99%TURNOUT IN PRESIDENTIAL POLL

Parliamentarians and legislators across the country voted Monday to elect the next President and by the time voting concluded, there were enough indications that NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu was set for an emphatic win against Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.

Votes will be counted on July 21 and the next President will take oath on July 25.

The Election Commission said: “As per reports being received, out of a total of 771 Members of Parliament entitled to vote (05 vacant) and similarly out of total 4025 Members of the Legislative Assemblies entitled to vote (06 vacant and 02 disqualified), over 99% cast their votes. However, 100% voting by MLAs was reported from Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Puducherry, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu.”

Eight MPs did not vote — Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dhotre (BJP); Syed Imtiaz Jaleel (AIMIM); Gajanan Kirtikar (Shiv Sena); Mohammad Sadique (Congress); T R Paarivendhar (DMK); Haji Fazlur Rehman and Atul Kumar Singh (BSP).

In Room No. 63 of Parliament House, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his predecessor Manmohan Singh who came in a wheelchair, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior ministers, leaders of parties and MPs voted. Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav too came in a wheelchair while Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Power Minister R K Singh came wearing PPE kits.

STORMY START TO SESSION

The monsoon session of Parliament began on a stormy note with Opposition parties, led by the Congress, creating a din and forcing adjournment of both Houses without transacting any substantial business over issues ranging from price rise, hike in the GST rates to the Agnipath scheme.

The aggressive Opposition created a ruckus in both Houses, even as PM Narendra Modi urged MPs before the start of the parliamentary proceedings to make the session as productive as possible and called for debate, criticism and analysis for a positive contribution to policies and decisions.

In the Rajya Sabha, slogan-raising Congress members trooped to the well of the House, raising issues relating to price rise and GST as soon as Chairman Venkaiah Naidu read out the obituary references. “As some people have come determined not to allow the House to function and also enable members to go and vote in the presidential election, I am adjourning the House for the day,” Naidu said.

As Opposition members raised slogans, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said elections in India were celebrated as a “festival” and since the presidential poll was underway, it should also be celebrated. He said members should participate in the “festival” and adjourned the House till 2 pm.

As the Lok Sabha reconvened at 2 pm, members of Left parties were in the well of the House protesting inflation.

16TH ROUND OF INDIA-CHINA LAC TALKS END IN STALEMATE

India and China have not been able to come up with a resolution to end the military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.

The 16th round of military talks – lasted 12 hours – and ended Sunday night at 10 pm in a stalemate. Corps Commander level officers of the two armies had met at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point at the LAC on the Indian side on Sunday.

A joint-statement issued by the Ministry of Defence said: “The two sides reaffirmed that the resolution of remaining issues would help in restoration of peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the Western Sector (military nomenclature for LAC in Eastern Ladakh) and enable progress in bilateral relations”.

The statement went on to add that in the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain the security and stability on the ground.

In other words, the deadlock continues.

SUPREME COURT SEEKS ‘CONCRETE’ EXAMPLES OF HINDUS BEING DENIED MINORITY STATUS IN STATES

As a PIL demanded minority status for Hindus in states where they were outnumbered by members of other communities, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the petitioner to come up with “concrete” examples of Hindus being denied minority status at the state level.

"We are not able to understand what injury the petitioner is claiming… We are going ahead with these challenges in the air,” a Bench led by Justice UU Lalit told senior counsel Arvind Datar, who represented petitioner Devkinandan Thakur, a religious preacher.

Thakur has challenged certain provisions of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act and sought a direction to the Centre to define "minority" and prescribe guidelines for the identification of minorities at the district level.

As Datar said that he was talking about Hindus being denied minority status and the general perception that Hindus can’t be a minority, the Bench said it could examine the issue only if there was a concrete case of Hindus being denied a minority status.

Maintaining that minority status of a community was decided on the basis of population in a particular state, the Bench asked for "concrete examples" where Hindus were denied minority status in a state despite being in numerical minority.

The Bench deferred the hearing for two weeks after Datar sought time in the matter.

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RISHI SUNAK WIDENS LEAD IN RACE TO BECOME UK PM AFTER PARTY VOTE

Former finance minister Rishi Sunak widened his lead in the latest round of voting Monday by Conservative MPs to decide Britain's next prime minister, but the race to get in the final two tightened.

Sunak won the support of 115 Tory lawmakers, followed by Penny Mordaunt on 82 votes, Liz Truss on 71, Kemi Badenoch on 58 and Tom Tugendhat on 31, who drops out as the last-placed candidate, the party announced.

MPs will keep voting until only two candidates remain, the winner then being decided by the party members.

UK, FRANCE FACE HOTTEST DAY

Britain and France went on heatwave alert on Monday facing record temperatures as Europe wilted under a scorching sun and ferocious wildfires devoured more forests.

UK forecasters warned of havoc in a country unprepared for the onslaught of extreme heat that authorities said was putting lives at risk. Britain’s government triggered a “national emergency” alert as temperatures were forecast to surpass previous record of 38. 7°C. On Monday, the temperature nudged 38°C in southern England and a new high was recorded in Wales, according to UK Meteorological Office. It is expected to be even hotter on Tuesday, when the 40°C level is forecast to be exceeded for the first time. Scientists blame climate change and predict frequent episodes of extreme weather.

Across the Channel, firefighters failed to contain two massive fires in France’s southwest that have created “apocalyptic” scenes of destruction. For six days, armies of fire-fighters and a fleet of waterbombing aircraft have struggled against blazes. Forecasters have put 15 French departments on the highest state of alert. “In some areas, it will be a heat apocalypse,” a meteorologist said. By 1500GMT, several records had been broken locally, Meteo France said, with 42. 6°C in Biscarosse and 42. 4°C in Cazaux on the Atlantic coast in western France.

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SHIV SENA SET TO SPLIT IN PARLIAMENT, PRO-SHINDE MPS TO FORM SEPARATE FACTION

After the Shiv Sena's division in Maharashtra assembly, its parliamentary party is also staring at a split with several MPs set to petition Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to recognise them as a separate group.

A Shiv Sena Lok Sabha member claimed that at least 12 of the 18 Shiv Sena members will meet Birla to submit a formal letter to recognise it as a separate group.

In a pre-emptive move, Vinayak Raut, the leader of the Shiv Sena, wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker asserting that he was the 'duly appointed' leader of the Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party and urged him not to entertain any representation from the breakaway faction.

A group of Shiv Sena MPs on Monday attended a virtual meeting of the 'national executive' chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The national executive called by the rebel group ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on July 20, also appointed Shinde as the 'chief leader' of the party, a Lok Sabha member said.

"We are not splitting the party. We are only asking the Speaker that we do not have faith in the current leader and Rahul Shewale, Lok Sabha member from Mumbai South Central, is our leader," one of the rebel Lok Sabha member said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde will be in Delhi on Tuesday and the breakaway faction of Lok Sabha members are expected to meet him. "We will take action against MPs who attend the meeting with Shinde," Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member, told reporters in Delhi.

I AM NOT CRIMINAL, SAYS DELHI CM ARVIND KEJRIWAL AS HE AWAITS CLEARANCE

"I am not a criminal", said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday, stressing that there appears to be a "political reason" behind the Centre's delay in granting him permission to visit Singapore for a summit.

Miffed over the pending clearance, the chief minister had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, saying he has been waiting for the permission for over a month.

Kejriwal said he was specially invited to the World Cities Summit in Singapore by the government of that country, where he will present the 'Delhi Model' before world leaders and bring glory to India.

"I am not a criminal. I am an elected chief minister and a free citizen of the country. There was no legal basis to stop me from visiting Singapore so there appears to be a political reason behind this," Kejriwal said after casting his vote for presidential elections.

INDIA REPORTS 2ND CASE OF MONKEYPOX

A 31-year old man who arrived in Kerala last week from Dubai has tested positive for Monkeypox, making it the second case in India this year, state Health Minister Veena George said on Monday.

The minister said the patient, who arrived in Kerala on July 13, was a native of Kannur in north Kerala and was undergoing treatment at the Pariyaram Medical College there. His health is stable, she said.

The minister also said that all those who were in close contact with the patient are being closely monitored.

The first case of monkeypox, a rare but potentially serious viral illness, was reported from Kollam district of south Kerala on July 14. He is currently undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram.

NUPUR MOVES SC AGAIN, FOR CLUBBING OF CASES

Former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma again moved the Supreme Court Monday, seeking the clubbing of cases against her for her remarks against Prophet Mohammad, and protection from arrest. She mentioned renewed threats to her life in the fresh plea.

The case is listed for hearing on Tuesday before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala — the same judges who had earlier rejected her plea to quash the cases against her or club them.  A similar plea by Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair will be heard on Wednesday by a bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna.

The bench of Justices Surya Kant and Pardiwala had on 1 June had declined to entertain her plea saying she has a “loose tongue” and is “single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country”.

The remarks against Sharma came under criticism. A group of “concerned citizens”, including 15 former high court judges, wrote an open letter to the Chief Justice of India that the observations violate judicial propriety and fairness.

LULU SAYS ‘80% STAFF HINDU’; MINISTER CALLS ‘INCIDENT’ A CAMPAIGN TO SMEAR

In an unusual step, the management of Lulu Mall in Lucknow, which is part of the UAE-based Lulu Group with operations in 20 countries and an annual turnover of $8 billion, has issued a statement saying that “over 80 per cent” of its staff are Hindu. This is in response to a social media campaign against the mall after a video of a group of unidentified persons offering namaz in the mall premises did the rounds.

In response to allegations that the mall was favouring a community, the management issued a statement: “It is very unfortunate that some people for their own selfish interests are trying to target our institution. Among our employees are local residents, and people from UP and across the country. Of these, over 80 per cent are Hindu, the rest are Muslims, Christians and others. Nobody in our organisation is allowed to conduct any religious activity. The mall administration has lodged an FIR against those who tried to offer prayers and namaz in a public place.”

The Lucknow mall is part of the Rs 13,000-crore India expansion plans announced by the Lulu Group in 2018 under Lulu India Shopping Mall Pvt Ltd — and is the fifth to be built by the group after malls in Kochi, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur.

WITH JUST 14.4 JUDGES PER MILLION PEOPLE, UNDERTRIALS AT HISTORIC HIGH

The number of people languishing in the country’s prisons while undergoing trials rose 26 per cent between 2016 and 2020 to touch 371,848 — taking up 90 per cent of the total prison capacity of 414,033. A quarter of these have been behind bars for at least a year. The year 2020 is the latest for which the number of undertrials is available.

The number of undertrials is at a historic high and comes at a time when vacancies in the judiciary — across the lower courts, high courts, and the Supreme Court — remain high, leaving the system to grapple with just 14.4 judges for every one million population as of April 1 this year, a small fraction of the 210 judges per million in Europe and 150 in the United States.

Eighteen years ago, the Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System, headed by Justice V S Malimath, had recommended raising India’s judge strength to 50 per million.

ADANIS KEEP OFF BIG 5G SPECTRUM GAME

With the Adanis submitting an earnest money deposit (EMD) of just Rs 100 crore on Monday for the upcoming 5G spectrum auction, the apprehension among the rivals that the group is nursing ambitions of being an all-India mobile player has been allayed at least for now.

Based on its EMD, analysts say it can buy spectrum worth just Rs 900 crore, whose use will be limited to enterprises and captive networks -- that too is likely only in a few circles where it has its infrastructure like ports, airports, and power stations.

The Department of Telecommunications on Monday announced four pre-bidders, which together deposited Rs 21,800 crore as EMD with Reliance Jio putting in Rs 14,000 crore, Bharti Rs 5,500 crore, and Vodafone Rs 2,200 crore, apart from the Adanis.

As part of the auction, the DoT earmarks an EMD for each block of spectrum, which differs from circle to circle and spectrum band to band. Telcos, based on their plan for acquiring spectrum across segments, have to submit an EMD, which indicates how much the operators are willing to spend during the auction.

INDIA ALSO LIKELY TO BRING LAW FOR BIG TECH TO PAY NEWS PUBLISHERS FOR CONTENT

In line with a global trend seen in countries including Australia, Canada, France, and Spain, India is likely to soon introduce legislation that will make Big Tech giants such as Google, Meta and Apple share the revenue they get for original content released by homegrown newspapers and digital news platforms with the respective publishers.

On Saturday, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar told the media that this move was an “important issue” for the government and that it would ensure that news organisations wouldn’t be in a “position of disadvantage” in the future.

“The news publishers have no negotiating leverage at all, and this needs to be tackled legislatively. This is an important issue for us,” he asserted.

In January, the Competition Commission of India ordered a probe against Google on a complaint filed by the Digital News Publishers Association for alleged abuse of its dominant position as a news aggregator.

In February last year, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) —  the apex body of publishers of newspapers, magazines, and periodicals in the country — wrote to Google highlighting how the tech giant was reaping profits on original content released by other organisations.

'DIL DHOONDTA HAI' SINGER BHUPINDER SINGH DIES AT 82 IN MUMBAI

Renowned ghazal singer Bhupinder Singh, known for crooning classics like “Naam Gum Jayega” and “Dil Dhoondta Hai”, died on Monday due to suspected colon cancer and COVID-19-related complications at a city hospital, his wife Mitali Singh said.

He was 82.

During his decades-long journey in the film industry, the singer came to be best known for songs like “Do Diwane Shehar Mein”, “Ek Akela is Shehar Mein”, “Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Aasman”, “Duniya Chhute Yaar Na Chhute” and “Karoge Yaad Toh”, among others.

CBI CASE AGAINST NARINDER BATRA, VETERAN SPORTS ADMINISTRATOR RESIGNS FROM ALL POSTS

In a big loss of face for Narinder Batra, the CBI has registered a case of misappropriation of funds against him. The CBI had in April registered a preliminary enquiry after receiving a complaint from the Indian Olympic Association.

Simultaneously, the CBI conducted raids in five places including Delhi, Jammu and at the IOA headquarters regarding the same case.

Batra has officially resigned from his post of IOA president, as IOC member and as chief of the Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) on Monday.

However, IOA insiders say that this was only an exercise in saving face as he had already been removed as IOA president by the Delhi High Court in June. The court’s vacation bench gave this order while hearing a contempt proceeding filed on behalf of former Olympian Aslam Sher Khan against Batra.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. - Vince Lombardi

OFF TRACK

In a sociology class, the students were instructed to write down answers to some questions the professor was asking. 

"Next question," said the professor. "How would you like to be seen by the opposite sex?" 

A boy turned to the student next to him and asked, "How do you spell 'intellectual’?"