| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Not conceded any territory as result of agreement with China: Govt India on Friday said it has not conceded any territory as a result of the agreement finalised with China for disengagement of troops in Pangong lake areas in eastern Ladakh. Hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government had 'ceded' Indian territory to the Chinese, the Ministry of Defence issued a strongly-worded statement, saying the effective safeguarding of the country's national interest and territory in the Eastern Ladakh sector has taken place because the government reposed full faith in the capabilities of the armed forces. "Those who doubt the achievements made possible by the sacrifices of our military personnel are actually disrespecting them," the statement said. The Ministry also made certain clarifications in the statement, and said, "The assertion that Indian territory is up to Finger 4 is categorically false. The territory of India is as depicted by the map of India and includes more than 43,000 sq km currently under illegal occupation of China since 1962. Even the Line of Actual Control (LAC), as per the Indian perception, is at Finger 8, not at Finger 4. That is why India has persistently maintained the right to patrol up to Finger 8, including in the current understanding with China," the MoD said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday told Parliament that as per the provision of the agreement, China will pull back its troops to east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong lake while the Indian personnel will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 in the region. "India has not conceded any territory as a result of the agreement. On the contrary, it has enforced observance and respect for LAC and prevented any unilateral change in the status quo," it said. The Ministry also asserted that permanent posts of both sides at the north bank of Pangong Tso are longstanding and well-established. "On the Indian side, it is Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 and on the Chinese side, east of Finger 8," the MoD said, adding the current agreement provides for cessation of forward deployment by both sides and continued deployment at these permanent posts. PM Modi a coward who can't stand up to China: Rahul Gandhi Earlier in the day, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of "cowardice" and "giving away Indian territory to China". In a press conference today morning, Gandhi told reporters that Indian territory was up to Finger 4 in the Pangong area where the Indian post used to be located but now the government had agreed to move it back to Finger 3. On Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed Parliament that Indian and Chinese troops had agreed on disengagement on both sides of Pangong Tso in a "phased, coordinated and verified manner". The Congress leader said it was China that can claim success, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "handed over a portion of Bharat Mata [Mother India] to them".  Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressing a press conference, in New Delhi on Friday. "Why has Prime Minister Modi given up Indian territory to the Chinese? This is the question that needs to be answered by him and the Defence Minister," Gandhi said, adding that the Prime Minister was "betraying the sacrifices of our Army". The Congress leader said that while India's armed forces — the Army, the Air Force and the Navy — were ready to take on China, the Prime Minister was not. He said the forces had "risked everything they had to capture" the Kailash ranges but the government had now asked them to move back without spelling out "for what". More importantly, he said, the Chinese were still in strategically important areas such as Depsang plains, Gogra, and Hot Springs and questioned the Defence Minister for "not uttering a word about these areas". "It is about absolutely 100% cowardice to give our holy land. The Prime Minister is a coward who cannot stand up to the Chinese. That's the fact, and he is spitting on the sacrifice of our Army," asserted the animated Congress leader. Lauding the efforts of the armed forces in protecting the borders, he said "none in India" should be allowed to undermine them. "I think the people should be enraged. I am surprised the press is behaving the way it is. You [the press] have a responsibility to raise these things," he said, adding, "It is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to protect the territory of this country. The Prime Minister has ceded Indian territory to the Chinese. It's his responsibility to solve it. How he does it is his problem, not mine." Consent of the family or clan not necessary when two adults agree to marry: SC Educated youngsters are showing the way forward to reduce caste and community tensions in India by going in for inter-caste marriages, the Supreme Court said in a judgment. "Educated younger boys and girls are choosing their life partners, which is a departure from the earlier norms of society where caste and community played a major role. Possibly, this is the way forward where caste and community tensions will reduce by such intermarriages," a Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said in a recent verdict. Justice Kaul quoted B.R. Ambedkar's Annihilation of Caste, in which the 'Father of the Constitution' said, "I am convinced that the real remedy is intermarriage. Fusion of blood can alone create the feeling of being kith and kin, and unless this feeling of kinship, of being kindred, becomes paramount, the separatist feeling—the feeling of being aliens—created by caste will not vanish". Even as more and more cases challenging religious conversion laws enacted by several States reach the Supreme Court, Justice Kaul observed in the judgment on February 8 that "consent of the family or community or clan is not necessary once the two adult individuals agree to enter into a wedlock and that their consent has to be piously given primacy". Mallikarjun Kharge to be leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is all set to become the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha, as incumbent Ghulam Nabi Azad's term ends on February 15. There has been no official word from the Congress, but it is learnt that the party has informed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat about Azad's replacement.Former Law Minister and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid was among the first leaders to congratulate Kharge. "Best wishes to Sh @kharge ji for being appointed as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha," Khurshid tweeted. Kharge, known to be a Gandhi family loyalist, was the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha between 2014 and 2019. After losing the 2019 Lok Sabha poll, he was brought into the Rajya Sabha in June last year.  Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge speaks to the media at Parliament House on February 12, 2021. Senior leader Anand Sharma, who along with Azad came to be identified with the group of 23 dissenters that had sought a revamp of the Congress in a letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi last August, is the Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha. SC issues notice on plea alleging Twitter is 'sympathetic to terrorist groups' The Supreme Court on Friday decided to examine a plea that claimed that Twitter is "sympathetic to terrorist groups". A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde issued notice to the government and Twitter Communications India Private Limited on a petition by Vinit Goenka, Prabhari – IT and Social Media Vibhag for BJP Delhi Pradesh.  Goenka accused platforms such as Twitter of promoting and circulating prohibited content and hate messages. He said there was no mechanism or law to deal with the problem. "Respondent 4 (Twitter) is sympathetic to terrorist groups... Global terror groups like ISIS, Al Qaeda and Indian Mujahideen use the platform of Respondent 4 (Twitter) and other social networking platforms to circulate hate speeches because it helps them avoid detection," the petition, filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, contended. TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi announces resignation from Rajya Sabha TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi announced his resignation from the Rajya Sabha on Friday, saying he feels suffocated in the House as he is unable to do anything for the "violence" going on in his state, West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP said he was unable to bear what was happening in West Bengal. "I am grateful to my party that it has sent me here, but now I feel a little suffocated. We are unable to do anything and there is atrocity (going on). My voice of conscience is saying what Swami Vivekananda used to say -- arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached," Trivedi said, while announcing his resignation from the House.  Dinesh Trivedi announcing he will resign from the Rajya Sabha on February 12, 2021. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh said there is a due process for resigning from the House and asked Trivedi to submit his resignation in writing to the chairman. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,08,86,641 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,56,903. In Brief: India's industrial production grew by 1% in December, official data showed on Friday. According to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data, the manufacturing sector output grew by 1.6% in December 2020. Mining output declined by 4.8%, while power generation grew 5.1% in December 2020. The IIP had grown by 0.4% in December 2019. Industrial production has been hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic since March last year when IIP contracted by 18.7% in the month. The elections to the Legislative Assembly in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will be held simultaneously, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said on Friday. Addressing a press conference, he said political parties in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have sought holding of simultaneous elections. "The dates will be announced later. The elections will be held in TN and Puducherry on the same day," he said. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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