"DOSTI NAHI, RISHTA": OPPOSITION UNITY PUSH AT CONGRESS, TEAM UDDHAV MEET

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal met Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai on Monday, where they discussed opposition unity ahead of the national election in 2024 and alleged misuse of central agencies by the BJP govt to target opposition leaders.

"I came here to meet Uddhav ji and to convey the message of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. The message is very clear - in the current political situation in India and Maharashtra, Uddhav ji is fighting against anti-democratic forces. Democracy has been completely sabotaged by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, we have seen that. The ED and CBI are being used to target Uddhav ji's and other parties," Venugopal told reporters after the meeting.

Venugopal called for a "broader opposition unity". "The opposition will together fight the dictatorship of Narendra Modi. There may be differences in opinion. The Congress, Sena and NCP have their own ideology, but the country is facing bigger issues which we never faced. That's why we discussed all these issues and we are all in agreement that we all have to get together and fight these people," Venugopal said. Mr Gandhi will meet Mr Uddhav in Mumbai sometime, and the Sena chief will also visit Delhi soon, the Congress General Secretary said.

Agreeing with the visiting Congress leader, Mr Thackeray said everyone has their own ideology; however, their battle is to save democracy. "Hum jab dosti nibhate hai, wo dosti nahi, rishta hota hai (for us, friendship is family)," Thackeray told reporters. "We supported the BJP for 25 years, but they never really understood who is a friend and who is an enemy," he added.

The BJP has often taken swipes at the opposition's attempt to unite when there are disagreements and even outright hostility between some of them. On Sunday, Congress leader Ajay Maken asked the party not to "support" and "show any sympathy" to Mr Kejriwal as doing so would "confuse" the Congress cadre and "benefit" the BJP.

CONG PRESSES ON WITH CASTE CENSUS PITCH

Upping the ante on the OBC issue, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the 2011-12 socio-economic and caste census data public if he really had the interest of OBCs, Dalits and tribal communities in mind.

“If we want to uplift OBCs and give them their rights, the first step will be to release the census data. The Prime Minister will never do this because he is unconcerned about the welfare of OBCs,” Rahul said while addressing an election rally at Humnabad in Bidar district of Karnataka yesterday.

He also said the underprivileged needed economic and political power and not empty words as he again called for removing the 50 per cent ceiling on quota and demanded reservation for Dalits and tribals based on their population.

In a letter to the PM, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge too demanded a fresh caste census along with the decennial census. In the letter, which was posted on Twitter on Monday, Kharge reminded the PM that the UPA govt had conducted a socio-economic and caste census in 2011-12 covering around 25 crore households, but for a number of reasons, the caste data could not be published. He said the Congress and other Opposition parties demanded its release after the Modi govt came to power in May 2014.

Kharge’s letter and Rahul’s move is seen as a sign as the party’s plan to play up the demand for the caste census not only in Karnataka but also in the General Election slated to be held next year.

INDIA HOSTS 100TH MEET UNDER ITS G20 PRESIDENCY

India celebrated a key milestone in its G20 presidency today, as it hosted 100th meeting which commenced in Varanasi.

Besides the meeting of G20 agricultural chief scientists in Varanasi, the day also saw meetings on health (Goa), digital economy (Hyderabad) and space economy (Shillong).

India’s year-long G20 presidency commenced on December 1, 2022. In-person participation during India’s G20 presidency is among the largest ever, say officials.

More than 12,300 delegates from over 110 nationalities have attended G20 meetings so far. This includes participation from G20 members, nine invitee countries and 14 international organisations.

As on date, 100 G20 meetings have been held in 41 cities, covering 28 states and Union Territories. India will host foreign delegates for more than 200 G20 meetings in around 60 cities across India, the widest geographical spread in any G20 presidency.

All 13 Sherpa Track Working Groups, eight Finance Track Work streams, 11 Engagement Groups and four initiatives have conducted substantial interactions.

To date, three ministerial meetings have been convened. The first Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting was held in Bengaluru in February, the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting was held in New Delhi and the second FMCBG meeting was in Washington DC this month.

WTO PANEL RULES AGAINST INDIA IN ICT TARIFF DISPUTE WITH EU, OTHERS

The dispute settlement panel of the WTO on Monday ruled that India’s imposition of tariffs on mobile phones and electronic components violates its commitment under the Information Technology Act under the multilateral trade body.

“We recommend India bring such measures into conformity with its obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994,” the panel ruled.

The rulings in three separate but similar disputes raised by the European Union, Chinese Taipei, and Japan will put pressure on India to withdraw the tariffs at a time it is seeking to be a leader in electronics manufacturing through a production-linked incentive scheme.

However, an Indian commerce ministry official said since the appellate body of WTO — its highest adjudicating authority — is dysfunctional due to the absence of judges, the adverse report of the dispute settlement panel will not have any immediate impact.

“India will be appealing against this judgment. Since the appellate body at the WTO is dysfunctional, it will be a void appeal. That is why there will not be any substantial impact on India,” said a govt official.

India, which is signatory to the 1996 Information Technology Agreement, is required to eliminate tariffs on a range of products, including mobile handsets. However, starting 2007-08 Union Budget, India imposed tariffs on a clutch of electronic items to curb cheap electronic imports from China and promote India’s home-grown manufacturing.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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SLOVAKIA BECOMES 3RD NATION TO DEFY EU, BAN FOOD IMPORTS FROM UKRAINE

Slovakia became the third European Union country to ban food imports from Ukraine on Monday, deepening the challenge for the bloc as it works to help Ukraine transport its grain to world markets.

Slovakia followed Poland and Hungary, both of which announced bans on Saturday on Ukrainian food imports through June 30. They did so in response to rising anger from farmers who say a glut of grain in their countries is causing them economic hardship.

The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, manages trade on behalf of the 27 member countries and objects to them taking unilateral or uncoordinated measures.

IRAN INVITES SAUDI KING TO VISIT AMID THAW IN TIES

Iran said on Monday it has formally invited Saudi King Salman to visit Tehran, following a reconciliation pact reached last month between the two sides.

Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran in 2016, after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northwestern city of Mashhad were attacked during protests over Riyadh’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. The two West Asian powerhouses had held several rounds of dialogue in Iraq and Oman before reaching the agreement to mend ties on March 10 in China.

On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said President Ebrahim Raisi had had already received an invitation to visit the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

LAVROV HEADS TO BRAZIL AS LULA PUSHES FOR PEACE

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov arrived at the Brazilian capital on Monday as Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pushes a diplomatic approach for peace in Ukraine that has irked both Kyiv and the West.

Lavrov and his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira met Monday morning and both will meet with Lula in the afternoon.

Lula has refused to provide weapons to Ukraine while proposing a club of nations including Brazil and China to mediate peace. On Sunday, he told reporters in Abu Dhabi that two nations — both Russia and Ukraine — had decided to go to war, and a day earlier in Beijing said the US must stop “stimulating” the continued fighting and start discussing peace. His position has apparently been appreciated in Moscow.

THE REST

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A FELLOW SOLDIER HELD FOR BATHINDA KILLINGS

An Army soldier has been arrested on the charge of killing four fellow soldiers in their sleep early April 12 at the Bathinda Military Station in Punjab.

On Monday, Punjab Police and the Army HQ South Western Command did not disclose the exact reason for the killing, saying the soldier shot dead his four colleagues “due to personal reasons/animosity”.

Sources in the police, however, claimed that the soldier, a Gunner from the 80 Medium Regiment of the Artillery, had said he was repeatedly assaulted sexually over a period of time and shot dead the four soldiers in an act of revenge.

The soldier, police said, was an eyewitness who had falsely stated that he had seen two masked persons, clad in kurta pyjamas, running into a nearby forest after the killings in the early hours of April 12. He did that to mislead investigating agencies.

Police said the rifle used in the crime was dumped in a sewage pit by the soldier along with some ammunition and a misfired cartridge. These, he said, had been recovered.

“The accused was also found to be making inconsistent statements during the inquiry being conducted by the Army and this gave us reason to suspect him,” the police said.

The Gunner, in his confession, said he stole the weapon along with a filled magazine early April 9 morning and hid it.

EX-K'TAKA CM SHETTAR JOINS CONG, GETS POLL TICKET

Senior BJP leader and former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar on Monday joined the Congress, ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections. Lashing out at the BJP for "humiliating" him and not giving him a chance for an "honourable exit", the former state BJP president said he was beginning a "new episode" in his life by joining the Congress.

The decision to part ways with the BJP came after the 67-year old six time MLA, a former Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, ex-Speaker and a party president in the past, was denied ticket to contest from the Hubli-Dharwad (Central) segment, which he represented in the outgoing Lower House.

The Lingayat leader from north Karnataka region embraced the Congress in the presence of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge.

Last week, another Lingayat leader Laxman Savadi quit the BJP after being overlooked for the Athani seat and joined the Congress.

KEJRIWAL CONTINUES WITH HIS DIGS AT PM MODI OVER HIS DEGREE

In an apparent attack on PM Narendra Modi, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said India was being run by a “Class 4-pass king who was arrogant and corrupt” and stressed that the country needed an “educated king”.

Addressing a special session of the Assembly, Kejriwal, without naming PM Modi, alleged the “illiterate king got a fake degree” and fined those who raised questions.

He claimed on the contrary, there was an educated CM who had been taking decisions in favour of the people of his state. “People need to make sure that their king is well educated. If the kingdom is suffering due to high inflation and unemployment, it is because of incompetent rulers who gave all resources in the hands of a chosen few,” he alleged.

‘HIJAB, HALAL ISSUES NOT NECESSARY… I WILL NOT SUPPORT SUCH THINGS’: BS YEDIYURAPPA

Hindus and Muslims should live like “brothers and sisters,” and the controversies around hijab and halal – that had rocked Karnataka recently — were “unnecessary”, former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa said here Friday.

Asked how the party had handled the hijab and the halal issue, Yediyurappa, in an interview to The Indian Express, said: “I am not going to support such things. According to me, Hindus and Muslims should live like brothers and sisters. From the beginning, I have taken this stand. These were the issues that were not necessary. I will not support such things.”

Meanwhie, the BJP has given a ticket to Yashpal Suvarna, one of the most vocal voices against students seeking to wear hijab on college premises in Karnataka, which had stoked tension between communities in the coastal region of the state.

NITISH RELENTS, ANNOUNCES RS 4 LAKH EX GRATIA FOR HOOCH VICTIMS’ FAMILIES

Setting aside his tough stand on liquor, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Monday announced to provide Rs 4 lakh ex gratia each to those who lost their lives in hooch poisonings after the imposition of prohibition of alcohol in April 2016.

“It’s the poor who are dying due to consumption of liquor. It is unfortunate. But they are also a part of our society,” the Bihar chief minister said, adding that he still was strongly in favour of prohibition.

“But since the last three years I have witnessed people dying due to consumption of liquor despite my persuasion not to take alcohol,” he said, stressing that the chief secretary was directed to hold a meeting and decide the formalities.

Made in the backdrop of the hooch tragedy at Motihari in East Champaran district, Nitish’s announcement was a U-turn from his stand in December, when over 100 died in Saran district after consuming illicit liquor. As the tragedy occurred when the Winter session of the Bihar assembly was on, the Opposition had piled up pressure on Nitish. But he had ruled out any compensation, saying that “Jo piyega, so marega (Those who drink will die).”

GYANVAPI ROW: SC ASKS COLLECTOR TO HOLD MEETING TO PROVIDE WAZU FACILITIES

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Varanasi district collector to hold a meeting for providing 'congenial' working arrangements for wazu (ritual ablution) for Muslim devotees at the Gyanvapi mosque complex.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh govt, informed a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala that a meeting will be held on Tuesday and the direction for providing facilities for wazu on the premises will be implemented.

The court was hearing a plea by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee, which manages the mosque, seeking permission for wazu inside the complex in Varanasi during the month of Ramzan.

"The solicitor general assures the court that a meeting shall be convened tomorrow by the district collector so that a congenial working arrangement is provided," the bench noted in the order.

The apex court had on November 11 last year extended till further orders the protection of the area where a 'Shivling' was claimed to have been found.

SGPC SAYS ATTEMPT TO MALIGN SIKHS AS VIDEO OF STAFFER ARGUING WITH VISITOR OVER TRICOLOUR GOES VIRAL

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SPGC) Monday ordered a probe into a viral video that showed one of its staffers allegedly denying a young woman entry into the Golden Temple because she had the national flag painted on her cheek.

Reacting to the video and the flood of criticism that followed, the SGPC, in a statement, said the visitor was stopped and asked to follow the “maryada (code of conduct)”. The issue, it added, was being blown out of proportion to “tarnish the image of the Sikhs and defame the management over the incident”.

The video reportedly shows the young woman, accompanied by a man, trying to enter the Golden Temple with the Tricolour painted on her face, and SPGC staffer Sarabdeep Singh stopping her. When her companion questions Sarabdeep regarding the restriction, he says that she has to wipe the flag off her face. When he asks if this was not India, the staffer is heard saying, “No, it is Punjab”.

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami strongly condemned the “narrative being created against the Sikhs” on social media following the video. “The conversation of a female devotee with a sewadar (attendant), who was stopped at Sachkhand Sri Harmandar Sahib and asked to follow the maryada, is being misrepresented and falsely propagated,” he said.

CHILD RIGHTS BODY MOVES SC AGAINST LEGALISING SAME SEX MARRIAGE

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has moved the Supreme Court against the legalisation of same-sex marriages.

Opposing the adoption rights of same-sex couples, the child rights body has said children raised by same-sex parents may have a limited exposure to the traditional gender role models.

Seeking the top court's intervention in a batch of petitions, the commission has said the Hindu Marriage Act and the Juvenile Justice Act do not recognise adoption by same-sex couples.

The petition has referred to studies on adoption by same-sex parents which, it claimed, show that such a child gets affected both socially and psychologically. "Allowing adoption to same-sex couples is akin to endangering the children," the plea has said.

IPL MATCH 24: CSK EDGE RCB IN A HIGH-SCORING GAME

Chennai Super Kings got their act together in the nick of time to eke out an eight-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in a match that produced 444 runs in Bengaluru on Monday.

Devon Conway slammed 83 off 45 deliveries while Shivam Dube blazed away to a 27-ball 52 as CSK posted an imposing 226 for six after being asked to bat first. In reply, RCB ended at 218 for eight.

RCB skipper Faf du Plessis (62 off 33 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (76 off 36) gave CSK a scare till they were at the crease, sharing 126 runs for the third wicket to raise hopes of a famous win.

CSK now have 3 wins from 5 matches while RCB have 2 from 5.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Habit creates the appearance of justice; progress has no greater enemy than habit. - José Martí y Perez

OFF TRACK

Said an innocent young thing, "Oh, I can see how astronomers figure out the distance of the stars and their size and temperatures and all that. What really gets me is how they find out what their names are!"