PARLIAMENT LOGJAM ON, OPPOSITION PRESSES FOR PM’S STATEMENT

Parliament logjam over the Manipur issue entered the third day on Monday with the Congress-led Opposition rejecting the govt’s offer to commence discussions and sticking to their demand for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on violence in the state first.

The day saw Opposition MPs moving adjournment notices in both Houses to discuss the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur and ruling NDA MPs moving counter-notices for short-duration discussions on crimes against women in Opposition-ruled Rajasthan, Telangana, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Kerala.

Both sides staged parallel protests at Parliament compounds, blaming each other for three wasted sittings of the monsoon session, which began on July 20.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the day in the absence of agreement on structure of the debate.

Moments before the Lok Sabha wrapped up at 2.30 pm, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he was ready for debate on the “sensitive issue”. Shah did not mention Manipur in his brief remarks, with the govt determined to debate atrocities on women in all states irrespective of which party ruled where. The Opposition contrastingly wants a debate on Manipur and is objecting to what it calls “false equivalence”.

The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned amid a ruckus, with AAP MP Sanjay Singh suspended for the remainder of the session after Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar named him for unruly conduct and a suspension motion moved by House leader Piyush Goyal was passed by a voice vote.

The suspension emerged as the latest flashpoint between sparring sides with the AAP MP beginning a sit-in at Parliament complex and INDIA alliance MPs vowing to take turns to keep him company. Attempts by Lok Sabha deputy leader Rajnath Singh and RS Chairman Dhankhar to break the logjam also remained inconclusive as both camps dug in heels. Rajnath dialled Congress president and Leader of Opposition (RS) Mallikarjun Kharge, DMK’s TR Baalu among other leaders last night to break the stalemate, which persisted today. Admitting that Rajnath had called him up, Kharge blamed the govt for disruptions, saying the PM “has insulted Parliament by speaking on Manipur outside rather than inside and should come to the House and speak”. A meeting of Rajya Sabha floor leaders convened by Dhankhar today remained inconclusive as most leaders were absent. It will be reconvened.

IN LINE OF OPPN FIRE OVER MANIPUR, BJP GUNS FOR ASHOK GEHLOT

Facing intense heat from the Opposition parties over the raging violence in Manipur, the BJP has launched a fierce counter-attack, especially against the Congress govts in states such as Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, which are heading for the Assembly elections by the end of this year.

As part of this strategy, the BJP fielded some of its senior leaders and Union ministers Monday to target the Congress-led Rajasthan govt headed by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over alleged atrocities against women and “record-breaking” corruption in the state.

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat held a press conference at the BJP headquarters to claim that the political existence of many leaders will be in jeopardy if the contents of the “red diary” raked up by Congress MLA Rajendra Singh Gudha – who was sacked as a minister by CM Gehlot last Friday, hours after he criticised the state govt in the Assembly over crimes against women – come to light.

Shekhawat’s attack came a day after Gudha first claimed that he had “saved” Gehlot from trouble by securing a “red diary” on his directions during a raid by the Income Tax department against party leader Dharmendra Rathore.

Shekhawat alleged that the Gehlot govt has “misused” the money meant for the poor to “appease senior leaders in Delhi”. It is said that the “diary has details of transactions of over Rs 500 crore”, he charged.

SC REFUSES TO STAY ONGOING ASSAM DELIMITATION

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the ongoing delimitation of Lok Sabha and assembly seats in Assam by the Election Commission and sought the response of the Centre and the poll panel on a batch of pleas on the issue.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, agreed to examine the constitutional validity of Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 empowering the Election Commission to undertake the delimitation of constituencies.

The top court sought the replies of the Centre and the Election Commission on the petitions in three weeks and said the petitioners can file their rejoinders in two weeks after that.

Ten leaders representing nine opposition parties in Assam recently filed a plea in the top court challenging the ongoing delimitation process.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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ISRAEL REFORM THAT CLIPS SC WINGS PASSED AMID OPPN BOYCOTT

The Parliament of Israel (Knesset) has passed the first of its controversial judicial reform laws, seeking to curb judicial review of govt actions considered unreasonable by the country’s Supreme Court. The reform has now cleared all three parliamentary readings required by a bill to become law.

While the reform has been described by the Benjamin Netanyahu govt as a check on “judicial interference”, critics see it as a threat to democracy in Israel.

Since January this year, when the judicial reforms were unveiled by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, every Saturday has seen massive demonstrations across the cities of Israel, with even military reservists threatening a boycott.

Large-scale protests and clashes were also reported Monday.

The text of the bill makes it clear that the courts will not be able to invalidate decisions made by the govt under the “reasonableness” judicial test — the courts will not be able to discuss govt decisions and those of “other elected officials” who are not specified in the bill.

The law was passed by a vote of 64 for and 0 against as the opposition parties boycotted the final vote.

SPECTRE OF RIGHT-WING ENTERING SPANISH GOVT FADES AFTER INCONCLUSIVE ELECTION

Spain may be facing political gridlock and possibly a new election, but a national ballot produced one result that will be welcomed across the capitals of Europe: a far-right party aiming to get its hands on the levers of power was thwarted. Spain’s Vox party, with its ultranationalist bent, lost support among voters in Sunday’s election, dashing its hopes to be a kingmaker and enter a governing coalition that would have given the far right its first share of power in Spain since Francisco Franco’s 20th century dictatorship.

The mainstream conservative Popular Party won the election, but performed well below polling data that had forecast it could oust Socialist PM Pedro Sanchez.

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FRESH INCIDENTS OF ARSON ROCK MANIPUR, COPS IDENTIFY 14 MORE IN PARADING CASE

The Manipur Police have identified 14 more suspects from the shocking video of the two women who were disrobed and paraded on May 4. A manhunt has been launched to nab these suspects, all of whom are absconding, officials said today. The police have so far arrested six accused.

In fresh cases of arson, the police confirmed that at least 10 abandoned houses and a school were burnt by armed miscreants led by women late last evening in the Torbung Bazaar area of Churachandpur district.

Union Minister RK Ranjan Singh’s house in Imphal, which was vandalised and set ablaze last month, was again attacked yesterday by protesters as a women’s rally outside his residence turned ugly. The protesters hurled stones at the house, demanding that the minister should speak in Parliament about the situation in the state, officials said, adding that none was injured as no one was present in the house.

SC HALTS ASI SURVEY, DIRECTS HC TO HEAR GYANVAPI PLEA BY WEDNESDAY 5 PM

In a relief to the Gyanvapi management committee, the Supreme Court on Monday halted till 5 pm of July 26 a "detailed scientific survey" by the ASI to determine if the mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi was built upon a temple, saying "some breathing time" needed to be granted to appeal a district court order.

A Varanasi court had on Friday directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct the survey, including excavations, wherever necessary, to determine if the mosque was built at a place where a temple existed earlier.

Taking up the plea moved by the committee of management Anjuman Intezamia of the Gyanvapi mosque for an urgent hearing, the top court directed the Allahabad high court to hear the appeal before its "status quo" order expires on Wednesday evening.

The apex court's order came at a time when a 30-member team of the ASI was inside the mosque complex to carry out the survey. The survey was immediately stopped after the apex court order.

SC RAPS DELHI GOVT ON RRTS PROJECT; MAKES A POINT ABOUT HIGH AD SPEND TOO

Rapping the Delhi Govt over its huge advertisement budget, the Supreme Court on Monday directed it to provide an overdue amount of Rs 415 crore for the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project in two months.

“Either you pay or we will attach your advertising budget… If Rs 1,100 crore can be spent on advertisements in the last three financial years, certainly contributions can be made to infrastructure projects,” a Bench led by Justice SK Kaul told senior counsel AM Sighvi, representing the Delhi Govt.

“Your one year advertising budget is more than what you are giving for the project,” the Bench noted. The top court, which on July 3 directed the Arvind Kejriwal govt to furnish details of funds spent on advertisements after it expressed inability to contribute funds for construction of the RRTS project, was surprised to know that it spent Rs 1,073 crore on advertisements in the last three years.

The RRTS project consists of semi-high speed rail corridors connecting Delhi to Meerut in UP, Alwar in Rajasthan, and Panipat in Haryana. Being executed by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation, it’s a joint venture between the Centre and the states concerned.

100,000 TAX NOTICES TO BE DISPOSED OF BY MARCH: FM NIRMALA SITHARAMAN

About 100,000 reassessment notices issued by the income-tax (I-T) department in the past years -- where the income escaped from tax was above Rs 50 lakh -- will be concluded by March 2024, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday, assuring taxpayers of a transparent, objective, and friendly tax regime.

Speaking at an Income Tax Day event in New Delhi, Sitharaman said that widening the tax base remained a priority, and that the tax collected or deducted at source (TCS and TDS) approach to “track and trace” the likely tax liabilities, along with campaigns and nudges to encourage people to come on board on taxes, would help.

The finance minister emphasised that if income tax revenues were increasing, it was not because of the hike in rates, but due to “efficiency, plugging of leakages, and formalisation of the economy”.

On tax notices, she said those were served in cases dating back to six years for misreporting of income and non-filing of returns.

The Finance Act 2021 made changes to the reassessment provisions. It changed the time limit for the reopening of assessment to 3 years from 6 years earlier. However, if there is evidence of tax evasion of at least Rs 50 lakh, a notice can be issued within 10 years from the end of the relevant assessment year.

HAL SHARE PRICE UP 5 TIMES; JOKE’S ON RAHUL, SAYS BJP

Citing the five-fold rise of the share price of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, BJP on Monday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders, recalling their protests in 2019 in which they alleged that the Modi govt had “destroyed” the state-owned defence public sector major.

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekharsaid, Rahul Gandhi, a few years ago, had criticised HAL and in his usual way of trying to take potshots at the Modi govt and use “lies” to distract and mislead people, he had said that HAL will go sick.

“It is important for the people to realise and celebrate how under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, HAL has become a Rs 1. 35lakh-crore company. The shares of HAL have jumped five times more than what it was in 2013. . . ,” Chandrasekhar said.

INSTANT SETTLEMENT OF SHARE TRANSACTIONS IN THE WORKS: SEBI CHIEF

The SEBI is working on an ambitious plan to settle secondary market trades on a real-time basis. The proposal comes less than a year after the trade settlement cycle was shortened from T+2 (T denotes trade day) to T+1. The markets regulator is also working on an overhaul of the delisting regulations in a bid to give listed firms a fair shot at going private, if they intend to.

Speaking at a press conference here on Monday, Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson, Sebi, said: “While working an Asba-like (applications supported by blocked amount) payment system for the secondary markets, we realised that instantaneous settlement of trades is possible. Just like T+1, this will be a global first for India.”

The Sebi chief said the changes to the trading architecture, such as Asba for the primary and secondary markets, shorter T+1 settlement cycle for equities, and T+3 for IPOs and mutual fund (MF) transactions will result in savings of Rs. 3,500 crore per year for investors. “As the ecosystem develops further capability, this number will go up,” she said.

The instantaneous settlement mechanism could only be extended to delivery-based trades and for a select group of investors.

‘CBFC MEMBERS WHO OKAYED OPPENHEIMER TO FACE ACTION’

Union I&B minister Anurag Thakur is understood to have taken a stern view of a controversial scene featuring a copy of the Bhagavad Gita in ‘Oppenheimer’, deeming it the collective failure of the CBFC to “safeguard the interests of the public”. He said the issue could not be overlooked and that stringent action would be taken against all CBFC members who were involved in approving the screening of the movie.

The govt’s sharp reaction comes in the wake of several efforts to rein in vulgarity in visual media in what it says is a response to “public sentiments”. The demand for accountability from CBFC also reflects what govt sources described as its “commitment to maintaining a robust and responsible film certification process”.

“It’s (the scene) an insult to Bhagavad Gita, which is our holy book. It sends out powerful and meaningful messages to the entire world. How could someone demean it this way? The scene is an assault on our values and civilisation. It’s an assault on the Hindu community. . . [Director Christopher] Nolan should remove this scene from the movie. It reeks of religious hatred. If he doesn’t take out the scene, we will act,” Central Information Commissioner (CIC) Uday Mahurkar said.

MUSK PICKS FAN-CREATED X AS NEW TWITTER LOGO

Elon Musk has chosen the new logo for Twitter, replacing its signature blue bird with a stylized X as part of the billionaire's vision of transforming the 17-year-old service into an everything app.

It only took 24 hours. Late on Saturday, Musk invited his 149 million followers to suggest an X logo, then chose one of the designs and made it his new profile picture. He confirmed in responses to followers that he intends to adopt it as an interim design, which “probably changes later, certainly will be refined. ”

While crowdsourcing the logo, Musk changed his profile information to read “X. com,” a webaddress that now redirects to corresponding user pages on twitter. com. The move is part of a broader overhaul that will see all familiar “Twitter” and bird branding stripped away, he said.

The abrupt change comes as Twitter faces a steep decline in advertising dollars and a new rival in Meta Platforms Inc. 's Threads, a service that racked up 100 million users within five days of launching this month. The debut of Threads was greeted with derision by Musk, who's accused it of being a copycat service due to its similarities to Twitter.

The billionaire's stated intentions for Twitter have fluctuated over time, having initially started as a quest to eliminate bots on the service and preserve free speech.

PORT OF SPAIN TEST: RAIN WASHES OUT FINAL DAY

An Indian team in transition will feel robbed of an opportunity as torrential rain came in its way of potentially winning the second Test against West Indies and completing a 2-0 series whitewash in the Port of Spain on Monday.

Eyeing a clean sweep after their victory inside three days in Dominica, India called the shots here too and set the hosts an imposing target of 365.

But the match ended in a draw after the fifth and final day's play was washed out.

Having taken two wickets to leave the beleaguered West Indies trailing by 289 runs by the end of the fourth day's play, the Indians would have certainly fancied their chances of emerging victorious and grabbing a full 24 points in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle.

But that was not to be, thanks to the heavy downpour as India concluded their Test campaign with no further gains.

Thanks to their win in the first Test, India bagged 12 points to occupy the top spot in the pecking order. That victory paved the way for India's fifth successive series in the Caribbean, but the 1-0 verdict is not the result the visitors had come here for considering the difficult assignments that await them.

India have two away tours to South Africa and reigning world WTC champions Australia lined up, besides a home series against a formidable England.

India ended the series against the West Indies with 16 points and 66 percentage points.

Scores: India 438 & 181/2 (declared); WI 255 & 76/2

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Bitcoin - USD 29,171, Dollar Index 101.12, Brent Crude 82.78, BDI 978

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. - HW Longfellow

OFF TRACK

An old snake goes to see his Doctor.

"Doc, I need something for my eyes...can't see well these days". The Doc fixes him up with a pair of glasses and tells him to return in 2 weeks.

The snake comes back in 2 weeks and tells the doctor he's very depressed.

Doc says, "What's the problem...didn't the glasses help you?"

"The glasses are fine doc, I just discovered I've been living with a water hose the past two years!"