Your Daily Wrap, June 20: Trains cancelled over Agnipath protests; Rahul Gandhi appears before ED; and more | India News,The Indian Express
From PM Narendra Modi’s statements about the Centre’s ‘Agnipath’ scheme to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appearing before the ED for the fourth day of questioning, here are the top stories of today.
◾ At a time when protests against the Centre’s ‘Agnipath’ scheme for recruitment of soldiers in the armed forces have spread across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that several decisions may look unfair at first, but help in building the nation later. “Several decisions look unfair at present. In time, those decisions will help in building the nation,” PM Modi said today while addressing an event in Bengaluru. He, however, made no direct reference to the Agnipath scheme during his speech.
◾ PM’s remarks came on a day when several organisations called for ‘Bharat Bandh’. Security was heightened across the country and traffic jams were reported in various parts of Delhi amid increased security checks by the police. More than 530 trains were also cancelled in the wake of the protests. As stir continues, Arun Prakash, retired chief of naval staff, in this piece argues that the turmoil points to two larger absences: India doesn’t have a National Security Doctrine. Armed forces have remained outside ambit of reform.
◾ Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office today for the fourth day of questioning in the National Herald case. Gandhi has spent around 35 hours at the ED office during the last three rounds of questioning. The fourth day of questioning was deferred from June 17 to Monday after Gandhi requested the agency for postponing it as he wanted to be with his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was in the hospital for post-Covid issues. Sonia was discharged today evening. She is scheduled to be questioned by the ED on June 23.
◾ Presidential election is scheduled to be held on July 18 but the Opposition parties are yet to finalise its ‘consensus candidate’. On Monday, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi became the third person to decline the Opposition parties’ request to be their Presidential candidate. Earlier, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah had declined the offer. The Opposition parties will meet tomorrow for the second round of discussions to finalise a name.
◾ Every year, June 21 is observed as the International Yoga Day. Although yoga has long been recognised as India’s gift to the global culture of wellness, the official UN recognition came after a push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. The theme of this year’s Yoga Day celebrations is ‘Yoga for Humanity’. After a two-year hiatus brought on by the Covis pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this year, will lead a mass yoga event at the Mysuru Palace grounds in Karnataka. Follow our live coverage here.
Rating: 5