IT IS STILL A WORLD OF DOUBLE STANDARDS: JAISHANKAR IN NEW YORK

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that it is still a world of “double standards” and those countries which are occupying positions of influence are resisting the pressure to change and those with historical influence have weaponised a lot of those capabilities. He was speaking at a Ministerial Session titled ‘South Rising: Partnerships, Institutions and Ideas’ hosted by the Observer Research Foundation, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, United Nations India and the Reliance Foundation. “I think more than political will, there is political pressure for change,” he said here on Saturday. There is a growing sentiment in the world and the global South in a way embodies it. But there’s also political resistance, he said. “Those who are occupying positions of influence, we see this in the UN Security Council most of all, are resisting the pressure to change.

“Those who are economically dominant today are leveraging their production capabilities and those who have institutional influence or historical influence have actually weaponised a lot of those capabilities as well,” Jaishankar said. “They will all mouth the right things, but the reality is still today, it’s a world very much of double standards,” Jaishankar said.

Jaishankar added cultural rebalancing really means recognising the diversity of the world, respecting the diversity of the world, and giving other cultures and other traditions their due respect.

He referred to the G20 Summit in Delhi earlier this month and cited the example of millets. He noted that the global South historically ate less wheat and more millets. “In the name of the market a lot of things are done, like in the name of freedom a lot of things are done,” he said to laughter from the audience. Respecting others’ heritage, tradition, music, literature, and ways of life, this is all part of the change that the global South would like to see, Jaishankar said.

Jaishankar added that among the main issues that are troubling the entire world are debt, SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) resourcing, climate action resourcing, digital access, nutrition and gender.

Jaishankar said that partly because of COVID and partly due to the focus on Ukraine, “these subjects were driven out of the global conversations,” and added that “to get actually the G20 to talk about what the world wanted it to talk about – that was a real problem in the G20.” He asserted Prime Minister Narendra Modi put it very well when he said that “first let’s talk to the people who are not going to be on the table, let’s find out what they have to say,” which is why India did the Voice of Global South Summit–2023.

WE’VE LEARNT TO ADAPT, WE SET THE NARRATIVE NOW: RAHUL GANDHI

Claiming that the Congress is controlling the narrative in the major Assembly election-bound states, senior Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday predicted that the party was “certainly winning” Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and probably trouncing the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana. He acknowledged that the contest in Rajasthan was “very close” but hoped to pull it off in the end.

“So that is what it is looking like and by the way that is also what the BJP is also internally saying,” Rahul said at a conclave organised in Delhi by the Pratidin Media Network of Assam.

Rahul claimed that the BJP wins elections by diverting attention from the issues the Congress tries to raise. The Opposition party, he added, had adapted and learnt to deal with such tactics.

“So every time we bring a point on the table they use this type of stuff to distract… And we have learnt now how to deal with it. So what did we do in Karnataka? We gave a clear vision for the state, this is the social security programme that we are going to set up for you and then we control the narrative. If you look at the Telangana election, we are controlling the narrative. The BJP is not even in the narrative now. It is gone,” he said.

The Congress leader added, “If you look at the narrative in Madhya Pradesh, we are controlling the narrative. If you look at the narrative in Chhattisgarh we are controlling the narrative no matter what the BJP tries to do. They are not capturing the narrative anymore. We are also adapting and learning.”

Rahul alleged that the govt came up with the idea of a special session to distract from media revelations on the Adani group. He alleged that the initial plan of the govt was to change India’s name to Bharat but there was a huge backlash after which they came up with the women’s reservation Bill.

PM MODI FLAGS OFF 9 NEW VANDE BHARAT TRAINS: ROUTES, TIMINGS AND OTHER DETAILS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off nine Vande Bharat trains, connecting 11 states, via video conferencing. While inaugurating the new train routes, the PM said that the “day is not far when Vande Bharat will connect every part of the country.”

With these nine trains, which will improve connectivity Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand and Gujarat, the total number of Vande Bharat trains has increased to 34.

The 9 new trains will connect the following cities respectively.

Udaipur – Jaipur

Tirunelveli-Madurai-Chennai

Hyderabad-Bengaluru

Vijayawada-Chennai (via Renigunta)

Patna-Howrah

Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram

Rourkela-Bhubaneswar-Puri

Ranchi-Howrah

Jamnagar-Ahmedabad

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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NAGORNO-KARABAKH’S 120,000 ARMENIANS WILL LEAVE FOR ARMENIA

The 120,000 ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will leave for Armenia as they do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan and fear ethnic cleansing, the leadership of the breakaway region told Reuters on Sunday.

Armenia’s Prime Minister also said the Karabakh Armenians were likely to leave the region, and that Armenia was ready to take them in, following a defeat last week at the hands of Azerbaijan in a conflict dating to the fall of the Soviet Union.

The Armenians of Karabakh, a territory internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but previously beyond Baku’s control, were forced to declare a ceasefire on Sept. 20 after a lightning 24-hour military operation by the much larger Azerbaijani military.

Azerbaijan says it will guarantee their rights and integrate the region, but the Armenians say they fear repression. The Armenian leaders of Karabakh said in a statement that all those made homeless by the Azerbaijani military operation and wanting to leave would be escorted to Armenia by Russian peacekeepers.

WILL BACK XI JINPING'S NEW INITIATIVES, SAYS NEPAL PM PRACHANDA IN CHINA

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has said Kathmandu will support a series of important concepts and initiatives proposed by China. Terming his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Saturday as “highly productive”, he said they would significantly strengthen bilateral relations and deepen ties.

Prachanda is on a weeklong visit to China and met Xi after attending the opening ceremony of the Asian Games. On Monday, he is scheduled to discuss economic cooperation in greater depth with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

“The China visit this time has been particularly unique, and we have achieved remarkable results. I have observed that these discussions have created a more confident environment for our country,” he said at an evening reception organised by the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing. Outlining the areas of enhanced cooperation with China such as agriculture, tourism, health and education, he said these would make Nepal-China relations robust and enduring. Earlier, he addressed the Nepal-China Business Summit in Beijing, focusing on the theme “Facilitating Investments in Nepal: An Interaction with Chinese Business Enterprises”.

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“INDIA WILL LEAVE CHINA BEHIND ON BORDER INFRASTRUCTURE IN NEXT 4-5 YEARS”

India has been carrying out a lot of construction activities at the China border in the last three years, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Director General Lt General Rajeev Chaudhry said on Sunday.

Chaudhry said the govt of India is fully supporting the BRO for carrying out infrastructure development projects by way of increasing the budget and new technology.

The DG said that around 300 BRO projects worth Rs 8,000 crore were completed during the last few years. “In the last three years, we set up 295 road projects, bridges, tunnels and airfields which were dedicated to the nation,” Chaudhry said. "In four months, our 60 more projects will be ready and the pace of our work has increased,” he added.

“Today, the BRO's pace of work is quite fast and the govt has complete support in it, be it the budget, machines, new technology and simplification of procedures. You can be rest assured that we will leave China behind in the next four to five years,” he added.

The DG said that the previous govt was wary of constructing roads near the LAC. The then Defence Minister A K Antony had in 2008 made a statement in Parliament that China could use the same roads against India, said Chaudhry. “But today, the govt is thinking in a different way. Our projects are being promoted," he added.

SHARAD PAWAR AND NEPHEW AJIT BRACE FOR EC BATTLE

Even as Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Navrekar’s hearing into the disqualification petitions by rival factions of the Shiv Sena continues, the NCP drama continues to unfold as both the Ajit Pawar group and the camp led by the Dy CM’s uncle Sharad Pawar have submitted disqualification petitions against each other’s legislators to claim rights over the party’s name, election symbol, and most importantly, political legacy. The second round of the fight between the two sides is set to begin from October 6 as both sides begin presenting their case to the Election Commission.

Ajit claimed he removed Pawar as NCP president on June 30, two days before being sworn in as Deputy CM. “A resolution dated June 30, 2023, signed by an overwhelming majority of members of the NCP, both from the legislative and organisational wings, was passed, thereby electing Ajit Anantrao Pawar as the President of the NCP. Shri Praful Patel was and continues to be one of the working presidents of the NCP. The NCP also decided to appoint Ajit Pawar as the leader of the NCP Legislative Party in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and the said decision was also ratified by the resolution passed by an overwhelming majority of NCP MLAs,” the Ajit Pawar group claimed after the rebellion. Patel, in his capacity as national working president of the party, removed NCP state president Jayant Patil from the post and appointed Sunil Tatkare as the new state president.

in its reply to the EC, the Sharad Pawar group has asked it not to entertain the Ajit group’s petition. It said if the petition was allowed, in the future, any member of any party could file a “frivolous” petition.

‘NARRATIVE BEING SET FOR LYNCHING ME’: BSP MP DANISH ALI

BSP MP Danish Ali on Sunday hit back at BJP leader Nishikant Dubey for suggesting that he made unsavoury remarks to instigate BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, who had passed offensive remarks against Ali during the debate in the Lok Sabha, and said a narrative was being set for “lynching” him outside the House.

In a letter written to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, Dubey accused Ali of offering a “running commentary” and making “unsavoury remarks” during Bidhuri’s speech in the lower house of parliament on Thursday, instigating him to lose his composure.

“I have seen Nishikant Dubey’s letter. My verbal lynching was done inside the House and now this is a narrative to get me lynched outside the House,” Ali said.

Dubey also alleged that Ali made a “highly objectionable and blasphemous” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In response, Ali wrote on X that “fictionalising events and playing with the facts will not work this time.” “Truth is that I tried to protect the prime minister’s dignity and urged the Chair to expunge from the House’s records highly objectionable words used about Modi ji,” he said. “The BJP MP (Bidhuri) said some people wanted Prime Minister Modi to die like a dog. I intervened and said that no one said that about the honourable Prime Minister. Then he called me names “

Ali also wrote a letter to Speaker Om Birla regarding the incident. “I write to you with deep anguish regarding the speech given in the Lok Sabha by an MP of the BJP, Mr Ramesh Bidhuri, during the discussion on Chandrayaan success… During the course of his speech, he directed the most foul, abusive invectives against me, which are part of the records of the Lok Sabha. Among the words he directed against me were ‘Bhadwa’ (pimp),’Katwa’ (circumcised one),‘Mullah ugravadi’ (Muslim terrorist) ‘atankvadi’ ( terrorist) etc…” he stated.

ON FOREIGN POLICY, FIGHT AGAINST GRAFT, NAVEEN PATNAIK GIVES MODI 8/10

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his foreign policy and the measures to fight corruption, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday gave him a rating of 8 on a scale of 10, and said he is trying his “best to serve the people of the country”.

Patnaik’s praise holds significance since it comes amid talk of growing BJD-BJP bonhomie ahead of the 2024 elections, both for Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly. While the support of Patnaik’s BJD has been crucial to the BJP at the Centre in the passage of Bills such as the NCT legislation on Delhi, in Odisha both parties have been at loggerheads with the BJP being the principal opposition party.

Patnaik agreed that his govt shares cordial ties with the Centre, saying it was in Odisha’s interest. “We have a cordial relationship with the Centre. Naturally, we want development of our state and it is important to have the Centre’s partnership in that development,” he said during an interaction programme at the Odisha Literary Festival organised by the New Indian Express in Bhubaneswar.

DISPOSE UNCLAIMED BODIES RESPECTFULLY IF NO KIN COME: SC PANEL ON MANIPUR

With scores of bodies lying unclaimed in morgues across Manipur, which has been embroiled in ethnic strife since the beginning of May, a three-member committee of former judges constituted by the Supreme Court has advised that the state govt publish a list of the dead so that their next of kin can be identified, and if no one comes forward, dispose of the bodies in a “respectable manner”.

The question of claiming and disposal of the bodies has been one of the most sensitive and contentious issues in the ongoing conflict. Nearly five months into the conflict, the bodies of many of those killed in the first few days of violence are among those which continue to remain unclaimed in three key mortuaries in the state — JNIMS and RIMS in Imphal, and the Churachandpur District Hospital.

This is largely because families of one community have been unable to visit hospitals in areas dominated by the other community to identify and claim the bodies. While Meiteis are in majority in Imphal and the valley areas, Kukis dominate the hills.

Also, although 35 of the bodies in the morgue in Churachandpur as of August 3 are of people from the Kuki-Zomi community who are dominant in the area, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) had directed the families to not claim the bodies, with the stated objective of pressuring the govt to transport bodies lying in morgues in Imphal to their home areas.

CENTRE MOVES TO CANCEL OCI CARDS OF PRO-KHALISTAN ACTIVISTS

Action of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in seizing the properties of ‘designated individual terrorist’ Gurpatwant Singh Pannu was the first step in targeting pro-Khalistan activists living abroad.

Secondly, the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards, which allow visa-free entry, will be revoked in case of wanted persons and their sympathisers.

The govt is said to have asked the agencies to identify pro-Khalistan activists settled in countries like the US, UK, Canada and Australia and cancel their OCI cards so that they would not be able to gain visa-free entry to India.

Earlier, the security agencies had identified a group of 11 individuals, believed to be both gangsters and terrorists, currently residing in Canada, the US and Pakistan.

INDORE ODI: INDIA BEAT AUS BY A HUGE MARGIN

Shubman Gill showed his insatiable hunger for runs with fifth hundred of the year while Shreyas Iyer hit a timely ton under pressure to set up a series sealing 99-run win for India in the second ODI against Australia in Indore on Sunday.

Gill (104 off 97 balls) and Iyer (105 off 90 balls) shared a stroke-filled 200-run stand off 164 balls before Suryakumar Yadav (72 not out off 37 balls) unleashed carnage to fire India to 399 for five, the hosts' highest total against Australia in ODIs. Skipper K L Rahul chipped in with 52 off 38 balls.

Rain stopped play for the second time in the game when Australia were 56 for two in nine overs. With the revised target of 317 in 33 overs, they fell further behind in the game and ended with 217 all out in 28.2 overs.

The series win without their five main players in the squad was a big boost for India ahead of the World Cup at home. The final game, in which a full strength India squad is expected to play, will take place in Rajkot on Wednesday.

ASIAN GAMES: INDIA SHOOTERS WIN GOLD, SET A NEW WORLD RECORD

India won it's first gold medal of the Asian Games 2023 with shooters Divyansh Singh Panwar, Rudrankksh Patil and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar triumphing in the men's 10m air rifle team event on Monday.

The Indian team topped the qualification round with a world record combined score of 1893.7 to claim the gold medal.

Republic of Korea finished second with 1890.1 to win the silver, while hosts China settled for the bronze with a total of 1888.2.

The rowing team of Jaswinder, Bheem, Punit and Ashish won the bronze in the men's rowing four event. The Indians narrowly missed out on a silver as they clocked 6:10.81, to finish 0.77 seconds behind hosts China. Uzbekistan won the gold with 6:04.96.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Too many of us are unable to live our dreams because we are busy living our fears. – Anonymous

OFF TRACK

A man left work one Friday afternoon. But, being payday, instead of going home, he stayed out the entire weekend partying with the boys and spending his entire paycheck.

When he finally appeared at home, Sunday night, he was confronted by a very angry wife and was barraged for nearly two hours with a tirade befitting his actions.

Finally his wife stopped the nagging and simply said to him. "How would you like it if you didn`t see me for two or three days?"

To which he replied. "That would be fine with me."

Monday went by and he didn`t see his wife. Tuesday and Wednesday came and went with the same results. Come Thursday, the swelling went down just enough where he could see her a little out of the corner of his left eye.