The Evening Wrap: Wrestlers defer plan to drop medals in the Ganga, serve five-day ultimatum to govt

In an intense turn of events two days after their eviction from Jantar Mantar, the protesting wrestlers, who on May 30 gathered at Haridwar’s Har Ki Pauri to drop all their medals in the Ganga, were stopped by farmer leader Naresh Tikait who took the medals away and bought five days of time from the grapplers. Emotional scenes were witnessed in Haridwar as India’s top wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, reached there along with supporters in the evening and sat at Ganga Ghat for more than an hour with their medals in the hands and tears in the eyes. Earlier in the day, the protesting wrestlers released a statement announcing that they are going to drop their medals in the Ganga in their protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment. They also said that they will begin an amaran anshan (indefinite hunger strike) at Delhi’s India Gate after giving away their medals. Their attempt was, however, stopped after Mr. Tikait, president, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), arrived at Haridwar along with BKU volunteers and took the medal from the wrestlers and sought five days of time from them. The wrestlers later gave a five-day ultimatum to the government to take action in the matter. Meanwhile, police sources in Delhi said the wrestlers won’t be allowed to shift their sit-in to India Gate as the national monument was not a site for demonstrations and alternative places for their dharna will be suggested. The wrestlers, who were removed by the Delhi Police from their Jantar Mantar protest site on May 28, had said they would drop their medals in the Ganga and sit on a hunger strike “until death” at the India Gate. “India Gate is not a protest site and we will not allow them (wrestlers) to protest there,” a police source said. “They have not approached us till now with any such request. If they want to protest, they will have to submit a written communication to the DCP concerned, following which a call will be taken accordingly,” he said. The Delhi Police will suggest alternative sites that are designated for protests such as Ramleela Ground and Burari, the source added. Delimitation is discriminatory against South states, says KTR and calls for opposing it collectively Appealing to the Southern States to question the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats, the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) working president and IT Minister, K.T. Rama Rao said South States cannot be penalised for controlling their population growth and concentrating on development. It is time for all the political parties in the South, cutting across party affiliations, to raise their voice against the injustice being done through the present process of delimitation of Lok Sabha seats after 2026, he said in a statement. Rama Rao said progressive policies of the Southern States were harming them while those unable to control their population to ensure proper distribution of resources were benefiting from the delimitation. “How can the South States Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka get fewer Lok Sabha seats in the new delimitation for heeding the Centre’s suggestion on implementing population controlling measures,” he asked. He said just 18% of the country’s population residing in the South States were contributing 35% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and such progressive States contributing to the nation’s economy and development should not be ignored and put at a disadvantage. The Minister said the states, particularly the North Indian states, that have ignored the Central Government’s population control measures were benefiting from the delimitation while those striving to strengthen the national economy were being undermined in the Lok Sabha delimitation process. Congress alleges two offshore Adani-linked funds appeared to be on IT dept radar The Congress on May 30 alleged that two offshore Adani-linked funds appear to have been on the radar of Indian tax authorities since at least 2014 with no action evident other than one or two routine notices, as it reiterated that only a JPC can unearth the truth in the whole matter. The Congress cited a media report which claimed that at least two Mauritius companies which invested in the Adani Group and found mention in the Hindenburg Group’s Adani report were on the radar of Indian tax authorities for over a decade. Tagging the media report, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “This is now a familiar pattern: two offshore Adani-linked funds appear to have been on the radar of Indian tax authorities since at least 2014, with no action evident other than one or two routine notices for information.” “Like SEBI, was the otherwise hyperactive Income Tax department also forced to sleep on the job during Mitr Kaal?” Ramesh said on Twitter. “That’s why we have been repeatedly saying that only a JPC can unearth where the more than ₹20,000 crore unaccounted funds that were invested in Adani came from,” he asked. The Congress has been alleging that the Adani group has indulged in “financial malpractices” as reported by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research. The short-seller had made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, which led to the stock crash of Adani group shares. The Adani group has, however, denied all the allegations and said there has been no wrongdoing on its part. The Congress had earlier come out with a set of 100 questions on the Adani issue and sought answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to break his silence on the matter. BJP to begin Maha Jansampark Abhiyan from May 31; to reach out to 1,000 eminent persons in every Lok Sabha constituency The BJP will begin its Maha Jansampark Abhiyan, a month-long campaign, on May 31, during which it will reach out to 1,000 eminent persons from every Lok Sabha constituency, a party leader said on Tuesday. Talking to reporters, the party’s national general secretary Vinod Tawde said the campaign, which will begin on May 31, will continue till June 30. “We have prepared a list of 1,000 persons from every Lok Sabha seat in the country, who have won civilian awards such as Padma or president’s medals during their service. With 543 seats in Lok Sabha, the cumulative figure comes to 5.5 lakh people in the country, who will be visited by the BJP’s Union Ministers or senior party functionaries during the reach-out campaign,” Tawde said. The visits will be about the achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in the last nine years, he said. “We will also apprise people about various developmental works undertaken or completed in the respective Lok Sabha constituency,” the BJP leader said. Apart from this, some public functions can be held near the development projects, which have been completed, such as highways and railway stations among others, he said. The BJP has also prepared a list of beneficiaries of 10 key Union government schemes that had given direct benefits to the people. The party has decided to organise gatherings of such beneficiaries, Tawde said. NATO soldiers on guard in Kosovo Serb town after clashes Dozens of NATO troops secured a municipal building in the Kosovo town of Zvecan on May 30, a day after 30 NATO soldiers and 52 Serb protesters were injured in clashes that EU and NATO officials said were unacceptable as they urged calm. Kosovo police said in a statement that the situation is “fragile, but calm.” Unrest in the region has intensified since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo’s Serb-majority area after April elections the Serbs boycotted, a move that led the U.S. and its allies to rebuke Pristina on Friday. The area’s majority Serbs have never accepted Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, and consider Belgrade their capital more than two decades after the Kosovo Albanian uprising against repressive Serbian rule. Ethnic Albanians make up more than 90% of the population in Kosovo as a whole, but northern Serbs have long demanded the implementation of an EU-brokered 2013 deal for the creation of an association of autonomous municipalities in their area. Serbs refused to take part in local elections in April and ethnic Albanian candidates won the mayoralties in four Serb-majority municipalities -- including North Mitrovica -- with a 3.5% turnout. Several ethnic Serbs gathered in front of the building in Zvecan but the situation was calm, a Reuters reporter said, as soldiers from the United States, Italy and Poland stood by in anti-riot gear. A Kosovo police source who asked not to be named, told Reuters bulldozers were heading north, ready to remove any barricades set by Serbs. Kosovo authorities have blamed Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for destabilising Kosovo. Vucic blames Kosovo authorities for causing problems by installing new mayors. “In a democracy there is no place for fascist violence—no appeal from ballot to bullet,” Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Twitter late on Monday. In a statement after meeting ambassadors of the so-called Quint group — the United States, Italy, France, Germany and Britain — in Belgrade, Vucic said he had asked that Albanian mayors are removed from their offices in the north. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said criminal gangs, supported by Vucic, aim to destabilize Kosovo and the entire region. On Monday, Serb protesters in Zvecan threw tear gas and stun grenades at NATO soldiers. The NATO force, known as KFOR, said 30 of its soldiers were hurt in the clashes. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said 52 Serbs were injured. EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell condemned Monday’s clashes, saying on Twitter: “The violent acts committed against @NATO_KFOR troops, media, civilians and police are absolutely unacceptable.” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told RAI public radio he had spoken to Vucic and Kurti late on Monday, inviting “everyone to be calm... abandon violence.” “KFOR will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo, in accordance with its mandate,” the NATO force said in a statement. In Brief: Amit Shah meets civil society, women’s group in Imphal Union Home Minister Amit Shah met members of the civil society organisations and a group of women leaders on the second day of his visit to violence-hit Manipur on May 30. Shah arrived in Imphal on May 29, his first visit since the State was engulfed by ethnic clashes claiming more than 75 lives so far. Shah is expected to travel to the hill districts of Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangkokpi to meet the tribal groups. He will be in Manipur till June 1. Shah had earlier in Guwahati said that the clashes erupted after a Manipur High Court order. The High Court on March 27 directed the State government to submit a recommendation for inclusion of Meitis in the Scheduled Tribe list asking to consider the proposal preferably within four weeks. At least 10 Vaishno Devi pilgrims dead, 57 injured as bus falls down from bridge in Jammu Ten pilgrims were killed and 57 others were injured when a bus heading for the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine rolled down a bridge in Jammu’s Katra area. Member of Parliament Jugal Kishore has demanded an inquiry into the incident. “The bus was on its way to Katra from Amritsar when the incident took place near Jhajjar Kotli, about 15 km from Katra, in Jammu district,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jammu, Chandan Kohli said. The injured, many of them in a critical condition, were shifted to the Government MedicalCollege, Jammu, for treatment. Reports suggested that the victims were from Bihar. Go First now cancels all scheduled flights till June 4 Crisis-hit Go First Airlines on Tuesday informed that its scheduled flight operations will remain cancelled till June 4, adding that a full refund will be issued to the passengers. Earlier flight operations were cancelled till May 30. The airline operator had recently filed for voluntary insolvency. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last week advised Go First Airlines to submit a comprehensive restructuring plan for a sustainable revival of operations. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 30 May 2023 [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]( Wrestlers defer plan to drop medals in the Ganga, serve five-day ultimatum to government In an intense turn of events two days after their eviction from Jantar Mantar, the protesting wrestlers, who on May 30 gathered at Haridwar’s Har Ki Pauri to drop all their medals in the Ganga, were [stopped by farmer leader Naresh Tikait who took the medals away and bought five days of time]( from the grapplers. Emotional scenes were witnessed in Haridwar as India’s top wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, reached there along with supporters in the evening and sat at Ganga Ghat for more than an hour with their medals in the hands and tears in the eyes. Earlier in the day, the protesting wrestlers released a statement announcing that they are going to drop their medals in the Ganga in their protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment. They also said that they will begin an amaran anshan (indefinite hunger strike) at Delhi’s India Gate after giving away their medals. Their attempt was, however, stopped after Mr. Tikait, president, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), arrived at Haridwar along with BKU volunteers and took the medal from the wrestlers and sought five days of time from them. The wrestlers later gave a five-day ultimatum to the government to take action in the matter. Meanwhile, police sources in Delhi said the wrestlers won’t be allowed to shift their sit-in to India Gate as the national monument was not a site for demonstrations and alternative places for their dharna will be suggested. The wrestlers, who were removed by the Delhi Police from their Jantar Mantar protest site on May 28, had said they would drop their medals in the Ganga and sit on a hunger strike “until death” at the India Gate. “India Gate is not a protest site and we will not allow them (wrestlers) to protest there,” a police source said. “They have not approached us till now with any such request. If they want to protest, they will have to submit a written communication to the DCP concerned, following which a call will be taken accordingly,” he said. The Delhi Police will suggest alternative sites that are designated for protests such as Ramleela Ground and Burari, the source added. Delimitation is discriminatory against South states, says KTR and calls for opposing it collectively Appealing to the Southern States to question the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats, the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) working president and IT Minister,[K.T. Rama Rao said South States cannot be penalised]( for controlling their population growth and concentrating on development. It is time for all the political parties in the South, cutting across party affiliations, to raise their voice against the injustice being done through the present process of delimitation of Lok Sabha seats after 2026, he said in a statement. Rama Rao said progressive policies of the Southern States were harming them while those unable to control their population to ensure proper distribution of resources were benefiting from the delimitation. “How can the South States Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka get fewer Lok Sabha seats in the new delimitation for heeding the Centre’s suggestion on implementing population controlling measures,” he asked. He said just 18% of the country’s population residing in the South States were contributing 35% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and such progressive States contributing to the nation’s economy and development should not be ignored and put at a disadvantage. The Minister said the states, particularly the North Indian states, that have ignored the Central Government’s population control measures were benefiting from the delimitation while those striving to strengthen the national economy were being undermined in the Lok Sabha delimitation process. Congress alleges two offshore Adani-linked funds appeared to be on IT dept radar The Congress on May 30 [alleged that two offshore Adani-linked funds appear to have been on the radar]( of Indian tax authorities since at least 2014 with no action evident other than one or two routine notices, as it reiterated that only a JPC can unearth the truth in the whole matter. The Congress cited a media report which claimed that at least two Mauritius companies which invested in the Adani Group and found mention in the Hindenburg Group’s Adani report were on the radar of Indian tax authorities for over a decade. Tagging the media report, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “This is now a familiar pattern: two offshore Adani-linked funds appear to have been on the radar of Indian tax authorities since at least 2014, with no action evident other than one or two routine notices for information.” “Like SEBI, was the otherwise hyperactive Income Tax department also forced to sleep on the job during Mitr Kaal?” Ramesh said on Twitter. “That’s why we have been repeatedly saying that only a JPC can unearth where the more than ₹20,000 crore unaccounted funds that were invested in Adani came from,” he asked. The Congress has been alleging that the Adani group has indulged in “financial malpractices” as reported by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research. The short-seller had made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, which led to the stock crash of Adani group shares. The Adani group has, however, denied all the allegations and said there has been no wrongdoing on its part. The Congress had earlier come out with a set of 100 questions on the Adani issue and sought answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to break his silence on the matter. BJP to begin Maha Jansampark Abhiyan from May 31; to reach out to 1,000 eminent persons in every Lok Sabha constituency The [BJP will begin its Maha Jansampark Abhiyan]( a month-long campaign, on May 31, during which it will reach out to 1,000 eminent persons from every Lok Sabha constituency, a party leader said on Tuesday. Talking to reporters, the party’s national general secretary Vinod Tawde said the campaign, which will begin on May 31, will continue till June 30. “We have prepared a list of 1,000 persons from every Lok Sabha seat in the country, who have won civilian awards such as Padma or president’s medals during their service. With 543 seats in Lok Sabha, the cumulative figure comes to 5.5 lakh people in the country, who will be visited by the BJP’s Union Ministers or senior party functionaries during the reach-out campaign,” Tawde said. The visits will be about the achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in the last nine years, he said. “We will also apprise people about various developmental works undertaken or completed in the respective Lok Sabha constituency,” the BJP leader said. Apart from this, some public functions can be held near the development projects, which have been completed, such as highways and railway stations among others, he said. The BJP has also prepared a list of beneficiaries of 10 key Union government schemes that had given direct benefits to the people. The party has decided to organise gatherings of such beneficiaries, Tawde said. NATO soldiers on guard in Kosovo Serb town after clashes Dozens of [NATO troops secured a municipal building in the Kosovo town of Zvecan]( on May 30, a day after 30 NATO soldiers and 52 Serb protesters were injured in clashes that EU and NATO officials said were unacceptable as they urged calm. Kosovo police said in a statement that the situation is “fragile, but calm.” Unrest in the region has intensified since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo’s Serb-majority area after April elections the Serbs boycotted, a move that led the U.S. and its allies to rebuke Pristina on Friday. The area’s majority Serbs have never accepted Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, and consider Belgrade their capital more than two decades after the Kosovo Albanian uprising against repressive Serbian rule. Ethnic Albanians make up more than 90% of the population in Kosovo as a whole, but northern Serbs have long demanded the implementation of an EU-brokered 2013 deal for the creation of an association of autonomous municipalities in their area. Serbs refused to take part in local elections in April and ethnic Albanian candidates won the mayoralties in four Serb-majority municipalities -- including North Mitrovica -- with a 3.5% turnout. Several ethnic Serbs gathered in front of the building in Zvecan but the situation was calm, a Reuters reporter said, as soldiers from the United States, Italy and Poland stood by in anti-riot gear. A Kosovo police source who asked not to be named, told Reuters bulldozers were heading north, ready to remove any barricades set by Serbs. Kosovo authorities have blamed Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for destabilising Kosovo. Vucic blames Kosovo authorities for causing problems by installing new mayors. “In a democracy there is no place for fascist violence—no appeal from ballot to bullet,” Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Twitter late on Monday. In a statement after meeting ambassadors of the so-called Quint group — the United States, Italy, France, Germany and Britain — in Belgrade, Vucic said he had asked that Albanian mayors are removed from their offices in the north. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said criminal gangs, supported by Vucic, aim to destabilize Kosovo and the entire region. On Monday, Serb protesters in Zvecan threw tear gas and stun grenades at NATO soldiers. The NATO force, known as KFOR, said 30 of its soldiers were hurt in the clashes. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said 52 Serbs were injured. EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell condemned Monday’s clashes, saying on Twitter: “The violent acts committed against @NATO_KFOR troops, media, civilians and police are absolutely unacceptable.” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told RAI public radio he had spoken to Vucic and Kurti late on Monday, inviting “everyone to be calm ... abandon violence.” “KFOR will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo, in accordance with its mandate,” the NATO force said in a statement. In Brief: Amit Shah meets civil society, women’s group in Imphal Union Home Minister [Amit Shah met members of the civil society organisations and a group of women leaders]( on the second day of his visit to violence-hit Manipur on May 30. Shah arrived in Imphal on May 29, his first visit since the State was engulfed by ethnic clashes claiming more than 75 lives so far. Shah is expected to travel to the hill districts of Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangkokpi to meet the tribal groups. He will be in Manipur till June 1. Shah had earlier in Guwahati said that the clashes erupted after a Manipur High Court order. The High Court on March 27 directed the State government to submit a recommendation for inclusion of Meitis in the Scheduled Tribe list asking to consider the proposal preferably within four weeks. At least 10 Vaishno Devi pilgrims dead, 57 injured as bus falls down from bridge in Jammu [Ten pilgrims were killed and 57 others were injured]( when a bus heading for the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine rolled down a bridge in Jammu’s Katra area. Member of Parliament Jugal Kishore has demanded an inquiry into the incident. “The bus was on its way to Katra from Amritsar when the incident took place near Jhajjar Kotli, about 15 km from Katra, in Jammu district,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jammu, Chandan Kohli said. The injured, many of them in a critical condition, were shifted to the Government MedicalCollege, Jammu, for treatment. Reports suggested that the victims were from Bihar. Go First now cancels all scheduled flights till June 4 Crisis-hit Go First Airlines on Tuesday [informed that its scheduled flight operations will remain cancelled till June 4]( adding that a full refund will be issued to the passengers. Earlier flight operations were cancelled till May 30. The airline operator had recently filed for voluntary insolvency. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last week advised Go First Airlines to submit a comprehensive restructuring plan for a sustainable revival of operations. 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