Your Daily Wrap: PM Modi launches 5G in India; Gehlot hints he’ll remain Rajasthan CM; and more

The United States has sanctioned a petrochemicals company based in India along with seven other companies for its involvement in the “sale of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products to end users in South and East Asia”, the Department of the Treasury said in a statement on Friday. “India-based petrochemical company Tibalaji Petrochem Private Limited has purchased millions of dollars’ worth of Triliance-brokered petrochemical products, including methanol and base oil, for onward shipment to China,” the statement said. What is the company targeted by the US sanctions? What are the implications of the Treasury action? Read here.

Two days after his apology to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and announcement that it was up to her to decide the new Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot on Saturday indicated that it will be him. Asked by reporters as to who would present next year’s Budget in the state, Gehlot replied by urging the public to send their suggestions about the budget to him. This is also a departure from what Gehlot had told reporters on September 25, just before his loyalist MLAs skipped a scheduled CLP meeting to announce support for him. Gehlot had said he would brief “the next CM” on suggestions regarding schemes for students and the youth for the next budget. Now, with the Jaipur rebellion resulting in an apology by him to Sonia and his withdrawal from the Congress president race, Gehlot appears to be again playing hardball.

Political Pulse

In an interview with The Indian Express, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who sets off from West Champaran Sunday for a yatra lasting one-and-a-half years, speaks about his Jan Suraaj campaign, his political party that is in the works, the support he is getting, Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra, and why the Congress presidential poll could not have had “worse timing”. Read edited excerpts here.

Seen as a power centre behind the scenes, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi has been careful to always maintain a Laxman Rekha in public, deferring to her husband at the events she accompanies him to. Even if she has had a hand in the decisions taken relating to party organisation or policies over the years, it was always done quietly. This has ensured that she has maintained both her clout and popularity within the Sena. Which is why the 54-year-old’s surprise visit to Tembhi Naka, in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s home turf Thane, to offer prayers to Goddess Durga during the Navaratri festivities was so out of character. In the three days since, the speculation has not ceased. Was it meant to be a display of the Uddhav Sena’s “nari shakti (woman power)”? Or a bold political message to the Shinde camp? Or was it simply to boost the morale of Sainiks amid the tussle for control of the party?

Express Explained

From today, the Reserve Bank of India’s card-on-file (CoF) tokenisation norms have kicked in, which aim at improved safety and security of card transactions. Now, for any purchases done online or through mobile apps, merchants, payment aggregators and payment gateways will not be able to save crucial customer credit and debit card details such as three-digit CVV and expiry date. But what is tokenisation, and how will it work? Read here.

Weekend Reads

This Durga Puja, must-read stories on the pandals, the Pujo celebrations, and how the festivities have changed over the years.

Express Research: How European colonisers observed and documented Durga Puja celebrations in Bengal

How our consumption of Durga Puja has changed over the years

‘The Durga Puja ceased to be purely religious in its urban form a very long time ago’: Historian Tapati Guha-Thakurta

Tucked away in the heart of Kolkata’s Cossipore area lies the city’s oldest Durga Temple

ICYMI: Here’s a list of best news reports, Opinion, Explained, and features from The Indian Express this week.

Vijay Rupani interview: ‘The legislature party meeting is merely a procedure… The CM candidate is decided by the high command’

Why India has lashed out at the US over its F-16 package to Pakistan

The mess in the UK economy, and why the govt is being blamed for it

Is it easy to cheat at chess? Apparently yes. Here’s how

Why MS Dhoni doesn’t carry his phone and what we can learn from him