Daily Briefing: Govt putting in place protocols to tackle threat of spy balloons; Opposition leaders write to PM Modi over Sisodia arrest; and more

Only in the Express

Express Investigation: In Part V of our Deforestation Inc series, we take you to Buxwaha village in MP’s Chhatarpur district, where the natives live mostly off the forest. But deep under its dry deciduous forest are rocks laden with Asia’s most precious diamond reserves. Since about 2,15,875 trees need to be felled for an open cast diamond mine to operate here, the village is now at the heart of a “trees for diamonds” battle with lawyers and activists stalling commercial extraction of the precious stones.

In the latest edition of Idea Exchange, TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Debbarma talks about his party that has emerged as the second largest outfit in Tripura within two years of its inception, their debut Assembly performance, identity politics, and the need for structural changes in the Congress.

From the Front Page 

While the industrial and manufacturing sector is still struggling to get back on its feet after Covid-induced lockdowns, those associated with it are currently worried about a potential exodus of north Indian labourers from Tamil Nadu over viral videos purportedly showing Hindi-speaking men being assaulted in the state. 

Arvind Kejriwal, along with eight Opposition leaders including Uddhav Thackeray and Mamata Banerjee, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday alleging “blatant misuse” of Central agencies, a week after Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in the excise policy case. This, however, highlights the divisions in the anti-BJP camp.

Must Read

What are the benefits of a smartwatch? Well, if you ask Karnataka-based businessman Shreyas Kashyap, he would probably say that it is ideal for trapping tainted politicians and their sons. Kashyap, with a spy camera installed on his Tecno View smartwatch, exposed Madal Prashant,  the son of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, after he was forced to pay a Rs 40-lakh bribe in order to be cleared as a supplier of raw materials to KSDL. 

In our Opinion section today, Vikram S Mehta goes in-depth on what India, as president of G-20 and architect of credo of non-violence, can do on Ukraine: “Is there not a threshold beyond which the severity of human suffering renders meaningless words like “political sovereignty”, “national security” and “territorial integrity”? There are examples from recent history that show the way to de facto peace, even while the political disagreement continues.”

The Supreme Court on March 2 gave a say to the Opposition in the selection of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners, ruling that these officials would be appointed based on the recommendation of a panel. In light of this, we take a look at a history of futile Opposition dissent on picks for top posts.

And Finally 

An analysis of India’s trade data shows that the savings from purchases of Russian crude oil in the aftermath of Ukraine’s invasion, while substantial for India, are far lower than what many had anticipated amid reports of deep discounts being offered by Russia. As per the analysis, cheaper Russian oil lowered the average landed price of imported crude for India by just about $2 per barrel during the nine-month period.

Delhi Confidential: The Environment Ministry under Bhupender Yadav over the past few years has been lauding the work done by forest officials. Recently, the minister showed his appreciation for the staff on the ground during his visit to Ladakh and instead of putting up at an official accommodation, Yadav stayed at the house of Rinchen Angchok, a forest guard.

🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, we talk about the recently concluded G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, the verdict in the Hathras gangrape case and the open letter written by nine opposition leaders to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Until tomorrow,

Anandu Suresh