Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a virtual summit of G20 leaders on Wednesday evening, to discuss the implementation of the Delhi Declaration adopted in September and several new challenges that have emerged since then. Addressing a press conference in Delhi on the eve of the summit, India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said the deliberations will witness "excellent participation" from leaders of the grouping. China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin had skipped the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. However, the Russian Tass news agency, quoting a Kremlin statement, has confirmed that Putin will take part in the extraordinary virtual G20 summit on Wednesday, adding that the Russian President had to miss the Delhi summit in September and the Bali summit in November, 2022, as he had to focus on the "special military operation" in Ukraine. Kant described the virtual summit as "rare and exceptional" which would give Modi an opportunity to interact with the world leaders for a second time during India's G20 Presidency before it passes on to Brazil in December. The virtual meeting of G20 leaders is taking place a day after leaders of the BRICS grouping held an extraordinary meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On the domestic politics front, with just two days left for campaigning for the November 25 Rajasthan Assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will continue his campaigning in the state on Wednesday, addressing rallies in Pali, Jalore and Sanchore districts. The Rajasthan poll campaigning turned more bitter after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday referred to PM Modi as a “panauti (harbinger of bad luck)”, linking his presence in the stadium to India’s loss against Australia at the ICC World Cup finals in Ahmedabad on Sunday. This came a week after Modi had called Rahul “moorkhon ka sardaar” (leader of fools), responding to the latter's statement that everybody in India has only Chinese mobile handsets. The BJP reacted sharply, accusing Rahul of using abusive language against the Prime Minister because of the frustration of electoral losses. Read more in Vikas Pathak's report, here. The Congress Tuesday announced its Rajasthan manifesto, promising a law to ensure MSP for crops, doubling the insurance sum under the flagship Chiranjeevi health insurance from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, 10 lakh jobs in the next five years, including 4 lakh government jobs, as well as CCTV cameras in public places for the safety of women. The incumbent party's other promises include bringing the Vidhan Parishad to Rajasthan “for wider participation”, “stringent legal measures for hate speech”, and constitution of “reconciliation and camaraderie committees at the district level to address hatred and enmity between communities”. Read Hamza Khan's analysis of the differences between the Congress and BJP manifestos, here. In Punjab, with alliance talks between ex-allies, the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), on the backburner, the BJP is banking on Central schemes targeted at the state to entice the rural poor, while attacking the ruling AAP for “hijacking” such schemes. Meanwhile, the Akalis are turning to the state's youth, offering them pathways up the political ladder via their new membership drive. Read Navjeevan Gopal's report, here. Announcing the Samajwadi Party (SP)'s programme to pay tributes to the party's founder, late Mulayam Singh Yadav, on his birth anniversary Wednesday, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said that after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, there will be a "big change" in the country and samajwadis will play an important role in it. "After 2024, there will be a different kind of a change in the country, and samajwadis will play an important role in it. The SP's PDA Yatra has sent a strong message. The PDA will compete with the BJP and the NDA," Akhilesh said, during his Picchde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (Backward, Dalit and Minority) rally in Lucknow. "Seeing the strength of the PDA, many parties are now supporting caste census. Even parties which had earlier stopped this, have now come in favour of caste census," he said. The SP president said the caste census has been a longstanding demand for his party because it is crucial for social justice. "The first thing SP will do after coming to power is to conduct a caste census," he added. In Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab said the cross-examination of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief whip Sunil Prabhu, which began on Tuesday, will continue on Wednesday. Prabhu is being cross-examined by lawyers of the Shiv Sena (Shinde) in the case related to the disqualification of MLAs of the undivided Shiv Sena. "Cross examination of Sunil Prabhu took place today. He gave appropriate answers to all the questions," Parab said, adding that Prabhu had demanded that his statement be recorded in Marathi, and sought an official translator who could record it, after alleging that it was not being done correctly. "We felt that many questions were not needed and there was a delaying tactic. They have to give judgment by December 31. There is a possibility that they could seek further time and we don't want to give that," Parab added. On September 18, the Supreme Court had directed Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to give the judgment on disqualification of rebel Sena MLAs by December 31, coming down hard on him over the delay in deciding the disqualification pleas filed by both Sena factions against each other. In Kerala, the LDF government's outreach programme, “Nava Kerala Sadas”, will continue through Kannur district on Wednesday, when CM Pinarayi Vijayan will chair a Cabinet meeting at Thalassery. On Tuesday, Vijayan claimed the workers of the CPI(M) youth wing DYFI had saved the lives of some Youth Congress (YC) activists who had allegedly tried to jump in front of the CM's cavalcade, waving black flags. He added that they had not been assaulted, as reported. The Congress contested the CM's statement, claiming that the CPI(M) and DYFI workers had carried out brutal violence against Congress student wing Kerala Students Union (KSU) and YC activists. Earlier in the day, Vijayan, at a press briefing in Kannur, had said he was sitting in the front seat of the bus on which he and his Cabinet colleagues were travelling as part of the sadas, and saw the YC activists trying to jump in front of the vehicle. "It happened right in front of my eyes. The DYFI workers were trying to prevent them from jumping in front of the oncoming vehicle. They were saving the lives of the YC activists, for which some force had to be used. It was not an assault," the CM said. – With PTI inputs
