CBI SEARCHES MANISH SISODIA’S HOME, NAMES HIM IN CORRUPTION FIR

Tensions between the BJP-ruled Centre and the AAP govt in Delhi escalated Friday after the CBI conducted searches at 31 locations, including the home of Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, in connection with a case it has registered against him and several excise officers in the Capital over alleged corruption in the rollout of a liquor policy recently withdrawn by the Delhi govt.

The premises searched included those linked to former Delhi Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna and former Deputy Excise Commissioner Anand Tiwari.

Late at night, Sisodia told reporters: “A CBI team came in the morning and searched the entire house. My computer and phone have been seized. My family cooperated with the CBI team. We have done nothing wrong and we are not scared. We know the CBI is being misused. It is being controlled from the top. Everyone knows that by controlling CBI, BJP wants to stop the good work done by AAP. Hum kattar imaandaar hain (We are very honest people). We built schools and hospitals… The Centre can misuse the CBI as much as it wants, we will not stop our good work.”. He said he had not been called for questioning so far.

The development comes less than a month after Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, putting Sisodia, in-charge of the excise department, directly in the line of fire. Following this, the Delhi govt announced it was withdrawing the policy.

The Lt Governor’s recommendation followed a report submitted by Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar on the matter. The report, which officials said was submitted on July 8, alleged that undue benefits were provided to liquor vend licencees.

The report alleged that the excise department decided to allow a waiver of Rs 144.36 crore to the liquor cartel, on the tendered licence fee, under the excuse of the Covid pandemic.

The report also alleged that decisions taken by the excise department did not have the approval of the competent authority, which is the Cabinet and, subsequently, the Lt Governor.

The Delhi govt had introduced the new policy to increase govt revenue, improve consumer experience, reduce corruption and redistribute liquor shops in an equitable manner. Under the new policy, implemented in November last year, only private liquor shops were to run in the Capital.

DELHI HEALTH, EDUCATION TALK OF WORLD, SO CENTRE OUT TO STOP IT: KEJRIWAL

The AAP and its leaders reacted angrily to the CBI searches Friday at the home of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal spearheading the pushback against the Centre.

“Delhi’s model of education and health are being discussed all over the world. They want to stop it. That is why they are raiding and arresting our Education and Health ministers. In the past 75 years, whoever tried to do work was stopped. That is why India has been left behind. We will not let Delhi’s good work stop,” Kejriwal said in a Twitter post, shortly after CBI officers landed at Sisodia’s doorstep.

“On a day when America’s top newspaper, NYT, praises the Delhi model of education and prints the picture of Sisodia, the same day the Centre sends CBI to his house. We welcome the CBI, we will cooperate fully. Raids were conducted earlier too – they found nothing then and they will find nothing now,” he wrote.

Hours later, the Chief Minister, addressing a press conference, mentioned the campaign he had launched on Wednesday “to make India number 1”. The party, he said, is launching a phone number to which people can give a missed call to become part of the mission.

“Today, Manish Sisodia was declared the best education minister in the world. But the CBI is raiding him. There will be several roadblocks in our mission to become the best country in the world. This is not the first raid on Manish Sisodia. There have been several false cases — against him, Satyendar Jain, and against me. They will not find anything. Let the CBI do its job, they have orders from the top,” he said.

CHINA RESPONDS TO JAISHANKAR’S REMARKS

China on Friday concurred with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s observation that an Asian Century cannot happen if India and China don’t join hands and emphasised that the two countries have “far more common interests than differences.”    

Responding to a series of questions after delivering a lecture on ‘India’s Vision of the Indo-Pacific’ at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok on Thursday, Jaishankar said the relationship between India and China was going through an “extremely difficult phase” after what Beijing had done at the border and emphasised that the Asian Century would not happen if the two neighbours could not join hands.

India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) were key for the overall development of bilateral ties.

Asked for his reaction to Jaishankar’s comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing that “as a Chinese leader put it, “Unless China and India are developed, there will be no Asian Century. No genuine Asia-Pacific Century or Asian Century can come until China, India and other neighbouring countries are developed.”      

“China and India are two ancient civilisations, two major emerging economies and two neighbouring countries, we have far more common interests than differences. Both sides have the wisdom and capability to help each other succeed instead of undercutting each other,” he said.

To a question on whether China will hold talks with India on the disengagement at the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, Wang said, “China and India maintain smooth communication over the boundary question. And our dialogue is effective.”         

On Jaishankar’s remarks on reservations to the Quad alliance, apparently by China, the foreign ministry spokesman reiterated China’s objection to the four-nation bloc comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia. “Our position on Quad is consistent and clear. I would like to reiterate that in today’s world, building exclusive groups is against the trend of the times and will not get any support or get anywhere,” he said.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST / Aug 19

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Thursday 1215,754

Active Cases 1,01,830 (+487)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 5,27,253 (47)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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PUTIN WARNS OF RISK OF CATASTROPHE AT UKRAINE N-PLANT

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, in his first public remarks about the battles raging in the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, accused the Ukrainian military on Friday of risking a “large-scale catastrophe” by shelling the plant. The remarks, paraphrased by the Kremlin presidential website, came during a telephone call initiated by President Emmanuel Macron of France. The two presidents agreed to work toward organising a visit by a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, to the facility, the Kremlin said.

Tensions ratcheted up around the plant over the summer, with both sides accusing the other of risking a nuclear disaster by targeting the facility.

XI AND PUTIN TO ATTEND BALI G-20 SUMMIT: JOKOWI

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are both planning to attend a Group of 20 summit in Bali, in November this year, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said.

“Xi Jinping will come. President Putin has also told me he will come,” Jokowi, as the president is known, said.

The presence of Xi and Putin at the meeting would set up a showdown with US President Joe Biden and other democratic leaders, all of whom are set to meet in person for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has no moral right to sit at the Group of 20 nations while it presses on with its invasion of Ukraine, a spokesperson for Britain's foreign ministry said on Friday.

FINNISH PM DEFENDS PARTYING, TAKES DRUG TEST TO CLEAR HERSELF

Finnish PM Sanna Marin said on Friday she had taken a drugs test following the publication of videos that showed her partying with friends, and vowed she had never used illegal drugs. Marin, 36, also said her ability to perform official duties had remained unimpaired on the Saturday night in question and that she would have left the party had she been required to work.

A video posted on social media on Thursday showed six people at a party dancing and lip-syncing a song, including Marin.

“There have been quite grave public accusations that I was in a space where drugs were used, or that I myself used drugs,” Marin said. “I consider these accusations to be very serious and, though I consider the demand for a drug test unjust, for my own legal protection and to clear up any doubts, I have taken a drug test today, the results of which will come in about a week. ”.

THE REST

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MAHARASHTRA: DAHI HANDI CELEBRATED WITH POMP AFTER 2 YRS

'Dahi Handi', part of the Krishna Janmashtami festivities, was celebrated with extra fervour across Maharashtra on Friday after the COVID-19 pandemic-induced hiatus of two years.

Across the state, troupes of 'govindas' competed with each other to form human pyramids to break earthen pots ('handi') containing buttermilk and curd ('dahi') suspended high in the air.

The state govt had last month announced that there would be no restrictions on the celebration of religious festivals, including Dahi Handi and Ganesh Chaturthi, this year.

On Thursday, CM Eknath Shinde had informed the state Legislative Assembly that the govt has decided to accord adventure sport status to Dahi Handi. The adventure sport tag will allow young participants at these events to apply for govt jobs under the sports quota. Participants or their families will also be provided compensation if the participants suffer injuries while forming human pyramids, he had said.

ALL-PARTY MP GROUP TO SEEK BHARAT RATNA FOR DALAI LAMA

The All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet has decided to urge the govt to confer the Bharat Ratna on the Dalai Lama and sought a joint session of Parliament to be addressed by him. It has also proposed the adoption of a policy on the lines of the United States’ Tibetan Policy and Support Act.

The forum, which has more than 20 MPs including from the BJP, has decided to urge all MPs to take special care to address and resolve the issues of Tibetans living in different parts of the country, in consultation with the local authorities.

Following its revival last year, the forum had held its first meeting and some of its MPs had attended a dinner hosted by the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile last December. In an unusual move, the Chinese Embassy in Delhi had written to them, expressing concern and asking them to “refrain from providing support to the Tibetan independent forces”.

Asked about this, Sujeet Kumar, BJD MP in Rajya Sabha who is the convenor of the forum, said: “Let them react… The Chinese Embassy has no locus standi to oppose, because we are MPs in a democratic country. We have every right to pass resolutions and the Chinese Embassy does not have to tell us what to do.”

MOST STATES PAY CURRENT DUES TO AVOID BEING BARRED FROM POWER EXCHANGES

The outstanding current dues of states and Union territories to developers dropped 80% within a day of the electricity grid operator barring defaulting distribution companies from power exchanges for short-term purchases or sales.

They fell to ₹1,037 crore on Friday from₹5,100 crore after some paid up while others disputed their dues.

Bihar, Manipur and Jharkhand are among the states that have paid up dues, while Maharashtra said it was clearing them as per its regulatory commission’s orders. Late Thursday, six states—Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Manipur—were allowed to trade electricity after they claimed no outstanding or disputed demands.

Five states, including Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan, remained suspended from trading on power exchanges till late on Friday.

Besides these current dues, the power distribution utilities have accumulated outstanding dues of over Rs 1 lakh crore, which is being settled as per a plan formulated by the Centre.

MYSTERY OF THE FILES MISSING FROM TRIPURA POLICE HEADQUARTERS

On the night of this Independence Day, as the celebrations on Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav were yet to die down, official files were stolen from the highly secure Tripura Police Headquarters, and many others damaged. The matter was embarrassing enough for the Tripura Police and the BJP govt. What has followed is even more so, with varied versions regarding the number of files stolen, police giving different accounts on how many had been recovered and who the accused were, and the Opposition wondering why.

The CPM and Congress have alleged that a section of the govt and administration were involved in the incident and demanded a high-level probe. According to senior leaders of both parties, the files were not stolen, rather removed from the police headquarters with the help of insiders, and it was done to save influential people in the govt or administration. Chief Minister Manik Saha holds the Home portfolio, to which police reports.

LALU PRASAD’S SON-IN-LAW ATTENDS OFFICIAL MEETINGS IN BIHAR

The Nitish Kumar Govt in Bihar was on Friday embarrassed as video footages surfaced wherein a son-in-law of Lalu Prasad Yadav was seen at two official meetings.

Notably, both the meetings were presided over by Lalu’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, who was sworn in as a minister earlier this week with environment, forestry and climate change portfolio.

The course of events drew strong condemnation from the BJP, which has lost power following the volte-face by the Chief Minister last week. “Tej Pratap Yadav remains in news for all the wrong reasons. Now, as a minister he seems to have outsourced his duties to his brother-in-law,” said Sushil Kumar Modi, a senior BJP leader who had served as the state’s Deputy CM for over a decade. “Lalu ji’s son-in-law was not just present at the meetings. The meetings, where he had no business to be present, were in fact being conducted (sanchaalit) by him,” alleged Modi in a statement.

MEDICAL STUDENTS IN A SPOT AS NMC SAYS IT DOES NOT RECOGNISE UKRAINE OFFER

In a setback to Indian medical students who returned from Ukraine after the war broke out there, the National Medical Council (NMC) of India has notified that it doesn’t recognise the ‘mobility programme’ being offered by the Ukrainian govt for foreign medical students.

Ahead of the autumn semester starting from September 1, Ukrainian universities are offering a ‘mobility programme’ to Indian students under which they can opt to study at another university for a few semesters under the ‘student exchange’ programme, which the NMC has refused to recognise.

Indian students have started getting emails from Ukrainian universities to pay fee for the next semester. The students are being offered the option to return to the university for offline classes or continue studying theory online and return for practical training around February 2023 when the next semester begins. The other option being offered is a ‘mobility programme’ under which their classes will be arranged in some other university in Europe even as they will remain the students of the Ukrainian university.

Besides refusing to recognise the mobility offer to students, the NMC clarified that the option of students being accommodated in Indian medical colleges was also not there.

The option available with a student is to take transfer i.e. leave the Ukranian university and get admission in some other university. But that option, too, is available only to students whose course had started before November 18, 2021. The Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate (FMGL) Regulations that came into force in November 2021 state that students have to complete their entire training and internship from the same university without the option of transfer.

AS CHIP SHORTAGE BITES, COMPANIES CUT DOWN FEATURES TO REDUCE DELAY

As the semiconductor shortage continues to affect supply chains across sectors, companies are attempting to reduce delays for consumers by cutting down on features that require chips.

Automakers, for instance, are delivering new cars with just one key and a promise to provide the next one at a later date. Others are delivering cars with smaller display screens or without music systems. Despite these adjustments, waiting periods on several models are at a record high.

Both Hyundai and Tata Motors are delivering cars with one key, instead of two, and are promising to deliver the second in another six months, it is learnt. Tata has also launched a version of its hatchback, Tiago, without the music system. Skoda, meanwhile, has reduced the size of display screens on Kushaq and Slavia to 8 inches from the earlier 10 inches.

The banking and telecommunications sectors, too, are being forced to adapt.

Bank branches are telling customers to expect delays in issuance of cards, sources said. The Cellular Operators Association of India has proposed that the Department of Telecommunications ask mobile manufacturers to provide slots for eSIMS even on cheaper (Rs 10,000-plus) phones. Due to the chip shortage, the cost of SIM cards has gone up five times. The proposed move has been opposed by the Indian Cellular Electronics Association, as it would make these phones expensive.

A chip or semiconductor is a crucial component that powers electronic items and is used extensively by companies that make smartphones, computers/laptops, automobiles and fast-moving consumer goods, etc. The supply of these chips took a hit during the lockdowns across the globe, forcing chip-making facilities to shut down.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today. - E. Joseph Cossman

OFF TRACK

A daughter rushed home to her father. "Dad, Bill asked me to marry him."

The father replied, "how much money does he have?"

The daughter answered: "You men are all alike. He asked the same thing about you."