PM MODI INAUGURATES NEW PARLIAMENT AMID OPPOSITION BOYCOTT

In a two-part ceremony that lasted over five hours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building on Sunday, with 21 Opposition parties boycotting the function.

In the morning session, Modi performed “Ganapathi Homam”, prostrated before the Sengol, which he later said symbolised not just the transfer of power but service and nationalism in the Chola empire, and carried the golden sceptre in a procession, accompanied by the tunes of “nadaswaram” and Vedic chants by priests from Karnataka’s Sringeri Math to the new Lok Sabha chamber.

Priests from various Adheenams, Shaivite monasteries in Tamil Nadu, blessed him before he installed it on the right side of the Speaker’s chair. The morning ceremony also featured a multi-faith prayer, after which the PM dedicated the 64,500 square foot building, constructed at Rs 864 crore, to the nation.

When he entered the House in the afternoon, the second leg of the inauguration ceremony, BJP MPs chanted his name, with the PM receiving a prolonged applause and a standing ovation from those gathered, which included former PM H D Deve Gowda, former president Ram Nath Kovind, heads of the defence forces, Union cabinet ministers, some chief ministers, senior members of the judiciary, and foreign dignitaries.

In his half an hour speech, during which BJP MPs again chanted “Modi, Modi” as he proceeded to the podium, the PM described the new Parliament as a testament to the dawn of an “atmanirbhar Bharat”, a self-reliant India, a structure that is a symbol of the coexistence of tradition and modernity and will witness the journey towards a “vikasit Bharat”, developed India, by 2047. The PM said any expert analysing the nine-year tenure of the government would find “Nava Nirman”, laying a new foundation, and “Garib Kalyan”, the welfare of the underprivileged, as its leitmotifs, detailing the toilets for women, rural roads, village ponds and panchayat offices his government has constructed.

In his morning Mann ki Baat address, the PM paid tribute to freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue V D ‘Veer’ Savarkar on his birth anniversary.

The new building accommodates 888 members in the Lok Sabha and 384 in the Rajya Sabha, from the present 543 and 245 members, respectively.

MODI TREATED PARLIAMENT INAUGURATION LIKE HIS CORONATION: OPPOSITION

The inauguration of the new Parliament building on Sunday was marked with a boycott by 21 opposition parties which accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of treating the event like his "coronation".

The Rashtriya Janata Dal was most stinging in its criticism of the project as it likened the new Parliament building's triangular shape to a coffin, drawing a sharp response from the BJP.

"What is this," the party asked in the tweet, while sharing a picture of the coffin and that of the new Parliament.

The BJP's Bihar unit responded to the tweet saying, "The first picture is your future and the second is of India. Understood?"

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Parliament is the voice of the people but the prime minister is treating the inauguration of the new building like a "coronation".

NCP president Sharad Pawar said various rituals performed at the inauguration of the new Parliament building show the country was being taken backwards by decades. "There is a huge difference between the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru talking about the concept of modern India and a series of rituals performed at the new Parliament building today in New Delhi. I fear that we are taking our country backward by decades.

"One cannot compromise on science. Nehru was persistent about his wish to form a society with scientific temperament. But what is happening today at the inaugural ceremony of the new parliament building is exactly the opposite of what Nehru had envisaged," he said in Pune.

While the prayers were on senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted: “On this day, May 28th: Nehru, the person who did the most to nurture Parliamentary democracy in India, was cremated in 1964, Savarkar, the person whose ideological ecosystem led to the killing of Mahatma Gandhi, was born in 1883, The President — the first Adivasi to become President — is not allowed to fulfil her Constitutional duties and inaugurate the New Parliament building in 2023, a self-glorifying authoritarian Prime Minister with utter disdain for Parliamentary procedures, who rarely attends Parliament or engages in it, inaugurates the New Parliament building in 2023, and  Fabrication of facts by Distorians hits new lows in 2023.”

PM SYMBOL OF HOUSE TRUST, DEEPLY SATISFIED HE INAUGURATED IT: PRESIDENT

Stating that the Prime Minister was the “symbol of Parliament’s trust”, President of India Droupadi Murmu Sunday expressed “deep satisfaction” over the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In her written message, read out by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Harivansh during the inaugural ceremony, Murmu said Parliament has a special place in the country’s “collective consciousness”, and described it as a “living  example” of India’s commitment to safeguard its democratic traditions.

“The architects of our Constitution had envisaged a nation that would be characterised by the legislative principles expounded by its legislatures elected democratically. So, I am deeply satisfied that the prime minister, who is the symbol of the Parliament’s trust, is inaugurating this building,” Murmu said in the statement which was welcomed by the thumping of their desks by members of the ruling BJP.

EAM: COMPLICATED CHALLENGE FROM CHINA, INDIA ENSURING LAC STATUS QUO NOT CHANGED

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said India faces a "very complicated challenge" from China and the Narendra Modi government has taken steps to ensure no attempts are made to change the status quo in the border areas unilaterally.

This challenge was "very visible" in border areas in the last three years, Jaishankar said on Saturday, adding both the countries have to find an equilibrium in relationship, but it cannot be done on the terms of the other party.

"When I talk about big powers, of course we have a particular challenge from China. That challenge is a very complicated one, but in the last three years it has been particularly visible in the border areas," Jaishankar said, apparently referring to China's incursions in eastern Ladakh.

"There are clearly responses that are required, and those responses have been made by the government. And a lot of it to ensure that no attempt is made to unilaterally change the status quo in the border areas," he said.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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TURKEY’S TAYYIP ERDOGAN WINS ANOTHER TERM AS PRESIDENT, EXTENDS RULE INTO 3RD DECADE

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won re-election Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade as the country reels from high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that leveled entire cities.

With more than 99% of ballot boxes opened, unofficial results from competing news agencies showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

A third term gives Erdogan an even stronger hand domestically and internationally, and the election results will have implications far beyond Ankara. Turkey stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO.

In his first comments since the polls closed, Erdogan thanked the nation for entrusting him with the presidency for five more years.“We hope to be worthy of your trust, as we have been for 21 years,” he told supporters on a campaign bus outside his home in Istanbul. He ridiculed his challenger for his loss, saying “bye bye bye, Kemal,” as supporters booed.  “The only winner today is Turkey,” Erdogan said, promising to work hard for Turkey’s second century. The country marks its centennial this year.

Kilicdaroglu campaigned on promises to reverse Erdogan’s democratic backsliding, to restore the economy by reverting to more conventional policies, and to improve ties with the West. He said the election was “the most unjust ever,” with all state resources mobilized for Erdogan. “We will continue to be at the forefront of this struggle until real democracy comes to our country,” he said in Ankara.

ON EVE OF KYIV DAY, RUSSIA LAUNCHES ‘LARGEST’ OVERNIGHT DRONE ATTACK ON UKRAINIAN CAPITAL

Russia unleashed a new wave of air strikes on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, Sunday in what officials said appeared to be the largest drone attack on the city since the start of the war. The last Sunday in May marks the anniversary of Kyiv’s founding.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian launched 54 alleged Iranian-made ‘kamikaze’ drones against Kyiv overnight of which 52 were destroyed.

Following the attack, Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said a 41-year-old man was killed when a drone wreckage fell near a petrol station. According to a BBC report, a 35-year-old woman in the city was injured. “Stay in shelters. The attack is massive!” Klitschko told residents.

Meanwhile, as Kyiv began celebrations for its Founding Day anniversary, Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, said on his Telegram channel, “The history of Ukraine is a longstanding irritant for the insecure Russians.”

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JANTAR MANTAR CLEARED OUT, BUT WRESTLERS UNDETERRED

Tents, mattresses, mats, coolers, speakers — every item that the wrestlers had brought to Jantar Mantar over the last few weeks was bundled up and carted away in tempos and trucks as the Delhi Police Sunday cleared up all signs of their over month-long stir.

Prior to this, police had detained wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia as they, along with other protesters, attempted to march to the new Parliament building outside which a women’s mahapanchayat was scheduled.

While police said the stir was over now, the wrestlers said they would resume their agitation against BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Dependra Pathak, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), said, “What the wrestlers did was highly irresponsible. We will not allow them to protest now. We had asked them not to move out (from the protest site) but they didn’t listen. More than 8-9 police personnel were left injured. They broke the law and indulged in anti-national activities. We have cleared the area…”

Later in the evening, Malik tweeted that the protest was not over. “After we are released from police custody, we will again start our satyagraha back at Jantar Mantar. Now, there will be satyagraha of women wrestlers… not dictatorship,” read her tweet.

Police have also registered an FIR against the wrestlers and said they will take “stringent” action if they return. “Despite clear instructions, they broke the law and manhandled police personnel. The protest is over now. If they return, they will be sent back or detained,” said Pathak.

'CRUSHING VOICES OF PUBLIC...OPPN SLAMS ACTION AGAINST WRESTLERS

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday attacked PM Modi over the manhandling of internationally acclaimed wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik by Delhi Police on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament of India.

In a tweet in Hindi, he said, ‘The coronation is over - the 'arrogant king' is crushing the voice of the people on the streets,’ attaching a video of the manhandling of the protesting wrestlers by the Delhi Police.

The dramatic detention of protesting wrestlers by Delhi Police on Sunday was condemned by several politicians and former sportspersons who termed the act as "shame on the government".

"I am pained to see this. There has to be a better way to deal with this," the reigning Olympic champion in javelin throw, Neeraj Chopra, wrote in a response to a video Sakshi posted on Twitter.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has strongly criticised the police detention of wrestlers protesting at Jantar Mantar, denouncing it as "grossly wrong."

"Strongly condemn the way Delhi Police manhandled Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and other wrestlers. It's shameful our champions are treated in this manner," West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted.

40 MILITANTS KILLED SO FAR IN MANIPUR; FRESH CLASHES KILL 2

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday said nearly 40 armed militants involved in torching houses and firing at civilians have been killed by security forces since they began an operation to bring peace to the north eastern state beset by ethnic rioting.

Separately, police officials said on Sunday said at least two persons were killed and 12 injured in different instances of firing upon civilians and clashes between militants and security forces since the early hours of the day .

At Phayeng in Imphal West district, one person died and another sustained bullet injuries after being fired at by suspected Kuki militants, police officials said.

The latest clashes began after the army and para-military forces commenced combing operations to de-arm communities in order to bring peace, officials said.

The Chief Minister who was interacting with the media persons at the state secretariat, claimed the latest round of “conflict is not between communities but between militants and security forces”.

ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS OPP UNITY: TMC TO ATTEND JD(U) MEGA MEET IN PATNA

The Janata Dal (United) on Sunday said the first official meeting of Opposition parties would take place in Patna on June 12, with the top leaders of several non-BJP outfits set to attend. The TMC confirmed that Mamata Banerjee would attend the meeting, which will be the first big statement of Opposition unity in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections next year.

Congress insiders in New Delhi said Mamata Banerjee had asked Nitish Kumar to take the lead in organising the event since several parties, including the TMC, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), have a problem with the Congress being viewed as the leader of any eventual anti-BJP coalition.

Since meeting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi last month, Nitish has been reaching out to the Opposition to bring them together on one platform.

CROSS STAFFING OF ARMY OFFICERS TO IAF, NAVY SOON

In a major step towards bringing integration in the Indian military and creation of theatre commands, a large batch of around 40 Army officers will soon be posted to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Navy establishments where they would perform similar roles as they do in the Army. A corresponding number of officers from the IAF and the Navy are also likely to be posted to Army establishments for executing similar tasks.

The officers would be transferred to missile units, for handling UAVs and for logistics, repair and recovery and material and supplies management among other roles in the two other services. This is possible because several UAVs and weapon systems, radars, vehicles, telecommunication equipment among others are common across the three services.

Defence officials said this is a significant step in creating cross functional teams which will be a primary requirement for achieving theaterisation. The officers would learn the ethos and nuances and functioning of each service from an early stage in their careers.

INDIA, LOSE 2-4 TO GREAT BRITAIN, IN HOCKEY PRO-LEAGUE

A lacklustre India suffered their second successive defeat in the European leg of the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League, going down 2-4 to hosts Great Britain here yesterday.

Heading into the encounter, both India and Great Britain were tied at 19 points at the top of the table, but the latter have consolidated their position following today’s win.

India had lost to Olympics champions Belgium 1-2 on Friday.

RAIN FORCES POSTPONEMENT OF IPL FINAL TO RESERVE DAY

The final of the Indian Premier League 2023 was on Sunday moved to the reserved day after relentless rains delayed the toss and subsequently the start of the summit showdown in Ahmedabad.

The announcement was made at 10:55 pm local time.

The title clash between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings, thus, will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday.

The clock can go all the way to 9.35pm on game night - that's the cut-off for a full T20 game to take place. For a Five5, we can wait around till 12.06am. And then there's the Super Over shootout. If absolutely no play is possible, according to last year's IPL playing conditions, Gujarat Titans will be declared champions because they finished higher on the points table in the league stage.

IN RAFA’S ABSENCE, NEXT-GEN SET TO CHALLENGE AT OPEN ROLAND GARROS

Rafa Nadal’s decision to skip the French Open due to injury has set up one of the most uncertain men’s tournaments in Paris in almost 20 years but a new generation led by world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz stands ready to grab a rare opportunity.

Nadal, who won the first of his record 14 titles at the claycourt Grand Slam in 2005, withdrew due to a lingering hip issue that has decimated his season since the Australian Open and the Spaniard expects to retire after the 2024 campaign.

As Roland Garros gears up for a surreal edition without the ever-present 22-time Major champion, another tenacious Spaniard has emerged as one of the top contenders trying to keep a Grand Slam out of Novak Djokovic’s hands.

Alcaraz warmed up for his tilt at the Paris crown by winning the Barcelona and Madrid titles, and despite a hiccup in Rome is now in his third spell as No. 1 after first reaching the peak by winning last year’s US Open. Djokovic, who will be going for a 23rd Major title after going level with Nadal at Melbourne Park in January, sees the 20-year-old as the man to beat.

HS PRANNOY CLAIMS MALAYSIA MASTERS TITLE

Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy ended a six-year-long title drought with a three-game win over China's Weng Hong Yang in a pulsating men's singles finals at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament here on Sunday.

The 30-year-old Indian showed great composure and resolve during a 94-minute battle to notch a 21-19 13-21 21-18 victory against China's world number 34 Weng Hong Yang, a 2022 Asian Championships bronze medallist.

The win helped him to claim his maiden BWF World Tour title and also the first singles crown of the year for India.

Prannoy was instrumental in India's epic Thomas Cup victory last year but an individual title has eluded him since the 2017 US Open Grand Prix Gold.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

In spite of all that doctors know, and their studies never end, The best cure of all when spirits fall, Is a kind note from a friend. - John Wooden

OFF TRACK

A little boy took the chair at the barbershop.  

"How you would like your hair cut today, son?" asked the barber.  

"Oh, do it like you do Daddy's, with the big hole at the back."