape cases in the National Capital Region have almost doubled in 2014 as compared to the last year. On an average, every day six women are being raped in Delhi, they said. And also, 12 molestation FIRs are lodged every day. A senior police officer said as many as 1,968 rape incidents were registered till November 30, while in the same period, 1,559 rape cases were reported in 2013. Similarly, the graph of molestation cases in the capital has also witnessed an upward trend. Though the rise in number of cases is a cause of concern, there might be some truth in the Delhi police's assertion that the enactment of a tougher anti-rape law have given women the confidence to report the crimes against them.
Consensus on GST, finally
The Centre has achieved a major breakthrough in finally hammering together a consensus with the state finance ministers on the elusive goods and service tax (GST) issue which will pave the way for a single nationwide market. The Centre agreed to keep petroleum products, such as petrol and diesel, out of GST in return for states agreeing to entry tax being subsumed in the new tax regime proposed from April 2016. States earn over 50 per cent of their revenue from taxes on petrol, diesel and jet fuel, and wanted to exclude these goods from the purview of GST so that they could continue collecting taxes on these products.