SHAH IN MANIPUR, BID TO BRING MEITEIS, KUKIS ON TALKS TABLE

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has begun his four-day visit in Manipur, arriving in Imphal last night amid reports of continued ethnic violence in parts of the state even as posters, banners and messages came up in his welcome.

Shah held a security review meeting with Chief Minister N Biren Singh, ministers and senior officials. He is slated to meet all stakeholders to assess the situation and take steps to restore normalcy in the state that has witnessed ethnic violence over the past few weeks.

The Home Minister is accompanied by Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and other senior officials. He will be in the state till June 1.

Shah is expected to bring the warring Meiteis and Kukis together for a discussion over ways to resolve the situation.

Meanwhile, the Army today mobilised its columns to establish multiple mobile vehicle check posts and undertook search operations on a tip-off. In all, 22 miscreants were apprehended and weapons and war-like stores were seized. Five 12 bore double-barrel rifles, three single-barrel rifles, a country-made weapon with double bore and a muzzle-loaded weapon were seized, the Army said.

CHIDAMBARAM SAYS OPP CAN FIELD COMMON CANDIDATES AGAINST BJP

Senior Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram called for the Opposition parties to come together and pitch common candidates on 450 Lok Sabha seats, instead of different parties pitching their own candidates, to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Parliament elections.

When asked about Opposition unity, Chidambaram said the party line is to bring all non-BJP Opposition parties together. “In my view, if all non- BJP opposition parties get together, it is possible to field common candidates against the BJP on at least 450 Lok Sabha seats. But that is a desire, an aspiration. Several political parties are meeting in Patna on June 12 in this regard.”

Chidambaram also accused the Centre for not allowing any discussion on Chinese aggression at the borders in Parliament in the last three years. “This is the most important issue in front of the nation. Discussion on wars have taken place in Parliament in the past but there has been no discussion on China. The Prime Minister has not even once mentioned the name of China,” he said.

Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting Manipur despite the large-scale violence in the north-eastern state, the Congress leader said, “The Prime Minister has the time to visit Japan and Australia but he cannot visit Manipur. He hasn’t yet uttered a single word on the violence there.

MINISTER ANURAG THAKUR’S JIBES AGAINST OPPN

A day after the mega inaugural event for the new Parliament, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Youth Affairs, and Sports Anurag Thakur on Monday took a jibe at Congress and Rahul Gandhi during his Ahmedabad visit on Monday. Rahul Gandhi, who was disqualified as an MP in March following conviction in a defamation case, was given a chance to see the new building at the inaugural event, which he missed, Thakur suggested.

“Earlier, they used to find excuses to stall the Parliament session. Now, they are boycotting it. The people of the country are watching everything. These are the same people who were known for corruption…The people will never forgive them,” he added.

Reacting to a comment by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on rising inflation under BJP rule in the country, Thakur said, “I openly challenge Kharge ji – check figures of the entire world. In the United States, and nations in Europe, where there was never inflation, inflation has increased manifold. In comparison to those countries, India has kept control over inflation. During the Congress rule, there was no global recession, and yet the inflation rate was 12 to 14 per cent. During their tenure, banks were on the verge of getting shut, and inflation and corruption were at their peak. Then Congress did not have an answer.”

JAISHANKAR FLAGS SEPARATIST, ANTI-INDIA ACTIVITIES AT MEETING WITH UK MINISTER

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday flagged the issue of Indian Missions in the UK being under the threat of separatists and anti-India elements when UK’s Minister of State Tariq Ahmad called on him.

“Underlined the obligation to ensure security of our diplomatic missions and prevent misuse of democratic freedoms,” tweeted Jaishankar after the meeting with Lord Ahmad. “Discussed a broad range of issues, from FTA and South Asia to Indo-Pacific and G20,” he said.

“We discussed the importance of strengthening of our long-standing bilateral relationship and progressing the FTA,” tweeted Lord Ahmad, who is on a five-day visit to promote science and tech cooperation. India has been repeatedly pressing for concrete action against the vandals of the Indian flag as well as the High Commission premises.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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WORLD LEADERS CONGRATULATE TURKEY'S ERDOGAN AFTER HISTORIC WIN

Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin were among world leaders congratulating Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he won Sunday's historic run-off election to extend his two-decade rule.

US President Biden said he hoped to work with Erdogan on "shared global challenges".

Putin, who has collaborated closely with Erdogan on key international issues despite some disagreements, told Turkey's leader  his win was "the logical result of your dedicated work".

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission of the European Union, which Erdogan wants Turkey to join, said the bloc sought to strengthen ties. "I look forward to continue building the EU-Turkiye relationship," she wrote on Twitter, using an alternate spelling for Turkey.

UN chief Antonio Guterres congratulated Erdogan on his re-election, the secretary-general's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.  "He looks forward to further strengthening the cooperation between Turkiye and the United Nations," Dujarric added.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: "I am confident that our bilateral ties and cooperation on global issues will continue to grow in the coming times."

‘JOIN RUSSIA-BELARUS UNION & THERE CAN BE N-ARMS FOR ALL’

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that if any other country wanted to join a Russia-Belarus union there could be “nuclear weapons for everyone”. Russia moved ahead last week with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, in the Kremlin’s first deployment of such warheads outside Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, spurring concerns in the West.

Lukashenko, Putin’s staunchest ally among Russia’s neighbours, said that it must be “strategically understood” that Minsk and Moscow have a unique chance to unite. “No one is against Kazakhstan and other countries having the same close relations that we have with the Russian Federation,” he said. “If someone is worried . . . (then) it is very simple: join in the Union State of Belarus and Russia. That’s all: there will be nuclear weapons for everyone. ” He added it was his own view — not of Russia’s. Russia and Belarus are formally part of a Union State, a borderless union and alliance between the two ex-Soviet republics.

THE REST

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CONG CLAIMS TRUCE IN R'STHAN, GEHLOT, PILOT TO WORK TOGETHER

The Congress party, late on Monday following a meeting with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, came out projecting a united front, saying that the two senior leaders have decided to fight together against the BJP in the upcoming polls.

“We have decided to fight the elections unitedly. Definitely, we will win the elections in Rajasthan. Both Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot have unanimously agreed with the proposal,” Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal told reporters.

The Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) has been in a state of turmoil since July 2020, when Pilot staged a revolt seeking a leadership change in the state.

PREVIOUS GOVTS DEPRIVED N-E OF DEVELOPMENT: PM

Infrastructure development is a pure form of social justice and represents true secularism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday. Virtually flagging off Northeast’s first Vande Bharat Express (Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri), the Prime Minister took a swipe at previous governments and said people of the Northeast had remained deprived of development for a very long time.

He said the railway budget allocated for the region had gone up to Rs 10,000 crore, marking a fourfold increase over the Rs 2,500 crore allocated for the Railways before 2014. “All parts of the Northeast will soon be connected via broad-gauge network,” the PM said, maintaining that Rs 1 lakh crore was being spent for the purpose.

The Prime Minister said the nation had witnessed numerous accomplishments and unprecedented developments in the last nine years. “Our government gave top priority to the welfare of the poor. Infrastructure is meant for all without any discrimination. Its creation is a pure form social justice and represents true secularism,” he said. “The biggest beneficiaries of the infrastructure push have been the states of the eastern and Northeast India. People of the Northeast remained deprived of even the basic facilities and did not have the access to electricity, telephone, good rail network, roads and air connectivity until things started turning better after 2014,” PM Modi claimed.

CBI BOOKS ROLLS ROYCE, ARMS DEALERS FOR GRAFT

The CBI has filed a case against British aerospace and defence company Rolls Royce PLC, top executives of its Indian unit and arms dealers for alleged corruption in the procurement of Hawk 115 Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Navy.

According to the CBI, unidentified public servants allegedly misused their positions and facilitated the procurement of Hawk 115 AJT aircraft.

The Cabinet Committee on Security had approved the procurement of 66 Hawk 115 AJT aircraft on September 3, 2003, for approximately Rs 5,653.44 crore. The deal sanctioned purchase of 24 BAE Hawk 115Y AJTs in a fly-away condition, besides licensed manufacturing of 42 aircraft by HAL.

The HAL delivered 42 aircraft to the IAF between August 2008 and May 2012.

In 2012, media reports alleging corruption in the Rolls Royce operations surfaced, resulting in an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office, London. The company prepared a statement of fact that disclosed its illegal payments concerning transactions with countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and India.

LONE CONG MLA IN WEST BENGAL JOINS TRINAMOOL

Bayron Biswas, the lone Congress MLA in the West Bengal assembly, has joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC). In March, Biswas won the Sagardighi bypoll in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. The Congress had scored a zero in the 2021 assembly elections.

“I didn’t win the Sagardighi bypoll because of the Congress. I have been a Trinamool worker. I didn’t get a ticket from the party, so I sought a ticket from the Congress,” said Biswas after joining the TMC.

“I couldn’t work within the Congress. To fight the BJP, I joined the TMC today. It is the only party that can fight them. If I stand for election again, I will win with a larger margin,” he added.

WRESTLERS WON’T BE ALLOWED AT JANTAR MANTAR, CAN PROTEST ELSEWHERE: POLICE

A day after the Delhi Police detained top wrestlers and cleared their protest site, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Pranav Tayal said the wrestlers, who were released on Sunday night, would not be allowed back at Jantar Mantar.

The wrestlers, on the other hand, said their protest would continue. On Monday, they saw an outpouring of support from sportspersons and Opposition parties, who condemned the police action.

Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat were among the over 700 detained on Sunday. They were dragged, lifted off the road and put into police vans when they tried to cross security barricades and march to the new Parliament building, outside which a women’s mahapanchayat was scheduled.

“The demonstration by the wrestlers was going on smoothly at Jantar Mantar. On Sunday, the protesters flouted the law in a frenzy… despite our requests. Hence, we cleared the site and ended the dharna… If the wrestlers apply for permission to stage their sit-in again in the future, they will be allowed to do so at any suitable notified place other than Jantar Mantar,” Tayal tweeted.

While the Jantar Mantar is a notified site for protests, senior officers said police permission is required for a protest, especially if it stretches into days.

AS 16-YEAR-OLD GIRL IS STABBED 20 TIMES IN DELHI, PUBLIC SHOOTS VIDEO

A 16-year-old girl was stabbed over 20 times and bludgeoned to death by a youth in a busy bylane as passers-by looked on in northwest Delhi's Shahbad Dairy area -- an incident that has drawn massive outrage as the video of the horrific killing appeared online.

The Delhi police said the accused, 20-year-old Sahil, was arrested from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

He and the victim, Sakshi, were in a "relationship" but had a quarrel on Saturday. On Sunday evening, the victim was accosted by the accused in the densely populated neighbourhood.

A nearly 90-second video of the incident that was shared online showed the accused pinning the victim to a wall with one hand and stabbing her repeatedly. He did not stop even when the girl slumped to the ground, jabbing the knife into her over 20 times, kicking her and then slamming a cement slab on her repeatedly.

In a shocking display of public apathy, people can be seen passing by, with some bystanders staring in alarm, but not doing anything to stop the brutal attack.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party leaders attacked Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, saying it was his responsibility to maintain law and order in the city, while the Delhi BJP claimed it was a case of "love jihad", and slammed the AAP for "trying to portray" it as an "ordinary" murder and a law and order issue.

Calling the incident "extremely disturbing and appalling", the National Commission for Women said its chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to the commissioner of police to conduct a fair and time-bound investigation in the matter.

NVS-01 PLACED INTO ORBIT

After a flight of 19 minutes, the NVS-01 satellite was injected precisely into a geosynchronous transfer orbit yesterday. Subsequent orbit-raising manoeuvres will take NVS-01 into the intended geosynchronous orbitS. The first of the second-generation NavIC satellites ‘NVS-01’, which was launched on Monday, is expected to sharpen the war-fighting edge of the Army, the Navy and the IAF. ISRO Chairman Dr S Somanath said, “The second-generation satellite has additional capabilities. The signals will be more secure. A civilian frequency band has been introduced.”

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS CROWNED IPL 2023 CHAMPIONS

Under the stewardship of the iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings embellished their already fabulous record in the IPL with a fifth title triumph, beating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in a thrilling summit showdown in Ahmedabad on Monday.

Dhoni has been the cynosure of all eyes ever since the Indian Premier League began this year and in a fitting end to the finale, the captain finished with a record-levelling fifth trophy.

B Sai Sudharsan slammed 96 in 47 balls as Gujarat Titans posted 214 for four after being asked to bat first.

Set a revised target of 171 in 15 overs after rain interrupted play at the start of the second innings of a final that was pushed to the reserve day owing to heavy downpour, CSK completed the task in the last ball.

CSK needed 13 off the last over, bowled by Mohit Sharma. He gave away just 3 singles in first 4 balls. Ravindra Jadeja then struck a six and a four off  the final two balls to win it for CSK and even as the players in the yellow jersey run onto the field, Dhoni remained in the dugout, his eyes closed.

Neither the juggernaut of the Gujarat Titans nor bad weather for two days could stop Dhoni's men from drawing level with their arch rivals Mumbai Indians, in terms of most IPL trophy wins.

It remains to be seen whether Dhoni would return to lead CSK once again next year or not, as the entire IPL and even the final was all about Dhoni-mania.

The fans filled the Narendra Modi Stadium to the brink for two days, remained undeterred when the weather went awry, waited for a truncated match to start well beyond midnight on Monday — all this to see Dhoni winning the IPL again.

Dhoni had probably set the game in favour of his side by stumping the new 'prince' of Indian batting, Shubman Gill (39), in only a mind-boggling 0.12 seconds off Jadeja's bowling.

IPL 2023 AWARD WINNERS

Emerging player of the season: Yashasvi Jaiswal;

Game changer of the season: Shubman Gill;

Perfect catch of the season: Rashid Khan;

Purple cap: Mohammed Shami (28 wickets);

Orange cap: Shubman Gill (890 runs);

Most valuable player of the season: Shubman Gill;

Fairplay award: Delhi Capitals;

FRENCH OPEN: DJOKOVIC STARTS WITH A BANG

Novak Djokovic launched his quest for a record-breaking 23rd men’s Grand Slam singles title with a no-nonsense 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7-1) first-round victory over debutant Aleksandar Kovacevic at the French Open today.

The twice Roland Garros champion breezed through the first two sets before encountering resistance from the 24-year-old American whose lack of experience then showed in the tiebreak on the world’s biggest claycourt event.

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz issued an early warning to his rivals as the Spaniard began his quest for a second Grand Slam title by easing past Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli 6-0 6-2 7-5 in the first round today.

The 20-year-old has already cemented his status as a top contender on the biggest stages and is one of the favourites to take on the mantle of his compatriot and 14-time Roland Garros champion Rafa Nadal.

INDICATORS

Sensex 62,846 (+345), Nifty 18,599 (+100)

(US Stock Markets were closed yesterday on account of Memorial Day)

US$-Rs. 82.59, GBP-Rs. 102.00, Euro-Rs. 88.52, UAE Dhm-Rs. 22.48, Can$-Rs. 60.74, Aus$- Rs. 53.99

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.93 /US$, Jap.Yen 140.38 /US$, Aus$ 1.52 /US$, Sing 1.35 /US$, Bang Taka 106.12 /US$, Can$ 1.35 /US$, Mal Ring 4.60 /US$, Pak Re 284.59 /US$, Phil Peso 56.02 /US$, Russian Rouble 80.04 /US$, NZ$ 1.65 /US$, Thai Baht 34.71 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.62 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 27,672, Dollar Index 104.11, Brent Crude 77.03, BDI 1,172

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,942 India (Rs. pera gm 24k/22k) 6,060 / 5,555, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 73,000

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Hustle beats talent when talent doesn’t hustle. - Ross Simmonds

OFF TRACK

A woman walked into the elevator tossing her keys up in the air and catching them. After one too many tosses, she dropped the keys, and we watched as they disappeared into the crack between the open doors and the floor.

I felt terrible for her. Or I did until she cried, "Oh no! Not again!"