1. Assam Flood Death Toll Rises to 44, Five More Killed
The toll in the Assam flood has risen to 44 with five more deaths being reported on Wednesday. Official sources said one death each was reported from Majuli, Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Golaghat and Nagaon districts.
While 17 lakh people have been affected in 24 districts, over 31,000 people have been lodged in 234 relief camps in 15 of the 24 districts that have been reeling under floods caused by the Brahmaputra, Barak and several of its tributaries across the state.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who visited the worst-affected Majuli district and Kaziranga National Park, said there was no shortage of funds to provide relief to the affected people. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh have been regularly taking stock of the situation. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju is visiting some of the flood-affected areas on Thursday,” Sonowal said.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Allies Defiant, Clamour for Nitish-Lalu Talks
The war of words between the RJD and the JDU shows no sign of let-up, with chief minister Nitish Kumar's party members overwhelmingly backing walking out of the Grand Alliance and Lalu Prasad's leaders harping on their party's bigger numerical strength.
An RJD leader, who spoke under cover of anonymity, said: "The trouble is that only spokespersons are doing the talking. Nitish and Lalu are not speaking with each other, even on the phone."
The leader insisted that the chief minister is not coming on the phone when Lalu calls.
JDU spokesperson Dr Ajay Alok admitted: "The Grand Alliance is now looking like a peeled orange."
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Nod for Full-Fledged Intelligence Wing
The Narendra Modi government on Thursday gave the go-ahead for a full-fledged intelligence wing under the paramilitary Sashastra Seema Bal, the nod coming in the middle of an escalating stand-off with China and its attempts at increasing its influence in Bhutan and Nepal.
The SSB guards the 699-km Bhutan border and the 1,751km-long border with Nepal. Sources said the border force had no separate intelligence unit and the move to create one had been prompted by the recent stand-off between India and China near their tri-junction with Bhutan.
Bhutan claims the region under question is disputed between Thimphu and Beijing, while China insists the territory is its. India argues that its troops entered the area at Bhutan's request.
“India is increasingly worried about China’s increasing influence in the neighbourhood and its dominance is likely to change the dynamics of relations, especially with Bhutan and Nepal,” a senior official in the Union Home Ministry said.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Government Slams States Over Slow Progress in Aadhaar Linking
Scores of students in government schools across the country may be deprived of midday meals if their states continue the slow progress in getting them enrolled under Aadhaar.
A number of states such as West Bengal have not shared any data with the HRD ministry while others like Uttar Pradesh and Mizoram have only managed to get 26% students enrolled under Aadhaar, with Nagaland having 15% enrolment, Delhi 79% and Bihar 63%.
Concerned over the slow progress, the ministry has written letters to 16 states, asking them to expedite the process so that students continue to get mid-days meal as it has now been linked to Aadhaar.
The last date for enrolment under Aadhaar is August; those who have an Aadhaar number or have at least enrolled under it will get midday meals, officials said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Meira Kumar Hopes Voice of Conscience Will Prevail Over Numbers in Presidential Poll
UPA presidential candidate Meira Kumar has expressed her hope that the “voice of conscience” will prevail over numbers in the upcoming presidential election.
Addressing mediapersons on the sidelines of a meeting with Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs here on Thursday, Kumar said the country had witnessed elections powered by the voice of conscience even in the past. “People’s conscience has tremendous power, enough power to change (electoral) arithmetic,” she added.
The presidential candidate said she has written to every member of the electoral college, asking them to extend their support to her at a time when a particular ideology is being forced on crores of people across the country.
Kumar maintained that the upcoming election should not be viewed as a Dalit versus Dalit fight. “It is a battle of ideologies,” she said, adding that 17 opposition parties have come together on a common platform of social justice, principles and values for the purpose.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Border Stand-Off: Chinese Media Go Back to 1962 War, Dig Out Editorials and Photographs
Ramping up the rhetoric against India, Chinese media took to recalling the 1962 India-China war this week, publishing editorials and photographs from five decades ago. While People’s Daily, the most influential daily in China, has referred to an editorial printed in the newspaper barely a month before the 1962 Indo-China war, a website published “rare” photographs from the conflict.
Earlier too, Chinese media and government spokespersons have recalled the 1962 war between India and China, as a warning, since the stand-off between the two countries in Doklam, in the Sikkim region, sparked tensions in mid-June.
People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, took to Weibo, the microblogging app, to recall an editorial printed on the newspaper’s front page on September 22, 1962. Titled, “If this can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated?”, the editorial refers to India’s alleged attempts to “erode” Chinese territory, recounts Indian Army provocation and warns of retaliation.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. Kodaikanal Activist Submits Petition Against Irom Sharmila’s Marriage
Within 24 hours of human rights activist Irom Sharmila filing the papers for her marriage at the Sub-Registrar’s office here, a local activist has filed a petition against it.
V Mahendran, a social activist from Pethuparai, submitted a petition to the Sub-Registrar on Thursday morning, protesting against Sharmila’s marriage proposal and appealing to the government to deny permission to them. “When I met Irom Sharmila in Kodaikanal during her visit to Bodhi Zendo near Perumal Malai, she said that she came to Kodaikanal to lead a peaceful life. I welcomed her then, as she was a renowned activist,” he stated in the petition.
Sources said Mahendran was among the first to receive Sharmila and honoured her with a shawl when she came to Kodaikanal.
However, he changed his mind after she, in a recent television interview, hinted that she would raise her voice in support of tribals on the hills. Moreover, her British fiancée Mr. Coutinho was in-charge of a website engaging with activists all over the world. Mahendran cited these as threats to peace on the hills of Kodaikanal.
(Source: The Hindu)
8. Mallya Will be Sent to Arthur Road Jail, Govt Tells UK
If extradited, fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya will be lodged in a high-security cell in Barrack number 12 at the infamous Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, the government has conveyed to the UK Crown Prosecution Services.
The government was responding to questions from the UK government on where Mr. Mallya would be held and the prison conditions he would be subjected to if India’s extradition request of February 2017 is granted.
The correspondence is annexed to a status report filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Supreme Court. The hearing in the Mallya case is scheduled for 14 July.
(Source: The Hindu)
9. BJP Set to Pick VP Nominee in Next Two Days
BJP president Amit Shah will be in Delhi for the next two days as part of his 110-day-long nation-wide tour under the party's "expansion campaign" and consultations in the party could finalise the name of its vice-presidential candidate.
As part of his engagements, Shah will have a series of meetings with the Delhi unit's core group and office-bearers at the NDMC Convention Centre on Friday and will visit the state office the next day.
However, his stay in the Capital coincides with the party's discussions to zero in on the NDA's vice-presidential candidate with the opposition having nominated former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
(Source: Times of India)
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