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India is likely to join China and Russia in voicing reservations about US trade protectionism at the SCO summit in Bishkek this week, which will mark prime minister Narendra Modi’s maiden foreign outreach beyond South Asia in his second term. 

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) meeting on June 13-14, leaders of these three nations along with other member states may pitch for a “new type” of multilateral trading system based on rules, people familiar with the issue told ET. 

The continuing trade war between the US and China and its impact on the global economy will be among the key talking points at the meet, one of persons cited earlier said. 

China has been reaching out to India, Russia and other SCO states to unite against the protectionist trade policies of US President Donald Trump. At the summit, the leaders of these nations could call for “joint resistance to any manifestations of unilateral protectionism and active cooperation with a view to forming a global economy of a new type and strengthening the multilateral trade system that is inclusive, transparent, non-discriminatory and based on rules”, the official said . 

Modi is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the presidents of China, Russia and other Central Asian nations on the sidelines of the summit. 

Congress chief ministers of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are camping in the capital, in what is seen as related to the post-defeat review in the party.
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has been here for two days during which he is said to have met members of Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s office as also other senior AICC leaders. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot arrived here on Sunday.

It points to post-poll action in the party after the big defeat in the Lok Sabha contest. Congress also suffered massive reverses in states ruled by it.
All eyes are now on Rahul who returns from his thanksgiving trip to Wayanad on Monday. There is uncertainty in Congress after Rahul’s announcement that he wants to resign as party chief. While he is said to be adamant on quitting, party leaders are waiting for him to clear the air.

Punjab minister and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu Monday met party president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi and apprised him of the “situation” in the state, days after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh divested him of the crucial local government department.

“Met the Congress President, handed him my letter, appraised him of the situation !” Sidhu tweeted.

The cricketer-turned-politician also posted a picture in which he seen along with RahulGandhi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and senior leader Ahmed Patel.

Sidhu had made attempts to meet Rahul Gandhi last week after he was divested of the local government and tourism and cultural affairs departments in a cabinet rejig.

He was given the power and new and renewable energy sources portfolios.

The developments came after Sidhu, who moved from the BJP to the Congress just before 2017 assembly polls, had skipped a cabinet meeting and instead chose to address the media at his official residence on Thursday.

Tension between Singh and Sidhu had come out in the open last month when the chief minister had blamed the cricketer-turned-politician’s “inept handling” of the local government department for the “poor performance” of the Congress in the urban areas in the Lok Sabha polls.

The chief minister had also said the urban votebank had been the backbone of the Congress in Punjab but Sidhu’s “failure” to do any development work had impacted the party.

After the ministry snub, Sidhu was left out of eight consultative groups formed by the chief minister on Saturday to expedite implementation of the state government’s schemes. Sidhu, however, on Thursday, had said his department had been “singled out publicly” while asserting that he could not be taken for granted as he had been a “performer throughout”.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleged on Monday that the Centre and the cadres of the ruling BJP were trying to incite violence in the state and conspiring to bring down her government.
She also said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to throttle her voice as she was the only one in the country to protest against them.

She said the Centre also had an equal responsibility as the state governments in case any violence or riot took place in any state.
“If there is any riot or violence in any state, then the central government cannot shrug off its responsibility,” she said.
“This (inciting violence in West Bengal) is a planted game. This is their game plan to throttle my voice, because they know that Mamata Banerjee is the only person in the country to raise voice against them. This conspiracy to bring down our government will not succeed,” the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief said, hitting out at the Centre for sending an advisory to her government in the wake of the Sandeskhali killings.
“That’s the reason the advisory was sent to the state government. But I will not speak on it because the chief secretary has already given his reply on it,” she said.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who led his Congress party to a stunning victory late last year in assembly polls, will unveil his vision for development on Saturday at the first-ever Intellectuals Meet in mineral-rich Chhattisgarh.

Over a hundred intellectuals from Chhattisgarh and outside are scheduled to assemble at Raipur’s premier hotel, Babylon Inn, to hold a round-table discussion on key national and international issues. The mega function will begin at sharp 10.30 am.

C Uday Bhaskar- India’s top security expert, will address intellectuals about the security challenges that the country is presently facing internally and externally.

Country’s leading media personalities Tarun Basu— the former chief editor and founder director of India’s largest private news agency IANS and Chandan Mitra- chief editor of The Pioneer newspaper group, will also share their thoughts with guests.          

Sudhindra Bhadoria, national spokesperson of the BSP, will also offer his suggestions on how to spur growth in Chhattisgarh that has one-fifth of India’s iron ore and coal reserves. Senior Congress leader and former union minister Renuka Chowdhury will also exchange her thoughts on women empowerment.

Brigadier BK Ponwar, Director of Chhattisgarh-based Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College (CTJWC) will make a brief presentation about ground reality of leftist militancy existing in Chhattisgarh’s sprawling Bastar region since late 1980s. 

The concept of the Intellectuals’ Meet has been solely planned by the Group of Thinkers (GoT), a group of people comprising journalists, policy makers, bureaucrats, social activists and educationists of central India.

In the last week of August 2014, three months after the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office, Rajnath Singh relinquished the post of BJP president. Rajnath became Union home minister, the number two according to official protocol and the mood about the new government was euphoric.

Suddenly, news based on an unsubstantiated source put the government, particularly Rajnath, in an awkward position. It was picked up by outlet after outlet until it became a talking point inside the corridors of power. The news pertained to a supposed conversation between Modi and Rajnath’s son Pankaj, now an MLA in Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

The news and the consequent gossip around it could have demolished Rajnath’s hard-earned reputation. Rajnath met Modi at his official residence and immediately after returning to his then Ashoka Road residence spoke to the media. Rajnath appeared visibly agitated, his kurta sleeves rolled up, literally flexing his muscles and assertively talked about his son of the soil upbringing, the transparency he maintained in public life and stating that he would quit politics if what was being talked about in the media was ever proved.

Shortly thereafter, the Prime Minister’s Office and BJP president Amit Shah issued a statement terming the news “baseless and motivated.” The matter ended there and Rajnath continued in office for the next five years.

Continuing his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the second day of his visit to Wayanad, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Saturday his Lok Sabha election campaign was filled with “lies, poison and hatred”, but the Congress stood for truth, love and affection.

Gandhi, addressing party workers at Kalpetta town in his Lok Sabha constituency after taking out a massive roadshow, said his party would continue to fight Modi, his lies and hatred with love.

He also said Modi represents “anger, lies, intolerance and the worst sentiments of the country.”

“On the national level, we are fighting poison. Modi’s campaign was filled with lies, poison, hatred and divided the people of the country. He used lies in the election… Congress stood for truth, love and affection,” he told the crowd.

Political parties and pundits failed to gauge the public mood ahead of the Lok Sabha election that saw the BJP and its allies score a huge victory over opposition parties, PM Modi said in Kerala on Saturday, adding that though the state had not voted for his party, it was as “dear” to him as his constituency Varanasi.

“Many people must be wondering why Modi has come to Kerala to give a speech after BJP didn’t even open its account in Kerala in the recently-held Lok Sabha election… But I don’t differentiate between my countrymen… For me, the people of Kerala are just as much my own, as the people of Varanasi,” he said.

PM Modi, who led the BJP to a resounding victory in the general elections and retained power for a successive term, said the elections proved that “people are God” in elections.

“Political parties and political pundits could not gauge people’s mood. So did those involved in conducting (poll) surveys. But people gave a strong mandate for the BJP,” he said.

The recent polls proved that people rejected “negativity” and accepted positivity, PM Modi said.

“Elections have their place in democracy and it is the responsibility of the winner to take care of 130 crore people. Those who made us win or those who did not, both are our (people),” he added.

The BJP was not working for mere electoral politics and was keen on the country’s progress and ensuring India gets its place of pride in the international arena, PM Modi said.

PM Modi also listed the steps the centre was taking to counter the Nipah virus scare in Kerala and the foot and mouth disease plaguing its cattle.

Kerala was among the few states where the BJP failed to beat expectations in the national elections last month as it roared back to power even breaching strongholds of regional parties in states like West Bengal and Odisha.

Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has not only shown unseemly haste but also a lack of grace in the summary sacking of Kanak Tiwari, the advocate general (AG) of Chhattisgarh. The matter concerns the highest legal office in the state.

Bhagel reportedly claimed that 78-year-old Tiwari had handed in his resignation. Tiwari, however, maintained that this was not true. “I have not resigned. And the government never asked me to resign,” he told Bar and Bench, adding: “There was no reason for me to resign.”

Tiwari, meanwhile, sought an appointment with governor Anandiben Patel, submitting a letter claiming that being the appointing authority, only she could sack him. He also apprised Patel that he had not sent a resignation letter to either the chief minister or the governor. Patel has referred the matter to the new Union home minister, Amit Shah, for advice.

Tiwari’s sacking is well within the rights of the state government, but it has become an unsavoury issue.

At one time, Tiwari was the chief minister’s political guru. They belong to the same district, and both had Vasudev Chandrakar as their mentor.

Tiwari’s was also the first appointment Baghel made immediately after assuming office in December 2018. The manner in which the situation has deteriorated in just five months has shocked Tiwari. “I must have sent him at least 500 WhatsApp messages requesting meetings over important administration issues – but to no avail,” he said. “There was lately no dialogue between us.”

The lack of faith in Tiwari seems to have arisen from the delay in action in the criminal cases against Puneet Gupta, the son-in-law of Raman Singh, director general of police Mukesh Gupta and Aman Singh, former principal secretary to Raman Singh. Tiwari had advised Baghel against forming special investigation teams in their cases.

When running for reelection, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers stressed that, under his administration, India had become the world’s “fastest-growing large economy.” This was never much of an achievement; after all, the People’s Republic of China was in the midst of a significant slowdown even before the trade war. But even that no longer seems to be true. According to data published recently by government statisticians, India grew at only 5.8% in the fourth quarter of its 2018-19 financial year, less than China’s 6.4% growth in that same period. (India’s financial year begins in April.) 

This is the third successive quarter of slowing growth — from 8% between April and June of 2018, to 7% between July and September and then 6.6% in the third quarter, October to December. It’s hard to see this as anything other than a straightforward slowdown, of the sort that has been predicted now for some time. Yes, many questions are constantly asked about India’s growth figures. Even if you’re not convinced by the numbers, though, the trajectory is unmistakable. 

India’s finance ministry seems certain about the reasons for the slowdown: private consumption, investment and exports are all growing less than expected. The last two — investment and exports — have been troubled for years. India’s economic numbers looked better than they were because consumption seemed to be holding up. 

Now, multiple indicators have begun to show a bit of a crisis in consumer spending as well. Passenger vehicle sales, for example, fell by 17.1% in April, the worst slide since October 2011. Large consumer goods companies are issuing warnings to investors about slowing demand. This could easily have been foretold: No economy can keep growing just on the basis of consumer demand.