TWO CONGRESS POTS SIMMER, IN PUNJAB AND CHHATTISGARH

The Congress is battling to contain rebellions threatening its governments in Punjab and Chhattisgarh, despite the high command stepping in.

In Punjab, ministers and MLAs seeking Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s removal reiterated their demand Wednesday, despite the Congress asserting that there was no question of doing so.

In Chhattisgarh, fresh from a peacemaking meeting with Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, CM Bhupesh Baghel took potshots at rival T S Singh Deo

Four Punjab Congress ministers and three MLAs met the party’s state in-charge Harish Rawat in Dehradun Wednesday to seek Amarinder’s removal.

Asked whether Amarinder would lead the party in the elections, as he was reported as having said, Rawat said it was for the high command to decide as to “who will be the CM”. “I have nothing to say.” On whether he could say with full confidence that Amarinder would continue as CM till the elections, Rawat said, “Iss samay toh CM hain na woh (Right now, isn’t he the CM)?”

In Chhattisgarh, Baghel said those talking about rotation of CM post were “trying to bring political instability”. The Singh Deo camp talks of a promise reportedly given to him at the time of government formation in 2018 that he would replace Baghel after two-and-a-half years. In an apparent show of strength, hundreds of people along with 15-odd MLAs, including ministers Ravindra Chaubey and Amarjeet Bhagat, came to Raipur airport to receive Baghel as he arrived from Delhi Wednesday. Flowers were showered on him, amidst slogans such as “Chhattisgarh ada hua hai, CM Bhupesh Baghel ke sang khada hua hai (Chhattisgarh is standing strong, standing with CM Baghel)”.

WE EXPECT YOU TO WAIT, SC TELLS WEST BENGAL GOVT ON PEGASUS INQUIRY PANEL

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it expected the Justice Madan B Lokur Commission of Inquiry set up by the West Bengal Government not to proceed further as it would take up next week petitions seeking an SIT probe into Pegasus snooping scandal.

“In all fairness we expect you to wait...we will hear it with the other matters sometime next week, “ a Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana told senior counsel AM Singhvi—who represented the West Bengal Government. “If we are hearing other matters, we expect some restraint,” it added.

The Bench—which had issued notice to the Centre on August 17 on petitions seeking an independent probe into alleged snooping on politicians, journalists and activists using Pegasus spyware—said the issue was likely to have pan-India impact.

As Singhvi said nothing big was going to happen in the next few days, the Bench said, “You are forcing us to pass an order”. He then urged the court not to pass any orders saying he would convey it to the West Bengal Government.

GOVT CLEARS ALL 9 NAMES SENT BY COLLEGIUM FOR SUPREME COURT

The Centre is learnt to have cleared all the nine names recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointment to the top court, which currently has 24 judges against a sanctioned strength of 35.

The Supreme Court Collegium had on August 17 recommended nine names, including eight High Court judges and an advocate, for elevation to the apex court.

The nine nominated by it were four High Court Chief Justices —Vikram Nath (Gujarat), A S Oka (Karnataka), Hima Kohli (Telangana) and J K Maheshwari (Sikkim) — four High Court judges Justices B V Nagarathna (Karnataka), M M Sundresh (Madras), C T Ravikumar (Kerala) and Bela M Trivedi (Gujarat), and Senior Advocate P S Narasimha.

KERALA SEES DAILY COVID CASES CROSSING 31,000 MARK

In what may hint at a high rate of Covid-19 transmission in the state following Onam, Kerala on Wednesday reported 31,445 fresh Covid-19, with the daily test positivity rate touching 19 per cent now. This is the first time that the state has reported more than 30,000 fresh cases since May 20 this year, when the second wave was raging.

On Wednesday, seven of the 14 districts — Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Kollam, and Kottayam — reported upwards of 2000 cases each. While Ernakulam reported the highest number of fresh infections (more than 4000 cases), Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Malappuram reported more than 3000 cases each.

With 20,271 persons recovering, the number of active cases in the state stood at 1,70,292.

For the past several weeks, Kerala has been contributing more than half of the daily cases to the national caseload with the seven-day average TPR being at 17.13 percent. Though its case fatality rate stood at 0.5 percent, the increase in cases despite lockdowns and restrictions has been alarming.

A six-member team deputed by the Centre to look into the high number of infections in Kerala had earlier reported lapses in home isolation protocols, contact-tracing measures and a low number of RT-PCR tests.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 3,27,571

New Cases in last 24 hours: 46,388

Recovered in last 24 hours: 34,420

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: +11,360

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 608 (4,36,396)

Daily Tests (Monday): 17,92,755

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 2.8%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 34.6% / 10.1%

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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PROBLEMS MOUNT FOR TALIBAN AS PAK FM’S FIREFIGHTING MISSION FAILS

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s firefighting mission to get Tajikistan’s assent for a Taliban Government in Kabul received a rude shock from its President even as financial problems mounted for Afghanistan with the World Bank stopping its aid days after the International Monetary Fund had withheld a loan.

Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon told Qureshi pointblank that it is necessary to establish an inclusive government, especially with the participation of Afghan Tajiks and Dushanbe “will not recognise any other government that will be formed through oppression, without taking into account the position of the entire Afghan people, especially all its national minorities”.

A lengthy statement from the Tajik Presidential blamed the Taliban for abandoning its previous promise to form an interim government with the broad participation of other political forces. Instead, the group is preparing to establish an Islamic emirate, it noted.

The forthright statement has implications for the Panjshir Valley holdouts led by Tajiks Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh who have been joined by some officers of the Afghan army and Uzbek origin military leaders.

Emomali Rahmon also spoke up for the Uzbeks and other national minorities who, along with Afghan Tajiks, are being subjected to “all forms of lawlessness, murder, looting and persecution”.

Meanwhile, there was more financial trouble for the Taliban as the World Bank “paused disbursements in our operations in Afghanistan and we are closely monitoring and assessing the situation in line with our internal policies and procedures,” said its spokesperson Marcela Sanchez-Bender.

The IMF has also suspended Afghanistan’s access to about $ 440 million in new monetary reserves because of the absence of a government in Kabul. The Taliban had appointed a Maulana as the head of the Afghan Central Bank. It remains to be seen whether the two multilateral banks, in which the trans-Atlantic alliance has a controlling stake, will react to the new announcement.

However, even if the IMF or the World Bank were to relent, American consent is required because its Treasury has imposed sanctions on most of the Taliban leadership.

Meanwhile, China has established its first diplomatic contact with the Taliban in Kabul after the militant group took control of Afghanistan and the two sides now have “unimpeded and effective communication”, a Chinese official said on Wednesday.

China along with Pakistan and Russia kept its embassy open in Kabul while India, the US and other countries closed down their diplomatic missions after the Taliban took control of Kabul on Aug 15.

AFGHAN ARMY CHIEF ON WHY HIS FORCE FAILED AGAINST TALIBAN

In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Sami Sadat, the Lieutenant-general of the Afghanistan army which was decimated in front of the Taliban, said the Afghan army lost its will to fight because of the "growing sense of abandonment" by the American partners. In a first such disclosure after the Taliban completed its capture of the country on August 15 raising question over the efficiency of the Afghan army, the commander said his army was fighting cronyism and bureaucracy, but when US president Joe Biden said that US troops can not and should not be fighting for Afghanistan, the Afghan army lost the will to fight.

"I am a three-star general in the Afghan Army. For 11 months, as commander of 215 Maiwand Corps, I led 15,000 men in combat operations against the Taliban in southwestern Afghanistan. I’ve lost hundreds of officers and soldiers. That’s why, as exhausted and frustrated as I am, I wanted to offer a practical perspective and defend the honour of the Afghan Army. I’m not here to absolve the Afghan Army of mistakes. But the fact is, many of us fought valiantly and honourably, only to be let down by American and Afghan leadership," the 36-year-old chief wrote at a time when the victory of the Taliban is being seen as "without resistance".

Sami says he was in the battle at Lashkar Gah when Ashraf Ghani named him the commander of Afghanistan special forces. He had to leave his troops there to come to Kabul. It was August 15. It was too late as the Taliban had already reached Kabul. Then Ghani entrusted him with the task of securing Kabul and left the country. "But I never even had a chance."

Still, the army failed and, according to Sami, there are three reasons for this failure. The first begins with the US and Donald Trump's Doha peace deal. Second, the Afghan army lost contractor logistics and maintenance support and the third is the corruption of the Ashraf Ghani government, he wrote.

THE REST

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WAR OF WORDS TAKE SENA-BJP TIES TO A NEW LOW

A day after Narayan Rane was arrested and granted bail over his ‘slap’ Uddhav Thackeray’ comment, the war of words between the union minister and his former party, Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena, continued.

Sena mouthpiece ‘Samana’ described the BJP leader as a ‘balloon with holes’ and compared him to a frog. Sena MP Sanjay Raut also advised him to “learn how to behave and stop disrespecting a sitting Chief Minister who is equal to the Prime Minister when it comes to protocol and dignity”.

Rane, meanwhile, said even Thackeray had used unparliamentary words while referring to BJP leaders Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath.

The Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Narendra Modi Cabinet thanked cadres and colleagues for standing by him and claimed that he had not said anything wrong. “I am not afraid of anyone and I am not backing out. My words were an expression of anger against the chief minister (Uddhav Thackeray) who forgot the year of India’s Independence,” he was quoted as saying.

With Rane becoming the first incumbent central minister to be arrested by the state police in the last 20 years, the relations between the two former allies have hit a new low. Incidentally, late Murasoli Maran and TR Baalu are the other sitting central ministers to be arrested, in 2001.

A Shiv Sena MLA, Santosh Bangar, said Rane is a “dog” kept by the BJP to attack others, but would ultimately bite his own party. He also called Rane a dog of “pug” breed.

WILDLIFE BOARD NOD TO 10 ROADS NEAR INDO-CHINA BORDER IN LADAKH

The National Board of Wildlife (NWBL) has given its nod for clearances for the construction of 10 roads at the Indo-China border in Ladakh, citing their strategic importance.

In a meeting held this month, the NWBL also recommended imposing a two per cent “fine” as a “mitigation” measure for pursuing development work inside eco-sensitive zones.

The road clearances were granted following requests by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to construct roads inside the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, a 1,400 sq. km park, which is home to the Tibetan wild ass, black cranes, and other rare animal species.

AMU VC CRITICISED FOR CONDOLING KALYAN SINGH’S DEMISE, UP GOVT TERMS IT ‘TALIBANI SOCH’

Posters condemning the Aligarh Muslim University Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor for condoling former chief minister Kalyan Singh’s death appeared on the campus, prompting the Uttar Pradesh government to warn of strict action against people having “Talibani thinking” after getting the matter probed.

The posters, displayed on the AMU campus with “Students of Aligarh Muslim University” written on them, said, “Praying for a criminal is an unforgiving crime”.

“The condolence words of the AMU VC on the demise of ex-chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh are not only a matter of shame but also hurt the religious sentiments of our community,” the poster said. “The VC’s condolence has brought disgrace to the entire AMU fraternity, its traditions, and the Aligarh Movement that believe in justice and fairness. We strongly condemn our VC for his shameful act.”

Reacting sharply, state minister Mohsin Raza said the VC acted as per “our culture” and putting up such posters was an attempt to vitiate the atmosphere. “If some persons of Talibani ‘soch’ are there, we will also treat them accordingly,” he said.

ON CULTURE SECTION OF GOVT WEBSITE, A PARA ON MUGHALS IS DELETED

Two days after the Information Technology Ministry removed a paragraph on the Mughal Empire from its website, the ‘Culture and Heritage’ section of knowindia.gov.in has been turned into a photo gallery.

The section, which showcased India’s history, tradition, monuments, arts and other activities, was removed Tuesday. It reappeared Wednesday, without any text, displaying merely 30 photographs showcasing dance forms and monuments. The “corrected text, portraying the actual history” is expected to be floated on the website in a few weeks.

The paragraph on the Mughals, on the IT Ministry site’s Medieval India page, had read thus: “In India, the Mughal Empire was one of the greatest empires ever. The Mughal Empire ruled hundreds of millions of people. India became united under one rule, and had very prosperous cultural and political years during the Mughal rule. There were many Muslim and Hindu kingdoms split all throughout India until the founders of the Mughal Empire came.”

THAROOR’S PHOTO OF HIM SMASHING A RITUAL COCONUT SPARKS A MEME FEST

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s photo of him breaking a coconut for a ritual has sparked a meme fest online, and he picked some of his favourite and funniest memes.

The Congress leader had posted some photos on Twitter on August 21 of him taking part in Onam festivities at his ancestral home.

In a tweet, Tharoor wrote, “There are many of these memes going around using the pic of me ritually smashing a coconut. I don’t know who dreams them up but they are often very funny. This one is one of my favourites.”

Tharoor shared four memes based on the ‘coconut-smashing’ image: him in a wrestling ring, him on the cricket pitch, him being a dancer and him pouring tea like a tea seller.

LEEDS TEST, DAY 1: INDIA'S BATTING FLOPS MISERABLY

England shot out India for a paltry 78 and cruised to 120 for no loss in their robust reply to take early control of the third Test at Headingley on Wednesday.

India captain Virat Kohli won the toss but was left to rue his decision to bat as edges after edges kept flying into Jos Buttler's waiting gloves behind the stumps.

The ageless James Anderson alone forced three of them in his magical spell that read 8-5-6-3, accounting for wickets of KL Rahul, Pujara and Kohli.

GAVASKAR LOSES HIS COOL OVER A NASSER HUSSAIN ARTICLE

The way India responded to England after being bullied in the second Test at Lord’s made headlines all around the world. Many experts, including former England captain Nasser Hussain, believed that this Indian team led by Virat Kohli would not be bullied like the previous generations.

Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar wasn’t pleased with Hussain’s remarks and when the two came face to face, albeit virtually, during the pre-match show, things got so ugly between them that Harsha Bhogle had to intervene to calm things down.

Referring to Hussain’s Dailymail article, Gavaskar demanded an explanation from the former England captain for his opinion piece and things began to heat up.

“You said this India will not be bullied as perhaps the previous generations would be. [I] Belonging to [the] previous generation, could you perhaps enlighten which generation? And what is the exact meaning of bully?” Gavaskar asked Hussain before the toss on Sony Sports Network.

Instead of comparing the two eras, Hussain politely answered that all he meant was that no side in the world would want to take on Kohli’s team because they might end up regretting it, just like England did at Lord’s.

Gavaskar, however, wasn’t ready to buy his reply and dragged things further and reminded him of the results players of his generation were able to achieve in England.

“But when you say previous generations were bullied, I don’t think so. I’d be very upset if my generation was being talked about as being bullied. If you have a look at the record, in 1971 we won, that was my first tour in England. 1974, we had internal problems so we lost 3-0. 1979, we lost 1-0, it could have been 1-1 if we chased down 438 at the Oval. 1982 we again lost 1-0. In 1986 we won 2-0, we could have won it 3-0. So, I don’t think my generation were bullied. I don’t think aggression means you have always got to be at the face of the opposition. You can show passion, you can show your commitment towards your team without yelling after each fall of wicket,” Gavaskar said.

Watching things escalate between the two legends of the game, presenter Harsha Bhogle intervened and calmed things down.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

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