Month: June 2022

US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken in their policy address revealed President Joe Biden’s strategy to compete with China to preserve American interests and safeguard the rules-based system, as they believed that Beijing pose threat to the international order.

Blinken admitted that China rather than Russia poses “the most severe long-term challenge to the international system,” The Hong Kong (HK) Post reported.
According to the publication, China is the only country that has the economic, diplomatic, military, and technical capacity to reframe the world order. Beijing’s agenda would lead the world away from the universal ideals that have underpinned so much of the world’s growth over the last 75 years.

China is also critical to the world economy and the world’s capacity to address issues ranging from climate change to COVID. And looking at all these factors, China and US will have to cope with each other for the foreseeable future.

According to the publication, Biden’s approach to dealing with China’s problem is inadequate. Without strong economic statecraft, there is no strategy — or at least no plausible plan.

US Secretary of State touted last week’s launch of the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). According to the publication, the framework should include a free-trade agreement, as the region favours economic cooperation over conventional security cooperation and consider China as their major trading partner.

The Biden administration is well aware of this. Kurt Campbell, White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator, explicitly said that the US is competing with not one or two hands tied behind its back, but “maybe one foot tied back there as well.” He urged the US to “raise its game” in terms of economic engagement with Indo-Pacific countries, making this approach a distinguishing feature of US strategy in the area.

Despite Campbell’s serious appraisal, the economic promises of the China strategy fall short of the task. The IPEF’s joint statement was unusual for its lack of specificity, referring vaguely to “collective talks toward negotiations.” The administration earlier said that the framework would be nonbinding and would not include trade (other than in the digital realm) or investment liberalization.

According to the publication, the US need to level up their trade game, if Washington wants to provide countries in the area incentives to fight Chinese influence. Although the US has either withdrawn or abstained from the region’s two major trade treaties, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — China is already a member of the former and has requested to join the latter.

The HK Post believes that the US cannot stand against China without a strong free trade policy. (ANI)

A six-MP delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) will visit the Election Commission of India on Thursday to submit a deputation in connection with the violence in Tripura unleashed by “BJP-sponsored goons”.

The delegation comprises Saugata Roy, Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Jawhar Sircar, Pratima Mondal, Luizinho Faleiro, and Nusrat Jahan Ruhi.
“A six-MP delegation of AITC will visit the Election Commission of India today at 3.30 PM to submit a deputation in connection with the horrific violence in Tripura unleashed by BJP-sponsored goons,” said an official statement by All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).

After the meeting, the delegation will brief the media at the entrance of Nirvachan Sadan in the national capital.

This came after AITC workers alleged that they were brutally beaten in the Surma assembly constituency in Tripura during a meeting that was conducted ahead of State Assembly elections due next year.

“Two AITC workers attacked and brutally beaten in Surma assembly constituency. Women were panting for their breath while a man lying down, heavily injured and profusely bleeding. This comes ahead of bypolls, after around 70 families joined Tripura Pradesh Trinamool Congress in Chankap Bazaar, Surma AC in Tripura,” the statement further stated.

“Reportedly, there was no ambulance or police which have arrived at the spot yet. Police are also restricting AITC workers and leaders to reach the spot,” it added. (ANI)

As several Congress leaders were taken into custody during the ongoing protest against the ED probe in the National Herald case, party leader Sachin Pilot, who was among those detained by the Delhi Police on Wednesday while he was on his way to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, slammed the Centre on Thursday for hampering the spirit of democracy.

In a conversation with ANI today, Pilot spoke on the developments and said, “Yesterday, you saw the Police enter Congress Headquarters. They lathi-charged, and detained hundreds of people. Senior people, MLAs, MPs, and office-bearers of the party were brutalised. A woman MP’s clothes were torn. Such action is uncalled for. Never before has Police has taken such action.”
“Three days before, we stated that we will do Satyagraha. We wanted a peaceful march – that was denied. Today, they made sure that we are not able to do any of our protests. In a democracy, if you can’t speak out, if you can’t protest, then how do you do your job as an Opposition?,” Sachin Pilot lashed out at the Centre further.

On Wednesday, several Congress leaders were detained as Rahul Gandhi clocked in over 24 hours at the office of the Enforcement Directorate, the third day of his questioning in connection to the National Herald newspaper money laundering case.

Congress leaders and workers clashed with police during a protest in central Delhi, despite prohibitory orders and no permission to stage a protest by the Delhi Police.

Over the past few days of Rahul being questioned, senior leaders have been detained and allegedly stopped from entering the AICC office. While police said protesters threw barricades at them during a standoff, they denied allegations of forcibly entering the Congress office and beating up functionaries.

Pilot’s detention by Delhi Police took place on a day of high octane drama that saw the grand old party accuse the force of barging into the former’s headquarters and beating up Congress workers.

Since Monday, the party has been staging pan-India demonstrations against the questioning of its former president, Rahul Gandhi, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the National Herald case.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been asked to rejoin the probe on Friday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the National Herald case, said sources. (ANI)

Apart from Delhi, the Congress on Thursday held protests in several parts of the country including Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan over the Enforcement Directorate investigating former party president Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.

Congress workers held a protest march in Bengaluru on Thursday over the questioning of Rahul Gandhi by ED.

Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar, CLP leader Siddaramaiah and other leaders and workers of the party were detained by police during their protest in Bengaluru.

“The protest is our right. We will fight for justice. They (ED) are not taking cases of any BJP leaders. They are harassing only Congress people,” Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar told ANI.

Bangaluru witnessed traffic snarls ahead of another Congress protest march. An ambulance was also seen stuck in the traffic.

Starting from the Congress office, the march is going to end at Raj Bhaven. The Karnataka Congress will give a memorandum to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot over the matter. The party delegation will also hand over a complaint letter against Bharatiya Janata Party.

Bengaluru Police said the Congress protest was against the High Court’s order.

“High Court had earlier ordered that protests will not be held anywhere except Freedom Park. We conveyed it to them. They gave us in writing about protest but we rejected it. We conveyed it to them in the morning too. If they proceed, we will take them into preventive custody,” Bheemashankar S Guled, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru East told ANI.

Meanwhile, Congress workers also held a protest in Chandigarh against the questioning of Rahul Gandhi by ED. Several workers of the party were detained by police.

“I cannot understand what has Rahul Gandhi done that he has been called for 3 days? Yesterday, Delhi Police barged into AICC office and beat up our MPs. Such vendetta politics has never been seen before. Government should not try to suppress voices,” Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Warring

“We will continue protesting. We were going to Raj Bhavan. Congress party stands with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. We will not step back. We will not be scared,” said a Congress worker.

Congress workers also staged a demonstration in Hyderabad, Chennai and Jaipur.

“They want to suppress Rahul Gandhi’s voice. They can’t scare Indira Gandhi’s grandson with lathis. Congress will be the reason behind BJP’s end,” said Rajasthan Minister P Khachariyawas.

Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse Congress workers protesting in Thiruvananthapuram over the ED probe against party leader Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.

Pertinent to mention, Rahul Gandhi has been asked to rejoin the probe on Friday by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with the National Herald case, said sources.

The Congress leader left the ED office after 9 pm on Wednesday.

The former Congress chief appeared before the ED for the third consecutive day on Wednesday for questioning. (ANI)

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the response of the Uttar Pradesh government on pleas by Jamiat-Ulama-I-Hind and others seeking directions to state authorities to ensure that no further demolitions of properties are carried out without following due process.

A vacation bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Vikram Nath said it cannot stay demolition but a process of law must be followed for demolition of alleged unauthorised structures.
The Apex Court asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file an affidavit in three days.

The hearing over the matter will be held next week.

Hearing the matter, the Supreme Court observed that “the government will get time to file their objections. We should ensure their safety in the meantime. They are also part of society. When someone has a grievance they have a right to have it addressed. Such demolitions can only happen as per Act. We will hear the case next week.”

Senior advocate CU Singh, appearing for petitioners, told Supreme Court that the reason cited for demolition was that the action is being taken against protestors who had indulged in violence.

Singh argued that “demolition keeps happening again and again. It is shocking and appalling. This was not during the Emergency, not during the pre-independence era. These are houses standing for more than 20 years and sometimes not even belonging to the accused but their aged parents.”

Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind moved the Supreme Court seeking to issue directions to the State of Uttar Pradesh that no precipitative action be taken in Kanpur District against the residential or commercial property of any accused in any criminal proceedings as an extra-legal punitive measure.

The application by the organization Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has also urged the Court that any demolition drive that the authorities are planning to carry out in Kanpur District should be stayed during the pendency of the instant writ petition.

The development had come after the UP government conducted a demolition drive at the “illegal properties” of two “masterminds” of the violent protest that erupted on June 10, as outrage at the controversial remarks of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma on Prophet Muhammad.

Earlier on Sunday, the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) issued a demolition notice at the residence of the main conspirator Javed Ahmed, asking him to vacate the house by 11 am as it was “illegally constructed”.

During the demolition drive, posters and flags were taken out of the residence of the Prayagraj violence accused Javed Ahmed.

According to Prayagraj Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Kumar, the names of the people linked with AIMIM have surfaced and there could be more masterminds of the violence.

The SSP said that there are 70 others who are named as accused and over 5,000 people unnamed in the violence. “Action will be taken under the Gangster Act and NSA,” he added. (ANI)

In the wake of rising prices of jet fuel and the depreciation of the Indian Rupee, India’s low-cost airline SpiceJet on Thursday called for 10-15 per cent hikes in airfares to sustain the operation.

SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Ajay Singh on Thursday said there is no option left other than to hike airfare by 10-15 per cent to meet the operation cost of airlines. He emphasised on the continued trend of the weakening of Indian rupees against US dollar (USD) and going up of air turbine fuel (ATF) prices.

Singh said, “The sharp increase in jet fuel prices and depreciation of Rupee have left domestic airlines with little choice but to immediately raise fares. we believe that a min 10-15 per cent increase in fares is required to ensure that cost of operations is better sustained.”

The SpiceJet chairman further stressed on the multiple ATF price hikes within a year and said, “Aviation turbine fuel prices have increased by more than 120 per cent since June 2021.”

Singh urged the government to reduce taxes on jet fuel (ATF) saying that the aviation fuel price hikes are a burden on the airline companies.

“The massive increase in ATF is not sustainable and governments both centre and state, need to take urgent action to reduce taxes on ATF. We, in the last few months, have tried to absorb as much burden of this fuel price rise, which constitutes more than 50 per cent of our operational cost,” he said.

Singh further highlighted the issue of the weakening of Rupees against dollar.

“The weakening of the Indian Rupee against the USD significantly impacts airlines as our substantial cost is either dollar-denominated or pegged to the dollar,” he said. (ANI)

A delegation of Congress MPs will meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday over the treatment meted out to the party’s legislators by the Delhi Police amid their protest over the Enforcement Directorate probe against the party leader Rahul Gandhi.

The delegation will be led by the Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
Prior to meeting Birla, the Congress MPs will hold a meeting at the Congress Parliamentary Party office to discuss the issue.

Further, Senior Congress leaders, general secretaries and AICC in-charges will meet at party headquarters today to discuss future strategies over the current political situation.

Congress on Wednesday filed a complaint against the Delhi Police for entering and attacking party workers, without provocation, at 24 Akbar Road.

The complaint was registered at Tughlak Road Police Station, New Delhi.

A delegation of senior Congress leaders including Avinash Pande, Harish Choudhary, Pranav Jha and Challa Vamshi Reddy met with the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and Station House Officer (SHO).

The senior leaders presented a detailed written complaint highlighting “the brazen and illegal actions of officials of the Delhi police in entering and attacking workers of the INC, without provocation,” at 24 Akbar Road during a conference held on Wednesday.

Senior Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, KC Venugopal and others were detained by Delhi Police and taken to Tughlak Road police station on Tuesday while they were protesting over Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) probe against party leader Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.

The leaders were protesting outside Congress headquarters, Akbar Road in the national capital

The leaders detained by Delhi Police include Gaurav Gogoi, Deepender Singh Hooda, Ranjeet Ranjan, Imran Pratapgarhi and others.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi has been asked to rejoin the probe on Friday by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with the National Herald case, said sources.

The Congress leader left the ED office after 9 pm on Wednesday.

The former Congress chief appeared before the ED for the third consecutive day on Wednesday for questioning.

Regarding his questioning by ED on Monday, as per official sources, the Congress leader, a Z+ category protectee of the Central Reserve Police Force after the Union government withdrew the Gandhi family’s Special Protection Group cover in 2019, was confronted with several documents collated by the ED as evidence recovered so far in the case to get his version.

Rahul Gandhi was questioned in detail about the ownership of Young Indian Private Limited (YIL) by the Gandhi family and its shareholding pattern in Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the company that runs the National Herald newspaper, said sources.

Investigators in the ED, sources said, have also asked Rahul Gandhi to describe the circumstances under which AJL was acquired by YIL in 2010, making it the owner of all assets owned by the National Herald newspaper.

The National Herald, started by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was published by the AJL. In 2010, the AJL, which faced financial difficulties, was taken over by a newly-floated YIL with Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda as directors, both of them Gandhi loyalists.

In a complaint in the Delhi High Court, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy accused Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul Gandhi, and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds. (ANI)

After a gap of more than three months, India witnessed an uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases as the country recorded as many as 12,213 fresh COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours.

On February 26 this year, India recorded 11,499 COVID-19 cases. On Wednesday, India had already reported 8,641 fresh cases of the virus.
With the fresh surge in cases, India’s COVID-19 cases rose to 4,32,57,730 including 58,215 active cases. Active cases account for 0.13 per cent of the total cases.

There has been a noticeable spike reported in the number of infections in many states particularly Maharashtra, where cases rose 36 per cent in a day to 4,024 while Kerala reported 1,950 cases. Karnataka reported 648 new cases, Tamil Nadu recorded 476 cases, Delhi reported 1,375 cases, Haryana reported 596 cases and Uttar Pradesh posted 318 fresh infections.

The recovery rate in the country is currently at 98.65 per cent. As many as 7,624 recoveries were recorded in the last 24 hours thereby increasing Total Recoveries to 4,26,74,712.

The government data added that 11 new fatalities pushed India’s COVID-19 death toll to 5,24,803.

Of the 5,19,419 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, a daily positivity rate of 2.35 per cent was observed.

On the COVID-19 vaccination front, 195.67 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

Amid the recent surge reported in COVID-19 cases across the country, the Health Ministry of India on June 9 urged States and Union Territories to not lower their guards and strictly maintain the COVID appropriate behaviour. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday wrote a letter to States/UTs and directed them to ramp up RT-PCR testing, surveillance, clinical management, vaccination, COVID-19 protocols and take timely pre-emptive actions. Bhushan also advised the government to follow a ‘five-fold Strategy’. (ANI)

After the Centre launched the Agnipath recruitment scheme, the Armed forces aspirants protested in several parts of Bihar including Chhapra, Jehanabad, Munger and Nawada and demanded the withdrawal of the scheme.

The aspirants said they are unhappy with the changes introduced under the new recruitment scheme for the Indian Army — particularly the length of service, no pension provisions for those released early, and the 17.5 to 21 age restriction that now makes many of them ineligible.
“We demand that the recruitment be done as it used to be done earlier. Tour of Duty (ToD) be rolled back and exams be held as earlier. Nobody will go to Army just for four years,” a protestor in Munger told ANI.

In Bihar’s Jehanabad, another protestor said, “Where will we go after working for only four years?… we will be homeless after four years of service. So we have jammed the roads; the country’s leaders will now get to know that people are aware.”

“We work hard to get inducted into the Armed forces. How will the service be for four years, with months of training and leaves? How will we protect the nation after getting trained for just three years? The Government has to take back this scheme,” another aspirant stated.

The protestors also disrupted rail and road traffic in Jehanabad over the recently announced Agnipath recruitment scheme.

In Chhapra, youth burnt tyres and vandalised a bus in protest against the program.

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Agnipath recruitment scheme which provides an opportunity for Indian youth to serve in the regular cadre of the Armed Forces for a period of four years.

The scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the Armed Forces and provide a fresh lease of ‘Josh’ and ‘Jazba’ whilst at the same time bringing about a transformational shift towards a more tech-savvy Armed Forces – which is indeed the need of the hour.

The selection will be the exclusive jurisdiction of the Armed Forces. A total of 46,000 Agniveers will be recruited this year.

During this period of service to the nation, the Agniveers will be imparted with various military skills and experience, discipline, physical fitness, leadership qualities, courage and patriotism. (ANI)

The Supreme Court will hear the Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind application on Thursday against the demolition drive seeking to issue directions to the State of Uttar Pradesh that no precipitative action be taken in the state against the residential or commercial property of any accused in any criminal proceedings as an extra-legal punitive measure.

The hearing would be heard by a bench of justices AS Bopanna and Vikram Nath.

Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has moved the Supreme Court seeking to issue directions to the State of Uttar Pradesh that no precipitative action be taken in Kanpur District against the residential or commercial property of any accused in any criminal proceedings as an extra-legal punitive measure.

The application by the organization Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has also urged the Court that any demolition drive that the authorities are planning to carry out in Kanpur District should be stayed during the pendency of the instant writ petition.

Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, in its fresh application, also sought to issue directions to the State of Uttar Pradesh to ensure that any demolition exercise of any nature must be carried out strictly in accordance with applicable laws, and only after due notice and opportunity of hearing are given to each of the affected persons.

The present application was filed in the pending petition against the demolition drive being carried out by state agencies.

Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind apprised the Court that some important new developments have taken place in the State of Uttar Pradesh, since the last date of hearing.

The application, which mentioned that some objectionable and offensive remarks were made by two political leaders which led to communal tension in numerous parts of the country, also informed the court about the bandh (shutdown) that was called for by a group of people in the district of Kanpur in protest against the remarks of leader.

On the day of the protest, a scuffle broke out between the two communities.

“That after the violence in Kanpur, a number of persons in authority have stated in the media that the properties of suspects/ accused would be confiscated and demolished. Even the Chief Minister of the state has said in the media that the houses of accused persons would be razed using bulldozers,” the application said.

“That adoption of such extra-legal measures is clearly in violation of the principles of natural justice, especially when this Hon’ble Court is hearing the present matter. It is pertinent to note that in the present matter this Court ordered a stay of demolitions that were being carried out as a punitive measure in Northwest Delhi in similar circumstances. Hence, considering that the captioned matter is currently pending before this Court, resorting to such measures is even more alarming,” the application said, which sought immediate action to be taken by the Court in order to prevent violation of the rule of law and the rights of the accused persons.

The application also mentioned that demolition exercise of any nature must be carried out strictly in accordance with applicable laws, and only after due notice and opportunity of hearing to each of the affected persons – as mandated by this Court.

According to the application, the decision of proceeding with the demolition of properties of the accused persons was illegal. Also not providing a reasonable opportunity of hearing was in violation of the municipal laws of the state, as well as violating principles of natural justice, the application said. Hence, such plans of the state of proceeding with a vengeance are against our democratic values and resultantly, weaken the justice delivery system of the state, the application said.

Henceforth, Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind prayed that direction be issued that residential accommodation cannot be demolished as a punitive measure, any commercial property cannot be demolished as a punitive measure, and directions are issued for providing training to police personnel in handling communal riots and situations where populations become restive and also urged that it be directed that ministers, legislators and anybody unconnected with the criminal investigation to be restrained from apportioning criminal responsibility regarding criminal action publicly or through any official communication until a determination by a criminal court.

The development had come after the UP government conducted a demolition drive at the “illegal properties” of two “masterminds” of the violent protest that erupted on June 10, as outrage at the controversial remarks of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma on Prophet Muhammad.

Earlier on Sunday, the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) issued a demolition notice at the residence of the main conspirator Javed Ahmed, asking him to vacate the house by 11 am as it was “illegally constructed”.

During the demolition drive, posters and flags were taken out of the residence of the Prayagraj violence accused Javed Ahmed.

According to Prayagraj Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Kumar, the names of the people linked with AIMIM have surfaced and there could be more masterminds of the violence.

The SSP said that there are 70 others who are named as accused and over 5,000 people unnamed in the violence. “Action will be taken under the Gangster Act and NSA,” he added. (ANI)