AN UPSET SIDHU QUITS AS PUNJAB CONGRESS CHIEF

Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday quit as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief, triggering other resignations and plunging the party into a fresh crisis just months ahead of the assembly elections.

Hours after his resignation, Razia Sultana, a part of the new 18-member ministry led by Charanjit Singh Channi, too put in her papers, expressing solidarity with the former cricketer.

Punjab Congress general secretary Yoginder Dhingra and treasurer Gulzar Inder Chahal followed with their resignations.

Sidhu, 57, who announced his resignation shortly after the allocation of portfolios to the new ministers, said he remains with the party.

He was appointed the party's state unit president on July 18 amid a bitter power tussle with Amarinder Singh, who stepped down as the CM 10 days back while accusing the party high command of humiliating him.

'The collapse of a man's character stems from the compromise corner, I can never compromise on Punjab's future and the agenda for the welfare of Punjab,' he said in his letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. 'Therefore, I hereby resign as the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Will continue to serve the Congress,' the letter on Twitter said.

Claiming that it has got a “positive response” from the ground after choosing Charanjit Singh Channi as Chief Minister, the Congress high command was apparently keen not to let Sidhu remote-control the government in Punjab. This was cited by sources as one of the reasons behind Sidhu’s surprising resignation as state unit chief of the Congress. The high command is said to have stood by Channi even as Sidhu tried to have his way in appointments to senior administrative posts, selection of ministers and allocation of portfolios.

Amarinder Singh, who had called Sidhu 'dangerous' and 'anti-national', was quick to react. 'I told you so, he is not a stable man and not fit for the border state of Punjab,' he tweeted.

Former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar tweeted, 'It's just not cricket !' 'What stands compromised in this entire 'episode' is the faith reposed in the (outgoing?) PCC President by the Congress Leadership. No amount of grand standing can justify this breach of trust placing his benefactors in a peculiar predicament,' he posted.

From calling Navjot Singh Sidhu a “misguided missile” to accusing him of not being able to digest a Scheduled Caste CM, the opposition parties in Punjab had a field day attacking him and the Congress after he resigned as the state Congress chief.

2020 DELHI RIOTS WERE A ‘PRE-PLANNED CONSPIRACY’, SAYS DELHI HC

The northeast Delhi riots that shook the nation last year were a “pre-planned conspiracy” to disturb law and order in the national capital and the violence didn’t take place in a spur of the moment, the Delhi High Court has said.

While refusing to grant bail to accused Mohd Ibrahim in the case of the murder of Delhi Police head constable Ratan Lal, Justice Subramonium Prasad noted that there was a systematic disconnection and destruction of the CCTV cameras in areas near the place of the incident and innumerable rioters ruthlessly descended with sticks, ‘dandas’, bats, etc. upon a hopelessly outnumbered cohort of police officials.

Around 53 people, including constable Ratan Lal, were killed and 700 others injured in the riots that broke out in northeast Delhi during the then US President Donald Trump’s India visit in February last year.

Justice Prasad said the conduct of the protesters present in the video footage placed on record by the prosecution visibly portrayed that it was a calculated attempt to dislocate the functioning of the government as well as to disrupt the normal life of the people in the city.

PAKISTAN HOME TO 12 TERROR OUTFITS: US CONGRESS REPORT

At least 12 groups designated as “foreign terrorist organisations” by the US are based in Pakistan. They include five that are India-centric, according to the latest Congressional report on terrorism.

The report, ‘Terrorist and Other Militant Groups in Pakistan’, released by the research wing of the US Congress, said the Pakistan-based groups could be broadly categorised into five types – globally oriented, Afghanistan-oriented, India and Kashmir-oriented, domestically oriented and sectarian (anti-Shia).

The prominent India-centric groups include Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Harakat-ul Jihad Islami and Hizb-ul Mujahideen. Though the report has no political or executive backing, the US State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2019, has said Pakistan “continued to serve as a safe haven for certain regionally focused terrorist groups and has allowed groups targeting Afghanistan as well as groups targeting India to operate from its territory”. Pakistan’s neighbours, including Afghanistan and India, and the US have long accused Islamabad of providing safe haven and support to militants. The State Department also noted “modest steps” taken by Pakistan to counter terror financing and to “restrain” some India-focused militant groups following an early 2019 terrorist attack in J&K.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 2,75,681

New Cases in last 24 hours: 21,896

Recovered in last 24 hours: 29,900

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -8,379

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 375 (4,47,781)

Daily Tests (Monday): 13,21,780

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 1.1%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 48.0% / 17.3%

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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CHINA’S POWER CRISIS IS WORLD’S LATEST SUPPLY-CHAIN THREAT

Widening power shortages in China have halted production at numerous factories including many supplying Apple and Tesla, while some shops in the northeast operated by candlelight and malls shut early as the economic toll of the squeeze mounted. Nearly 60% of the Chinese economy is powered by coal, but supply has been disrupted by the pandemic, put under pressure by tough emissions targets and squeezed by a drop in coal imports amid a trade tiff with Australia. Earlier this month, coal prices hit a record high, with restrictions imposed on businesses and homes amid supply crunch.

China’s energy crisis is shaping up as the latest shock to global supply chains as factories in the world’s biggest exporter are forced to conserve energy by curbing production. The disruption comes as producers and shippers race to meet demand for everything from clothing to toys for the year-end holiday shopping season, grappling with supply lines that have been upended by soaring raw material costs, long delays at ports and shortages of shipping containers. Manufacturers warn that strict measures to cut electricity use will slash output in economic powerhouses like Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces — which together account for almost a third of the nation’s GDP — and possibly drive up prices.

Apple supplier Unimicron Technology said factories in two regions were told to stop production from midday Sunday through Thursday. Dozens of other companies, including a parts supplier to carmaker Tesla, were told to halt production this week.

The power woes come after recent port disruptions in China rippled across global supply chains. Part of Ningbo port, one of the world’s busiest, was idled for weeks last month following a Covid outbreak.The energy crunch will weigh on China’s economy. Goldman Sachs said it expects growth to come in at 7.8%, down from 8.2%. “Global markets will feel the pinch of a shortage of supply from textiles, toys to machine parts,” said Lu Ting, chief China economist at Nomura Holdings in Hong Kong.

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KANHAIYA KUMAR JOINS CONG, SAYS INDIA CAN'T SURVIVE WITHOUT IT

Former JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar joined the Congress on Tuesday in the presence of Rahul Gandhi, saying the 'country cannot be saved' without 'saving' the oldest party. Kumar addressed a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi along with independent Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani who too extended his support to the Congress ideology and said he would contest the next assembly polls on the Congress symbol.

Asserting that it is detrimental to a country's interests if the Opposition is weakened as those in power become authoritarian, Kumar, who quit the Communist Party of India, described the Congress party as a 'big ship' and said the small boats will survive only when the Congress is saved.

Kanhaiya Kumar has expelled himself from the CPI, the party’s general secretary D Raja said on Tuesday moments after he joined the Congress. He alleged that Kumar was “not truthful” with the CPI leadership and also not “straightforward” in his demands from the party.

EXPECT ZOJILA TUNNEL TO BE READY BEFORE 2024 POLLS, SAYS GADKARI

The government wants its showpiece infrastructure project in Kashmir, the Zojila tunnel, to be inaugurated before 2024 general elections, asking the contractor to speed up work by about three years.

“They are supposed to complete it by September 2026. I have asked them to finish it by December 2023 so that the Prime Minister can inaugurate it before Republic Day of 2024. It’s a challenge I know, but I’m confident they can do it on time,” Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said during an inspection of the Zojila tunnel’s West portal in Baltal in Kashmir pm Tuesday. “Obviously, we would want it to be finished before the elections.”

The 14.5 km Zojila tunnel, which will be Asia’s longest bi-direction tunnel at a height of more than 11,500 feet, will provide all-weather, perennial connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh, which is otherwise hampered for winter months. From the strategic point of view, the tunnel, which is being built at a cost of more than Rs 4,600 crore, is a critical asset for the armed forces.

COMPLETE BAN ON BURSTING, SALE OF FIRECRACKERS UP TO JANUARY 1 IN DELHI

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee on Tuesday ordered a complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers in the national capital till January 1, 2022.

According to the order, several experts have indicated a possibility of another surge of Covid-19 and largescale celebrations by bursting of firecrackers will result not only in agglomeration of people in violation of social distancing norms but also a high level of air pollution leading to serious health issues in Delhi.

The bursting of firecrackers under the prevalent pandemic crisis is not favourable for the cause of larger community health given the significant relationship between air pollution and respiratory infections, it said.

“We have to strike the balance between employment, unemployment and the right to life of the citizen. Under the guise of employment of a few, we cannot permit others to infringe the right to life of other citizens,” a Bench led by Justice MR Shah said.

IAS OFFICER IN ‘VIDEO OF CONVERSION’, UP ORDERS SIT PROBE

Two days after purported video clips of an IAS officer, Mohammad Iftikharuddin, talking about spreading Islam to every home, were circulated on social media, the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday ordered an inquiry by a two-member special investigation team.

Iftikharuddin, a 1985-batch IAS officer, is currently chairman of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. The video clips are reported to be from 2014-17, when he was posted as Kanpur divisional commissioner.

In one of the purported video clips, Iftikharuddin is seen sitting with a group of men, apparently clerics, and is heard saying that it is their duty to spread Islam to every home. He purportedly talks about establishing Islam supremacy across the world.

In another purported video clip, he is seen sitting while another speaker talks about a person who converted to Islam and the merits of conversion. The video clips are reported to be taken at the camp office-cum-official residence of the official when he was the Kanpur divisional commissioner.

OFFICIALS CAN’T AUTOMATICALLY BE HELD LIABLE FOR COMPANY OFFENCE: SC

Observing that vicarious liability cannot be imputed automatically on the top management for the offence committed by the company in the absence of any statutory provisions, the Supreme Court has said that chairman/managing director/director of a company cannot be prosecuted if there is no specific allegation against them.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and A S Bopanna said in such cases, a magistrate has to record his satisfaction about a prima facie case against the managing director, the company secretary and the directors and the role played by them in their respective capacities before initiating criminal proceedings against them. It said they cannot be summoned in a routine manner on a bald statement made against them for the offence committed by their company.

SC TO BUILDER: PAY HSG SOC FOR GIVING UNFINISHED PROJECT

In a boost for homeowners, the SC has said builders cannot get away by handing over maintenance and administration of a housing society to the residents’ welfare association if the project remains unfinished without all infrastructure and facilities promised to the buyers, adding they will need to compensate the RWAs.

Almost 18 years after Padmini Infrastructure handed over a project in Noida to the residents’ association, a bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian directed the company to pay Rs 60 lakh to the Royal Garden RWA for not building a water softening plant, a second health club and a swimming pool in addition to putting in place a fire-fighting system.

The long legal battle reflects issues faced by residents in such societies across the country and will be a boost for home buyers, even though more recent state RERA laws cover some of the aspects relating to defaults on promised facilities.

SEBI OKAYS E-GOLD RECEIPT TRADES

The board of markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday gave its nod to start a gold trading platform on which the yellow metal could be traded in electronic form, called electronic gold receipts (EGRs), which could also be exchanged for physical gold by its holders. The concept, if successful, could lead to better discovery of spot price of gold in India. This could also lead to launch of derivatives products on gold, industry experts said.

“EGRs will have the trading, clearing and settlement features akin to any other securities (like stocks, commodities, etc),” Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi said.

Along with its nod for EGRs, the Sebi board also cleared a framework for vaults that would play a very important role of storing the physical gold that will guarantee each EGR traded on gold exchanges. In February this year, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had entrusted Sebi the responsibility to set up an exchange for trading in gold.

IPL: NARINE, RANA STEER KKR TO VICTORY OVER DELHI; MUMBAI SCORE A TENSE WIN OVER PUNJAB

Sunil Narine turned in a superb all-round show as Kolkata Knight Riders outclassed Delhi Capitals by three wickets to boost their hopes of making it to the play-offs, in Sharjah, on Tuesday.

The West Indian all-rounder took two wickets for 18 runs before scoring a decisive 21 from 10 balls in the closing stages to earn the Knight Riders their fifth victory from 11 games.

Nitish Rana hit 36 off 27 balls to take KKR through.

The defeat should be a nice wake-up call for Delhi Capital, who remain second in the eight-team league table with 16 points while the Knight Riders consolidated their place in fourth spot with 10 points.

Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowlers made optimum use of a slow Sharjah track to restrict Delhi Capitals to 127 for 9.

In turn, KKR won by 3 wickets and 10 balls to spare.

In the other match yesterday, Kieron Pollard excelled with bat and ball as Mumbai Indians got back to winning ways after three defeats, beating Punjab Kings by six wickets, iwith 6 balls to spare.

The burly West Indian first took two wickets, conceding just eight runs, and then struck an unbeaten 15 off 7 balls in partnership with Hardik Pandya (40 not out off 30) after Mumbai were reduced to 92 for 4 in the 16th over to fashion a thrilling victory.

Earlier Punjab Kings were restricted to 135 for 6.

DC (Placed 2nd) – 11 Matches, 8 Wins; KKR (4th) 11M, 5W; MI (5th) 11M, 5W; PBKS (6th) 11M, 4W

Today’s Match – RR vs RCB

FINAL TWO IPL LEAGUE MATCHES TO START AT THE SAME TIME ON OCTOBER 8

In a first, the final two matches in the league phase of the IPL will start simultaneously. As per the original schedule, the two matches were to be playes ane after the other, as is usual on days with double headers. Now both matches will begin at the same time on October 8, at 6 pm local time.

While the BCCI announced the decision via a media release on Tuesday, saying both matches will be played "concurrently" it did not explain the exact reasoning behind the move. However, one understands that suggestion to have both matches run in parallel was given by Star, the IPL broadcaster. It is learned that Star wanted to do a trial run in preparation for the 2022 season when the IPL will be an event with several double headers.

The last time IPL was a 10-team event was in 2011, when there were 70 league matches and four playoff games. The last time more than eight teams played in the IPL was in 2013, when nine teams took part.

The IPL Governing Council has decided to unveil the two new franchises on Oct 25.

INDICATORS

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US$-Rs. 73.96 GBP-Rs. 100.65, Euro-Rs. 86.42, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.13, Can$-Rs. 58.44, Aus$- Rs. 53.68

GBP 0.73 /US$, Euro 0.85 /US$, Jap.Yen 111.35 /US$, Aus$ 1.37 /US$, Sing 1.35 /US$, Bang Taka 84.06 /US$, Can$ 1.26 /US$, Mal Ring 4.18 /US$,

Pak Re 169.53 /US$, Phil Peso 51.01 /US$, Russian Rouble 72.67 /US$, NZ$ 1.43 /US$, Thai Baht 33.73 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.37 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 41,710

Dollar Index 93.71 Brent Crude 77.98 BDI 4,862

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,740 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,604 / 4,504, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 64,700

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. - Oliver Wendell Holmes

OFF TRACK

A man went into the pet shop, "I got the part of a one legged warrior in a play and need a parrot to sit on my shoulder," he said.

"I don't have any parrots at the moment, but you wouldn't want a real parrot for that. It would squawk in all the wrong places, poop on your shoulder and generally be a nuisance. What you need is a stuffed parrot. Just as realistic and easily controlled," suggested the shopkeeper.

"I'm not sure a stuffed parrot would be okay," said the customer. "I do want this performance to be as realistic as possible."

"Ok, in that case you can come back on Thursday and pick one up."

"Sorry," said the customer, "I can't make it on Thursday. That's the day I'm having my leg cut off."