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Following Mehbooba's release, Farooq Abdullah convenes Gupkar signatories meeting on October 15
National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday afternoon visited the residence of former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehooba Mufti, who was released on Tuesday evening after 14 months in detention. "It was nice of Farooq sahib and Omar sahib to come home. It gave me courage listening to him. I am sure together we all can change things for the better," Mufti said after the meeting. The Abdullahs visited Mufti at her official residence at Gupkar in Srinagar. "My father and I called on Mufti Sahiba this afternoon to enquire about her well-being after her release from detention. She has kindly accepted Farooq sahib's invitation to join a meeting of the Gupkar Declaration signatories tomorrow afternoon," Omar Abdullah said. All the signatories of the declaration are planning to meet on Thursday afternoon at the residence of Dr. Abdullah. They are expected to discuss the future course of action with regard to the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, which was revoked by the Centre last year. The Gupkar Declaration, issued on August 4, 2019 following a meeting of regional parties at the Gupkar residence of Farooq Abdullah, had resolved that they would be united in their effort to protect the identity, autonomy and special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Mehbooba vows to fight for what "Delhi Durbar snatched away by unconstitutional means" Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti, in an audio message after her release on Tuesday evening, said she would continue the struggle to get back what "the Delhi Darbar snatched away by unconstitutional and undemocratic means". "Everything the Delhi Darbar snatched away by unconstitutional and undemocratic means has to be got back, not only that but people of Jammu and Kashmir need to keep struggling for the solution of Jammu and Kashmir, which has led to sacrificing of thousands of lives," Mufti said, in a brief audio message released on Tuesday night. Describing August 5, 2019 as a "black day", Mufti said, "No one among us will forget the humiliation of the day Article 370 was abrogated. No one among us can ever forget the robbery and the insult." Miffed at Minister's absence, farmer leaders walk out of meeting at Krishi Bhavan A delegation of farmer leaders from Punjab walked out of a meeting with Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal at Krishi Bhavan on Wednesday. The meeting was held to discuss the widespread protests in Punjab over the controversial agricultural marketing laws passed last month. "The Secretary was trying to give them some gyaan about the supposed benefits of the new laws. The leaders stood up and said BJP leaders are roaming all over Punjab, spreading propaganda, but they do not have time to meet us here in Delhi," said Avik Saha, convenor of the Jai Kisan Andolan, whose Punjab unit is among the protesting unions.  Punjab farmer leaders outside Krishi Bhavan after they walked out of a meeting with the Agriculture Secretary to discuss the controversial new farm laws. "Then they walked out of the meeting. On the one hand, they want to explain benefits, but on the other hand, they are not really interested in resolving the issue," he added, noting that Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar was not available to meet the farmer leaders. The dialogue has failed as the Central government is not serious on the issue of farmers, said Jagjit Singh Dallewal, state president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union-Ekta, who was part of the delegation. Dallewal said the Union Agriculture Minister should have talked to the farmers instead of the Secretary, adding that if Union Ministers are serious about the talks, then they should have talked to the representatives of all the farmers' groups present in Chandigarh. Instead, a delegation of Union Ministers is engaged in efforts to mislead the farmers in Punjab, he said. Tanishq store in Gujarat puts up apology note over withdrawn ad A Tanishq jewellery outlet in Gujarat's Gandhidham in Kutch district put up a note on its door apologising to the Hindu community in the district over the brand's controversial TV ad that has since been withdrawn. The handwritten note in Gujarati also condemned the TV commercial, which sought to promote the brand's new jewellery range, Ekatvam. "We apologise to the Hindu community of Kutch on the shameful advertisement of Tanishq aired in the media," the handwritten note read. It was pasted at the entrance of the outlet on October 12 and has since been removed. Photos of the apology note have gone viral on social media.  The Tanishq showroom in Gujarat's Kutch district that put up a note on its door on October 12, 2020 apologising to the Hindu community over the brand's controversial TV ad. The showroom manager and local police rubbished media reports that the showroom was attacked by some people angry with the Tanishq advertisement. "No such attack has occurred. It's fake news," said Kutch range IG J.R. Mothalia. On request from the Tanishq outlet manager, the police have provided security. Patrolling in the area has been stepped up after a few threat calls to the showroom, Kutch Police said. The TV commercial withdrawn by Tanishq, a Tata group company, featured a Muslim family preparing for an upcoming baby shower for their Hindu daughter-in-law. Loan borrowers' Diwali is in your hands, Supreme Court tells Centre The Supreme Court today questioned the government's need to wait a whole month, till November 15, to notify the implementation of a scheme for waiving the compound interest (interest on interest) accumulated during the moratorium against loans worth up to ₹2 crore. The waiver scheme is meant to "hand-hold small and vulnerable borrowers" whose fortunes have dipped during the lockdown. "Their Diwali is in your hands," the court told the government. The waiver scheme has been proposed for eight different categories, including MSME, education, housing, consumer durables, credit card, auto, personal and consumption loans.  "Having taken the decision to waive their compound interest for the moratorium period, our only question to you is why do you require a month [till November 15] to bring this scheme into effect? Why do you delay issuing the circular?" Justice Ashok Bhushan asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the RBI. Justice M.R. Shah, on the Bench, asked Mehta to consider the plight of the common man. "In his mind, the government has already helped him [with the waiver of compound interest]... Now he wants concrete results. When you have already taken a decision, why do you need one month just to issue a circular," Justice Shah asked. 'Solid achievement' of BJP's 'hate-filled cultural nationalism': Rahul on IMF projections Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a dig at the government over IMF growth projections showing Bangladesh closing in on India in terms of per capita GDP and described it as a "solid achievement" of six years of BJP's "hate-filled cultural nationalism". He also shared a graph, attributed to the IMF's World Economic Outlook report, which showed Bangladesh catching up with India in terms of per capita GDP. "Solid achievement of 6 years of BJP's hate-filled cultural nationalism: Bangladesh set to overtake India," Gandhi said in a sarcastic tweet accompanied by clapping emojis. The IMF had on Tuesday said that the Indian economy, severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is projected to contract by a massive 10.3% this year. South African cricket in danger of ban as government intervenes South Africa is in danger of being banned from international cricket after its government said on Wednesday that it intended to intervene in the affairs of the sport's national body following revelations of serious misconduct by senior officials. The statement, from sports minister Nathi Mthethwa, said he had informed the International Cricket Council of the intended action. The ICC's constitution forbids government interference and the punishment is normally a ban from international games for the country's teams until the national cricket body is operating independently again. The tension between the South African government and Cricket South Africa (CSA) relates to a long-running investigation into the affairs of the cricket body, which resulted in the firing of CEO Thabang Moroe for serious misconduct in August. Covid Watch: -Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 72,94,835 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,11,223.
In Brief:
The Union Cabinet today approved the STARS (Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States) project under the New Education Policy to support States in strengthening the school education system, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said. The centrally sponsored project will be implemented by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education. It will cover Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha, he said. The World Bank-supported project is estimated to cost ₹5,718 crore and aims to support the states in developing and improving school education outcomes, Javadekar said.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
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