The Evening Wrap: Sonia Gandhi to continue as interim Congress chief

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the biggest news stories of the day [The Hindu Logo](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link401) [Facebook](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link392) [Twitter](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link396) [Youtube](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link425) [Linkedin](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link399) [Instagram](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link398) Monday 24, August 2020 [alt_text](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link423) The Evening Wrap [Here are the biggest news stories of the day](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link419) [alt_text](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link419) Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Sonia Gandhi to continue as interim Congress chief until next AICC meeting [ Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. File ] Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. File At the conclusion of a marathon meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) today, [it was decided that Sonia Gandhi will continue as interim president](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link411) until the next AICC (All India Congress Committee) session, which will be held within the next six months. The party has also decided that a committee will be formed to assist Gandhi in her work as the Congress chief. The CWC met virtually to discuss the leadership issue after Gandhi offered to step down and asked the party to find a permanent head. A letter from a group of senior leaders, written about two weeks ago, had questioned the Congress party’s style of functioning and suggested sweeping reforms. The letter was leaked to a prominent newspaper after the party announced the dates for the CWC meeting. In her concluding remarks, Gandhi said, “the Congress is one big family and I don't hold anything against anyone. But all, especially senior leaders, should raise concerns at the party forum only.” Earlier, during the meeting, senior leader Ahmed Patel urged former party chief Rahul Gandhi to take over as the Congress president. He was unanimously backed by other members of the CWC. Kapil Sibal, who is not a member of the CWC, targeted Rahul Gandhi on twitter by stating that Gandhi had accused the dissenters (the signatories to the letter seeking reforms) of colluding with the BJP. He deleted the tweet after Rahul Gandhi personally informed him that no such thing was said. Mahad building collapse | At least 80 feared trapped A [five-storey residential building in Mumbai's neighbouring Raigad district's Mahad](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link416) collapsed on Monday evening. It has been stated that rescue work has begun. According to initial reports, at least 80 people were feared trapped. The building houses around 40 families. According to officials 25 people have been removed. DNA Bill can be misused for caste-based profiling, says parliamentary panel’s draft report [ ] The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Act, 2019 has been in the works for 15 years now. It proposes [DNA sampling and profiling of citizens accused of crime and proposes storing their unique genetic information](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link414) for administrative purposes. But the Bill has some alarming provisions that could be misused for caste or community-based profiling, a draft report of the parliamentary standing committee on science and technology has said. The committee, headed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, met on Monday, but for want of quorum, the draft report, which has been circulated among the committee members, was not finalised. The committee, in its draft report, pointed out that DNA profiles can reveal extremely sensitive information about an individual, including descent, skin colour, behaviour, illnesses, health status, and susceptibility to diseases. “Under the provisions of the Bill, access to such intrusive information can be misused to specifically target individuals and their families with their own genetic data. This is particularly worrying as it could even be used to incorrectly link a particular caste/community to criminal activities,” the report notes. The report has also red-flagged disregard to an individual’s privacy and other safeguards. SC to consider ‘effect’ of Bhushan’s supplementary statement tomorrow [ Lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan. File ] Lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan. File [Noted human rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan told the Supreme Court today that tendering an insincere apology](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link410)for his tweets, which were an expression of his bona fide beliefs, would amount to “contempt of my conscience and of an institution that I hold in the highest esteem”. In a supplementary affidavit filed on Monday, Bhushan told the court “My tweets represented this bona fide belief that I continue to hold. Public expression of these beliefs was, I believe, in line with my higher obligations as a citizen and a loyal officer of this court. Therefore, an apology for expression of these beliefs, conditional or unconditional, would be insincere.” A three-judge Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra had given Bhushan time till August 24 to tender an unconditional apology. The SC will consider tomorrow the “effect” of Bhushan’s supplementary statement. In an earlier statement, read out to the court during the contempt hearing on August 20, Bhushan had refused to apologise for his tweet about Chief Justice S.A. Bobde astride a heavy bike and another on the role of the Supreme Court in the past six years. He had quoted Mahatma Gandhi to say he neither asked for mercy nor magnanimity and would cheerfully accept whatever punishment the court deemed fit. Vijayan government could face no confidence motion [Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. File]Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. File Beset by allegations of corruption and mindful of the local body polls in November,[Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan braced himself to face the first no-confidence motion](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link415) against his four-year-old government in the Legislative Assembly on Monday. V. D. Satheeshan of the Congress tabled the no-trust motion with the stated purpose of submitting a “charge sheet” against the government in the “court of the people”. Unlock 4.0: Metros could reopen [Metro trains parked at the Khyber Pass Train Depot in the Capital.]Metro trains parked at the Khyber Pass Train Depot in the Capital. The [Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is likely to allow the resumption of Metro rail services](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link413) when it issues Unlock 4.0 guidelines later this month, a senior government official said on Monday. There had been a demand from many States to reopen Metro rail services. “Domestic flights that sometimes span over three hours are operating; there is a thinking in the government that Metro services can also be resumed since a passenger will not spend more than an hour at a stretch inside the train,” said the official. Public transport buses and air-conditioned buses were operating by following strict social distancing norms, he pointed out. Educational institutions, bars, and cinema halls would remain shut and all kinds of congregations barred. “Some States have allowed the sale of alcohol from bar counters but not consumption on the premises,” he added. The MHA is likely to issue fresh guidelines under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 by the end of August. Consider holding online NEET from next year, SC tells MCI [ ] The [Supreme Court on Monday asked the Medical Council of India (MCI) to consider providing an online option](CEB9HlHIB91HtGAABeY2Hh/link412) for taking the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance (NEET) from next year. “If Joint Entrance Examination [JEE] is allowed online, why not NEET? It is the same National Testing Agency (NTA) conducting both exams. Why can't you think of something next year... You can think about it,” said Justice L. Nageswara Rao. He was addressing MCI counsel Gaurav Sharma during the virtual court hearing. The court, however, refused to order the authorities to set up exam centres abroad or have the NEET held online this year to facilitate candidates abroad. The NEET is fixed for September 13. Covid watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 31,49,775at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 58,316. India on Sunday reported 57,542 new cases. In brief: Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar released a six-page standard operating procedure (SOP) for the resumption of shooting for film and television. “Contact minimisation is at the core of the SOP. This will be ensured by minimal physical contact and sharing of props, PPEs for hairstylists and make-up artists, among others,” Javadekar said. Announcing the decision on Doordarshan, Javadekar said the SOP was part of the decision to restart all economic activities. “For the last six months, this industry had come to a standstill and many people had lost their jobs. We hope all States will adopt this SOP,” the Minister added. In a bid to woo Indian-American voters, the Trump campaign has released a commercial featuring footage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump at two mega-events – the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston almost a year ago, and the ‘Namaste Trump’ gathering held in Ahmedabad in February. While data show that Indian Americans mostly vote Democrat, the Republican party is trying to target voters who are likely to switch loyalties in the light of the Modi-Trump camaraderie. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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