The Evening Wrap: Rafale deal : SC allows withdrawal of plea seeking probe, cancel of purchase

Nine years after a residents association went to court over the illegally built Supertech twin towers, a series of controlled explosions reduced the 100-metre tall structures to a mountain of rubble – watched by thousands from surrounding rooftops and lakhs on live television. Apex (32 storeys) and Ceyane (29 storeys) were gone in 12 seconds, in the carefully choreographed and meticulously executed demolition, the biggest such exercise in the country so far. "It felt like structures of corruption were coming down," said Purshotam Mishra, who watched the demolition, ordered last year by the Supreme Court. The apex court had pointed at the “collusion” between the builders and Noida Authority officials who let Supertech Ltd construct in the area where no buildings were to come up according to the original plans. The builders paid for the demolition, which cost about Rs 20 crore. According to the company, their overall loss is around Rs 500 crore. That includes land, construction and interest costs. Many people had travelled to Noida hours ahead for what could be a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle, as 3,700 kilos of explosives bored into the pillars and walls of the two residential buildings went off in quick succession. Just after 2.30 pm, the floors of the twin towers collapsed onto each other in a massive stack, which sat amid other complexes in sector 93A in Noida, an Uttar Pradesh city that adjoins New Delhi. As the doomed buildings went down, a cloud of dust rose obscuring their very final moments. About 5,000 people from the adjoining Emerald Court and ATS Village societies had left their homes, hours before the demolition under the evacuation plan. Nearly 3,000 vehicles and about 200 pets were also taken out of harm’s way for the next several hours. The dust settled in a few minutes. Officials reported cracked windows and a broken boundary wall, but apparently no significant structural damage to the high-rises next to the demolished towers. The closest residential complex was just nine metres away and the residents had complained that the illegal towers blocked their view. A team from Edifice Engineering and South Africa’s Jet Demolitions – the two companies that carried out the challenging task – the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) and the Noida Authority began a structural audit of the adjoining buildings. Water sprinklers and anti-smog guns were activated at the site soon after the demolition to help contain the dust, an official said. Officials said the demolition conducted by the “waterfall implosion” technique left an estimated 35,000 cubic metres or 55,000 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes of debris, including concrete rubble, steel and iron bars that would take three months to be disposed of. Congress to vote for new president on October 17 The Congress presidential elections will be held on October 17, the party announced, after the election schedule was endorsed by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Sunday. This was the first meeting of the CWC after exit of the party’s longest serving general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, but in the brief virtual meeting, none of the members raked up his exit or expressed solidarity with the Gandhi family who were at the centre of Mr. Azad’s attack in his resignation letter. There were also no fresh appeals from CWC members asking Mr. Gandhi to return to the chair. Ms. Gandhi, chairing the meeting, said the meeting was only to discuss the schedule and no other issue will be discussed. Former President Mr. Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were seen on one screen. Both of them did not speak during the brief meeting. The entire CWC participated in the meeting including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The meeting lasted for less than 30 minutes. The president’s post has been with the Gandhi family for over two decades now. As reported by The Hindu, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is the front runner for the post, after the Gandhi family’s decision to withdraw from the contest.The election process will begin on September 24 and culminate on October 17 where in case of a contest votes will be cast. The electoral college comprises of over 9,000 delegates. During the meeting, according to the sources, senior party leader Anand Sharma, who is also one the prominent members of G-23 group along with Mr. Azad questioned the sanctity of the electoral rolls.He said he had received many complaints from colleagues from different States thatthey were in the dark about meetings of primary members at the block-committee and district-committee level who elected the delegates for the AICC chief’s elections. He said the list of delegates should be published and pasted at the block, DCC and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) levels. Congress president Ms. Gandhi asked Mr. Mistry to clarify, in response to which Mr. Mistry, according to sources, said that these lists have been verified.He also said, that the list would be made available to the PCC and to any candidate who wishes to contest. At the press conference, held after the CWC meeting, when reporters raised questions about Mr. Sharma’s intervention, party’s general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh asserted that no questions were asked. But Mr. Mistry said, “Those who have raised this question have gone through this very process. So I won’t want to comment on it.” Later, in a tweet, Mr. Ramesh again insisted that no questions were raised on the electoral process. “There is some dubious ‘source-based’ plantation going on that questions were raised in CWC meeting today on the Congress President’s election process and schedule. This is to make absolutely clear that nobody raised any question or any doubt.” Sources, also said, that this CWC meeting could be Ms. Gandhi’s very last one and to avoid any embarrassing or awkward exchanges, it was decided at an informal meeting of a few CWC members to omit any references to Mr. Azad or make fresh appeals for Mr. Gandhi’s return. The party however, is cautious of not conceding the space in J&K where Mr. Azad after his exit from Congress is widely expected to start his own party. On Monday, party’s J&K in-charge Rajni Patil will be visiting the State and holding a series of meetings with State leadership to take stock of the situation after Mr. Azad’s exit. The party insists that only a select few party leaders who were close to Mr. Azad have left along with him and the party unit remains more or less intact. J&J’s talc-based powder still on sale India is part of the “worldwide portfolio assessment and commercial decision to transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio” of the pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson (J&J). In its statement, the company said that as a result of this transition, talc-based Johnson’s baby powder would be discontinued globally in 2023. The announcement earlier this month comes two years after J&J discontinued the product in the U.S. and Canada. Child rights groups, parents and doctors have been questioning the continued availability of the product here in India. Indian drug regulators have been silent on this issue, allowing wide availability and sale of this product in the country. The company has said “in India there is no plan to withdraw this talc and that there will be no recall. The product is safe and will be available till manufacturing stops.” It reiterated that it continuously evaluates and optimises its portfolio to best position the business for long-term growth. “This transition will help simplify our product offerings, deliver sustainable innovation, and meet the needs of our consumers, customers and evolving global trends,” it maintained while admitting that the cornstarch-based Johnson’s Baby Powder was already sold in countries around the world. The company’s decision to stop production comes following multiple lawsuits from women who claim that the product caused ovarian cancer, due to the alleged contamination of asbestos, a known carcinogen. It, however, has maintained that its older product (which is not cornstarch-based) is safe. “Our position on the safety of our cosmetic talc remains unchanged. We stand firmly behind the decades of independent scientific analysis by medical experts around the world that confirms that talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer,” the company said in its statement. “In India, the company is late in implementing the strategy, which has been adapted in the western part of the world. If a product is being discontinued for manufacturing, why should it be sold and why not recall it,” asked Suresh Kumar Panuganti, lead consultant, paediatric critical care, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad. For decades now, doctors have advised parents not to use talcum powder on babies, even if it does not contain asbestos, cautioning that inhaling the talc can lead to respiratory illnesses. India refers to Taiwan Strait ‘militarisation’ India has for the first time referred to what it called “the militarisation of the Taiwan Strait”, marking a rare instance of New Delhi appearing to comment on China’s actions towards Taiwan. The reference to Taiwan, in a statement late on Saturday issued by the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, marked a more pronounced expression of New Delhi’s views over the situation in the Taiwan Strait than its previous response on August 12 to China’s military drills, conducted in the wake of the visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Earlier this month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) did not refer to “militarisation” of the Strait, only saying India was “concerned at recent developments” and “urge[d] exercise of restraint, avoidance of unilateral actions to change status quo, de-escalation of tensions and efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region”. When asked at an August 12 briefing if India would, as Beijing had requested, reiterate its commitment to a “One China policy”, the MEA said “India’s relevant policies are well-known and consistent” and “do not require reiteration”. The latest reference to Taiwan came amid a spat with China over the visit this month of a Chinese military tracking vessel, Yuan Wang 5, to Hambantota in Sri Lanka. Responding sharply to remarks made by the Chinese Ambassador in Sri Lanka referring to “aggression” faced by Sri Lanka from its “northern neighbour”, the Indian High Commission termed his comments “a violation of basic diplomatic etiquette” saying they “may be a personal trait or reflecting a larger national attitude”. The High Commission said the statement was “in response to queries concerning the article by Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka which, inter alia, drew connection between militarisation of Taiwan Straits and visit of China’s Yuan Wang 5 ship to Hambantota.” In Brief The criticism of India by the Western countries on its imports of Russian crude oil while exempting themselves from their "own illegitimate sanctions" is a reflection of their unprincipled position and double standards, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov has said. In an interview to PTI, the envoy said trade between India and Russia has been on an upswing and both sides have several payment systems in place and that there is an option even of using currencies of third countries with certain "partners" in Asia and in West Asia offering viable choices. Historically, Russia has not been a major source of fossil fuel for India but the imports of discounted Russian crude oil have seen a massive increase in the last few months, notwithstanding rising disquiet in many Western capitals. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 29 AUGUST 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Rafale deal: Supreme Court allows withdrawal of plea seeking probe, cancel of purchase The [Supreme Court on Monday allowed advocate M.L. Sharma to withdraw his plea to summon documents]( from French investigation agency, Agence Francaise Anticorruption (AFA), allegedly showing that aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation paid €1 million to an Indian company in connection with the 2016 Indo-French Rafale deal. “Having gone through the facts and circumstances, no case is made out to exercise jurisdiction,” a Bench of Chief Justice U.U. Lalit and S. Ravindra Bhat concluded in its order. [A view of a Rafale jet.] The petition had made Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the first respondent, followed by Sushen Mohan Gupta, Defsys Solutions Private Limited, Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited, the Centre, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). During the short hearing Sharma said his petition was filed in 2021. Time has passed and he would focus solely on urging the court to issue a Letter Rogatory to summon the document allegedly showing the payment of the money. “The document should be called forth. The matter is serious,” Sharma submitted. The petition had originally urged the top court to order the registration of an F.I.R. under various offences, including cheating, criminal breach of trust, sections under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the Official Secrets Act. It had urged the court to issue “appropriate writ direction for cancelling/quashing agreement of September 23, 2016 for the purchase of 36 Rafale jet fighters from Dassault France for being hit by fraud, corruption, and offence under the Official Secrets Act and to recover entire advanced money with penalty and to blacklist Dassault”. Sharma said the first four respondents named in the petition should be prosecuted. “To prosecute them under the supervision of this court coupled with further direction to issue appropriate writ for quashing inter-government agreement of September 2016, which was the outcome of bribe/corruption,” the petition had said. Supreme Court lists bail plea filed by Kerala journalist Sidhique Kappan for final disposal on September 9 The [Supreme Court on August 29 listed a plea for bail filed by Kerala journalist Sidhique Kappan]( who is accused under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and has spent two years in jail, for final disposal on September 9. A Bench comprising Chief Justice U. U. Lalit and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat issued notice to the State of Uttar Pradesh and directed it to file a counter to the bail plea by Kappan. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Dushyant Dave and advocate Haris Beeran, all for Kappan, submitted that he had been incarcerated since October 6, 2020. Sibal argued that his client was charged under UAPA on the ground that an amount of ₹45,000 was deposited with him by the Popular Front of India (PFI) for “terrorist activities”. “PFI is not a terror organisation. There is no evidence on who deposited the money. This is only a blank allegation,” Sibal argued. He said Kappan has “nothing to do with PFI”. He had only previously worked as a journalist for a paper said to be associated with PFI. The petition contended that Kappan has been incarcerated on “trumped-up charges” merely due to his zest to discharge his professional duty to report on the “infamous case” of the alleged rape and murder of a Dalit girl at Hathras in Uttar Pradesh in 2020. He was picked up while en route in a car to Hathras on October 5, 2020. “Who were the other persons with him in the car?” Chief Justice Lalit asked. “One was the driver, who got bail. The other two were PFI activists, who are still in custody and challenging the charges against them,” Sibal said. Uttar Pradesh Additional Advocate General Garima Parshad countered that there were eight accused persons in the case. Only the driver has been released on bail. One of the accused is connected to the Delhi riots and the other to the Bulandshahr riots. “Charge sheet has been filed way back. One was released on bail and he did not appear in court and a non bailable warrant was issued,” Parshad submitted. Sibal said the charge sheet is 5,000 pages long and only a few pages have been shared with the accused. The court asked the State government to note all their arguments in detail in their counter and gave the petitioner time to file a rejoinder before the next hearing. Congress needs medicines from doctors but getting treated by compounders, says Ghulam Nabi Azad [An ailing Congress needed medicines from doctors but the party is being treated by compounder, said Ghulam Nabi Azad]( in a fresh attack on his former party. Interacting with reporters at his Delhi residence, Azad said former party chief Rahul Gandhi does not have the aptitude or interest in politics and the top leadership was not interested in setting things right. Hitting back, Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh said Azad has been ‘tasked’ to slander his former party. [Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad addressing the media at his residence in New Delhi on August 29, 2022] “I can only give my best wishes to the Congress, but the Congress needs medicines more than my wishes. And, these medicines are being provided to the Congress by compounders instead of doctors and there is a need for specialists,”Azad told reporters. He targeted the party’s top leadership for promoting such leaders who force people to leave rather than unite them. “The party leadership has no time for setting things right in the party. The Congress is giving such leaders in states and promoting those who are making people quit the organisation rather than uniting them with the party,” Azad noted. Keeping up the attack on Gandhi, he said, “It seems he does not have the aptitude for politics, as we tried to make him into a leader and made many efforts in this regard”. He denied reports that he would be joining the BJP and reiterated that he will be floating his own party as Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) could be announced anytime. “The BJP cannot help me in politics in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP has a separate constituency. Those spreading such misinformation are playing into BJP’s hands and this is Congress propaganda against me,” he said. On post-poll alliance, he said there are other parties also and the new organisation can align with them too. Without naming anyone, he blamed Congress leaders who do “clerical work” and “plant stories against veterans”. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emotional speech at his Rajya Sabha farewell was given a different twist by some “illiterate” Congressmen and their emotions expressed in the House were about the tragedy and not for each other. “I assumed that Modi sahab was a crude man as he did not have children or his own family and would not care but at least he has shown humanity,” he said while narrating the heart-rending story of a big explosion inside a bus with tourists from Gujarat. Responding to Azad, Ramesh tweeted, ”After such a long career, courtesy entirely the party he’s been tasked to slander, by giving interviews indiscriminately, Azad diminishes himself further. What’s he afraid of that he’s justifying his treachery every minute? He can be easily exposed but why stoop to his level”. On Friday, Azad had ended his five-decade association with the party after blaming Gandhi for “demolishing” its entire consultative mechanism. Chinese troops stop Indian graziers in Ladakh’s Demchok [Indian graziers were stopped by the Chinese army at Demchok in Ladakh on August 21]( a senior government official said. According to the official, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) objected to the presence of graziers within India’s perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) near Saddle Pass at CNN junction in Demchok. The incident was followed by a couple of meetings between the commanders of the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA to resolve the issue. The graziers have been frequenting the area and there was a minor scuffle in 2019 also, said the official. “This time when the graziers went with the livestock, the Chinese objected that this was their territory. The issue was raised with the Chinese,” the official said. A defence source said there was no face-off between the two armies. “It was a routine interaction between local commanders on the ground level to resolve issues at the local level to prevent escalation and maintain peace and tranquility on the LAC. This keeps happening regularly all along the LAC as part of the agreed protocols,” the source said. Another official added that India and China are engaged in eye-ball to eye-ball positions in the area since April 2020. Many areas in the sector have become “no patrolling zones” post-Galwan incident on June 15, 2020, when as many as 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with the Chinese PLA. In 2018, China had pitched tents metres away from the Charding Nilung Nallah in Demchok or the CNN junction. Indian and Chinese troops are positioned in close proximity at multiple locations along the undefined LAC in Eastern Ladakh for more than two years. While several rounds of talks at the diplomatic and military level have eased the standoff at a few points turning the areas into no-patrolling zones, there are others where the build-up continues. India and China have held 16 rounds of meetings of Senior Commanders so far. Both sides failed to achieve a breakthrough for disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 in the Hot Springs area. With disengagement completed on the north and south bank of Pangong Tso, a phased disengagement is yet to take place in other friction areas in Eastern Ladakh, including Depsang and Demchok sectors. Reliance Jio to invest ₹2 lakh crore in 5G; rollout in metros by Diwali [Reliance Jio has earmarked ₹2 lakh crore investment for 5G network and plans to launch the high-speed services]( in key cities by Diwali, Reliance Industries Ltd. chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Monday. While speaking at Reliance Industries’ 45th annual general meeting, Ambani said Jio will roll out 5G services across India by December 2023. “To build our pan-India true 5G network, we have committed a total investment of ₹2 lakh crore. Jio has prepared the fastest ever and most ambitious 5G rollout plan for a country of our size. Within the next two months. That is by Diwali, we will launch Jio 5G across multiple key cities including metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata,” he said. [Ambani said subsequently the company plans to increase Jio 5G footprint]( month-on-month until December 2023, to deliver Jio 5G to every town, every taluka and every tehsil of the country. After buying spectrum worth ₹88,078 crore in the auctions, Reliance Jio said earlier this month it is gearing up to roll out an advanced 5G network to make India a global leader in digital connectivity and solutions. The company has partnered with Qualcomm to develop 5G solutions, Ambani said. He said the firm is partnering with Google to develop ultra-affordable 5G smartphones and Google Cloud. It has now forged a collaboration with Qualcomm to develop a 5G solution for India, which can be taken to the rest of the world, he said. The company had emphasised that it is fully ready for 5G rollout in the shortest period of time, backed by nationwide fibre presence, an all-IP network with no legacy infrastructure, an indigenous 5G stack and strong global partnerships across the technology ecosystem. Ambani during the AGM said with 5G in place, Jio will launch billions of smart sensors with connected intelligence that will trigger the Internet of Things and fuel the fourth Industrial Revolution. “It will connect every one, every place and everything with the highest quality and most affordable data,” he said. Ambani said Jio made strong progress in fibre and FTTH deployment with pan-India fibre-optic network of more than 11 lakh route kilometres. He said two out of every three new fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) customers are choosing JioFiber. In about two years of commercial rollout of its fixed-line broadband services, Jio toppled 20-year-old State-run telecom company BSNL as top service provider in the segment in January. “India is ranked 138th in the world in fixed broadband adoption. Jio will take India to be among the top 10 globally in fixed broadband adoption,” Ambani said. In Brief [A fuel leak and then an engine problem during final liftoff preparations led NASA]( to call off the launch of its mighty new moon rocket Monday on a shakedown flight with three test dummies aboard. The next launch attempt will not take place until Friday at the earliest and could be off until next month. The launch, when it happens, will be the first flight in NASA’s 21st-century moon-exploration program, named Artemis after Apollo’s mythological twin sister. Assuming the test goes well, astronauts will climb aboard for the second flight and fly around the moon and back as soon as 2024. A two-person lunar landing could follow by the end of 2025. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow Today’s Top Picks [[Watch | Filmmaker Pa Ranjith on exploring the politics of love in ‘Natchathiram Nagargirathu’] Watch | Filmmaker Pa Ranjith on exploring the politics of love in ‘Natchathiram Nagargirathu’]( [[Akasa Air exposed personal data of its passengers] Akasa Air exposed personal data of its passengers]( [[Why Rajasthan is key to the Congress’s chances of revival] Why Rajasthan is key to the Congress’s chances of revival]( [[The cyber threat to mobile banking] The cyber threat to mobile banking]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](