AJIT PAWAR JOLTS MAHARASHTRA POLITICS, TAKES OATH AS DEPUTY CM

Ajit Pawar on Sunday pulled off a stunning revolt in the Nationalist Congress Party triggering a vertical split and joined hands with the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in Maharashtra to become the deputy chief minister, a move that could undermine party supremo Sharad Pawar.

In a sudden turn of events that capped weeks of speculation over the senior NCP leader's next political move, Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Dy CM by Governor Ramesh Bais at a ceremony held in the Raj Bhawan in Mumbai.

Eight other NCP leaders, some of whom are close aides of Sharad Pawar, took oath as ministers in the Shinde-Fadnavis government.

While Sharad Pawar, who tried to put up a brave face, called his nephew's rebellion a 'robbery', Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, "Now the double engine government has a triple engine."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi spoke with Sharad Pawar and extended support to him.

Ajit Pawar defended his decision to share power with the BJP. "If we can go with the Shiv Sena, then we can go with the BJP as well. The same thing happened in Nagaland as well."

Talking to reporters after taking oath, Ajit Pawar said the NCP decided to become part of the Shinde-led government for the development of the country and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

Maintaining there was no split in the NCP that was founded by his uncle in 1999 after he left the Congress, Ajit Pawar said they would contest all future elections on the party's name and symbol. "All the elected representatives (of the party) have supported the decision to join the government."

In a swipe at opposition parties, the BJP asked if their efforts to forge unity in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls were 'completely disturbed'.

In a rerun of 2019, Ajit Pawar, 63, becomes the second deputy chief minister in the one-year-old government headed by Eknath Shinde, who had also rebelled against the leader of undivided Shiva Sena and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to bring down the government of the MVA comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress. Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis is the other deputy chief minister.

It is for the third time under four years that Ajit Pawar dons the role of deputy chief minister under three chief ministers--Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Shinde.

AJIT’S ‘MLAS WITH ME’ VS UNCLE’S ‘PEOPLE WITH US’

Ajit Pawar claimed the support of more than two thrids of MLAs (total 53 MLS of NCP currently) of NCP, only 16 or 17 were present when he took oath at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday afternoon.

Swinging into action, NCP chief Sharad Pawar appointed his trusted aide, Jitendra Awhad, as the new Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly. Awhad is now also the NCP Chief Whip in the House.

Sources close to Ajit claimed that more than two-third NCP legislators have signed the letter of support to him and that the number is “more than 36”.

Awhad reacted saying that such claims mean nothing. He said: “The only leader of the NCP is Sharad Pawar. Let him call each MLA; then we will talk.”

He also asserted that Ajit Pawar was blamed by Shinde and other MLAs as the reason why the MVA government of the NCP-Sena-Congress alliance was toppled, but now both sides are “shaking hands”. Indicating the party will leave no stone unturned to make this an electoral issue, Awhad asked, “Do you really think the common people do not understand this?”

Sharad Pawar shrugged off a question over any legal route, and said he will approach the people of the state directly. “I have done it in the past in the 1980s and I will do it again. I believe the people of this state and the youth,” he said.

Ajit clarified that the NCP will contest the next elections with the BJP and the Shinde Sena.

RAHUL GANDHI IN TELENGANA; CALLS BRS BJP’S B-TEAM,

The Congress’s campaign for the Telangana polls will be along the lines of Karnataka, where it trumped the BJP to win a landslide majority, party leader Rahul Gandhi said Sunday, as he launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and accused his ruling BRS of being the BJP’s “B-team”.

Flagging the ED questioning of Rao’s daughter, K Kavitha, earlier this year in connection with Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor policy, Rahul said the BRS chief and his party colleagues had become subservient to the BJP and ruled out joining any alliance that involved the BRS.

“BRS means Bharat Rishthedaar Samiti. I have been saying this since ages… they are the B team of the BJP,” Rahul told a gathering at Khammam.

“KCR (as Rao is often called) is seeking protection from Narendra Modi’s government as KCR’s daughter is involved in the Delhi liquor case. Modi is now pressuring the KCR government to support BJP. The remote control of KCR is in Modi’s hands now.”

Speaking of the Congress’s campaign in Karnataka ahead of the May 10 Assembly polls, Rahul said it was a fight between “a corrupt and anti-poor government” and “the poor, OBCs, minorities and oppressed” of the state. “Something similar is going to happen in Telangana,” he said, adding the fight in Telangana was only between the Congress and the BRS.

AMID MANIPUR CRISIS, INDIA RAISES BORDER ISSUES WITH MYANMAR

Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane paid a two-day visit to Myanmar between June 30 and July 1 and met its top officials amid the ongoing violence in Manipur. During the visit, he raised the issue of maintaining the sanctity of India’s border with Myanmar.

India shares a 1,700-km-long border with Myanmar.

“The two sides discussed the need for maintaining tranquility in the border areas and preventing illegal trans-border movements and transnational crimes such as drug trafficking and smuggling,” the ministry said.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that their respective territories would not be allowed to be used for any activities inimical to the other.

India also assured that the well-being of Myanmar was of utmost importance. “Any development (in Myanmar) have a direct impact on India’s bordering regions. Peace and stability in Myanmar and well-being of its people, therefore, is of utmost importance to India,” the ministry said.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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A MAYOR TARGETED IN 5ᵗʰ NIGHT OF PROTESTS ACROSS FRANCE

The mayor of a suburb of Paris said on Sunday that protesters had rammed a burning car into his home and then set the vehicle on fire, injuring his wife and one of his children, as violent demonstrations across France over the police killing of a 17-year-old stretched into a fifth night.

Overall violence, however, appeared to lessen from previous nights. Police made 719 arrests nationwide by early Sunday following a mass security deployment aimed at quelling France’s worst social upheaval in years. On Friday night, over 1,300 were arrested and More than 3,000 people have been detained overall. The crisis has posed a new challenge to President Macron’s leadership and exposed deep-seated discontent in low-income neighbourhoods over discrimination and lack of opportunity. The unrest prompted Macron to delay what would have been the first state visit to Germany by a French president in 23 years.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered in Nanterre's grand mosque to attend the funeral of 17-year-old Nahel, who was shot by a police officer on Tuesday. The killing of Nahel has reignited longstanding complaints by poor and racially mixed urban communities of police violence and racism.

On Thursday, the Nanterre prosecutor said that the 17-year-old was known to police for previously failing to comply with traffic stop orders and was illegally driving a rental car.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, meanwhile, said that over 700 shops, supermarkets, restaurants, and bank branches were "ransacked, looted and sometimes even burnt to the ground since Tuesday".

BIDEN GOVT’S RULES TIGHTEN LIMITS ON DRONE USE OUTSIDE WAR ZONE

US military and CIA drone operators generally must obtain advance permission from President Joe Biden to target a suspected militant outside a conventional war zone, and they must have “near certainty” at the moment of any strike that civilians will not be injured, newly declassified rules show.

The 15-page rules, signed by Biden in October, also limit such drone strikes to situations in which the operators deem “infeasible” any option of capturing the targeted person alive in a commando raid. And if national security officials propose targeting any American, it prompts a more extensive review. The rules tightened constraints on drone strikes and commando raids that President Donald Trump had loosened in 2017.

The Biden administration partly declassified and disclosed the document, along with an 18-page national security memo laying out its international counterterrorism strategy, after New York Times filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

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PRAFUL PATEL, WHO WAS AT AJIT PAWAR'S OATH, SAYS "SHARAD PAWAR OUR LEADER"

After a day full of deja vu moments in Maharashtra politics posing a conundrum - which is the 'real' NCP? - the party's working president Praful Patel said, "We are one party and Sharad Pawar is our leader".

Praful Patel was among the NCP leaders who went with Ajit Pawar - he was present at the Raj Bhavan during his oath taking.

"Nobody has defected or broken away from the party. Sometimes there are differences within the party and it gets resolved. You wait for some more days and you'll see what I mean," Patel said, raising more questions than answers.

Praful Patel asserted that the decision was taken "after a wider consultation with party MLAs and leaders of the party".

Pawar said that he was not upset with anybody except Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare for taking a "wrong path". "I am not upset with anybody except Praful Patel and Tatkare. I had appointed them as general secretaries but they abandoned the guidelines of the party president and took the wrong path. They have no right to remain in that position," he said.

RAHUL, MAMATA DIAL PAWAR

Stunned by the split in the NCP, the Opposition hit back at the BJP Sunday. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee dialled Sharad Pawar and offered support to him.

On Sunday, Opposition leaders were fuming, many hoping Pawar senior was not two-timing the Opposition.

Congress general secretary in charge of organisation K C Venugopal said, “The BJP’s dirty tricks department is working on overdrive in Maharashtra. This is not a legitimately elected government, but an ED-facilitated power grab. The Maharashtra government is a product of corruption and sin. The people have very well identified the traitors, corrupt and compromised leaders of Maharashtra and each of them will be taught the lessons of their lifetime in the next elections.”

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien too used the traitor word. “We will fight these traitors and the BJP in 2024. We will work stronger to defeat the BJP,” he said.

Venugopal and several other Opposition leaders spoke about the BJP’s “washing machine politics”. Recalling that Prime Minister Modi had spoken about corruption on June 29, Venugopal said, “It appears he switched on the washing machine and these leaders are now squeaky clean after this oath-taking ceremony.”

KUKI GROUPS LIFT 2-MONTH BLOCKADE ON CRUCIAL HIGHWAY, BUT VIOLENCE CONTINUES

Kuki rebel groups announced on Sunday that they would lift the two-month-long blockade of the national highway in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district, paving the way for the reopening of a critical lifeline of the state. However, incidents of violence continued in Manipur, with at least four people having been killed on Sunday, including one case where police said the victim had been beheaded.

National Highway-2, connecting Imphal with Dimapur in Nagaland, has been blockaded since violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, impacting the flow of essential supplies. The blockade had been temporarily lifted in early June after Union Home Minister Amit Shah made an appeal during his visit to the state. It was, however, reimposed a few days later when three people from the Kuki-Zomi community were killed in Kangpokpi district on June 9.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the United People’s Front and the Kuki National Organisation — both of which come under the 2008 Suspension of Operations agreement with the Centre and the state — said the blockade would be lifted with immediate effect “to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential commodities in the state”. The statement said the decision was taken in view of Shah’s “deep concern to restore peace and harmony in the state and [to] alleviate the plight of people in general”.

AAP IN CHHATTISGARH: FREE SERVICES LIKE IN DELHI IF VOTED TO POWER

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will provide six services, mostly free, along the lines of Delhi if it is voted to power in Chhattisgarh, party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday. “We will give free electricity, free magnificent schools like in Delhi where children of rich and poor study together, free hospitals and clinics, free bus travel for women, free holy trips to religious places for senior citizens and employment,” said Kejriwal at a rally in Bilaspur city.

He said while Chhattisgarh was rich in resources such as “forests, agricultural land, rivers, minerals” but the state was known only for scams. “Before AAP, even Delhi was known for scams. Now, Delhi is known for its schools, mohalla clinics, hospitals, progress, development and prosperity,” the Delhi CM said.

Kejriwal targeted both the BJP and the ruling Congress at the rally.

TIMELY DELIVERIES OF TEJAS FIGHTERS WILL UNDERLINE MILITARY READINESS AND SELF-RELIANCE

Indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas completed seven years of service in the Indian Air Force on July 1. However, key questions remain on the speed of production of jets by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

As per plan, in the next 14-15 years starting February next year, India needs to produce 480 fighter jets on its own — 380 for the IAF and 100 twin-engine jets for the Navy. How quickly can these jets be produced will define country’s military readiness and self-reliance.

The delay in making the first 40 Tejas (the ones the IAF is using now) jets is a bad memory. The IAF ordered 20 planes under a Rs 2,813-crore contract in 2006 and another 20 under a Rs 5,989- crore agreement in December 2010. All 40 were to be delivered by December 2016. However, the deliveries were completed in February this year — seven years behind schedule.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, in its report to the House on March 21 this year, had spoken about the delay in making the Tejas jets.

AFTER INITIAL HICCUPS, MONSOON COVERS ENTIRE INDIA 6 DAYS EARLY

The southwest monsoon on Sunday advanced further and covered the remaining parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. With this, the monsoon has covered the entire country, six days before the expected date (July 8).

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that the rainfall in July, the peak month of the monsoon season, the rainfall will most likely be normal —- 94 to 106 per cent of the long period average (LPA)

The LPA of rainfall over the country in July, based on the 1971-2020 data, is about 280.4 mm

After an initial deceleration owing to Cyclone Biparjoy, the southwest monsoon accelerated its advancement in the third week of June and covered over 50 per cent of the country in a week.

AUS WIN LORD'S TEST BUT NOT BEFORE STARING AT DEFEAT THEMSELVES

England captain Ben Stokes' swashbuckling 155 was in vain as Australia won the second Ashes Test at Lord's by 43 runs on an extraordinary final day on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series.

Stokes launched a blistering attack after the controversial dismissal of Jonny Bairstow, smiting nine sixes and nine fours to raise hopes of a repeat of his brilliant match-winning knock against the Australians at Headingley four years ago.

But with 70 runs needed for victory, he skied Josh Hazlewood to wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

As England went from 45/4 to 310/6, Australia were truly staring at defeat. But once Stokes was out, Australia quickly wrapped up the game.

Scores: Aus 416 & 279; Eng 325 & 327

MCC 'UNRESERVEDLY APOLOGISES' TO AUSTRALIAN PLAYERS FOR ABUSE IN LORD'S LONG ROOM

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on Sunday "unreservedly apologised" to the Australian team after its few members allegedly abused several visiting players in the Lord's Long Room following Jonny Bairstow's controversial dismissal on the fifth day of the second Ashes Test.

In the 52nd over, Bairstow ducked a slow bouncer from Cameron Green and ventured out of the crease thinking that the ball was already 'dead'. However, Alex Carey broke the stumps and third umpire Marais Erasmus adjudged it stumped in favour of Australia.

Soon the Lord's crowd booed Australia with chants of "same old Aussies, always cheating".

When the players walked through the Long Room, Australian players were angrily confronted by some MCC members.

England captain didn't appreciate the Australian tactic as he felt that they clearly knew Bairstow hadn't ventured out in pursuit of trying to steal a run. "Would I want to win a game in that manner? I think the answer for me is no," Stokes said after the game.

However RavichandranAshwin, who has always been lectured on 'Spirit of Cricket' lauded Carey for showing adequate cricketing smarts. "We must get one fact loud and clear. The  keeper would never have a dip at the stumps from that far out in a Test match unless he or his team have noticed a pattern of the batter leaving his crease after leaving a ball like Bairstow did. We must applaud the game smarts of the individual rather than skewing it towards unfair play or spirit of the game," Ashwin tweeted.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking. - Alfred Korzybski

OFF TRACK

A rancher goes to the bank to borrow money to buy a bull so he can increase his stock. The transaction is made and the banker who lent the money comes by a week later to see how his investment is doing. The farmer complains that the bull just eats grass and won't even look at the cows. The banker suggests that a veterinarian have a look at the bull.  

The next week the banker returns to see if the vet helped. The farmer looks very pleased: "The bull has taken care of all my cows, broke through the fence, and has even serviced all my neighbor's cows!"  

"Wow," says the banker, "what did the vet do to that bull?"  

"Just gave him some pills," replied the farmer.  

"What kind of pills?" asked the banker.  

"I don't know, but they sort of taste like peppermint."