The Catch Up: 25 December

It’s the 25th of December and here are the headlines.

In his reply to a letter written by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said the Chairman’s letter “unfortunately justifies the autocratic and arrogant attitude of the Government towards Parliament.” Replying to the points raised by Dhankhar, the senior Congress leader urged him to examine his concerns “objectively and with neutrality as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.” He said, quote, “The ruling party has indeed weaponised the suspension of members as a convenient tool to undermine democracy, sabotage Parliamentary practices and throttle the Constitution." UNquote.

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee, who had sparked a controversy last week for mimicking Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, once again imitated Dhankar, saying mimicry is a right to expression and a fundamental right. While speaking during a programme in West Bengal’s Sreerampur, he said, quote, “I will keep doing the mimicry. It is an art form. If needed, I will do it a thousand times. I have all the fundamental rights to express my views. You can put me in jail. I will not step back," Unquote.

Leaders across the political spectrum paid tributes to former Prime Minister and BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 99th birth anniversary today. President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar visited the ‘Sadaiv Atal’ memorial in New Delhi early this morning and paid floral tributes to the BJP founder member.

Iran today rejected a US claim that it had attacked a chemical tanker in the Arabian Sea off the Gujarat coast on the 23rd of December as “baseless”. Responding to a question about the attack, a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry said that the “US accusation is baseless.” The reaction comes a day after the Pentagon said that a drone launched from Iran had struck the vessel in the Indian Ocean.

The human resources head of NewsClick, Amit Chakraborty, has reportedly moved an application before the Patiala House Court stating that he wants to become an approver in the case filed under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against the news portal. NewsClick has been accused of acting with the intention to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India and to cause ‘disaffection’ against India.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.