BJP HITS BACK AFTER DIGVIJAYA SINGH THANKS GERMANY ON RAHUL ISSUE

Amid the ongoing war of words between the Congress and BJP over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a member of the Lok Sabha, Germany has said that it has “taken note” of the development, triggering a fresh political slugfest after senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh thanked Berlin for “taking note of how democracy is being compromised in India”.

Singh’s comments gave the BJP fresh ammunition, as it accused the Congress of seeking “foreign interference” in India’s internal affairs.

Singh triggered the political firestorm after he shared a video of the comments made by a spokesperson of Germany’s foreign ministry, which was tweeted by Richard Walker, chief international editor of Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW). “Thank you Germany Foreign Affairs Ministry and Richard Walker for taking note of how Democracy is being compromised in India through persecution of Rahul Gandhi,” Singh tweeted.

In the video clip, the German foreign ministry spokesperson said: “We have taken note of the verdict of first instance against the Indian Opposition politician Rahul Gandhi as well as the suspension of his parliamentary mandate. To our knowledge, Mr Gandhi is in a position to appeal the verdict. It will then become clear whether this verdict will stand and whether the suspension of his mandate has any basis. We expect that the standards of judicial independence and fundamental democratic principles will equally apply to the proceedings against Rahul Gandhi.”

Hitting out at the Congress, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted: “Apparent that the Congress wants foreign interference in our affairs. Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Communist Party of China with opaque contents. During interactions abroad, plead for help to change govt. Thank them when help forthcoming. Any more proof needed?”

Her Cabinet colleagues joined in. “Thank you Rahul Gandhi for inviting foreign powers for interference into India’s internal matters. Remember, Indian judiciary can’t be influenced by foreign interference. India won’t tolerate ‘foreign influence’ anymore because our Prime Minister is Shri Narendra Modiji,” tweeted Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.

By evening, Congress communication department Jairam Ramesh said: “The Congress firmly believes that India’s democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to our democracy by Mr Modi’s assault on our institutions and his politics of vendetta, intimidation, threats and harassment. The Congress and Opposition parties will take him on fearlessly.”

RAHUL DISQUALIFICATION DARKEST DAY IN INDIAN DEMOCRACY: KHARGE

Launching a scathing attack on Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said the Prime Minister might be a good orator but he was emerging as a “dictator” and asked his party to stand up and fight against the “dictatorship”. Kharge also alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP was linked to a meeting the PM had with the Speaker.

He said the disqualification was the darkest day in the history of Indian democracy. “There are various legal issues in the judgment of the trial court. However, those will be dealt with at an appropriate forum by our legal team,” he said.

“However, the BJP govt’s manipulations in the matter must be pointed out. If we see the timeline of the whole case, it couldn’t be clearer than that the Modi govt deliberately allowed this exercise to play out,” he said. Kharge said in March 2022 the complainant himself had sought a stay on his complaint from the Gujarat High Court, but withdrew “his own request for a stay” days after Gandhi’s speech in Lok Sabha, “exposing the Modi-Adani nexus”.

“Within a matter of 20-25 days, the case is restarted, the hearing is completed, and Gandhi is handed out the maximum punishment of two years. On the same day, Modi ji meets the Lok Sabha Speaker. And then the country witnessed what happened. We must look at the lightning speed at which Gandhi was disqualified and asked to vacate his official residence. Such actions are indeed condemnable, which are destroying the democratic norms of our country and pushing us towards a dictatorial regime,” he said.

Kharge added that the “case was filed by an individual who himself is not an OBC”. “None of the absconders who were named — Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Mehul Choksi — are OBCs. But the BJP is trying to build up false propaganda of ‘so-called’ insult to the OBCs. This is all being done to distract the public attention from the real issue of BJP’s corruption and the loot of public money. What was the hurry [for conviction] when the trial court itself gave one month for appeal? This reflects Modi’s brutal vindictiveness,” he said.

AS G20 SHERPAS MEET, INDIA HOPES UKRAINE WAR WON’T OVERSHADOW ALL ELSE

The G-20 Sherpas’ meeting is being held in Kumarakom, its second such meeting, amid the divisions within the grouping over the Russia-Ukraine war.

The world is polarised over the war, with the US-led West on one side, and Russia and China on the other.

Ahead of the two-day meeting which begins today, India’s G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said, “We will not let the meeting get bogged down by the Russia-Ukraine war and will put the global challenges at the centerstage.”

There is broad consensus on the remaining issues: from climate change to post-pandemic recovery, health, debt financing among other challenges.

“Since last year, the situation has changed. At one point, the G-7 delegates used to walk out or not be in the same room as the Russians. This was evident in Indonesia, which held the G-20 summit in Bali in November last year. But this year, they are also sitting together. There is no walkout. They are all in the same room, discussing issues of shared concern. So, we have achieved some progress,” an official said.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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DONALD TRUMP CRIMINALLY CHARGED, A FIRST FOR A US EX-PRESIDENT

Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former US president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House.

The charges, arising from an investigation led by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, could reshape the 2024 presidential race. Trump previously said he would continue campaigning for the Republican Party’s nomination if charged with a crime.

In a statement, Trump said he was “completely innocent.” “This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,” he said, providing no evidence.

The specific charges are not yet known and the indictment will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days. Trump will have to travel to Manhattan for fingerprinting and other processing at that point.

The Manhattan investigation is one of several legal challenges facing Trump, and the charges could hurt his presidential comeback attempt. Some 44% of Republicans said he should drop out of the race if he is indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week.

RUSSIA ARRESTS A US REPORTER ON SPYING CHARGES

Russia on Thursday charged an American correspondent for the Wall Street Journal with spying. The paper denied the allegations and demanded the release of “trusted and dedicated reporter” Evan Gershkovich.

The US condemned the arrest. “The targeting of American citizens by the Russian govt is unacceptable. We condemn the detention of Gershkovich in the strongest terms,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Gershkovich, a 31-year-old who has worked in Russia as a journalist for six years, is the highest-profile American arrested there since basketball star Brittney Griner, who was freed in December after 10 months in jail on drugs charges.

The FSB said it arrested Gershkovich in the Urals industrial city of Yekaterinburg, “suspected of spying in the interests of the American govt” by collecting information on “one of the enterprises of Russia’s military-industrial complex”, which it did not identify. He was brought to Moscow, where a court at a closed hearing ordered him held in pre-trial detention until May 29. Gershkovich, who has been working for the Journal for over a year, told the court he was not guilty.

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LAHORE HIGH COURT STRIKES DOWN PAKISTAN’S ‘SEDITION LAW’

The Lahore High Court Thursday invalidated the provisions of Section 124A of the Pakistan Penal Code, also referred to as its “sedition law”. Section 124A made it a crime to engage in sedition or “disaffection” against the govt.

Section 124A of Pakistan’s Penal Code defines “sedition” as, “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Federal or Provincial Govt established by law shall be punished with imprisonment for life to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.”

A product of the subcontinent’s colonial rule, the sedition law was inherited by the penal systems of both India and Pakistan, and is identical in the two counties. This provision was extensively used to curb political dissent during India’s anti-colonial struggle. Several pre-independence cases involving Section 124A of the IPC are against celebrated freedom fighters, including Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, Shaukat and Mohammad Ali, Maulana Azad, and Mahatma Gandhi.

Pakistan’s Penal Code enshrines it under Section 124A, much like the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which defines it under Section 124A as well.

In May 2022, a three-judge bench headed by the then CJI NV Ramana of the Apex Court in “S.G. Vombatkere vs Union Of India” directed the Centre and states to keep in abeyance all pending trials, appeals, and proceedings with respect to the charge framed under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with the offense of sedition, till the central govt completes the promised exercise to reconsider and re-examine the provision.

The central govt had initially defended the colonial provision, but later told the Apex court it was reviewing it. Almost a year later, a determinate conclusion is still awaited.

MoD SIGNS RS 30,400 CR PACTS FOR MISSILES, WARSHIPS, RADARS

The Ministry of Defence yesterday announced Rs 30,400 crore worth of contracts for missiles, warships and radars, with focus on indigenous manufacturing and strengthening air defence and attack abilities at sea and land.

A contract was inked with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) for procurement of long-range next generation maritime mobile coastal batteries of the BrahMos missiles at a cost of more than Rs 1,700 crore. The delivery of the missiles is scheduled to commence from 2027.

BrahMos has already been inducted into the armed forces. Its range was capped at 290 km as per the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) regulations. India entered the MTCR regime in June 2016, allowing extension in range. The new missiles will go beyond 300 km.

The MoD has also signed contracts for improved Akash weapon system and 12 weapon-locating radars ‘Swathi’ for the Army at a cost of more than Rs 9,100 crore.

The contract for acquisition of six missile vessels was signed with Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) at a cost of Rs 9,805 crore. The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from March 2027.

STEPWELL ROOF COLLAPSES IN INDORE: ATLEAST 35 KILLED

In a tragic incident that sent shock waves across the country, at least 35 devotees were killed - majority of them women - and 18 got injured, whereas many were missing as roof of a bawdi (stepwell) caved in during a havan on the occasion of Ram Navami at Beleshwar Mahadev Temple at Patel Nagar in the city on Thursday.

The death toll may go up as some devotees are still missing and condition of a few of the injured persons is stated to be critical.

"There was a huge crowd of devotees on the roof of the bawdi. As the structure could not bear the load of so many people, it caved in."

The devotees fell into the bawdi which was about 50 to 60 feet deep," said Indore police commissioner Makrand Deoskar, citing eyewitness accounts.

AFTER TALKS WITH ASSAM CM, TIPRA MOTHA SAYS ‘HIGHLY SATISFIED’

A day after Tripura’s opposition TIPRA Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma left for Guwahati hurriedly along with top leaders of his party to meet Assam Chief Minister and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) chairperson Himanta Biswa Sarma, they returned to Agartala and said they were ‘highly satisfied’ with discussions held on the progress for Greater Tipraland and constitutional solution for tribals – the demand on which Motha contested the recently held Assembly polls and won 13 seats.

Speaking to reporters at the Assembly, Opposition leader Animesh Debbarma said, “We heard the Assam CM on how the central govt was working for permanent peace, progress to ensure people of all sections can live with identity and dignity. I am personally so impressed and happy that the CM of a large state like Assam gave us time and briefed us about Home Minister Shah and PM Modi’s outlook for Tripura”.

TENSION ERUPTS DURING RAM NAVAMI PROCESSION IN BENGAL’S HOWRAH

Tension erupted in the Howrah district of West Bengal after stones were allegedly pelted at a Ram Navami procession Thursday. As per reports, some people started pelting stones as the procession was passing through the PM Basti area.

The Ram Navami procession was being taken out from Avani Hall to the Howrah Maidan area. The procession was organised by Anjani Putra Sena, an NGO that takes out Ram Navami procession every year.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the BJP for the incident and said: “Time and again, they keep trying to stoke communal violence and it is the only thing they’re good at. Even today, they caused communal violence in Howrah. I have repeatedly said that I will not block any Ram Navami procession. I had given instructions to my party workers as well as the police. While one community is celebrating Annapurna Puja, the other is observing fast during Ramzan. We have over 33 per cent Muslim population in the state, they fast and pray during this significant period.

“I had said it repeatedly [not to disrupt the peace]. They have been hiring goons from outside the state to orchestrate communal riots. Nobody has stopped their processions but they do not have the right to march with swords and bulldozers. How did they get the audacity to do this in Howrah?”

The CM said stern action will be taken against everyone involved in the unrest.

SUICIDE AT IIT-B: CASTE DISCRIMINATION FIR FILED AFTER KIN APPROACH CM

The Mumbai Police on Thursday lodged an FIR against unknown persons for allegedly indulging in caste-based discrimination, resulting in the suicide of IIT Bombay student Darshan Solanki on February 13.

Even as the special investigation team (SIT) set up by the Maharashtra govt to probe the case had recovered a purported “suicide note” written by Darshan, where he had allegedly named a batchmate, the last few days had witnessed a disagreement between the SIT and his parents over what led the first-year BTech student to jump from his hostel on the IIT campus.

On Wednesday, the parents had written to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, alleging harassment faced by his family in regard to registration of an FIR into the matter. The family had alleged that while the SIT is forcing them to get an FIR registered on the basis of the purported suicide note, they wanted the FIR to be based on their original complaint, which claimed caste-based discrimination faced by Darshan on the campus forced him to take his life.

Eventually, on Thursday, the police registered the FIR based on the complaint filed by Darshan’s parents. The police, however, said the investigation is not bound by the FIR and they would proceed based on their findings.

GOALKEEPERS CAN’T MOVE, TOUCH POSTS, PLAY MIND GAMES DURING SHOOTOUTS: NEW FOOTBALL RULES

Lionel Messi attained ‘godly’ status after leading Argentina to the 2022 World Cup triumph, but their goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez’s antics during the penalty shootout victory over France in the final cannot be overlooked either.

Martinez repeatedly argued with the referee, teased the penalty-takers, celebrated saves wildly, and even threw the ball away before Aurelien Tchouameni’s attempt, which the latter subsequently missed.

What Martinez’s actions did was prompt debate about whether such antics by a goalkeeper during a penalty shootout are ethical in a sporting sense.

The rule-makers have now decided they aren’t. Come July 1, goalkeepers have to adhere to a new set of rules that restrict them from “unfairly distracting the kicker”. The defending goalkeeper must remain on the goal line, facing the kicker, between the goalposts, without touching the goalposts, crossbar or goal net, until the ball is kicked.

The rule has received a mixed response with, rather ironically, France goalkeeper Mike Maignan sarcastically tweeting that the next rule would be: “Goalkeepers must have their backs to the shot”.

IPL KICKS OFF TODAY, IN ITS 16TH EDITION

The never-ending speculations about Mahendra Singh Dhoni's impending 'last dance', Virat Kohli's endless pursuit of an elusive silverware and Rohit Sharma's customary nonchalance are things that make the IPL starting today a heady cocktail of cricket and entertainment.

As it enters the 16th season, innovations introduced in the form of potential game changer like the 'Impact Player' rule, DRS on wides and waist-high no balls, and two broadcasting giants locked in an ugly war of 'TV vs Digital' act as ingredients garnishing the mouth-watering dish, which will be devoured by millions for more than 50 days.

In the first match today, CSK take on Gujarat Titans

INDICATORS

(Indian Markets were closed yesterday on account of Ram Navami)

Nasdaq 12,013 (+87) Dow 32,859 (+141), S&P 4,051 (+23)

(US$-Rs. 82.15 GBP-Rs. 101.46, Euro-Rs. 89.34, UAE Dhm-Rs. 22.36, Can$-Rs. 60.65, Aus$- Rs. 55.02

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.91 /US$, Jap.Yen 132.6 /US$, Aus$ 1.49 /US$, Sing 1.32 /US$, Bang Taka 105.89 /US$, Can$ 1.35 /US$, Mal Ring 4.41 /US$,

Pak Re 283.29 /US$, Phil Peso 54.34 /US$, Russian Rouble 77.17 /US$, NZ$ 1.60 /US$, Thai Baht 34.16 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.59 /US$)

Bitcoin - USD 28,275

Dollar Index 101.80 Brent Crude 79.30 BDI 1403

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,981 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,967 / 5,470, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 76,200

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

To arrive at a just estimate of a renowned man's character one must judge it by the standards of his time, not ours. - Mark Twain

OFF TRACK

Note outside a Repair Shop: WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR - THE BELL DOESN'T WORK)