The Evening Wrap: Opposition flags police role in Delhi riots

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Thursday 17, September 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap [Here are the biggest news stories of the day]( [alt_text]( 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. Delhi riots: Opposition leaders meet President, demand independent probe into police role [Opposition leaders met President Ram Nath Kovind]( on Thursday and demanded an independent probe by a commission headed by a retired or sitting judge into the role of the Delhi police in the February riots and the ongoing probe into the incident. The Delhi police have set up special investigation teams, and its Special Cell has been probing the aspect of conspiracy behind the riots, in which 53 people lost their lives. In a memorandum, the leaders voiced concern over the probe being conducted by the police. “The entire investigation appears to be aimed at arriving at a pre-meditated theory about a conspiracy propounded by the Home Minister in the Lok Sabha in March 2020, before any investigation had even begun into the riots,” it said. The memorandum said the investigation by the police did not inspire confidence as there were serious questions about its “impartiality”. “There are serious questions about the role played by the Delhi Police during the violence and also the manner in which the police is harassing and attempting to falsely implicate activists and young people who took part in the anti-CAA/NRC/NPR movements as the perpetrators of violence. Such a manufactured conspiracy theory has now begun to falsely implicate political leaders,” it said. It criticised the police for the reference made to CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in a supplementary charge sheet, citing disclosure statements made by the accused. “This is a disturbing trend that raises serious questions over the manner of such investigations,” it said. Congress Treasurer and MP Ahmed Patel, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D. Raja, DMK leader and MP Kanimozhi and RJD leader and MP Manoj K Jha were part of the delegation that met the President. No power on earth can stop Indian soldiers from patrolling: Rajnath No power on earth can stop Indian soldiers from patrolling along the normal routes, [Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asserted in the Rajya Sabha]( on Thursday in response to questions over reports that Chinese troops were blocking the Indian Army patrols along the disputed boundary in eastern Ladakh. “Patrolling patterns are traditional and well-defined. No force on earth can stop our soldiers from patrolling and our soldiers have sacrificed their lives for that. There will be no change in the patrolling pattern,” he said to a question from former Defence Minister A.K. Antony. Face-offs happened because patrols were interrupted, he noted. “Starting a war is within one’s reach, but its outcome cannot be predicted. India has always sent out a message of peace. However, it is amazed that efforts are being made to disturb that peace,” he said. [ Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi on September 17, 2020. ] Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi on September 17, 2020. Briefing the Rajya Sabha on the situation along the Line of Actual Control, Singh said China continues to be in illegal occupation of land along the eastern border. “China continues to be in illegal occupation of approximately 38,000 sq kms in the Union Territory of Ladakh. In addition, under the so-called Sino-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq km of Indian territory in PoK [Pakistan-occupied Kashmir] to China. China also claims approximately 90,000 sq kms of Indian territory in the Eastern Sector of the India-China boundary in Arunachal Pradesh,” he said. Blaming China for the situation in Ladakh, he said it was the Chinese Army that provoked the Indian Army. With China having upped its infrastructure along the border, we have also ramped up our infrastructure, he said, and lauded ITBP for its role in protecting the border. Committee to look into ‘monitoring’ of Indians by Chinese company In a letter to Congress leader K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the [government had constituted an expert committee]( to look into allegations that a Chinese company ‘monitored’ online activity and data of thousands of Indians, including politicians, bureaucrats and journalists. Sources said the letter included details of the committee under the National Cyber Security Coordinator to investigate any illegalities in the surveillance carried out, reportedly by Shenzhen-based Zhenhua Data Information Technology Company. Zhenhua reportedly built a database of dossiers on about 2.4 million people worldwide. The government also said that they had asked Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong to explain the activities of the company but that he had said the Chinese government had nothing to do with Zhenhua, calling it a “private company”. Venugopal, who had questioned the government in the Rajya Sabha about its response to the allegations about Zhenhua’s activities, confirmed receiving the letter. “Replying to my zero-hour intervention on Chinese surveillance, EAM Dr. Jaishankar informed us that the government has taken the matter seriously and constituted an expert committee to assess this within 30 days. We expect quick action on this,” Venugopal tweeted. In Beijing, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) sought to defend Zhenhua’s activities. “The company said clearly that it’s a private company, and its clients are research institutions and business groups. Instead of collecting data, it only mobilises data which is open and available online. I’d like to stress that as a staunch defender of cyber security, China opposes and fights all cyber crimes,” said Wang Wenbin, Chinese MFA spokesperson. Chidamabaram wonders if there are two governments or one Pointing out divergent statements from different functionaries, senior Congress leader [P. Chidambaram posted a series of tweets]( taking a dig at the Centre and wondering if there were two governments or one under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian, at a recent press conference, had claimed the economy had reported a V-shaped recovery, while RBI Governor Shaktikant Das on Wednesday said the country would see a gradual recovery. “RBI Governor squashes hopes of a V-shaped recovery and says recovery will be prolonged and gradual. Sharing the same page with him is the CEA, the author of the V-shaped recovery theory that he sells in every interview,” Chidambaram said. On the ongoing tension between India and China too, different ministers have said different things about the situation in Ladakh. Chidambaram pointed out that Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai had said that there had been no infiltration along India-China border in the last six months. The Defence Minister and External Affairs Minister, meanwhile, in statements made on various platforms, have warned China to vacate its illegal occupations for peace and tranquillity to return on the border. “Makes you wonder whether we have two governments or one under PM Modi,” Chidambaram said. Protests erupt again in Kerala over gold smuggling Anti-government [protests continued to buffet Kerala]( for the sixth consecutive day on Thursday. The presence of Higher Education Minister K. T. Jaleel at the office of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for questioning in connection with the gold smuggling case appeared to have catalysed the protests led by Congress and BJP workers. [ Police removing activists of BJP who staged a march to the office of National Investigation Agency in Kochi on Thursday demanding the resignation of KT Jaleel, Minister for Higher Education. ] Police removing activists of BJP who staged a march to the office of National Investigation Agency in Kochi on Thursday demanding the resignation of KT Jaleel, Minister for Higher Education. Protestors broke Covid-19 protocols and grappled with the police in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur, resulting in injuries on both sides. In Palakkad, police used pressurised water jets and swung batons to disperse Congress workers. Several persons, including an MLA, were injured in the melee. Overlapping investigations by Central agencies into the smuggling of gold -- via air freight addressed to foreign officials at the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram -- has become a major flashpoint in the state’s politics and opened a Pandora’s box of allegations against the Chief Minister’s Office, ministers and kin of ruling party politicians. Covid watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported [coronavirus]( cases from India stood at 52,05,839 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 84,373. In Brief: Union Minister for Food Processing and Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal [resigned from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet]( today as her party faced massive protests in Punjab over its support to ally BJP’s agri-sector Bills. “I have resigned from Union Cabinet in protest against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation. Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter & sister,” she tweeted. Her party had initially supported the Bills. [Harsimrat Kaur Badal. File]Harsimrat Kaur Badal. File On Thursday, senior advocate Anup Chaudhuri, for petitioner Firoz Iqbal Khan, urged the court to initiate contempt proceedings against Suresh Chavhanke, Sudarshan TV’s editor-in-chief and anchor of the show ‘Bindas Bol’, for his tweets following a court order staying the broadcast of the show. “Mr. Chaudhuri, if he [Chavhanke] has said something, we will ignore,” responded Justice D.Y. Chandrachud responded. It was only recently that the court had convicted civil rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan of contempt over a couple of tweets. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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