Expresso Top National and International Headlines of the Week on 20 May 2023

In top news from Karnataka: after four days of intense lobbying and hectic negotiations, the Congress leadership managed to broker a deal between Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar to resolve the Karnataka chief minister tussle. As expected, Siddaramaiah will take over as the Chief Minister. Shivakumar will be sworn in as the sole Deputy Chief Minister, along with some significant portfolios. Shivakumar will continue on as the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president. While the Shivakumar camp has claimed that the party leadership has agreed to a two-and-a-half-year term-sharing formula, it is not clear whether the leadership will announce it publicly. The two will take oath today.

Kiren Rijiju who, as Union Law Minister, became the vocal face of what was seen as the Government’s protracted pushback against the higher judiciary, was moved out of the Law Ministry Thursday and replaced by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and MoS Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal. According to a communique issued by Rashtrapati Bhawan, Rijiju, 51, was allocated the Ministry of Earth Sciences portfolio. And hours, after Meghwal was given independent charge of the Ministry of Law and Justice, Union Minister of State for Law and Justice SP Singh Baghel, was moved to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Rijiju’s exit comes amid a deepening stand-off between the judiciary and the executive.

Underlining that India is a “vital partner” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “the key leader”, Japan’s ambassador to India, Hiroshi F Suzuki, said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants Modi to explain to G7 leaders, at the meeting in Hiroshima, what he — as the “voice of the Global South” — intends to put on the agenda for the G20 summit regarding global challenges including food security. Modi is headed to Hiroshima for the G7 summit to be held between May 19 and 21, where the Russia-Ukraine war impacting the rules-based order and food security, and the issue of nuclear non-proliferation are expected to dominate the agenda.

In other news: The statement of actor Shah Rukh Khan’s manager, Pooja Dadlani, was part of the Narcotics Control Bureau’s vigilance report submitted on June 16 last year, based on which the CBI has filed a corruption case against IRS officer Sameer Wankhede and four others in the 2021 Cordelia cruise ship “drug bust” case. Actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan, was among those arrested in the case. Dadlani’s statement is vital, as she is alleged to have handed over a bag containing Rs 50 lakh as a token amount in the alleged extortion case, hours after the Cordelia raid.

The Supreme Court has stayed the May 8 order of the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government banning the screening of the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’ in the state. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and comprising Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, said that the state government must maintain law and order as the film has been granted certification by the Central Board of Film Certification. The movie has been the subject of fierce online debate and criticism with strong objections raised by many political leaders who have termed it to be a propaganda film.

Moving on to top international news: A US court has consented to the Indian request, through the US Government, for the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana to India where he is sought for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. On June 10, 2020, India filed a complaint seeking the provisional arrest of 62-year-old Rana with a view towards extradition. The Biden Administration had supported and approved the extradition of Rana to India. India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing into his role in the 26/11 attacks carried out by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in 2008. The NIA has said that it is ready to initiate proceedings to bring him to India through diplomatic channels.

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, were pursued in their car by photographers after a charity event in New York, an incident that the mayor and the couple’s office described Wednesday as potentially dangerous and that drew comparisons to the 1997 fatal car crash of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana. The NYPD did not provide immediate comment to describe or corroborate the royals’ statement about the incident, which occurred Tuesday night after Meghan accepted an award from the Ms Foundation. Harry and Meghan’s office said in a statement that the chase “resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.” It called the incident “near catastrophic.”

Lastly, in news from Texas, USA: the state legislature has okayed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Transgender rights have emerged as a controversial political issue, and Texas, like several other Republican-majority states, have given priority status this year to measures limiting these rights. Meanwhile, in Montana, lawmakers have banned Chinese-owned TikTok from operating in the state to “protect Montanans” from alleged Chinese surveillance. This makes it the first US state to ban the popular short video app. However, the efficiency of the ban remains to be seen as experts suggest that there is no real way to implement the legislation.