Daily Briefing: India hits out at politics over trade with Russia; Ghulam Nabi Azad says no question over Congress chief

India hit out at the West saying “legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised” and “oil self-sufficiency or those importing themselves from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trading”. This comes at a time when Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has bought 3 million barrels of crude oil from Russia — the first purchase since the invasion of Ukraine, which prompted international pressure to isolate Moscow, began.

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From seeking to blow holes in “good governance” claims of the JD(U)-BJP coalition government to going after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his various alleged “failings” and “silences”, to taking on the BJP and the RSS, the RJD leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Tejashwi Prasad Yadav seems to have made his mark both inside and outside the Bihar Assembly.

From the Front Page

Seeking to defuse the internal crisis in the party, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Ghulam Nabi Azad, one of the dissident G-23 leaders. Azad is learnt to have put forward a set of proposals over elections to the Congress Working Committee and ensuring collective decision-making. He later said Sonia’s place at the helm has not been questioned.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has granted Y-category security by CRPF to Vivek Agnihotri, director of The Kashmir Files, based on Intelligence inputs on “a threat to his life”, sources told The Indian Express. The sources said the decision was taken in the wake of opposition to the film “from certain quarters and apprehensions that some communities may be hurt” by the filmmaker’s presentation of the events.

Covid cases may be on the decline in India but with the unprecedented surge in several other countries, the Centre has asked states to step up vigil and intensify surveillance. It also underscored the need to monitor cases of influenza-like and severe acute respiratory illnesses to ensure that no early warning signals are missed. In a letter to state governments, the Union Health Secretary said it was imperative that states and union territories take all precautions and do not let their guard down while resuming economic and social activities.

Must Read

When AAP announced the names of 10 ministers in Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s Cabinet, a few things stood out. Apart from Dr Vijay Singla, there is a glaring absence of ‘giant killers’ in Mann’s new Cabinet. In fact, eight out of 10 names in AAP’s final list of ministers are first time MLAs. Only former leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema and Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer have been re-elected for the second time. In the first list, the party has accommodated four SCs.

Following the Gujarat BJP government’s lead, the Karnataka government has hinted that it may also introduce the Bhagavad Gita in schools, with the education minister saying the matter will be discussed with the chief minister and textbook committee members. But the minister clarified that the Gita would not be included in the curriculum in the current academic year.

Parliament’s Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has asked the government to roll back the system of caste-based wages, under which NREGS workers are paid based on whether they belong to a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, or Others. The panel has asked the Ministry of Rural Development to restore the earlier system by which a single Fund Transfer Order was generated without “any sort of segregation on the basis of caste”. We explain why the Parliament panel has criticised caste-based NREGS wages payment.

And Finally…

Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly managed to pull off an enviable feat in Birmingham at the All England Open Badminton Championship. The pair of 19-years-olds scripted history when they defeated the Korean World Championship silver medallists Lee Sohee and Shin Seungchuan, making for Friday’s biggest blockbuster at Birmingham.

Until tomorrow,

Sonal Gupta and Rahel Philipose

Business As Usual by EP Unny