CONGRESS FIREFIGHTS TO SAVE SUKHU GOVT IN HIMACHAL

The Congress top brass on Wednesday rushed former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar to Shimla to parley with members of the party which is facing loss of support and risks losing power in the state.

"As per the directions of the Congress high command, I am reaching #HimachalPradesh. Also there is absolutely no need to indulge in any hearsay, as I am confident that Congress party legislators will be loyal to the party and stay put with the mandate that has been accorded to them. However, what should be questioned and worrisome is the extremes to which BJP is going in terms of acquiring power, deliberately attempting to crush democracy and public mandate in the process," Shivakumar said in a post on X.

Hours after six Congress MLAs voted in favour of the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge swung into action to pacify the disgruntled lawmakers and sent Hooda and Shivakumar to the state. They have been asked to engage with the disgruntled MLAs, including six MLAs, who are learnt to be "disappointed" with the working style of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and are seeking his replacement.

Adding to the Congress's woes, former state chief minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh also announced his resignation from the cabinet and said he has already spoken to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Meanwhile, HP Vidhan Sabha Speaker suspended 15 BJP MLAs for misbehaviour and adjourned the house.

The state budget is pending approval in the assembly and the BJP, with the help of Congress rebels, is ensuring that the budget is not passed and is seeking a division of votes.

In a stunning upset for the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP on Tuesday won the state's lone Rajya Sabha seat with its candidate Harsh Mahajan defeating Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi and apparently set the stage for a no-trust motion in the assembly.

In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh assembly, the Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 legislators. The remaining three seats are held by independents.

INDIA SLAMS PAKISTAN FOR BRINGING UP KASHMIR AT UNHRC

India yesterday presented a resolute counter to Pakistan's allegations about Jammu and Kashmir at the UN Human Rights Council saying that a country with such an "abysmal" record should not interfere in other nation's internal affairs. Exercising its 'Right to Reply', India said Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on matters that are internal to India.

At the 55th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, India's first secretary Anupama Singh said that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India. She said it was unfortunate that the council has been again misused to propagate false allegations against India. 

The Indian diplomat highlighted the irony in Pakistan's stance, labeling their human rights record as "truly abysmal." She pointed out a specific instance of persecution against the Christian community in Jaranwala city in August 2023, where 19 churches were destroyed and 89 Christian houses were burnt down.

"A country that has institutionalised the systemic persecution of its own minorities and has a truly abysmal human rights record, commenting on India, which is demonstrably making great strides in achieving economic progress and social justice, is not merely ironical but perverse," she said.

Ms Singh also drew attention to Pakistan's support for UNSC-sanctioned terrorists and accused the country of sponsoring terrorism globally. She concluded by stating that India cannot pay further attention to a country soaked in the red of bloodshed from terrorism, debt-riddled national balance sheets, and the shame its people feel for their government's failure to serve their interests.

BJP URGES ELECTION COMMISSION TO FOLLOW TWO-STEP VOTER VERIFICATION

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP on Wednesday suggested to the Election Commission to follow a two-step verification of voters before they enter the voting compartment, given that complaints of “rigging” come up often.

A delegation of BJP leaders, including Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Arun Singh and Om Pathak, submitted a memorandum to the EC.

“The issue and complaints with regard to rigging at the polling stations, the Commission may explore the possibility of ‘two step identification’ before any voter is permitted to enter the voting compartment. Fool-proof record of such two-step identification must be available to the Commission and political parties for assured fair polls,” the BJP memorandum read.

The party also said that instead of the current practice of videography and live webcasting at 50% of the polling stations, it should cover 100% of polling stations across all states.

Pathak said the party suggested taking a photo of the voter and comparing it to the photo identity card before entering the booth. Then, the polling staff checks the name and ID against the list of electors for the booth. This would build greater transparency in the polls,” Pathak said.

SANDESHKHALI INCIDENT: TMC LEADER SHAHJAHAN SHEIKH FINALLY ARRESTED

Absconding TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh, accused of alleged sexual atrocities on women and land grabbing in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, was arrested on Thursday morning, police said. 

He was arrested from a house in Minakhah in North 24 Parganas district where he was hiding, they said. 

He is at present in the court lockup, a police officer told PTI, adding that he will be produced before the court later in the day. 

Sheikh has remained at large for more than 50 days since an Enforcement Directorate team that went to raid his house was attacked allegedly by a mob. 

People of the Sandeshkhali area have been staging violent protests demanding his arrest.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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HAMAS CHIEF SAYS SHOWING FLEXIBILITY IN TALKS WITH ISRAEL BUT READY TO FIGHT

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday the Islamist group was showing flexibility in negotiations with Israel over the Gaza war but at the same time was ready to continue fighting. In a televised speech, Haniyeh also called on Palestinians in Jerusalem and West Bank to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque to pray on the first day of Ramzan on March 10, raising the stakes in the indirect talks for a truce deal to have come into force by then.

Israel said Monday it would allow Ramzan prayers at AlAqsa Mosque but set limits according to security needs, setting the stage for possible clashes if crowds of Palestinians turn up.

Haniyeh called on the selfstyled Axis of Resistance — allies of Iran consisting of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis, and Islamic Resistance in Iraq — as well as Arab states, to step up their support for Palestinians in Gaza. “It is the duty of Arab and Islamic nations to take the initiative to break the starvation conspiracy in Gaza,” he said, referring to what Palestinians say appears to be a deliberate policy by Israel to deny them food.

PAKISTAN PREZ WARNED AGAINST REFUSAL TO SUMMON PARLIAMENT

Pakistan President Arif Alvi’s refusal to summon the newly-elected National Assembly for its first session may lead to “legal consequences”, senior leaders of PML-N and PPP warned. Alvi Monday rejected a move from the caretaker parliamentary affairs ministry to summon the first session on Feb 29. Alvi, known for his closeness to Imran Khan, has maintained that all reserved seats be allocated before the summoning of the session.

THE REST

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ABOUT RAJYA SABHA POLL PROCESS

The BJP’s shock victory Tuesday in the election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh, where the Congress is in power, may be one of the rare instances where the winner was decided by a draw of lots.

After six Congress MLAs cross-voted, the party’s candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan got 34 votes each. In the event of a tie, the winner must be decided by a draw of lots, in which Mahajan eventually emerged as the victor.

The Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by the respective state Legislative Assemblies’ members through proportional representation of a single transferable vote.

Like other elections, voting for the Rajya Sabha polls, too, were meant to have a secret ballot. But, in 2003, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government amended the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951 to enable an “open ballot” for elections to the Upper House. In 2006, he Supreme Court upheld this amendment.

The RP Act provides for a draw of lots to decide the winner in case of an “equality of votes” in an election.

The Upper House elections have become more competitive in recent years. The Congress’s candidate in the 2022 Rajya Sabha election from Haryana, Ajay Maken, was defeated when a party MLA cross-voted in favour of Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma.

“The last three decades have seen a shift in Rajya Sabha elections. What earlier used to be a safe route to Parliament is now a no-holds-barred competitive process. Political parties can no longer count on the discipline of their legislators to assure the victory of their candidates. And this is after the law has changed requiring MLAs to show their vote to their party representative before casting it.

According to former Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat, the use of a draw of lots to decide the Rajya Sabha polls was “unheard of”, though there had been rare instances of it being used in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha elections.

The election to ward number 220 of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2017 was decided by a draw of lots when both the BJP and Shiv Sena candidates got an equal number of votes.

CHINA FLAG ON KULASEKARAPATTINAM SPACEPORT AD: PM MODI, BJP TAKE UMBRAGE

The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has landed in a soup after an advertisement on ISRO’s upcoming spaceport at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district sported a rocket with a Chinese flag.

The BJP has slammed the ruling DMK for the full-page ad that appeared in all leading dailies on Wednesday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foundation stone-laying event of Kulasekarapattinam spaceport. Taking to X, BJP state president K Annamalai on Wednesday shared the poster and said the poster is a manifestation of DMK’s commitment to China and displayed their total disregard to the country’s sovereignty.

Addressing a gathering in Tirunelveli, PM Modi also criticised the DMK over the controversial advertisement saying the state government was turning a blind eye towards the nation’s progress. “DMK is a party that does not work but steers ahead to take false credit. Who doesn’t know that these people paste their stickers on our schemes. Now they have crossed the limits, they have pasted China’s sticker to take credit for ISRO launch pad in Tamil Nadu,” Modi said who was on a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu to lay foundation stones and launch multiple development projects in the state.

Commenting on the controversy, Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi said no one has yet declared China as India’s enemy. “Someone who had done the artwork had put that (advertisement)… The Chinese Prime Minister came here and our Prime Minister received him directly and they both went on a walk in Mahabalipuram. In such a scenario, no one has said till now that they have announced them (China) as our enemy,” she told reporters.

DELHI COURT CONVICTS AAP MLA PRAKASH JARWAL IN DOCTOR’S SUICIDE CASE

A Delhi court on Wednesday convicted AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal of abetting the suicide of a doctor in south Delhi in 2020.

Rajendra Singh, a 52-year-old doctor, had died by suicide in Durga Vihar on April 18, 2020.

The judge held Jarwal, who represents Deoli Assembly constituency, guilty, saying the prosecution had proved the case against him beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence on March 13.

In his suicide note, the doctor had accused Jarwal of driving him to end his life. Police had registered a case of alleged extortion and abetment to suicide against Jarwal on the basis of the note.

ECONOMISTS SCEPTICAL ABOUT POVERTY DECLINE CLAIMS BY SBI, NITI AAYOG

Following the release of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) report after 11 years, the debate on the poverty line estimates has gained ground after the Niti Aayog and the SBI claimed a significant decline in the headline poverty rate.

While the SBI report claimed that the poverty rate stands at between 4.5 and 5 per cent in 2022-23, NITI Aayog chief executive officer (CEO) BVR Subrahmanyam on Sunday told reporters that the survey findings indicate the poverty rate in India is below five per cent now.

The SBI report estimated the new poverty line at Rs 1,622 for rural areas and Rs 1,929 for urban areas.

TCA Anant, adjunct professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences and former chief statistician of India, says the SBI seems to have updated the poverty line estimates by imputing inflation figures for the past 10 years onto the poverty line that was estimated by the Tendulkar committee for the year 2011-12. The erstwhile Planning Commission had computed a poverty line of Rs 816 for rural and Rs 1,000 for urban areas for the year 2011-12, based on the recommendations of an expert group headed by economist Suresh Tendulkar.

“All over the world, poverty lines are usually estimated by basing them on certain developmental norms. Methodologically, the exercise undertaken by SBI based on the Tendulkar report is a fair exercise. However, over the years, the poverty norms certainly require updating and ideally we should ideate towards updating our conceptions of poverty,” Anant explained.

Pronob Sen, chairperson of the newly revamped Standing Committee on Statistics expressed scepticism about using the ‘Tendulkar poverty line’ to calculate the poverty in 2022-23 using the latest HCES data, as the two datasets are not comparable due to the change in data collection techniques.

RELIANCE, DISNEY SIGN MEGA DEAL TO CREATE A RS 70,000 CRORE MEDIA GIANT

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Viacom 18 Media Private Ltd and The Walt Disney Company on Wednesday announced the signing of binding definitive agreements to form a joint venture that will combine the businesses of RIL-controlled Viacom18 and Star India, a subsidiary of Walt Disney. RIL has agreed to invest at closing Rs 11,500 crore ($ 1.4 billion) into the JV to create a mega TV and digital streaming platform for entertainment and sports content in India.

After the completion of merger, the JV will be controlled by RIL and owned 16.34 per cent by RIL, 46.82 per cent by Viacom18 and 36.84 per cent by Disney.

Nita M. Ambani will be the Chairperson of the JV, with Uday Shankar as Vice Chairperson providing strategic guidance to the JV.

The JV will be one of the leading TV and digital streaming platforms for entertainment and sports content in India, bringing together iconic media assets across entertainment (Colors, StarPlus, StarGOLD) and sports (Star Sports and Sports18) including access to highly anticipated events across television and digital platforms through JioCinema and Hotstar.

3,300 KG DRUGS SEIZED BY NAVY

In a coordinated operation on India’s west coast, the Indian Navy and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) apprehended a suspicious vessel carrying almost 3,300 kg contraband (3089 kg charas, 158 kg methamphetamine and 25 kg morphine). Five foreign nationals have been arrested in this connection.

The operation began after the Navy’s maritime surveillance aircraft located a suspicious dhow (small vessel). After NCB corroborated things, an Indian Navy warship, deployed for anti-piracy duties, was pressed into action to intercept the suspicious dhow en route to the Indian waters with sizeable contraband. “Indian Navy units successfully located, tracked and intercepted the suspicious boat at sea,” the Ministry of Defence said

The dhow was boarded by Indian Navy personnel and the search resulted in a large seizure of narcotics. Subsequently, the boat was towed by the warship to the nearest Indian port for handing over the crew and contraband to Law Enforcement Agencies.

SHREYAS IYER, ISHAN KISHAN EXCLUDED FROM BCCI CENTRAL CONTRACTS

Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have both been excluded from the 30-member list of centrally contracted players announced by the BCCI yesterday. KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj have been elevated to the Grade A category while Rishabh Pant, who missed the majority of the season recovering from a road accident, finds himself in Grade B.

Iyer was part of the Grade B list last season while Kishan had a Grade C contract. "Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations," the BCCI stated in a media release, adding: "The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team."

Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin and Mohammed Shami have been retained in Grade A while Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have been retained in the A+ category.

Axar Patel, who had a Grade A contract last season, has been moved to Grade B. Kuldeep Yadav has been elevated from Grade C to B while Yashasvi Jaiswal, a newly contracted player, finds himself in Grade B as well. Suryakumar Yadav is the only player in the Grade B category from the previous season to be retained in the same group. Cheteshwar Pujara doesn't find a contract this season, having been in Grade B in the previous one.

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Bitcoin - USD 61,411, Dollar Index 103.85, Brent Crude 83.68, BDI 1899

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time. - Abraham Lincoln

OFF TRACK

A drunk is riding his bike through the city in the middle of the night when a cop stops him. "So," says the cop to the rider, "where have you been?"

"I've been to the pub," slurs the drunk.

"Well," says the cop, "it looks like you've had quite a few."

"I did all right," the drunk says with a smile.

"Did you know," says the cop, "that a few intersections back, your wife fell off your bike?"

"Oh, thank heavens," sighs the man. "For a minute there, I thought I'd gone deaf."