PARLIAMENT PARALYSED AGAIN AS BJP INSISTS ON RAHUL'S APOLOGY

The Parliament logjam entered the second week on Monday, with both Houses adjourned within seconds amid a persisting Opposition-BJP face-off over Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s London remarks on India’s alleged “democratic decline”.

While the broader Opposition blamed the govt for the stalemate, saying it had invented the issue to avoid constituting a JPC on the Adani matter, the BJP fielded minister Hardeep Puri who said “an unconditional apology from Gandhi can end the Parliament logjam”.

Puri questioned Gandhi for terming the minorities “second-class citizens in India”, noting: “I was born five years after the Partition and this country has given me everything...Is he playing to an agenda?” He questioned Gandhi’s intentions behind “asking foreign nations to intervene in the Indian democratic process”.

Gandhi, who has been defending his remarks, meanwhile, wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla yesterday seeking permission to put across his point of view in the House since “four ministers have levelled allegations against him”.

In Parliament, several Opposition MPs gave adjournment notices to discuss the non-constitution of the JPC on the Adani issue after leaders of the Congress, DMK, RJD, CPM, CPI, NCP, JD-U, AAP and Shiv Sena met in Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha) Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber.

INDIA INTEGRAL TO FREE INDO-PACIFIC: KISHIDA

Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced over $75 billion worth of infrastructure and security assistance for Indo-Pacific countries, including India, even as PM Narendra Modi vowed to expand the India-Japan global strategic partnership. Kishida said India was integral to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

The Japanese PM arrived here in the morning amid an unprecedented global churn over the Ukraine conflict and China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific. He had two major engagements – a meeting with PM Modi and a speech at the Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA) outlining Japan’s new action plan for the Indo-Pacific during which he announced the $75 billion assistance. With Japan chairing the G7 and India the G20, PM Modi said, “It is the best opportunity to work on our respective priorities.”

FARMERS WARN OF STIR BIGGER THAN DELHI'S

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Monday accused the Centre of reneging on its promise of giving a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for all crops and warned the Centre of holding protests bigger in scale than the one in Delhi in 2020.

At a kisan mahapanchayat at Ramlila Maidan in new Delhi, the SKM said, “The Centre should stop trying the patience of farmers. If the govt continues to renege on its promises and shirk its responsibility towards farmers, they will be left with no option but to intensify the struggle.”

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The SKM has been fighting for a legal guarantee on the MSP for all crops.

Addressing the gathering at Ramlila Maidan, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said, “If we (farmers) want the MSP for all crops, we have to hold a protest bigger in scale than the one in 2020. We will have to fight hard to get our demands fulfilled.”

I CAN’T BE INTIMIDATED: RAHUL GANDHI DAY AFTER DELHI POLICE REACHES HIM

A day after a Delhi Police team reached his residence to inquire about the sexual assault victims that he mentioned during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kashmir, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday stated that he cannot be intimidated by the relentless political attacks on him or the police being sent to his house numerous times.

“Many people may be scared of the Prime Minister, BJP, RSS and the police, but I am not. I am not scared of them in the least and that is their problem. Their problem is why I am not scared. The reason is I believe in the truth,” the Wayanad MP said while speaking in the Kerala district.

He also criticised PM Modi, BJP and RSS by saying that they were “confused”, “delusional” and “arrogant” if they considered themselves as India. “The confusion is in the minds of the Prime Minister, BJP and RSS. They are under the impression that they are India.”

“The PM is one Indian person, he is not India. No matter how delusional or how arrogant he may be, he is just one Indian of this country. The BJP and RSS have forgotten that there are 1.4 billion people in the country and they are not the BJP, RSS or the Prime Minister,” the Congress leader said.

Earlier in the day, he addressed a public rally in poll-bound Karnataka and hit out at the BJP-led Central govt, saying “this country belongs to everyone, does not belong to two to three selected, it is not Adani’s”. He also called on party leaders in the state to fight the BJP with unity, as he exuded confidence of “sweeping” the forthcoming Karnataka Assembly polls with absolute majority.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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XI IN MOSCOW FOR TALKS WITH PUTIN TO 'END UKRAINE WAR'

Ahead of his crucial talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that his peace plan to end the raging Ukraine war takes into account the 'legitimate' concerns of all parties and reflects the broadest common understanding of the international community.

Xi arrived in Moscow on a three-day official visit, official media in China reported on Monday.

Making his first visit abroad after his endorsement as President and head of the military for an unprecedented third five-year term by China's Parliament earlier this month, Xi is due to hold talks with Putin during which he is expected to pitch for peace talks to end the Ukraine conflict.

'Russia was the first country I visited after I was elected President 10 years ago,' Xi said in an article titled 'Forging Ahead to Open a New Chapter of China-Russia Friendship, Cooperation and Common Development' published in Russia's newspaper Russian Gazette on Monday.

While the thrust of his article was on further developing the strategic ties against the damaging acts of hegemony, domination and bullying , an apparent dig at the United States, it also highlighted Xi's peace plan to end the Ukraine war.

Buoyed by China's successful mediatory role in bringing a peace deal between arch-rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia recently following which the two warring Arab countries agreed to resume diplomatic ties, Xi now focuses on brokering a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war in a bid to enhance Beijing's role in global diplomacy.

PAKISTAN PM SLAMS IMRAN FOR ‘INSTIGATION’ AGAINST ARMY

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif on Monday charged his predecesssor Imran Khan with “brazenly” attempting to tarnish the reputation of army chief General Asim Munir and urged his country’s diaspora to distance themselves from any “foreign-funded conspiracy” against state institutions. Sharif’s diatribe against Imran came a day after hundreds of Pakistani Americans gathered outside the White House on Sunday to demand an end to the govt’s actions against the former PM.

Terming Imran’s alleged “smear campaign” against Gen Munir an extension of the “conspiracy against the military”,the PM said the former cricketer was indulging in “toxic politics”. “This man Niazi (Imran Khan) is stooping to unprecedented lows in his desperation for power, anddamaging the country and undermining our armed forces and their leadership,” Sharif said. He directed home minister Rana Sanaullah to deal with “the miscreants running this vile campaign with an iron fist”.

After the PM’s speech, Imran’s party said the remarks were aimed at creating a divide between the people and the army so that the two remained “at war”.

THE REST

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NO COMMENTS: US ON PROVIDING INTELLIGENCE TO INDIA ON CHINESE INCURSION

The White House on Monday refused to confirm a news report that the United States provided crucial intelligence to the Indian military last year that helped it successfully tackle the Chinese "incursions".

"No, I can't confirm that," John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House told reporters at a daily news conference, when asked about the news report.

In an exclusive news report, the US News said that India was able to repel a Chinese military incursion in border territory in the high Himalayas late last year due to unprecedented intelligence-sharing with the US military, an act that caught China's People's Liberation Army off-guard, enraged Beijing; and appears to have forced the Chinese Communist Party to reconsider its approach to land grabs along its borders.

"The US govt for the first time provided real-time details to its Indian counterparts of the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion, says a source familiar with a previously unreported U.S. intelligence review of the encounter into the Arunachal Pradesh region," the daily reported. "The information included actionable satellite imagery and was more detailed and delivered more quickly than anything the U.S. had previously shared with the Indian military," it said.

DAY 3: SEARCH ON FOR AMRITPAL SINGH, HIS ARRESTED UNCLE & AIDES FACE NSA

With the hunt for Amritpal Singh Sandhu entering the third day, and the Centre alerting border forces that he “may try” to cross over to Pakistan or Nepal, the Punjab Police invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against five of his arrested aides, including his uncle who was held early on Monday.

The state govt, meanwhile, extended the suspension of mobile internet services for another 24 hours till Tuesday noon to “maintain public order”. The police also withheld the Twitter accounts of several users, including some journalists reporting from Punjab, “after analysing the content”.

Briefing reporters, IG (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill said the NSA had been imposed on Daljit Kalsi, Bhagwant Singh alias Pardhanmantri Bajeke, Basant Singh Daulatpura, Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwala and Harjit Singh who is Amritpal’s uncle. The five are currently lodged in a jail in Assam’s Dibrugarh.

Reiterating that Amritpal was still at large, the IG said the “police is clear that he has not been arrested so far and all efforts are on in the entire state to arrest him”. Gill said the police will invoke NSA “on the basis of facts” against Amritpal too “once he is arrested”.

Under the NSA, the IG said, there was no need to produce the detainees before a magistrate. “Broadly, a report has to be submitted to an advisory board which, after being satisfied by the evidence, can extend the detention under NSA for three months over a maximum period of one year,” he said.

According to Gill, “the circumstances and activities (of Amritpal and his aides) suggest that (Pakistani agency) ISI is involved in this, and they were getting funding from abroad”. He said Amritpal had raised an outfit called Anandpur Khalsa Fauj (AKF), the markings of which were found on bulletproof vests and rifles carried by his associates and at the gate of his house.

Asked why the police acted against Amritpal only on March 18, more than three weeks after the attack on the police station, IG Gill said, “Evidence collection, planning takes time… (a) holistic picture has to be seen, all facts have to be seen, the police have to satisfy themselves plus it is also to be seen what could be the implications, and only then action is taken.”

"IF MY REMOTE WITH SOMEONE ELSE...": CONGRESS CHIEF'S COUNTER TO PM MODI

Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "remote control" jibe at him and the Congress, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday asked as to where was BJP chief JP Nadda's remote control.

"PM Modi came to Belagavi and said - Kharge has become President (Congress), but remote control is with someone else. Okay, my remote control is with someone else, but where is Mr Nadda's (BJP national President J P Nadda) remote control?" Kharge asked.

NOW, KHALISTANIS ATTACK INDIAN CONSULATE IN SAN FRANCISCO, PLACE FLAGS

A group of pro-Khalistan protesters on Sunday attacked and damaged the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, prompting sharp condemnation from Indian-Americans who demanded immediate action against those responsible for it.

'We are also appalled by the complete law and order failure in both in London as well as in SFO where a few radicalised separatists attacked India's diplomatic missions,' Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) said after pro-Khalistani protesters attacked the Indian Consulate in San Francisco.

Raising pro-Khalistan slogans, the protesters broke open the makeshift security barriers raised by the San Francisco police and installed two so-called Khalistani flags inside the Consulate premises. The consulate personnel soon removed these flags.

Soon thereafter, a group of angry protesters entered the consulate premises and started hitting the door and windows with the iron rods.

There was no immediate comment from San Francisco police on the incident.

Community leader Ajay Bhutoria strongly condemned the attack by pro-Khalistan protesters on the Consulate of India building in San Francisco. "This act of violence is not only a threat to the diplomatic relations between the United States and India but also an attack on the peace and harmony of our community," he said.

In a statement, Bhutoria urged local authorities to take immediate action against those responsible for this attack and bring them to justice.

The United States strongly condemned the incident. "That vandalism, it's just absolutely unacceptable," John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for strategic communications at the White House told reporters at a daily news conference.

In Canberra, Khalistan supporters gathered outside Australian parliament to protest against police crackdown on radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his associates in Punjab.

"BJP CAN'T BE DEFEATED, UNLESS...": PRASHANT KISHOR

Prashant Kishor on Monday predicted that opposition unity against the BJP in 2024 would "never work" as it would be unstable and ideologically disparate. The ace election strategist also questioned the benefits of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Opposition unity, he said, is a facade and wouldn't be possible just by bringing parties or leaders together.

"If you want to challenge the BJP, you have to understand its strengths - Hindutva, nationalism and welfarism. It is a three-level pillar. If you can't breach at least two of these levels, then you can't challenge the BJP," Prashant Kishor said in an interview to NDTV.

SEALED COVER: SUPREME COURT AGAIN REPEATS NO, THIS TIME OVER OROP CASE

Arguing that “there had to be transparency in court”, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud Monday reiterated his stance on sealed cover submissions before the Supreme Court.

A Bench comprising Justice Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala refused to accept a sealed cover note by the Centre on its views regarding the payment of One Rank One Pension (OROP) arrears to ex-service personnel. “We need to put an end to this sealed cover practice in the Supreme Court…This is fundamentally contrary to the basic process of fair justice,” the Bench said.

“I am personally averse to sealed covers. There has to be transparency in court… This is about implementing orders. What can be secret here,” the CJI said.

The CJI spoke on similar lines on sealed cover submissions last month while hearing a clutch of petitions on the Hindenburg Research report and its aftermath. Justice Chandrachud, who was then heading a three-judge Bench, told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the Court wanted to maintain “full transparency”. The move came after Mehta submitted a folder with the names proposed by the govt for a committee of experts who could suggest a mechanism for the protection of investors.

PM SECURITY BREACH: PUNJAB TOP COPS STARE AT ADVERSE ACTION

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Monday ordered the state personnel department to initiate disciplinary proceedings for major penalty against former DGP S Chattopadhyaya, Inderbir Singh, the then DIG, Ferozepur Range, and Harmandeep Singh Hans, the then SSP of Ferozepur over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security breach during his visit to Punjab in January 2022.

An explanation will be sought from these officers and their replies will be examined. If found unsatisfactory, they will be charge-sheeted for a major penalty.

After the Prime Minister’s security breach in Punjab on January 5 last year, the Supreme Court had appointed a committee to report into the case. The committee report, submitted six months ago, had indicted then state chief secretary Anirudh Tewari, police chief S Chattopadhyaya, and other top officers for lapses.

CARLOS ALCARAZ RETURNS TO NO. 1; NADAL OUT OF TOP 10, FIRST TIME IN 18 YEARS

Carlos Alcaraz returned to No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday, replacing Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in 18 years.

Alcaraz rose one spot, swapping places with Djokovic, a day after ending Daniil Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak by beating him in straight sets in the final at Indian Wells, California.

Djokovic has spent more weeks at No. 1 than any man or woman in tennis history. He did not play in Indian Wells because he is not allowed to enter the United States as a foreign citizen who is not vaccinated against COVID-19. He also will miss the Miami Open that begins this week; Alcaraz is the defending champion there.

Nadal has been sidelined since January by an injured hip flexor and he slipped four spots to No. 13 on Monday, ending a stay in the top 10 that began in April 2005. It is the longest such run in the ATP; Jimmy Connors is next on the list with about 15 years.

Djokovic and Nadal currently share the men’s record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles.

INDICATORS

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GBP 0.81 /US$, Euro 0.93 /US$, Jap.Yen 131.55 /US$, Aus$ 1.49 /US$, Sing 1.33 /US$, Bang Taka 104.78 /US$, Can$ 1.36 /US$, Mal Ring 4.48 /US$,

Pak Re 280.90 /US$, Phil Peso 54.43 /US$, Russian Rouble 76.97 /US$, NZ$ 1.59 /US$, Thai Baht 34.05 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.61 /US$)

Bitcoin - USD 27,876

Dollar Index 102.95 Brent Crude 73.62 BDI 1535.00

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,980 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,978 / 5,480, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 74,000

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

We make way for the man who boldly pushes past us. - Christian Nestell Bovee

OFF TRACK

At a girl's college dormitory, dates were permitted only on Saturday night.

One young man showed up on a Tuesday evening, explaining to an older woman in the lobby of the dorm that it was imperative he see a certain young lady immediately.

"I want to surprise her. You see, I'm her brother."

"Oh, she'll be surprised all right," said the woman. "But think of how surprised I am! I'm her mother!"