The Congress on July 16 made it clear that it will not support the Centre’s ordinance on the control of services in Delhi and will oppose any such attempt of the Central government to “sabotage federalism” in the country. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the party’s stand is clear as it will oppose any such move by the Centre to intervene in States ruled by Opposition parties through the governors and has decided to oppose the Delhi ordinance in Parliament whenever a bill comes up. Welcoming the Congress’ stand, the Aam Aadmi Party said that it will attend a meeting of the Opposition parties in Bangalore on July 17 and 18.
Ajit Pawar, other Maharashtra NCP Ministers meet Sharad Pawar in Mumbai
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar along with some other Ministers from his Nationalist Congress Party camp met NCP president Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on July 16. This was the first meeting between Sharad Pawar and the group-led by Ajit Pawar after he rebelled against his uncle and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2. Praful Patel, described the meeting, saying: “We came to meet Sharad Pawar on knowing he was here at the Y.B. Chavan Centre. We sought his blessings and expressed our wish that the NCP remains as one party. We had gone there to seek his guidance. However, Mr. Pawar did not gave any reaction. He merely heard us out.”
Peace and prosperity in Mekong region play pivotal role in India’s Act East policy: Jaishankar
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that peace and prosperity in the Mekong region play a pivotal role in realising India’s vision for security and growth for all countries in the region under its Act East policy. In his opening remarks at the 12th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Mechanism meeting, the Minister said the lower Mekong region holds immense significance for India both in a historic sense and a contemporary one.
Congress holds closed-door meeting on Uniform Civil Code even as Law Panel extends deadline
An eight-member group, set up to advice Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Uniform Civil Code (UCC), felt that uniformity on personal laws of different communities was not necessary even though there is scope for reforms of personal laws. On July 15, members of this group held a closed door meeting at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in which the overwhelming sentiment was to reject any “uniformity that doesn’t respect India’s diversity”.
The Centre will sell tomatoes at ₹80 per kg from July 16, as against ₹90 per kg earlier, to provide relief to people from high prices of the key kitchen item in retail markets. On July 14, the Centre started to sell tomatoes at a discounted rate of ₹90 per kg in Delhi-NCR through mobile vans. More cities were added on July 15.
Plaint against Nitish, Tejashwi in Patna court over lathi charge on BJP workers
A complaint was lodged in a court in Patna against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Tejashwi Yadav and four others in connection with the baton charge on a BJP procession in the city earlier this week. The complaint, in which Patna’s District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police have also been named among the accused, has been filed on July 15 by Krishna Singh Kallu, a political activist who had recently joined the BJP.
After weeks of speculation the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, led by Om Prakash Rajbhar, on July 16 joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and will fight the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the alliance. The formal declaration of joining was done after the SBSP chief met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. Mr. Rajbhar too said that both parties will together fight for social justice.
Israel’s Netanyahu is discharged from hospital after an overnight stay following a dizzy spell
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was discharged on July 16 after an overnight hospital stay for check-ups and monitoring following a dizzy spell. Mr. Netanyahu, 73, was rushed to Sheba Medical Center on July 15 after feeling mild dizziness. His office said he had left the hospital around midday after stating earlier that his test results were normal and that he was feeling “very good.” The medical center said Mr. Netanyahu was in “excellent” condition after a series of tests, including cardiovascular ones.
Vladimir Putin says Russia has stockpiled cluster bombs and reserves right to use them in Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin said Russia had a “sufficient stockpile” of cluster bombs and reserved the right to use them if such munitions, the use of which he said he regarded as a crime, were deployed against Russian forces in Ukraine. “I want to note that in the Russian Federation there is a sufficient stockpile of different kinds of cluster bombs. We have not used them yet. But of course if they are used against us, we reserve the right to take reciprocal action,” he said.
Nirmala Sitharaman discusses trade negotiation progress with Canadian Deputy PM
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on July 16 discussed the progress being made on ongoing bilateral trade negotiations. The two Ministers met on the sidelines of the 3rd Finance Ministers and central bank governors meeting in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Duleep Trophy final | South Zone beats West Zone by 75 runs to clinch title
South Zone applied the finishing touches to their superiority across the last four days, defeating West Zone by 75 runs to clinch the Duleep Trophy in Bengaluru on July 16. Chasing 298 to win, West Zone, overnight 182/5, were bowled out for 222. Left-arm spinner Sai Kishore and pacer Vasuki Koushik were the pick of the bowlers for South Zone, sharing seven wickets among them. This was South’s 14th title win in the Duleep Trophy, and they will also count this as a sweet revenge. In the 2022 final, West had beaten South by 294 runs.
Lakshya Sen out of U.S. Open, loses to Feng in semis
Ace Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen fought hard before going down in three games against reigning All England champion Li Shi Feng of China in the men’s singles semifinals of the U.S. Open badminton tournament. A Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Lakshya lost 17-21, 24-22, 17-21 against second-seed Feng in a gruelling last-four match that lasted one hour and 16 minutes in the BWF Super 300 event on July 15 night.
