Five must-read stories—December 1 

Did ministers queue up?

Arun Jaitley had declared ₹65.29 lakh as cash in hand on March 31, 2016. Junior power minister Piyush Goyal, who too has been in the forefront of the government's sabre-rattling on demonetisation, declared ₹3.43 lakh. Other ministers to have declared more than ₹1 lakh as cash in hand include Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu, Maneka Gandhi and Mahesh Sharma. In The Telegraph.

Fear in upper Assam

The alleged beating up of several villagers by army personnel in Muluk village, two days before the November 19 attack, has fanned fear. Several local residents, including a few elderly men, were allegedly dragged out of their houses on November 17 night and made to kneel down on the suspicion that they had informed the forest department about a mature teak tree allegedly felled by an army team on November 3. In The Telegraph.

Bank cashiers under stress

Every cashier is handling a minimum of 800 customers a day as against 200 earlier, he said. “We are working for 12 hours after note ban. It is most unfortunate that the government is making the bank employees scapegoats to hide their failures from the public,” he said. In Deccan Chronicle.

Outgoing Northern Command chief warns of a ‘long war’

Sixty soldiers have died in J&K this year. Hooda said the army was ruthless about finding ways to minimise casualties. “We understand this more than anyone else because our lives depend on it.” On the alleged lapses that may have led to the attack, he said, “Two officers deliberately put themselves in the line of fire to rescue women and children. Let us respect that rather than sitting in peaceful areas and mouthing criticism.” In The Hindustan Times.

British temple seeks ban on 5 Pound notes

Meanwhile, over 50,000 people have signed a petition calling for tallow to be removed from bank notes. The fatty substance used in the notes is traditionally derived from beef or mutton and sometimes pork. The new notes with an image of Britain’s war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill became legal tender in September this year. In Janta Ka Reporter.