The Evening Wrap: 17 Opposition parties come together for 2024 polls

Top leaders of Opposition parties met in Patna on June 23 to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. After meeting for almost four hours, leaders of as many as 17 Opposition parties decided to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to defeat the BJP and work with flexibility by setting aside their differences. Addressing a joint press conference after the meeting, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the leaders will meet in the next few days to give final shape to their plan of fighting together. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the next meeting would be in Shimla next month. The Aam Aadmi Party, in a statement after the meeting, said it will be “difficult” to be part of such meetings in the future until the Congress agrees that it will oppose the Centre’s Delhi ordinance in the Rajya Sabha. “Today, during the like-minded party meeting in Patna, many parties urged the Congress to publicly denounce the Black Ordinance. However, the Congress refused to do so. Until the Congress publicly denounces the Black Ordinance and declares that all 31 of its RS MPs will oppose the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha, it will be difficult for AAP to participate in future meetings of like-minded parties where the Congress is a participant,” the AAP said. The party also did not take part in the joint press conference after the meeting. The Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah dismissing it as a mere “photo session” and expressed confidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will return to power in 2024. Modi, Biden share many light moments at state dinner amid praise for Indian-Americans Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the achievements of Indian-Americans in his remarks at the state dinner in the U.S. White House. Both U.S. President Joe Biden and Modi regaled their guests with some light moments while also being generous to each other, with Modi ending his speech with a toast to his wonderful hosts, including first lady Jill Biden, and the bond between the two countries. Modi also said Indian-Americans have played a significant role in the all-round development of the nation they live in and also in strengthening the India-US relationship. He raised a toast for the good health, prosperity and the pursuit of happiness to liberty, equality and fraternity, and to the ever-lasting bonds of friendship between India and the U.S. In his comments, Biden said light-heartedly that both leaders raising the toast do not drink. He dwelt on the two countries’ historic ties and praised the contributions of Indian Americans. The State Dinner was hosted in his honour by the Bidens at the North Lawn of the White House. More than 400 guests were invited for the dinner, including big names in the tech world and billionaire industrialists such as Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra, Google CEO Sunder Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Manipur High Court seeks options to block VPN servers to safely restore Internet The Manipur High Court is now pressing to find ways to restore broadband Internet across the State, with a block on social media websites, even as the Manipur government has said this is difficult because Virtual Private Network (VPN) services can still be used to access blocked sites. Continuing the hearing on a batch of petitions seeking restoration of Internet services in the State, a Division Bench of Justices Ahanthem Bimol Singh and A. Guneshwar Sharma on June 23 directed Internet service providers and both the Centre and the State government to explore the possibility of blocking VPN servers as well to sidestep this issue. The Internet service providers made the same submissions before the court during the hearing. The court noted that the other option suggested by the ISPs was to whitelist certain devices and broadband connections and secure these devices so that limited access can be provided to the public at designated spots. This alternative is what the State government is now pushing to consider for those working from home, students, and the general public even as the practicality of it has been questioned by rights experts. The court, after hearing all submissions, deemed it fit to ask if the VPN servers themselves can be blocked and Internet access can be restored. The court first impleaded the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in Manipur represented by the State Informatics Officer (SIC), and the Department of Information Technology of the State government, as respondents in the case. It then directed the MeitY and the SIC to “verify as to whether there is any known list of VPN servers presently available/ operating and to submit a list of such VPN servers before this court.” It also directed the Department of IT, Government of Manipur and the SIC to prepare a list of technical experts who can identify the presently operating/available VPN servers and submit this list before the court by the next date of hearing. Further, the court also asked all mobile service providers to submit a report as to whether it is possible to block these VPN servers as identified, thereby impleading all of them as respondents to the cases. The court also directed the service providers to arrange for technical experts who can appear before it and assist the court. Additionally, the court noted that except for Airtel, all Internet and mobile service providers had appeared before the court. It thus directed the special counsel representing the State government, Rarry Mangsatabam, to send a notice to Airtel directing a representative to be present in court for the next hearing, which has now been set for June 27. NIA charges 13 Pakistan nationals for smuggling of weapons, drugs via Gujarat The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on June 23 charged 13 accused, all Pakistan nationals, in connection with the 2022 case related to the smuggling of weapons and drugs from Pakistan via Gujarat for funding terrorist activities in India. The agency said 10 of the 13 accused persons were arrested in December 2022. About 40 kg of heroin, six pistols of foreign make, six magazines and 120 (9 mm) live cartridges were seized from a Pakistani boat, along with documents, including Pakistani identity cards, mobile phones and Pakistani currency. The arrested were identified as Kadarbaksh Umetan Baloch, Amanullah Musa Baloch, Ismail Sabzal Baloch, Allahbaksh Hatar Baloch, Goharbaksh Dilmurad Baloch, Ammal Phullan Baloch, Gul Mohammad Hatar Baloch, Andam Ali Boher Baloch, Abdulgani Jungiyan Baloch and Abdulhakim Dilmurad Baloch. The absconders are Hazi Salim, Akbar and Karim Baksh. According to the NIA, the consignment was to be delivered to one Harun for further supply to some gangs operating in Punjab and north India. He is also absconding. Centre asks all departments to ensure employees mark attendance through Aadhaar-enabled biometric system The Centre on June 23 asked all its departments to ensure that employees working under them mandatorily mark their attendance through an Aadhaar-enabled biometric system. The move came after it noticed laxity on the part of government departments and the employees who are not marking attendance despite being registered on the system. During a recent review of the implementation of the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS), it has been observed that a large number of government employees posted across ministries/departments/organisations of the Government of India, are not marking their attendance using the system, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. All ministries and departments have been asked to ensure that the biometric machines remain functional at all times and heads of departments shall periodically monitor the marking of attendance to ensure punctuality and sensitise their employees to adhere to the instructions relating to office hours, late attendance etc., the order said. Ukraine says it advances in south, stops Russian attack in east Ukraine’s armed forces have halted a Russian offensive towards the cities of Kupiansk and Lyman in the east of the country, and are advancing in the south, a senior Ukrainian defence official said on June 23. “We had very fierce battles in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions, but our soldiers stopped the enemy there,” Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar told Ukrainian television. Ukraine is in the early stages of its ambitious counterattack since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 and says it has retaken eight villages, its first substantial gains on the battlefield for seven months. Russia still holds swathes of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine and Ukrainian forces have yet to push to the main defensive lines that Russia has had months to prepare. “Indeed, we still have the main events ahead of us. And the main blow is still to come. Indeed, some of the reserves — these are staged things — will be activated later,” Maliar said. She said Russian forces still aimed to gain control of the whole of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s military operation in the south was going according to plan and its forces were advancing, even if minefields were slowing them down, she said. In brief Bombay High Court extends interim relief against Sameer Wankhede in extortion case till June 28 The Bombay High Court extended the temporary relief granted to Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede by directing the CBI not to take any coercive action against him till June 28 in a corruption and extortion case against him. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Shivkumar Dige was hearing a petition filed by the former zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau to quash the FIR against him by the CBI alleging that he demanded ₹25 crore bribe from actor Shah Rukh Khan for not arresting his son Aryan in the drug racket case of October 2021. Heavy rain triggers landslides in several parts of Arunachal Relentless rain triggered landslides and flood-like situation in several parts of Arunachal Pradesh, throwing life out of gear, officials said on June 23. A stretch of the National Highway-415 between Banderdewa and Nirjuli, near Itanagar, was washed away on June 22 evening while a portion of culvert formation at Karisngsa block point also eroded, Capital DC Talo Potom said. [logo] The Evening Wrap 23 June 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]( Opposition meeting | 17 parties come together to fight against BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha polls [Top leaders of Opposition parties met in Patna on June 23 to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls](. After meeting for almost four hours, leaders of as many as 17 Opposition parties decided to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to defeat the BJP and work with flexibility by setting aside their differences. Addressing a joint press conference after the meeting, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the leaders will meet in the next few days to give final shape to their plan of fighting together. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the next meeting would be in Shimla next month. The [Aam Aadmi Party, in a statement after the meeting, said it will be “difficult” to be part of such meetings in the future until the Congress agrees that it will oppose the Centre’s Delhi ordinance]( in the Rajya Sabha. “Today, during the like-minded party meeting in Patna, many parties urged the Congress to publicly denounce the Black Ordinance. However, the Congress refused to do so. Until the Congress publicly denounces the Black Ordinance and declares that all 31 of its RS MPs will oppose the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha, it will be difficult for AAP to participate in future meetings of like-minded parties where the Congress is a participant,” the AAP said. The party also did not take part in the joint press conference after the meeting. The Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the meeting with Union Home Minister [Amit Shah dismissing it as a mere “photo session”]( and expressed confidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will return to power in 2024. Modi, Biden share many light moments at state dinner amid praise for Indian-Americans Prime Minister [Narendra Modi praised the achievements of Indian-Americans in his remarks at the state dinner in the U.S. White House](. Both U.S. President Joe Biden and Modi regaled their guests with some light moments while also being generous to each other, with Modi ending his speech with a toast to his wonderful hosts, including first lady Jill Biden, and the bond between the two countries. Modi also said Indian-Americans have played a significant role in the all-round development of the nation they live in and also in strengthening the India-US relationship. He raised a toast for the good health, prosperity and the pursuit of happiness to liberty, equality and fraternity, and to the ever-lasting bonds of friendship between India and the U.S. In his comments, Biden said light-heartedly that both leaders raising the toast do not drink. He dwelt on the two countries’ historic ties and praised the contributions of Indian Americans. The State Dinner was hosted in his honour by the Bidens at the North Lawn of the White House. More than 400 guests were invited for the dinner, including big names in the tech world and billionaire industrialists such as Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra, Google CEO Sunder Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Manipur High Court seeks options to block VPN servers to safely restore Internet The [Manipur High Court is now pressing to find ways to restore broadband Internet across the State]( with a block on social media websites, even as the Manipur government has said this is difficult because Virtual Private Network (VPN) services can still be used to access blocked sites. Continuing the hearing on a batch of petitions seeking restoration of Internet services in the State, a Division Bench of Justices Ahanthem Bimol Singh and A. Guneshwar Sharma on June 23 directed Internet service providers and both the Centre and the State government to explore the possibility of blocking VPN servers as well to sidestep this issue. The Internet service providers made the same submissions before the court during the hearing. The court noted that the other option suggested by the ISPs was to whitelist certain devices and broadband connections and secure these devices so that limited access can be provided to the public at designated spots. This alternative is what the State government is now pushing to consider for those working from home, students, and the general public even as the practicality of it has been questioned by rights experts. The court, after hearing all submissions, deemed it fit to ask if the VPN servers themselves can be blocked and Internet access can be restored. The court first impleaded the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in Manipur represented by the State Informatics Officer (SIC), and the Department of Information Technology of the State government, as respondents in the case. It then directed the MeitY and the SIC to “verify as to whether there is any known list of VPN servers presently available/ operating and to submit a list of such VPN servers before this court.” It also directed the Department of IT, Government of Manipur and the SIC to prepare a list of technical experts who can identify the presently operating/available VPN servers and submit this list before the court by the next date of hearing. Further, the court also asked all mobile service providers to submit a report as to whether it is possible to block these VPN servers as identified, thereby impleading all of them as respondents to the cases. The court also directed the service providers to arrange for technical experts who can appear before it and assist the court. Additionally, the court noted that except for Airtel, all Internet and mobile service providers had appeared before the court. It thus directed the special counsel representing the State government, Rarry Mangsatabam, to send a notice to Airtel directing a representative to be present in court for the next hearing, which has now been set for June 27. NIA charges 13 Pakistan nationals for smuggling of weapons, drugs via Gujarat The [National Investigation Agency (NIA) on June 23 charged 13 accused, all Pakistan nationals, in connection with the 2022 case related to the smuggling of weapons and drugs from Pakistan via Gujarat]( for funding terrorist activities in India. The agency said 10 of the 13 accused persons were arrested in December 2022. About 40 kg of heroin, six pistols of foreign make, six magazines and 120 (9 mm) live cartridges were seized from a Pakistani boat, along with documents, including Pakistani identity cards, mobile phones and Pakistani currency. The arrested were identified as Kadarbaksh Umetan Baloch, Amanullah Musa Baloch, Ismail Sabzal Baloch, Allahbaksh Hatar Baloch, Goharbaksh Dilmurad Baloch, Ammal Phullan Baloch, Gul Mohammad Hatar Baloch, Andam Ali Boher Baloch, Abdulgani Jungiyan Baloch and Abdulhakim Dilmurad Baloch. The absconders are Hazi Salim, Akbar and Karim Baksh. According to the NIA, the consignment was to be delivered to one Harun for further supply to some gangs operating in Punjab and north India. He is also absconding. Centre asks all departments to ensure employees mark attendance through Aadhaar-enabled biometric system The [Centre on June 23 asked all its departments to ensure that employees working under them mandatorily mark their attendance through an Aadhaar-enabled biometric system](. The move came after it noticed laxity on the part of government departments and the employees who are not marking attendance despite being registered on the system. During a recent review of the implementation of the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS), it has been observed that a large number of government employees posted across ministries/departments/organisations of the Government of India, are not marking their attendance using the system, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. All ministries and departments have been asked to ensure that the biometric machines remain functional at all times and heads of departments shall periodically monitor the marking of attendance to ensure punctuality and sensitise their employees to adhere to the instructions relating to office hours, late attendance etc., the order said. Ukraine says it advances in south, stops Russian attack in east [Ukraine’s armed forces have halted a Russian offensive towards the cities of Kupiansk and Lyman in the east of the country, and are advancing in the south]( a senior Ukrainian defence official said on June 23. “We had very fierce battles in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions, but our soldiers stopped the enemy there,” Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar told Ukrainian television. Ukraine is in the early stages of its ambitious counterattack since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 and says it has retaken eight villages, its first substantial gains on the battlefield for seven months. Russia still holds swathes of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine and Ukrainian forces have yet to push to the main defensive lines that Russia has had months to prepare. “Indeed, we still have the main events ahead of us. And the main blow is still to come. Indeed, some of the reserves — these are staged things — will be activated later,” Maliar said. She said Russian forces still aimed to gain control of the whole of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s military operation in the south was going according to plan and its forces were advancing, even if minefields were slowing them down, she said. In brief Bombay High Court extends interim relief against Sameer Wankhede in extortion case till June 28 The [Bombay High Court extended the temporary relief granted to Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede]( by directing the CBI not to take any coercive action against him till June 28 in a corruption and extortion case against him. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Shivkumar Dige was hearing a petition filed by the former zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau to quash the FIR against him by the CBI alleging that he demanded ₹25 crore bribe from actor Shah Rukh Khan for not arresting his son Aryan in the drug racket case of October 2021. Heavy rain triggers landslides in several parts of Arunachal [Relentless rain triggered landslides and flood-like situation in several parts of Arunachal Pradesh]( throwing life out of gear, officials said on June 23. A stretch of the National Highway-415 between Banderdewa and Nirjuli, near Itanagar, was washed away on June 22 evening while a portion of culvert formation at Karisngsa block point also eroded, Capital DC Talo Potom said. [Sign up for free]( Today’s Top Picks [[Jet engine deal ensures 80% technology transfer, first engine will roll out in 3 years] Jet engine deal ensures 80% technology transfer, first engine will roll out in 3 years]( [[There are many ‘Hussain Obamas’ to be taken care of in India, says Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma in cryptic tweet] There are many ‘Hussain Obamas’ to be taken care of in India, says Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma in cryptic tweet]( [[Data | Biparjoy part of a new trend: Fewer but more intense Indian cyclones] Data | Biparjoy part of a new trend: Fewer but more intense Indian cyclones]( [[Tech billionaires' cage match? Elon Musk throws down the gauntlet and Mark Zuckerberg accepts challenge] Tech billionaires' cage match? Elon Musk throws down the gauntlet and Mark Zuckerberg accepts challenge]( Copyright @ 2023, 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](