AMIT SHAH ANNOUNCES STEPS TO REIN IN VIOLENCE IN MANIPUR

Union Home Minister Amit Shah today announced that the Centre would soon set up a committee headed by a retired judge in the rank of the chief justice of a High Court to probe the widespread violence that Manipur witnessed leading to loss of lives and damage to properties.

Addressing a press conference in Imphal during his four-day visit to Manipur, Shah also said that six cases pertaining to the violence would be probed by a special CBI team.

The Minister also warned of stern action against those who violated the Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement and appealed to all to surrender arms.

Shah said he held several rounds of meetings with every section of the society, including officers, political parties and the representatives of Kuki and Meitei civil groups.

“A probe panel will be set up to look into the reasons for the violence and to identify the elements responsible for it. This probe panel will be headed by a retired judge in the rank of the chief justice of a high court. This probe will be done by the Centre. A peace committee will be set up under the guidance of the Manipur Governor,” Shah said.

Senior IPS officer Rajiv Singh was on Thursday appointed the new Director General of Police of Manipur. An inter-agency unified command will start working in the state from Thursday under Kuldeep Singh, retired DG, CRPF, overseeing the coordination among the agencies deployed in the state to manage the situation, the Minister announced.

Appealing to everyone who may have arms in their possession, the Home Minister said, “Surrender your arms to the police today. From tomorrow, a combing operation will start. Action will be taken if arms are found by the police.”

CONGRESS TO JOIN OPPOSITION’S PATNA CONCLAVE

Days after the Janata Dal (United) announced that the first joint meeting of the Opposition parties for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be held in Patna on June 12, the Congress Thursday made it clear it will participate in the conclave but there is uncertainty over whether party chief Mallikarjun Kharge or senior leader Rahul Gandhi would attend it.

The Congress wanted the meeting to take place after June 20 so that both Kharge and Rahul, who is currently on a tour of the United States, could attend it, but the JD(U) went ahead and announced its June 12 schedule after holding consultations with other Opposition leaders for whom this date was said to be “convenient”.

While the Congress confirmed its participation in the conclave, the party leadership is now discussing the level of its representation there. It is not clear whether Kharge would attend the meet.

“The Congress will surely participate in the June 12 meeting of Opposition leaders in Patna. However, who will participate is not decided. The Congress party will soon decide who will attend the meeting,” said AICC general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh. “But the Congress is surely attending that Opposition meeting.”

Although the Congress still believes that it should be “rightfully” at the centre of the Opposition unity project given its status as the largest among the non-BJP parties, the grand old party had let Bihar CM and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar do the groundwork of bringing the Opposition parties on a single platform since several of them are reluctant to accept its primacy and leadership.

RSS CHIEF AGAIN CALLS FOR HINDU MUSLIM UNITY

Underlining that Hindu-Muslim unity is essential for the progress of the country, RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat said Thursday that while “some communities came from outside” and “we fought those who brought them”, they are “our own” and it is “our collective responsibility” to change their thinking if there’s “any shortcoming”.

Speaking in Nagpur at a ceremony of the Sangh Shiksha Varg, Bhagwat said, “Some communities came from outside. We fought those who brought them. But the outsiders have gone. Everyone is an insider. So, forgetting the relations of the outsiders and even now those who may be under the influence of those outsiders, we must realise they are our own people and behave with them accordingly. If there still is any shortcoming in their thinking, then making them aware is our collective responsibility.”

“…Because of our egos and the baggage of the past, we are afraid of being united. We feel if we involve ourselves with the worship of the motherland, which belongs to everyone, we will lose our identity. Who wants a different identity? There are no separate identities. Inside India, our separate identities are secure. Outside, if you are different from the core identity of a nation, it is difficult for you to lead a happy life,” he said.

“We have to exercise restraint in our interpersonal interactions. We have to embrace dialogue instead of dispute. Our diversity is not a division but our unity,” he said.

Bhagwat said that once upon a time, the entire world faced attacks as Islam spread from Spain to Mongolia. “Slowly and steadily, people awakened and defeated the attackers. This confined Islam to its own area… The vandals are gone, Islam is most secure here. This peaceful co-existence has been there for centuries,” he said.

WILL SETTLE BOUNDARY ISSUE, TAKE OUR TIES TO HIMALAYAN HEIGHTS: PM MEETS PRACHANDA

India and Nepal will together strive to take their bilateral ties to “Himalayan heights” and resolve all issues, including boundary issues, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday after meeting his Nepal counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.

“We will continue to strive to take our relationship to Himalayan heights. And in this spirit, we will resolve all the issues, be it boundary-related or any other issue,” Modi said in a statement in the presence of Prachanda after their bilateral talks in Delhi.

The Nepal Prime Minister, who is on a four-day visit to India, also mentioned resolving the “boundary matter”. “Prime Minister Modiji and I discussed the boundary matter. I urged PM Narendra Modiji to resolve the boundary matter through the established bilateral diplomatic mechanism,” Prachanda said in his remarks.

The two sides also discussed “wider developments in the region”, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told mediapersons at a briefing later when he was asked if China was discussed.

Taking forward their cooperation in the power sector, the two countries decided that India will import 10,000 megawatts of power from Nepal in the next 10 years under a new long-term power trade agreement.

In 2014, Modi had described the India-Nepal relationship as “HIT” or Highways, I-ways and Trans-ways. “Today we have taken many significant decisions to turn our partnership into a superhit,” Modi said.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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US HOUSE PASSES DEBT LIMIT BILL IN BIPARTISAN VOTE TO AVERT DEFAULT

US House lawmakers overwhelmingly agreed on Wednesday to suspend the nation’s debt ceiling for two years, heading off an economically devastating default. After a revolt by far-right Republicans threatened to scuttle consideration of the bill, a bipartisan coalition lined up in large numbers to support the compromise negotiated by President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy and pull the nation back from the brink of economic catastrophe. The 314-117 vote came days before the nation was projected to exhaust its borrowing power, and after a marathon set of talks between White House negotiators and top House Republicans.

The bill, which now heads to the Senate.

Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, said on Thursday that the Senate would remain in session until it approved the package. He warned lawmakers against engaging in brinkmanship before June 5, when treasury secretary Janet Yellen has said the govt will run out of cash to pay its bills. “Time is a luxury the Senate does not have if we want to prevent default,” he said. “June 5 is less than four days away. At this point, any needless delay or any last-minute holdups would be an unnecessary and even dangerous risk.”

THE REST

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RAHUL: GOT MAXIMUM PENALTY FOR DEFAMATION

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said his disqualification from the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a defamation case was unexpected, but it has given him a “huge opportunity”.

“I am the first person to be given the maximum sentence for defamation and maximum sentence to get disqualified (from the Lok Sabha). I didn’t imagine that something like this was possible,” he said at an event at Stanford University, US, on Wednesday.

“But then I think it’s actually given me a huge opportunity, a much bigger opportunity (than) I would have (had) in Parliament. That is the way politics works,” he continued.

He also addressed the issue of Opposition parties around the world, seeking international support for their cause.

“I’m not seeking support from anyone or anybody. I am very clear that our fight is our fight,” he said.

DMK PROMISES TO STAND BY AAP, TO OPPOSE DELHI ORDINANCE

Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, chief ministers of Delhi and Punjab, met their Tamil Nadu counterpart, M K Stalin, in Chennai on Thursday and got the DMK’s support against the central ordinance that seeks to wrest control of administrative services from the Delhi govt.

Kejriwal, the AAP supremo, said that Stalin had assured him that the DMK would stand by his party and the people of Delhi and vote in Parliament against the ordinance. He said he had been meeting other leaders to seek their support and was confident that they would be able to defeat the ordinance.

“This is like a semi-final for the 2024 polls. If this bill is defeated in the Rajya Sabha, a very strong message will go out all across the country that the entire Opposition has come together and maybe in 2024, the Modi govt is not going to come back,” Kejriwal said.

Stalin called Kejriwal a “good friend” and said the Union govt had been continuously targeting the latter’s party and hampering the functioning of the elected govt in Delhi. “The DMK will definitely oppose the ordinance by the Union govt and there are no second thoughts about it. I spoke with both the chief ministers. Through this meeting, I request all the chief ministers of the other states and other leaders of parties to extend their support against the Centre’s decision,” he said addressing the media along with Kejriwal and Mann.

While several Opposition parties have backed the AAP in its tussle with the Centre, the Congress has not spelt out its stand over the Delhi ordinance. The Opposition’s unity would be on test if the AAP and other parties insist that the ordinance issue should be included in their joint statement or declaration which may be issued after the meeting in Patna to attack the “Centre’s overreach” over federalism.

SHARAD PAWAR MEETS SHINDE, ADANI IN SEPARATE MEETINGS

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday met Maharashtra Chief minister Eknath Shinde at the latter’s official residence Varsha and invited him to the function on June 24 to mark the completion of 75 years of the organisation, Maratha Mandir, of which Pawar is the president.

Late evening, industrialist Gautam Adani visited the NCP chief’s residence, triggering speculations in political circles.

After the meeting with SHinde, Pawar tweeted that he invited Shinde to a programme organised to mark the 75th anniversary of Maratha Mandir, a charitable institution established in 1945 by late Shri GG Gawde, popularly known as Babasaheb Gawde, who recognised the need to set up a strong institution to educate the people and make them aware of their rights.

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KHAPS EXTEND FULL SUPPORT TO WRESTLERS IN MUZAFFARNAGAR 'MAHAPANCHAYAT'

The Mahapanchayat of Khaps that met in Muzaffarnagar on Thursday has decided to meet President Droupadi Murmu if need be and seek justice for the protesting wrestlers demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on charges of sexual harassment.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesman Rakesh Tikait said the final decision on the issue of wrestlers’ protest will be taken at a meeting in Haryana on Friday.

Ffarmer leader Mangeram Tyagi alleged that the wrestlers’ protest is being given a casteist colour. “Did anyone ask them (the protesting wrestlers) about their caste when they won medals for the country,” he asked.

FRANCO MULAKKAL STEPS DOWN AFTER NUDGE FROM VATICAN

Franco Mulakkal, the Catholic priest who was acquitted last year of charges of raping a nun, has resigned as Bishop of Jalandhar on Thursday. Communication from the Apostolic Nunciature to India, which is the Vatican mission in the country, said the Holy See requested the resignation from Mulakkal not as a disciplinary measure imposed upon him, but as pro bono Ecclesiae, especially for the good of the diocese which needs a new bishop. There would not be any canonical restrictions on his ministry, said the release.

Mulakkal’s acquittal by a trial court in Kottayam, Kerala, is currently under challenge in the Kerala High Court. There have been no developments in the case since April 2022.

NCERT DROPS CHAPTERS ON PERIODIC TABLE, CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY, OTHERS FROM CLASS 10 TEXTBOOKS

In a “bid to reduce the burden on students”, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has dropped the full chapter on Periodic Classification of Elements, a full chapter on Democracy and Diversity, a full chapter on Challenges to Democracy, and a full page on Political Parties from the newly released textbooks of Class 10 students.

As per the NCERT, the decision has been taken to reduce the content load on students in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Complete chapters on these above subjects now stand deleted as a part of a "rationalisation" meant to reduce the "burden on students".

Among the topics dropped from the science textbook is also the chapter on environmental sustainability and sources of energy.

"Contents of the textbooks have been rationalised in view of the Overlapping with similar content included in other subject areas in the same class, Similar content included in the lower or higher class in the same subject, Difficulty level, Content, which is easily accessible to students without much interventions from teachers and can be learned through children through self-learning or peer-learning, Content, which is irrelevant in the present context," NCERT said.

INDIA’S MANUFACTURING PMI HITS 31-MONTH HIGH IN MAY

Manufacturing activities in India advanced further and touched a 31-month high in May supported by stronger increase in new orders and favourable market conditions, which in turn generated more employment opportunities, a monthly survey said on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose from 57.2 in April to 58.7 in May, indicating the strongest improvement in the health of the sector since October 2020.

The May PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the 23nd straight month. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 indicates contraction.

"The PMI's spotlight on soaring sales showcases robust demand for Indian-made products both domestically and internationally. "While the upturn in domestic orders strengthens the foundations of the economy, rising external business fosters international partnerships and boosts India's position in the global market. Combined, they also generated more employment opportunities in May," said Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

GOVT TO SELL UP TO 3 PC STAKE IN COAL INDIA

The govt will offload up to three per cent stake in Coal India Ltd through the offer for sale route starting on Thursday. In a stock exchange filing, the PSU behemoth said govt will offload 9.24 crore shares amounting to a stake of 1.5 per cent in the company at a floor price of Rs 225 a share. Besides, there will be a green shoe option for selling an equal amount of stake in case of over subscription.

At the floor price of Rs 225, which is at a 6.7 per cent discount over the closing price of Coal India on BSE on Wednesday, the sale would fetch about Rs 4,158 crore. Shares of CIL closed at Rs 241.20, down 1.29 per cent over previous close on the BSE.

Currently, the govt holds 66.13 per cent stake in Coal India.

For the current fiscal, the govt has set a disinvestment target of Rs 51,000 crore.

JUNIOR MEN’S ASIA CUP HOCKEY: INDIA BEAT PAKISTAN 2-1 IN FINAL

India’s junior men’s hockey team maintained its continental supremacy as it beat arch-rivals Pakistan 2-1 to emerge Asia Cup champions in Salalah, Oman on Thursday.

Angad Bir Singh (13th minute) and Araijeet Singh Hundal (20th) scored for India while Pakistan managed to pull one back through Abdul Basharat (37th).

This was India’s fourth title, having earlier won the tournament in 2004, 2008 and 2015. Pakistan have won the tournament in 1987, 1992 and 1996.

The big target from here of course, is the Junior Hockey World Cup, which is scheduled to be held from December 5 to 16, 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

FRENCH OPEN: JANNIK SINNER KNOCKED OUT

Jannik Sinner (8th seed) wasted two match points as he was knocked out of the French Open 6-7(0) 7-6(7) 1-6 7-6(4) 7-5 in a second round thriller against German Daniel Altmaier on Thursday.

The red-haired Italian, who is often cheered on by six fans dressed as carrots – the Carota boys – and was spotted eating carrots as an on-court snack in Vienna, was not his dominant self as he bowed out after five hours 26 minutes.

While Sinner’s hard-hitting approach works on hard courts, he struggles on the slowest surface, which proves more challenging, and he was eventually worn down by the world number 79, who won on his fifth match point.

INDICATORS

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GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.93 /US$, Jap.Yen 139.21 /US$, Aus$ 1.52 /US$, Sing 1.35 /US$, Bang Taka 106.01 /US$, Can$ 1.35 /US$, Mal Ring 4.61 /US$, Pak Re 284.43 /US$, Phil Peso 56.12 /US$, Russian Rouble 81.05 /US$, NZ$ 1.65 /US$, Thai Baht 34.64 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.65 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 26,746, Dollar Index 103.48, Brent Crude 74.24, BDI 977

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,975 India (Rs. pera gm 24k/22k) 6,076 / 5,570, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 72,800

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you'll be criticized anyway. - Eleanor Roosevelt

OFF TRACK

Stuck in rush-hour traffic, a man sitting in a car couldn't help but stare at a burly-looking biker wearing a black leather jacket who pulled up next to him on a shocking pink Harley.  His first thoughts were, "Is that really a pink Harley?" and, "I wonder if he's..."  

Just then the traffic cleared, and the biker pulled in front of the car. On the back of his jacket were stenciled the words, "Yes, it is. No, I'm not."