PAWAR VS PAWAR: SHARAD, AJIT FACTIONS GO ON SACKING SPREE

A full-blown intra-party tussle broke out in the NCP as rival factions went on a sacking spree on Monday to tighten their grip over the organisation and sought disqualification of lawmakers in each other's camps, a day after sudden induction of Ajit Pawar as deputy CM caused a political upheaval in Maharashtra.

Soon after NCP president Sharad Pawar removed party working president Praful Patel and general secretary Sunil Tatkare for engaging in "anti-party” activities, the faction owing allegiance to Ajit Pawar hit back by sacking state unit president Jayant Patil and making new appointments.

Patel appointed Ajit Pawar as the leader of the NCP legislature party.

Accusing them of facilitating and spearheading defections of nine MLAs without his knowledge and consent, Sharad Pawar, in a letter to Patel and Tatkare, said "Your action of supporting Shri Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs who have sworn oath as ministers in violation of the party's direction and mandate amounts to anti-party activities". "I remove your names from the membership register of the party in view of your actions," Sharad Pawar said.

The party is also initiating appropriate action for formal disqualification of Patel and Tatkare as MPs under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, the letter said.

Praful Patel told a press conference that the decision to back the Eknath Shinde-led govt and the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a "collective" move by the NCP.

"Today (Monday) is Guru Purnima; we all wish that Sharad Pawar continues to bless us....The country has progressed under the leadership of Narendra Modi in the last nine years. I had been to Patna for the meeting of opposition parties. I saw what happened there. In the main opposition party Congress there is confusion about whether Rahul Gandhi is the leader or not. We don't know who runs that party," Patel told reporters.

Patel said instead of asking them how many MLAs are in the Ajit Pawar camp, the question should be put to the other side (rival group).

The Ajit Pawar camp has not yet announced the number of MLAs supporting them. The NCP has 53 MLAs in the 288-member assembly.

TIES WILL BE HIT: EAM ON KHALISTAN POSTERS TARGETING ENVOYS IN CANADA

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday warned partner countries that ties would be hit after Khalistani posters appeared in Canada naming two Indian diplomats.

“We have requested our partner countries like Canada, the US, the UK and Australia where sometimes Khalistani activities happen, not to give space to the Khalistanis. Because their radical, extremist thinking is neither good for us nor them nor for our relations,’’ said Jaishankar while speaking to the media.

“We will raise the issue of posters with those govts. I think it would have already been done by now,” he added. The poster, accusing the Indian diplomats in Toronto of “killing” Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was an invitation to a pro-Khalistan rally in Canada on July 8.

OPPOSITION TO MEET IN BENGALURU ON JULY 17-18

The Congress yesterday announced that the next meeting of Opposition parties — a follow-up of the meeting held in Patna on June 23 — would take place in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18.

“Yesterday, when the BJP washing machine restarted in Mumbai with its ICE (Income Tax, CBI, ED) detergent, BJP-inspired obituaries on Opposition unity were being planted. The obit writers will be disappointed. The next meeting of the parties that met at Patna on June 23 will be held in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18. If anything, the Mumbai operations have strengthened Opposition resolve”, Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary (communications), said in a tweet.

The sacking of Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji by Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has been also instrumental in drawing various Opposition parties closer.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who was present at Patna, meanwhile, flew to Hyderabad yesterday to meet Telangana CM K Chandrasekar Rao, suggesting he continues to be open to the idea of an anti-BJP front without the Congress.

MODI CALLS ON HIS MINISTERS TO TAKE THE GOVT’ SUCCESS STORIES TO MASSES

Asserting that his govt has done a lot of development work in its nine years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked his Council of Ministers to go all out over the next nine months to inform people about its successes and initiatives.

With the ruling BJP's leadership putting in place its strategy to retain power at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Modi spoke at length about India's development journey in various sectors and his govt's pro-poor measures since 2014.

Chairing the meeting, he asked his ministerial colleagues to make a determined effort to connect with the electorate across the country in the period till the polls.

A number of secretaries representing different ministries, including foreign and defence, made presentations during the meeting in which Modi's recent State Visit to the US was also highlighted for its unprecedented success. His visit to Egypt was also highlighted in the meeting which lasted for close to four and a half hours.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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CROWDS HOLD ANTI-RIOT RALLIES IN FRANCE AS UNREST EASES

Crowds gathered at town halls across France on Monday to show solidarity with local govts targeted in six nights of violence touched off by the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old in suburban Paris. The unrest appeared to be easing on Sunday night.

Monday’s anti-riot demonstrations — called a “mobilisation of citizens for a return to republican order” -came after the home of the mayor of a Paris suburb was rammed with a car, prompting widespread outrage. In all, 99 town halls have been attacked in the violence, the interior ministry said. In a statement, an association of the mayors noted that areas “everywhere in France are the scene of serious unrest, which targets republican symbols with extreme violence”.

Interior minister Gerald Darmanin took aim at families who had allowed children to wreak havoc on the streets, saying the average age of the 3,354 people arrested over the past week was 17 with some as young as 12. “It’s not up to the national police or the gendarmerie or the mayor or the state to solve the problem of a 12-year-old setting fire to a school. It’s a question of parental authority.”

Across France, 34 buildings — many of them linked to the govt — were attacked from Sunday into Monday, along with 297 vehicles.

A collection for the policeman who shot the teenager dead topped one million euros Monday, dwarfing donations to the victim’s family. More than 40,000 people have pledged money to the online appeal set up by a far-right media commentator.

Many right-wing figures have defended the security forces saying the officer was “doing his work”, while those on the left see the death as a consequence of systemic racism in the police.

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SC ASKS MANIPUR TO SUBMIT FRESH STATUS REPORT ON VIOLENCE

Amid allegations of escalation of ethnic violence in Manipur, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the state govt to file a detailed updated status report on relief, rehabilitation, recovery of arms and law and order situation.

The state govt told a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud that the situation was improving slowly. On behalf of the tribal groups, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves said he had filed a status report giving details of killings. Despite two assurances of the govt, killings had gone up, he alleged. Gonsalves said some people were giving TV interviews warning the Kukis. “As long as these armed groups are not disbanded, it will escalate.

The Manipur Tribal Forum wanted the top court to direct the Army to take full control of the law and order situation in Churachandpur, Chandel, Kangpokpi, Imphal East, and Imphal West districts of the state. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested Gonsalves not to give the violence a communal angle. On behalf of the govt, Mehta said the situation was improving slowly and curfew had now been reduced to only five hours. Apart from the police and Manipur Rifles, 114 companies of CAPFs and 114 columns of the Army had been deployed, Mehta told the Bench.

SHINDE MEETS SENA MLAs TO DISPEL FEARS AMID NCP'S ENTRY

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday spent time to ease the unrest among his Shiv Sena colleagues facing disqualification in connection with the rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray and the split in the party as well as the changed equations with the entry of nine NCP MLAs in the govt.

Incidentally, after the rebellion in June last year led to Shinde becoming chief minister, one of the reasons they gave for breaking away from Uddhav Thackeray was the dominance of the NCP in the Maha Vikas Agahdi govt. They had claimed Sena MLAs were not getting funds for their constituencies with most of the allocations being cornered by NCP legislators since Ajit Pawar was deputy CM holding the finance portfolio in the MVA dispensation.

Shinde combined his Guru Purnima event in Thane on Monday with a closed-door meeting involving his MLAs and party workers to discuss the new developments and offer solutions.

PARL PANEL MEETS ON UCC, CHIEF SUSHIL MODI QUESTIONS ITS FEASIBILITY FOR TRIBALS

Amid a debate on the proposed Uniform Civil Code, triggered by the Law Commission’s decision to examine the issue afresh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s subsequent remarks on the matter, BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law, is learnt to have questioned the feasibility of a UCC in tribal areas, including those in the North East, since their customs, traditions and rituals are different from other communities and the Constitution grants them protection.

A meeting of the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice was convened Monday to hear the views of the Department of Legal Affairs, Legislative Department and the Law Commission of India on the June 14 notice issued by the Law Commission, inviting views of stakeholders on the UCC. Congress MPs raised questions and DMK’s P Wilson opposed implementation of the proposed UCC.

The Opposition MPs flagged the point that there are concerns regarding the legislative powers of states.

In the note he posted on Twitter, Wilson said “implementation of Uniform Civil Code will destroy the diversity of the nation”. He pointed out that “matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and property rights fall under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, which allows both the central and state govts to legislate on these subjects. However, Article 44 stipulates that a Uniform Civil Code will be applicable to ‘citizens throughout the territory of India’, suggesting that States may not have the power to amend it”.

Also taking to Twitter, Tankha said the UCC is an issue which involves 138 crore people. He posted a note he wrote to committee chairman Modi “as a measure of caution”. Citing the 21st Law Commission’s 2018 consultation paper on ‘Reform of Family Law’, Tankha, in his note, said he concurred with the view of the Commission that “in the absence of any consensus on a uniform civil code, the best way forward may be to preserve the diversity of personal laws but at the same time ensure that personal laws do not contradict fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India”. He also agreed with “the Commission’s view that it is essential, at this stage, to deal with laws that are discriminatory rather than providing a uniform civil code which is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage”.

ODISHA ACCIDENT: WRONG LABELLING OF LOCATION BOX WIRES LED TO MIX-UP: CRS REPORT

Pointing out “lapses at multiple levels”, the investigation by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) into the train accident near Balasore in Odisha on June 2, in which at least 293 people were killed, has found that wrong labelling of wires inside the level-crossing location box remained undetected for years and ultimately led to a mix-up during maintenance work. It has said that the tragedy could have been averted if past red flags were not ignored.

While the signalling department has been found to be primarily responsible, the station master, who is part of the operations department, has also been named for failing to detect “abnormal behaviour” of the signalling control system that could have prevented the tragedy.

According to the report, there were indications of anomalies in the system. When the station master, who controls the signals for train operations, gave the command to reverse the ‘point’ from ‘loop line’ to normal ‘Up line’ for the Coromandel Express barely 10 minutes before the accident, the indication of that change came instantly, instead of after a few seconds. “This was the most abnormal occurrence as change of status of a ‘point’ was supposed to take 13-14 seconds,” said the report, adding that this was because of the “false feed” the system was getting due to faulty wiring.

“This abnormal occurrence should have been noticed by the station master as it occurred during individual operation and he was aware of the normal time required for the operation of a ‘point’ (7 to 15 seconds) which he had mentioned suo motu in the inquiry. The station master should have brought this abnormality to the notice of the signalling staff working there, and should not have taken off ‘Up Home’ Signal for the train,” says the report.

OVER 500 ACADEMICS WRITE TO IISC AFTER IT CANCELS TALK ON UAPA

In a letter to the director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, over 500 academics have expressed their unhappiness over the institute’s decision to cancel a discussion on the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), prisons and the criminal justice system, which was to be led by activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita.

Kalita and Narwal, who participated in the movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act and are facing terror charges for their alleged involvement in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots case, are currently out on bail. Both were booked by the Delhi Police under UAPA.

The letter has been signed by academics across national and international institutions including Professor Rahul Varman, IIT-K, Vaibhav Vaish from IISer Mohali, Ananyo Maitra from CNRS and CY Cergy Paris University and Ayesha Kidwai from JNU, among others. Sent to IISc director Prof. Govindan Rangarajan Monday, it reads: “We believe that it is important for members of IISc to hear about Natasha and Devangana’s experience and to reflect on the laws that were used to incarcerate them. Regardless of one’s perspective, such discussions are crucial in a functioning democracy and IISc, as an academic institution, is ideally positioned to host them.”

It further says: “Conversely, if the institute is unwilling to permit peaceful discussions on constitutional questions, it is hard to see how it can foster a spirit of critical inquiry that is necessary for scientific work.”

RELIANCE JIO LAUNCHES ENTRY-LEVEL UPI, 4G-ENABLED JIOBHARAT PHONE AT RS 999

Telecom major Reliance Jio on Monday announced the launch of Jio Bharat, a device that will provide internet-enabled services on entry-level phones.

The internet-enabled phone has been priced at Rs 999. Jio is offering  30 per cent cheaper monthly plan and seven times more data compared to offers of other operators. Jio is offering a plan worth Rs 123 per month for unlimited voice calls and 14 GB data.

The phone will be UPI-enabled through JioPay. Also, the phone will let consumers make unlimited calls. On the entertainment side, the phone will have JioCimena, JioSaavn, and FM Radio.

The company said that apart from Reliance Retail, other phone brands (starting with Karbonn) will adopt the "Jio Bharat platform" to build “Jio Bharat phones.”

The Beta trial for first one million Jio Bharat phones will start from July 7 and will be carried out across 6,500 tehsils.

WIMBLEDON KICKS OFF: DJOKOVIC LOOKING AT 24TH

Four-times defending champion and hot favourite Novak Djokovic began his record quest with a straight-sets Wimbledon victory over a willing but eventually outgunned Argentine Pedro Cachin on Centre Court on Monday.

Djokovic, 36, is seeking a men's record-extending 24th Grand Slam title that would also draw him level with Australia's Margaret Court, to match Roger Federer's eight Wimbledons and equal Federer and Bjorn Borg's record of five successive men's singles crowns.

He took a convincing first step with a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory where the only time he looked really inconvenienced was when complaining about the risk of slipping on a mildly damp court after a shower caused a 70-minute delay during which the roof was closed and reopened.

"WILL WE SEE UNDER-ARM BOWLING?" PAT CUMMINS REPLIES

The controversial dismissal of England batter Jonny Bairstow in the second Ashes Test on Sunday, once again raised the debate of Spirit of Cricket vs Laws of the Game.

In the post-match press conference too, the issue ws raised multiple times.  "Do you believe in any such thing as spirit of cricket?" Pat Cummins was asked by a reporter.

"Yep," replied the Australia captain.

"Do you think after Baistow's dismissal today, which was within the letter of the law, just putting it out there, are we in danger of seeing Mankads or under-arm bowling later in this series?" he was then asked.

"Ah.. I mean, depends how flat the wickets get. It might be an option to turn to," came the reply from Cummins.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials. - Lin Yutang

OFF TRACK

A group of junior-level executives were participating in a management training program. The seminar leader pounded home his point about the need to make decisions and take action on these decisions.

"For instance," he said, "if you had five frogs on a log and three of them decided to jump, how many frogs would you have left on the log?"

The answers from the group were unanimous: "Two."

"Wrong," replied the speaker, "there would still be five because there is a difference between deciding to jump and jumping."