The Evening Wrap: Congress to oppose Delhi ordinance bill; AAP welcomes support

The Congress on July 16 made it clear that it will not support the Centre’s ordinance on the control of services in Delhi and will oppose any such attempt of the Central government to “sabotage federalism” in the country. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the party’s stand is clear as it will oppose any such move by the Centre to intervene in States ruled by Opposition parties through the governors and has decided to oppose the Delhi ordinance in Parliament whenever a bill comes up. With the Congress making its stand clear on the Delhi ordinance issue, Venugopal hoped that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will participate in the upcoming meeting of the Opposition parties in Bengaluru starting July 17. AAP’s Raghav Chadha said that the Congress’ “unequivocal opposition” to the Delhi ordinance was a “positive development” and the party also confirmed that it will attend the meeting of Opposition parties in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18. Ajit Pawar, other Maharashtra NCP Ministers meet Sharad Pawar in Mumbai Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar along with some other Ministers from his Nationalist Congress Party camp met NCP president Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on July 16. This was the first meeting between Sharad Pawar and the group-led by Ajit Pawar after he rebelled against his uncle and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2. Praful Patel, described the meeting, saying: “We came to meet Sharad Pawar on knowing he was here at the Y.B. Chavan Center. We sought his blessings and expressed our wish that the NCP remains as one party. We had gone there to seek his guidance. However, Mr. Pawar did not gave any reaction. He merely heard us out.” Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel were joined by other NCP Ministers including Hasan Mushrif, Chhagan Bhujbal, Aditi Tatkare and Dilip Walse Patil. Sharad Pawar loyalist Jayant Patil, after the meeting, said that the MLAs had expressed regret over the recent events. “The Nine MLAs who had taken oath as Ministers and those leaders who joined the current government suddenly came to meet Sharad Pawar… They have expressed regret at what has happened and urged him to show them a path out of these complications. They urged him to take a decision based on the larger interests of the party. However, Mr. Pawar did not give any reaction,” he said. On Friday, Ajit Pawar visited Silver Oak, the official residence of the NCP supremo, to meet the latter’s wife Pratibha Pawar after she underwent a surgery. Ajit Pawar is known to be close to his aunt Pratibha. In 2019, she reportedly played a crucial role in bringing him back to the NCP fold after he and Devendra Fadnavis formed a short-lived government after the Assembly polls. Peace and prosperity in Mekong region play pivotal role in India’s Act East policy: Jaishankar India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said that peace and prosperity in the Mekong region play a pivotal role in realising India’s vision for security and growth for all countries in the region under its Act East policy. In his opening remarks at the 12th Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Mechanism meeting, the EAM said the lower Mekong region holds immense significance for India both in a historic sense and a contemporary one. The MGC is an initiative by six countries: India and the five ASEAN members — Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam — for cooperation in tourism, culture, education, as well as transport and communications. “Peace and prosperity in the region also play a pivotal role in realising Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s vision of security and growth for all in the region under India’s Act East policy,” he said. India, he said, is also steadfast in its dedication to enhancing comprehensive connectivity within the region. On July 16, Jaishankar met his Myanmar counterpart Than Swe and discussed expediting projects, especially the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway, and underlined the importance of ensuring peace and stability in the border areas. Congress holds closed-door meeting on Uniform Civil Code even as Law Panel extends the deadline An eight-member group, set up to advice Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Uniform Civil Code (UCC), felt that uniformity on personal laws of different communities was not necessary even though there is scope for reforms of personal laws. On July 15, members of this group held a closed door meeting at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in which the overwhelming sentiment was to reject any “uniformity that doesn’t respect India’s diversity”. Sources said the eight member group included eminent lawyers P. Chidamabaram, Abhishek Singhvi, Salman Khurshid, Manish Tewari, Vivek Tankha and K.T.S. Tusli. Other members include Lok Sabha member from Odisha and a tribal leader Saptagiri Ulaka and Rajya Sabha member, L Hanumanthaiah, who is from a scheduled caste. So far, the Congress has stated that it will wait for a draft of the proposed UCC before taking an official stand. With the Monsoon session of Parliament scheduled to start from July 20 and end on August 11, the government may not be able to bring in legislation in the forthcoming session. Plaint against Nitish, Tejashwi in Patna court over lathi charge on BJP workers A complaint was lodged in a court in Patna against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Tejashwi Yadav and four others in connection with the baton charge on a BJP procession in the city earlier this week. The complaint, in which Patna’s District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police have also been named among the accused, was filed on July 15 by Krishna Singh Kallu, a political activist who had recently joined the BJP. The petition has been filed in Patna Civil Court through advocate Sunil Kumar Singh who told reporters, “We have prayed for trial of the accused against various IPC sections including 302 (murder) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).” Singh alleged, “The procession was peaceful, yet the police took recourse to lathi charge upon instructions from higher-ups, including CM and Deputy CM, and one BJP worker Vijay Singh succumbed to injuries.” The BJP alleged that its Jehanabad district general secretary Vijay Singh died because of injuries sustained in a “brutal” lathi charge by the police during the party’s ‘Vidhan Sabha march’ on July 13. The administration, however, claimed that CCTV footages showed that the deceased was not at Dak Bungalow crossing when “mild” use of force was resorted to and doctors at the hospital, where he breathed his last, found no injury marks on his body. In Brief: The Centre will sell tomatoes at ₹80 per kg from July 16, as against ₹90 per kg earlier, to provide relief to people from high prices of the key kitchen item in retail markets. On July 14, the Centre started to sell tomatoes at a discounted rate of ₹90 per kg in Delhi-NCR through mobile vans. More cities were added on July 15. “There has been a decrease in the wholesale prices of tomatoes due to the intervention of the government to sell it at a concessional rate of ₹90 per kg, at several locations in the country where the prices were ruling exceptionally high,” an official statement said. “After a re-assessment of the situation from across 500 plus points in the country, it has been decided to sell it at ₹80 per kg from today Sunday July 16th, 2023,” it added. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 16 July 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]( Delhi ordinance | Congress to oppose bill in Parliament; AAP welcomes support The [Congress on July 16 made it clear that it will not support the Centre’s ordinance on the control of services in Delhi]( and will oppose any such attempt of the Central government to “sabotage federalism” in the country. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the party’s stand is clear as it will oppose any such move by the Centre to intervene in States ruled by Opposition parties through the governors and has decided to oppose the Delhi ordinance in Parliament whenever a bill comes up. With the Congress making its stand clear on the Delhi ordinance issue, Venugopal hoped that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will participate in the upcoming meeting of the Opposition parties in Bengaluru starting July 17. AAP’s Raghav Chadha said that the Congress’ “unequivocal opposition” to the Delhi ordinance was a “positive development” and the [party also confirmed that it will attend the meeting of Opposition parties]( in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18. Ajit Pawar, other Maharashtra NCP Ministers meet Sharad Pawar in Mumbai Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister [Ajit Pawar along with some other Ministers from his Nationalist Congress Party camp met NCP president Sharad Pawar]( in Mumbai on July 16. This was the first meeting between Sharad Pawar and the group-led by Ajit Pawar after he rebelled against his uncle and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2. Praful Patel, described the meeting, saying: “We came to meet Sharad Pawar on knowing he was here at the Y.B. Chavan Center. We sought his blessings and expressed our wish that the NCP remains as one party. We had gone there to seek his guidance. However, Mr. Pawar did not gave any reaction. He merely heard us out.” Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel were joined by other NCP Ministers including Hasan Mushrif, Chhagan Bhujbal, Aditi Tatkare and Dilip Walse Patil. Sharad Pawar loyalist Jayant Patil, after the meeting, said that the MLAs had expressed regret over the recent events. “The Nine MLAs who had taken oath as Ministers and those leaders who joined the current government suddenly came to meet Sharad Pawar… They have expressed regret at what has happened and urged him to show them a path out of these complications. They urged him to take a decision based on the larger interests of the party. However, Mr. Pawar did not give any reaction,” he said. On Friday, Ajit Pawar visited Silver Oak, the official residence of the NCP supremo, to meet the latter’s wife Pratibha Pawar after she underwent a surgery. Ajit Pawar is known to be close to his aunt Pratibha. In 2019, she reportedly played a crucial role in bringing him back to the NCP fold after he and Devendra Fadnavis formed a short-lived government after the Assembly polls. Peace and prosperity in Mekong region play pivotal role in India’s Act East policy: Jaishankar India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said that [peace and prosperity in the Mekong region play a pivotal role in realising India’s vision for security and growth for all countries in the region]( under its Act East policy. In his opening remarks at the 12th Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Mechanism meeting, the EAM said the lower Mekong region holds immense significance for India both in a historic sense and a contemporary one. The MGC is an initiative by six countries: India and the five ASEAN members — Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam — for cooperation in tourism, culture, education, as well as transport and communications. “Peace and prosperity in the region also play a pivotal role in realising Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s vision of security and growth for all in the region under India’s Act East policy,” he said. India, he said, is also steadfast in its dedication to enhancing comprehensive connectivity within the region. On July 16, Jaishankar met his Myanmar counterpart Than Swe and discussed expediting projects, especially the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway, and underlined the importance of ensuring peace and stability in the border areas. Congress holds closed-door meeting on Uniform Civil Code even as Law Panel extends the deadline An eight-member group, set up to advice Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Uniform Civil Code (UCC), felt that [uniformity on personal laws of different communities was not necessary even though there is scope for reforms of personal laws.]( On July 15, members of this group held a closed door meeting at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in which the overwhelming sentiment was to reject any “uniformity that doesn’t respect India’s diversity”. Sources said the eight member group included eminent lawyers P. Chidamabaram, Abhishek Singhvi, Salman Khurshid, Manish Tewari, Vivek Tankha and K.T.S. Tusli. Other members include Lok Sabha member from Odisha and a tribal leader Saptagiri Ulaka and Rajya Sabha member, L Hanumanthaiah, who is from a scheduled caste. So far, the Congress has stated that it will wait for a draft of the proposed UCC before taking an official stand. With the Monsoon session of Parliament scheduled to start from July 20 and end on August 11, the government may not be able to bring in legislation in the forthcoming session. Plaint against Nitish, Tejashwi in Patna court over lathi charge on BJP workers A [complaint was lodged in a court in Patna against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar]( his deputy Tejashwi Yadav and four others in connection with the baton charge on a BJP procession in the city earlier this week. The complaint, in which Patna’s District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police have also been named among the accused, was filed on July 15 by Krishna Singh Kallu, a political activist who had recently joined the BJP. The petition has been filed in Patna Civil Court through advocate Sunil Kumar Singh who told reporters, “We have prayed for trial of the accused against various IPC sections including 302 (murder) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).” Singh alleged, “The procession was peaceful, yet the police took recourse to lathi charge upon instructions from higher-ups, including CM and Deputy CM, and one BJP worker Vijay Singh succumbed to injuries.” The BJP alleged that its Jehanabad district general secretary Vijay Singh died because of injuries sustained in a “brutal” lathi charge by the police during the party’s ‘Vidhan Sabha march’ on July 13. The administration, however, claimed that CCTV footages showed that the deceased was not at Dak Bungalow crossing when “mild” use of force was resorted to and doctors at the hospital, where he breathed his last, found no injury marks on his body. In Brief: The [Centre will sell tomatoes at ₹80 per kg from July 16]( as against ₹90 per kg earlier, to provide relief to people from high prices of the key kitchen item in retail markets. On July 14, the Centre started to sell tomatoes at a discounted rate of ₹90 per kg in Delhi-NCR through mobile vans. More cities were added on July 15. “There has been a decrease in the wholesale prices of tomatoes due to the intervention of the government to sell it at a concessional rate of ₹90 per kg, at several locations in the country where the prices were ruling exceptionally high,” an official statement said. “After a re-assessment of the situation from across 500 plus points in the country, it has been decided to sell it at ₹80 per kg from today Sunday July 16th, 2023,” it added. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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