The Supreme Court extends status quo in the Jahangipuri demolition row; How the RJD is employing iftar diplomacy to expand its politics beyond Muslims-Yadavs or MY to “A to Z”; and the three airlines in race for domestic No. 2 spot – here are today’s top stories.
Big Story
The Supreme Court extended the status quo in Jahangirpuri where the North Delhi Municipal Corporation had launched an “encroachment removal action program” the day before and made it clear that it would examine whether due process was followed before the drive. Bulldozers razed concrete and temporary structures, including the outer gate of a mosque in Jahangirpuri Wednesday as part of the drive by the BJP-ruled civic body, days after the northwest Delhi neighborhood was rocked by communal violence.
Only in the Express
Listing out concerns over Elon Musk’s potential takeover of Twitter, Bhaskar Chakravorti writes: “My biggest concern about a Musk takeover of Twitter is that he is not just content with sending out tweets from the privacy of his porcelain throne, he also wants to take the company private. Taking it off the public equity markets would give him license to do whatever he wants with the platform with no external scrutiny or pesky analyst and shareholder pressures.”
From the Front Page
Describing Guru Tegh Bahadur as “Hind di Chadar” who stood “like a rock” in front of “Aurangzeb’s tyrannical thinking,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that religious fanaticism and atrocities and violence perpetrated then in the name of religion could not separate the people from their faith, and while “big powers have disappeared, big storms have passed, India stands immortal, moving forward”.
election strategist Prashant Kishor had reportedly proposed to the Congress leadership last year that a non-Gandhi as party president would have a “high” impact although the “viability” of such an option is “difficult”. This is as per an 85-page presentation that did the rounds on social media amid a renewed round of talks between Kishor and the Congress leadership on a revival roadmap for the party.
The Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP has sent a detailed report to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the party’s performance in the recent Assembly polls, identifying “shifting of votes from the BSP” and “floating votes” as the primary reasons that helped the party win the election. It also says the OBC votes moving away and allies’ votes not transferring to the BJP were the reasons its numbers declined. While the BJP had re-captured the state comfortably, its tally had come down from 2017, with the Samajwadi Party-RLD alliance making gains.
Amid the “India Out” campaign that has been rolling Maldives for months, its President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih issued a decree banning protests against the country, citing a threat to national security. The decree, titled “Stopping Campaigns that Incite Hatred Against Various Countries Under Different Slogans”, makes specific mention of the India Out protests as an organized campaign that aims to disrupt relations between the two countries and efforts to maintain peace and security in the region by inciting unrest.
Must Read
With domestic air traffic recovering from the Covid blow, low-cost carrier IndiGo stays at the top with more than half the domestic market sharebut there are three contenders — Air India, SpiceJet and GoFirst — for the second spot, According to monthly traffic data published by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for March, GoFirst became the third airline this year to occupy the No.2 rank in terms of passenger market share after Air India and SpiceJet had dominated the spot.
In a bid to expand its politics beyond Muslims-Yadavs or MY to “A to Z”the RJD has invited EBC leader and Vikassheel Insaan Part chief Mukesh Saini as well as Jamui MP and Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) leader Chirag Paswan for the Iftar party being hosted by its senior leaders Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Friday. Notably, the VIP played a crucial role in the RJD’s victory in the recent Bochahan Assembly bypoll, by splitting NDA votes, the relations between the two parties are set to get warmer.
In a notice issued to all Union Ministries and departments last week, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) reminded them about the “collection of quantifiable data regarding inadequacy of representation of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes”, citing a pending case in the Supreme Court. In data tabled in Parliament this year, Jitendra Singh, MoS for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension highlighted the lapses in reservation rosters in several departments and ministries. We break down what data on posts and vacancies show.
And finally
Priyanshu Rajawat played the men’s singles ‘final’ of badminton’s selection trials on Wednesday, trying to reverse a loss against Kiran George from last month, and more crucially, spurred by the immense looming shadow of the country’s brightest new star, Lakshya Sen. “There is a lot of pressure to win big matches on the new generation, watching Lakshya Sen do so well,” Rajawat admits candidly. The 20-year-old knows earning the chance to be on the Thomas Cup and Asian Games team, is only the first step.
Delhi Confidential: Former Lok Sabha MP and Kerala Assembly Speaker MB Rajesh has been calling up friends to warn against a fake WhatsApp account that has been using his name and picture and demanding money. Rajesh himself got a message from the account informing that it is his “new contact number”.
In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcastwe take a look at what led to the communal tensions in Jahangirpuri, what happened during the demolition drive, and the questions it raises.
Until tomorrow,
Rachel Philipose and Rounak Bagchi
Express Cartoon by EP Unny.
,