MALLIKARJUN KHARGE SAYS CONGRESS TO LEAD ALLIANCE GOVT IN 2024

At a time when there is renewed talk of Opposition unity in the context of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said his party was in talks with other parties and asserted that an alliance led by the Congress would come to power at the Centre next year. His statement comes days ahead of the Congress’s plenary session in Raipur where the party is likely to spell out its approach towards Opposition unity.

Addressing an election rally in Chumukedima in Nagaland, Kharge lashed out at the BJP, accusing it of toppling elected governments in Karnataka, Manipur, Goa, and Madhya Pradesh by pressuring the MLAs.

“On one side, you talk about democracy and the Constitution. And on the other hand, all your acts are undemocratic. You are not following the Constitution. And you are not going according to democratic principles. Modi has several times said ‘I am the only man who can face the country (and that) no other people can touch me’ … he says it proudly. No democratic man can talk like that. You should remember that you are in a democracy. You are not an autocrat, you are not a dictator. You are elected by people and people will teach you a lesson in 2024,” Kharge said.

Kharge’s remarks come days after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said he was waiting for a signal from the Congress to work towards bringing Opposition parties together. Kharge’s comments signal that the Congress and other Opposition parties are talking about joining hands but it is still not clear whether the parties will form an alliance before elections or prefer a post-poll coalition depending on the numbers.

TIMING OF BBC DOCUMENTARY NOT ACCIDENTAL, SAYS JAISHANKAR

In a wide ranging interview to ANI, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that barring China, India’s ties with other major powers were very good and felt both Russia and Ukraine knew that “if we can be of any use, we will be willing”. India was earlier involved in defusing the situation on the grain deal and the Zaporizhzhia power plant.

He said India would continue with the hands-off policy with respect to Pakistan despite its current economic difficulties. “Nobody reaches a difficult situation suddenly and without cause. It is for them to find a way out. Our relationship today is not one where we can be relevant directly to that process,” he said.

Expanding on the BBC documentary, the minister said, “Sometime politics of India doesn’t even originate in its borders… there is a phrase ‘war by other means’, this is politics by other means — you want to do a hatchet job and say this is just another quest for truth which we decided after 20 years to put at this time.”

Although the documentary came over a year before the Lok Sabha poll in 2024, he questioned the timing of its release. “I mean, come on, you think the timing is accidental! Let me tell you one thing — I don’t know if the election season has started in India, Delhi or not, but, for sure it has started in London, New York,” he said.

“What is happening is, just like I told you — this drip, drip, drip — how do you shape a very extremist image of India, of the government, of the BJP, of the Prime Minister. I mean, this has been going on for a decade,” he said of some western media’s bias against PM Modi.

He also had something to say abut his father, K Subrahmanyam. “In 1980, he was Secretary, Defence Production. In 1980 when Indira Gandhi was re-elected, he was the first Secretary that she removed. And he was the most knowledgeable person everybody would say on defence,” Jaishankar said. Jasishankar said his father was a very upright person, and “may be that caused the problem, I don’t know.”

In 1999, Subrahmanyam declined the honour of a Padma Bhushan, saying that bureaucrats and journalists should not accept government awards.

STAGE SET TO ELECT NEW DELHI MAYOR AFTER 3 FAILED ATTEMPTS

After much delay since the high-stakes civic polls in Delhi, the stage is set for the election of a new mayor today following a Supreme Court order.

The municipal House is slated to begin at 11 am during which the election to the posts of mayor, deputy mayor and six members of the standing committee will be held.

The exercise to hold elections to the top post will be carried out after three failed attempts.

In a shot in the arm for the ruling AAP, the Supreme Court has held that the members nominated to the MCD by the Lt Governor cannot vote to elect the mayor.

It has been over two months since the municipal elections were held on December 4.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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PUTIN UPS ANTE OVER UKRAINE, SUSPENDS NUKE PACT WITH US

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday delivered a nuclear warning to the West over Ukraine, suspending a bilateral nuclear arms control treaty, announcing new strategic systems had been put on combat duty and warning that Moscow could resume nuclear tests.

Speaking nearly a year to the day since ordering an invasion that has triggered the biggest confrontation with the West since the depths of the Cold War, Putin said Russia would achieve its war aims and accused the West of trying to destroy Russia.

Cautioning the United States that it was stoking the war into a global conflict, Putin said that Russia was suspending participation in the New START Treaty, the last major arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington.

It limits the number of nuclear warheads the world’s two biggest nuclear powers can deploy and is due to expire in 2026.

“I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,” Putin told his country’s political and military elite.

The Russian leader said that some people in Washington were thinking about resuming nuclear testing. Russia’s defence ministry and nuclear corporation should therefore be ready to test Russian nuclear weapons if necessary, he said.

“Of course, we will not do this first. But if the United States conducts tests, then we will. No one should have dangerous illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed,” Putin said.

“A week ago, I signed a decree on putting new ground-based strategic systems on combat duty. Are they going to stick their nose in there too, or what?”

It was not immediately clear which ground-based systems had been put on combat duty.

The New START Treaty limited both sides to 1,550 warheads on deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine ballistic missiles and heavy bombers. Both sides met the central limits by 2018.

"US NOTIFIED ABOUT BIDEN'S VISIT TO KYIV BUT...": RUSSIAN SECURITY CHIEF

Russia gave no security guarantees to US President Joe Biden during his unannounced visit to war-torn Ukraine, Russian intelligence agency director Alexander Bortnikov said on Tuesday.

"Indeed, the United States notified Russia about Biden's visit to Kiev - via diplomatic channels. But we gave no guarantees of his security," Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Bortnikov said in an interview with the Shot Telegram channel.

Russia was informed about the trip a few hours before President Biden's departure for "deconfliction purposes", a US official said.

Bortnikov said that Russian and US special services continue to cooperate, especially in what concerns the fight against international terrorism. "This cooperation continues. Naturally, it is not at the level it used to be at so no one benefits from it. All of us are interested in maintaining ties," Bortnikov said.

THE REST

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SUPREME COURT TO HEAR UDDHAV SENA PLEA AGAINST EC ORDER TODAY

The Supreme Court will today hear the petition filed by former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray challenging the Election Commission of India’s decision to recognise the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and allot the party name and the ‘bow and arrow’ poll symbol to it.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the plea before a bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, which agreed to take it up at 3.30 pm on Wednesday.

Urging the court to take it up on Wednesday morning, Sibal said, “If this (EC order) is not stayed, what will happen is they (Shinde-led Sena) will take over everything, the bank accounts. They have already taken over the office; we will be disqualified further.”

The court, however, pointed out that since it will hear petitions filed by the Shinde and Thackeray camps in the wake of last year’s political fallout starting Tuesday, it did not want to disturb that bench and would take up the fresh plea Wednesday afternoon. The CJI also said the judges had not read the file and would like to read it before taking it up for hearing.

NIA SEARCHES 76 SITES IN 8 STATES

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) yesterday conducted simultaneous searches at 76 locations in eight states in connection with cases related to a nexus between gangsters, terror groups and the drug mafia, officials said.

The raids were conducted in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. About Rs 1.5 crore cash, 11 pistols and rifles with ammunition and incriminating material, including documents, hard drives and mobile phones, were seized, the NIA said.

An official said the aim was to dismantle the nexus between terrorists, gangsters and drug smugglers and traffickers based in India and abroad. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the gangs were carrying out targeted killings and were also raising funds to carry out such criminal activities through hawala network and smuggling of drugs and weapons.

The raids come after recent sensational crimes and extortion calls by criminal syndicates and gangsters to businessmen and professionals, including doctors, had created a widespread scare. These gangs have been using cyberspace to publicise their crimes to create terror among people.

JAVED AKHTAR IN PAKISTAN, CALLS A SPADE A SPADE

Acclaimed poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar's no holds barred attack on Pakistan for allowing the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks to roam scot free has gone viral across social media handles.

Akhtar, who was in Pakistan last week for a festival in Lahore in the memory of legendary Urdo poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, while speaking at the event said, "We are residents of Mumbai. We saw how our city was terrorised. Those people (who attacked Mumbai) did not come from Norway, nor did they come from Egypt. Those perpetrators are still roaming around in your country. If an Indian carries this grudge in his heart, you should not feel bad about it."

On November 26, 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists belonging to Hafiz Saeed-led Lashkar-e-Taiba arrived via sea and opened fire, killing 166 people, including 18 security personnel, and injuring several others during a 60-hour siege in Mumbai.

Akhtar also took a swipe at Pakistan saying while India hosted several mega shows of late Nusrat Ali Khan, Pakistan never hosted any concert of Lata Mangeshkar.

Asked about his comment, Akhtar told NDTV: "They all clapped. They agreed with me. There are many people who admire India, want to have a relationship with us". "We tend to think of countries as monolith. That is not the case. How do we connect with millions of people who want to connect with India," he added.

AT MAHAPANCHAYAT IN MANESAR, A WARNING FOR RAJASTHAN POLICE

A ‘Hindu Mahapanchayat’ organised in support of Monu Manesar, named in an FIR filed in connection with the death of two men from Rajasthan, termed the case a “conspiracy” against gau rakshaks and called for a CBI probe.

At the event, which saw over 80 locals, including members of Bajrang Dal and VHP, several speakers issued a stern warning to Rajasthan Police against arresting Monu, a Bajrang Dal member and face of the cow protection task force of the Haryana government in Gurgaon.

Addressing the gathering, Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, ex-president of the district bar association in Gurgaon who had led the protests against namaz and one of the organisers of the panchayat, said, “This case is not just against Monu and his associates. (It) has been filed against entire Hindu society… in this (false) case. if Rajasthan police harasses our associates or their families, they should clearly listen… If Rajasthan police set foot in Manesar to arrest Monu, they will not return the same way.”

Devender Singh, general secretary, VHP Manesar, among the main organisers, said the panchayat decided that the case against Monu and his team is baseless. “The Rajasthan government is framing cow vigilantes as part of a conspiracy and to appease a specific community.”

DELHI IS ONE CITY WHERE INDISCIPLINE IS THE HIGHEST: N R NARAYANA MURTHY

Citing an example of traffic rule violation in the national capital, Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy on Tuesday said that he feels uncomfortable coming to Delhi because it is the one city where indiscipline is the highest.

While speaking at the All India Management Association (AIMA) Foundation Day, Murthy shared that people should treat community property better than personal property as one of the values to avoid issues of dishonesty in public governance.

“I really feel very uncomfortable coming to Delhi, this is one city where indiscipline is the highest. Let me give you an example. I came yesterday from the Airport. At a red signal, there were so many cars, motorbikes and scooters, you know, violating the red light without a single care.

“If we can’t even wait a minute or two, just to move forward. Do you think those people will wait if there is money? Of course they won’t wait,” Murthy said.

He said while emphasising on the creation of right value in the corporate world. “We should start teaching our children to demonstrate these things in small areas, in areas where there is small returns, to get used to following the right path… Then you will gradually improve towards resisting temptation, where there are big returns,” Murthy said.

US SUPREME COURT BEGINS DEBATING CHALLENGE TO INTERNET COS’ LEGAL SHIELD

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a case that could weaken a legal shield that protects internet companies from a wide array of lawsuits in a dispute involving YouTube and the family of an American student fatally shot in a 2015 rampage by militants in Paris.

The justices were considering an appeal by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-yearold student who was studying in France, of a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit against Google-owned YouTube.

The family claimed YouTube, through its computer algorithms, unlawfully recommended videos by the IS militant group, which claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks that killed 130 people, to certain users. The recommendations helped spread IS’ message and recruit jihadi fighters, the lawsuit said. It accuses YouTube of providing “material support” for terrorism. The justices wondered whether YouTube should lose immunity if the algorithms that provide recommendations are “neutral” or used to organise content.

Google and its supporters have said a win for the family could prompt a flood of litigation against platforms and upend how internet works. The case is a threat to free speech, they added, because it could force sites to suppress anything that could be considered remotely controversial.’

SANIA MIRZA’S GLORIOUS CAREER ENDS

Sania Mirza played the final match of her professional tennis career in Dubai on Tuesday, losing her first-round women’s doubles encounter, partnering with America’s Madison Keys, 4-6, 0-6 against Russian pair Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova.

The 36-year-old’s retirement ends a landmark career, having single-handedly represented India at the elite level of the sport. While there have been few Indian women to have even featured in Grand Slam main draws, Sania won six doubles Grand Slam titles, and spent 91 weeks as the doubles World No. 1.

Singles, where India haven’t seen success outside of Sania for nearly three decades, is the real marker for a nation’s tennis prowess. She became the first Indian woman to reach the second week of a singles Major, and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 27 on the singles tour.

After calling time on her career, Sania hopes to spend more time working with players at her academies in Dubai and Hyderabad – and has also accepted a mentorship role with the Royal Challengers Bangalore cricket franchise in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). The hope is to answer the one question that is constantly posed to her. “The thought process is to try and help the next generation and try and find the answer to that question I’m asked all the time – ‘Who will come after you, that we have not been able to find for the last 20 years?’,” she said.

YUVRAJ SINGH'S UNIQUE GESTURE FOR WOMEN'S CRICKET

Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian cricket team captain, is currently enjoying a good time as her side is in the semi-finals of the Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa. She has now become the first player to feature in 150 T20Is. And she would hope that her team makes it to the final too. Ahead of the semi-final, former India star allrounder Yuvraj Singh made an unique gesture for Harmanpreet. He shared a video on social media where it shows that when the term 'Indian Cricket Team Captain' is searched on Google, it does not show Harmanpreet Kaur. The search result only displays the names of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya as captains of the Indian cricket team.

"If we've created this problem, we also have the power to fix it. Let's do it for women's cricket! Use this hashtag: #IndianCricketTeamCaptainHarmanpreetKaur on #Twitter #Quora #LinkedIn and #Reddit to spread the word and make a difference!" he tweeted.

Indian Women take on Australian Women in the first semi-final tomorrow. Eangland play S Africa in the 2nd semi-final on Friday.

INDICATORS

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

If there is a rumor in the air about you, you'd better treat it as you would a wasp: either ignore it or kill it with the first blow. Anything else will just stir it up.-- James Thom

OFF TRACK

If Saturday and Sunday Don’t Excite You, then change your Friends.

If Monday doesn’t motivate you, then change your profession.

If Monday is too exciting, and you are dying to get to work, then you should change your spouse!!