Seoul, July 27
Russia’s defence minister accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to a defence exhibition that featured the North’s banned ballistic missiles as the neighbours pledged to boost ties, North Korean state media reported on Thursday.
The Russian minister, Sergei Shoigu, and a Chinese delegation led by a Communist Party politburo member arrived in North Korea this week for the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War celebrated in North Korea as “Victory Day”.
The nuclear-capable missiles were banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions adopted with Russian and Chinese support but this week they provided a striking backdrop for a show of solidarity by three countries united by their rivalry with the U.S. and a revival of what some analysts see as their Cold War-era coalition.
Shoigu is making the first visit by a Russian defence minister to North Korea since the fall of the Soviet Union.
For North Korea, the arrival of the Russian and Chinese delegations marks its first major opening up to the world since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shoigu gave Kim a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean media reported.
Kim thanked Putin for sending the military delegation led by Shoigu, saying the visit had deepened the “strategic and traditional” relations between North Korea and Russia.
“(Kim) expressed his views on the issues of mutual concern in the struggle to safeguard the sovereignty, development and interests of the two countries from the high-handed and arbitrary practices of the imperialists and to realize international justice and peace,” North Korean media said.
“He repeatedly expressed belief that the Russian army and people would achieve big successes in the struggle for building a powerful country,” it said.
KCNA did not refer to the war in Ukraine but North Korea’s defence minister, Kang Sun Nam, was reported as saying North Korea fully supported Russia’s “battle for justice” and to protect its sovereignty.
Kim led Shoigu on a tour of an exhibition of new weapons and military equipment, KCNA said.
State media photographs showed Kim and his guests at a display of some of the North’s ballistic missiles in multi-axle transporter launchers. Another image showed what analysts said appeared to be a new drone.
One analyst said Shoigu’s inspection of the North Korean missiles visit suggested Russian acceptance of North Korea’s nuclear programme.
“We’ve come a long way from when North Korea would avoid showing off its nuclear capabilities when senior foreign dignitaries from Russia and China were in town,” said Ankit Panda of the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, calling the tour “remarkable”.
“The personal tour for Shoigu – and Shoigu’s willingness to be photographed with Kim in the course of this tour – is evidence that Moscow is complacent with North Korea’s ongoing nuclear modernization,” he said.
Kim also met Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong for talks and was handed a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean media reported.
Shimla/Rampur, July 27
Kinnaur and Spiti Valley, both tribal districts, have been cut off from Shimla, the national capital, following the blockade of National Highway 5 (Hindustan-Tibet Road) due to rock falling, landslides, and sinking of road.
The National Highway has been blocked at Baroni, Manglad, and Pashada near Jhakri in the Rampur Subdivision of Shimla.
Alternate routes are also closed due to heavy rains and landslides.
The Luhri-Aut National Highway (305) is also blocked at three places and gushing waters have entered many houses.
Stranded, drivers of public transport vehicles are running out of food and trying to cross the blocked stretches on foot.
Videos of people crossing the landslides on foot amid risk of stone falling and landslides have been widely circulated on the internet.
Ranjit, who was on his way to Bhawanagar from Baddi carrying LPG cylinders, said he was stranded for the past four days due to landslides at several places and a fresh landslide in Pashada on Wednesday has further worsened the situation.
Another driver, Sonu, carrying LPG cylinders to Sarahan, also had the same story to tell.
Pawan Negi, a social worker, said incidents of landslides and rock falling were more frequent on the National highway near Jhakri – a location where stone crushers have been set up.
Negi said the crushers have contributed to the soil erosion as he demanded the authority to shift the facilities away from the highway to save the hills from cracking.
As many as 566 roads were reported blocked in the state by Wednesday evening following heavy rains by the state emergency response centre.
New Delhi, July 27
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had reached a “consensus” to restore bilateral tiesduring their meeting on the margins of the G20 summit in Bali last year, acknowledged the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), a couple of days after its Chinese counterpart had made the claim.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra when briefing the media on the PM’s engagements in Bali last year had said the two leaders had only exchanged courtesies at the dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joe Wikodo. Since then analysts have panned Sino-Indian ties with the understanding that both leaders had cold shouldered each other at Bali.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry had made the revelation in a statement on the meeting between NSA Ajit Doval and Director of theCentral Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of ChinaWang Yi in Johannesburg on the margins of the BRICS meeting of NSAs.On Tuesday, Wang was reappointed China’s Foreign Minister, after his successor Qin Gang was sacked from the post.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi initially said Foreign Secretary had said the PM and Xi exchanged courtesies and spoke of the need to “stabilise our bilateral relations”. But when informed that the transcript did not mention any such thing, Bagchi said the two leaders had indeed conversed.
On August 5 2019, the Central government announced its decision to revoke the special status of J&K granted under Article 370. At that time, Lt Gen (Retd) KJS Dhillon served as the DG of XV Corps Commander of Indian Army. 40 days before the historic step, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Dhillon held talks to strategise. Recalling his one-on-one conversation with HM Shah, Lt Gen KJS Dhillon revealed how the situation was handled.
Members of Hmar Students Association, Kuki students union, Union Hmar Women’s Association, and Kuki women association stage a protest over sexual violence against women in Manipur, at Mahur in Dima Hasao district. PTI file
New Delhi, July 27
The CBI will probe the case of sexual assault on two women who were stripped and paraded by a mob in Manipur, a top government functionary said on Thursday, asserting that no effort will be spared to ensure stringent action against the accused in all heinous crimes in the state hit by ethnic violence.
The government will seek the trial of the case, the details of which came out in the open last week through the leak of the video of the horrific incident, in Assam, the official said.
The person who filmed the incident has been arrested and his mobile phone seized, the official said, adding the recovery of the mobile will also establish the sequence of events, including the leakage of the video.
The Government is also likely to move the Supreme Court on Friday for holding the trial outside Manipur.
The official also said that the Union Home Ministry is in touch with both Meitei and Kuki groups and talks are in an advanced stage to restore normalcy in the state.
According to the official, nearly 150 people have died during the three-month-long ethnic violence.
The probe into five of the more serious cases involving the Manipur clashes has already been handed over to the CBI, according to the official.
The video of the May 4 incident sparked nationwide outrage and has become a polarising political fault line between the ruling BJP and the opposition bloc INDIA.
The opposition also seized the opportunity to corner the Modi government over the issue which has rocked the Monsoon session of Parliament since it began on July 20.
The BJP has condemned the incident in strong words but at the same time questioned the timing of the video being made viral which happened a day before the Monsoon session of Parliament.
New Delhi, July 27
The Supreme Court on Thursday granted an extension of tenure to Enforcement Directorate chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra till September 15 but made it clear there will be no further extension.
The Centre was seeking an extension in Mishra’s tenure till October 15. A bench of Justices B R Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol said it was granting the extension in “larger public and national interest” but that Mishra will cease to remain ED chief from the midnight of September 15.
During the hearing, the top court questioned the Centre for seeking an extension and asked if the entire department is “full of incompetent people” except the incumbent chief.
“Are we not giving a picture that there is no other person and the entire department is full of incompetent people?” the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre.
The top law officer argued that the continuity of the ED leadership is necessary in view of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) peer review whose rating matters.
Mehta said Mishra is “not indispensable” but his presence is necessary for the entire peer review exercise.
Representing the ED, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju said, “Some neighbouring countries want India to fall into FATF’s ‘grey list’ and therefore, the ED chief’s continuity is necessary”.
The bench was hearing the Centre’s application seeking the continuance of Mishra’s tenure till October 15.
The top court had on July 11 held as “illegal” two successive one-year extensions granted to Mishra and said the Centre’s orders were in the “breach” of its mandamus in the 2021 verdict that the IRS officer should not be given further term.
It had also curtailed Mishra’s extended tenure to July 31 from November.
Vishal Batra (Centre), was recently in Drass to attend the 24th Kargil Diwas event.
Drass (Ladakh), July 27
Almost 24 years after Captain Vikram Batra died fighting Pakistani forces, his battle cry “yeh dil mange more” still echoes from the peaks of Kargil, says his twin brother Vishal for whom a return to the mountains is akin to a pilgrimage.
Vishal Batra, who was here to attend the 24th Kargil Diwas event, also said he was thankful to the people for their love and affection towards his brother, fondly called the “Lion of Kargil” for his supreme sacrifice in the 1999 war.
“It is always a proud and nostalgic feeling whenever I visit these mighty peaks to see the valour displayed by our young officers and soldiers. It feels exactly the same as it did back then — ye dil mange more…we can still hear him (Capt Vikram) say that,” he told PTI.
He said he is filled with pride to see the kind of love he receives from people throughout the country.
“But on a personal level it has been a difficult healing journey…My family has still not made peace with it even after these many years,” Vishal Batra said.
Captain Vikram Batra died fighting Pakistani forces during the Kargil war in 1999 at the age of 24. He was given the highest wartime gallantry award ‘Param Vir Chakra’ posthumously.
Due to his exemplary feat, Captain Vikram was awarded with many titles. He came to be fondly called the “Tiger of Drass”, the “Lion of Kargil”, the “Kargil Hero”, and so on. His bravery, zeal and determination had set a standard for everyone fighting the war. “Yeh dil mange more” was Batra’s victory slogan.
Vishal Batra, who flaunts a tattoo of “ye dil mange more” on his right arm, said visiting the war memorial is like visiting a shrine for him.
“The kind of love I receive not only from the officers but also from families of other martyrs, it just fills me with different emotions. I can feel him here, he still is…,” said Vishal, who works in a bank.
Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra starrer Bollywood movie “Shershah”, which was released in 2021, is based on Capt Vikram Batra’s story.
The Indian Army had launched a fierce counter-assault, ‘Operation Vijay’, to push back Pakistani forces that had stealthily occupied important heights in Ladakh in 1999.
The Kargil War saw soldiers of the Indian armed forces fight in the most challenging terrain under harsh weather conditions, defeating the enemy in Drass, Kargil and Batalik sectors.
Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed to mark India’s victory over Pakistan in the war.
“When you go home, tell them of us, they gave their today for our tomorrow…Paid homage to dear twin who would always be love for me (our Shershaah Captain Vikram batra PVC) and other bravados on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas. Beneath the earth at the war memorial, the young warriors sleep,” Vishal Batra wrote in a social media post.
Shubhadeep Choudhury
New Delhi, July 27
The issue of ethnic violence in Manipur continues to dominate the monsoon session of Parliament with the Opposition today announcing to send a team of 15 MPs to the strife-torn state on Saturday.
Mumbai meeting of Oppn parties on Aug 25-26
The next meeting of INDIA parties will be held in Mumbai on August 25-26, it is learnt. This will be the third meeting of the Opposition combine after the first two meetings held in Patna and Bengaluru. Top leaders are expected to finalise the names for the coordination committee, secretariat and other panels in the Mumbai meeting. TNS
“A team of 15 MPs representing various opposition parties belonging to INDIA coalition will be going to Manipur on Saturday for a two-day visit. The details are being worked out,” a Congress leader said. To extend solidarity and oppose the “atrocities”, a delegation ofINDIA MPs would visit the strife-torn state, the Trinamool Congress tweeted. At least three Opposition outfits—Congress, Left Front and TMC—have earlier sent teams to Manipur, which included a high-profile visit by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Having failed to persuade PM Modi to speak on the Manipur issue in Parliament or discuss the matter by suspending all listed business, the Congress has given notice for a no-confidence motion. Thursday began with opposition parties boycotting a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Rajya Sabha, headed by Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar , to protest the PM’s alleged silence.
The pre-lunch session of the Rajya Sabha saw two adjournments. The first took place soon after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar finished reading a statement on the latest foreign policy developments. Opposition members, who were wearing black clothes in protest over the unrest in Manipur, tried to interrupt Jaishankar as they pressed their demand for a discussion on Manipur. The din prompted Leader of the House Piyush Goyal to intervene and launch a sharp attack on the Opposition. “The Opposition’s yesterday was black, their today is black and their future is black too. These people in black clothes cannot understand how India’s power is on the rise. Their hearts are black, and they are wearing black,” Goyal said, attracting huge applause from treasury benches.
When Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to speak, members from the treasury benches started shouting, prompting the Chairman to adjourn the House for 15 minutes (till 12 noon). When the House proceedings resumed, the chair again invited Kharge to speak. But Kharge was again interrupted by ruling party MPs.
Black protest: Mallikarjun Kharge and other opposition leaders protest over the Manipur issue in Parliament complex. MANAS RANJAN BHUI
Tribune News Service
Satya Prakash
New Delhi, July 27
On the eve of the hearing on videos of violence against women in Manipur, the Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it had “zero tolerance towards any crime against women”.
In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it wanted deterrent punishment for the culprits.
CBI to probe case
The Centre said it had decided to entrust the probe into the sexual assault to the CBI
The MHA told the top court that with the consent of the Manipur Government, it had taken a decision to entrust the probe into the video of sexual assault on two women to the CBI. It urged the top court to transfer the case to another state and order completion of trial within six months from the date of filing of a chargesheet.
What affidavit says
The affidavit said the Centre considered the offences such as those captured in the video that had gone viral to be “too heinous”. It said justice should be seen to be done so that it had a deterrent effect throughout the nation with respect to crimes against women. A Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud, which had on July 20 taken suo motu cognisance of a video of two women being paraded naked in Manipur will consider the MHA affidavit on Friday.
what SC had said
The video may be from month of May, but that does not make any difference… We will give a little time to the government… If it doesn’t act, we will.
The affidavit said the victims were being extended psychological support by an all-woman team and they were being given proper medical and legal help.
Taking suo motu cognisance of videos of two women allegedly being paraded naked in ethnic-violence-hit Manipur, the Supreme Court on July 20 asked the Centre and the state government to inform it about the action taken against the perpetrators.
600 Meiteis flee Mizoram
From Mizoram, more than 600 Meiteis have left the state fearing attacks after protests over the viral Manipur video, police officials said. A police official said more than 600 Meiteis had left for their home states till Tuesday, but there was no report of anyone leaving since Wednesday.
“The Court is deeply disturbed by the visuals which have appeared in the media depicting the perpetration of sexual assault and violence on women in Manipur. What is portrayed in the media would indicate gross constitutional violations and infractions of human rights. Using women as instruments for perpetrating violence is simply unacceptable in a constitutional democracy,” it had said.
“The video may be from the month of May, but that does not make any difference… We will give a little time to the government…If the government does not act, we will,” the Bench had noted
