National News
Varun Gandhi likely to meet Mamata in Delhi, fuels switch talks
After Sushmita Dev, Babul Supriyo, Luizinho Faleiro and Leander Paes, there are strong indications that BJP MP Varun Gandhi might jump ship and join the Trinamool Congress.
It is likely that Varun Gandhi might meet West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee during the latter’s visit to the national capital next week.
Though there has been no official confirmation about Maneka Gandhi’s son joining the Trinamool, according to a senior party leader, the Chief Minister’s visit to Delhi next week is going to be ‘very significant’ and might have some ‘surprises’ as well.
However, it is still not clear whether the BJP leader will join the Trinamool during Banerjee’s Delhi visit, or later.
Without making any direct statement on the matter, a senior Trinamool leader said, “Leaders who are angry with the BJP, but have no way to go to the Congress, are contacting Trinamool. At the moment, it is clear that Mamata and Trinamool can play the biggest role in stopping (Narendra) Modi.”
Recently, BJP had dropped Varun Gandhi and his mother Maneka Gandhi from the party’s national working committee, and the Gandhi family junior is reportedly looking for a political platform.
Varun Gandhi had also condemned the killing of farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri, indicating that his ties with the saffron camp have turned sour.
Political experts believe that cornered by the BJP, he would be looking for a stable platform and in that case, Trinamool Congress could be the best alternative.
“Varun Gandhi cannot go to the Congress. So he would be looking at a party that can give him a national platform. With Trinamool Congress trying to increase its presence nationally, it would also be interested to include a person who has national acceptability. And in that case, it will be a win-win situation for all,” a senior Trinamool leader told IANS on condition of anonymity.
There are also indications that Danish Ali, who had switched to the BSP from JD-S in 2019, might join Trinamool because of his differences with party supremo Mayawati. Last year, Mayawati had removed Ali from the post of Lok Sabha leader due to differences with him.
According to official sources, Mamata Banerjee might go to Delhi on November 22 and return on November 25. During her two-day stay in the national capital, she might meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discuss the pending issues.
Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office indicated that the discussion between Banerjee and Modi might revolve around the state’s pending financial dues, and the recent extension of BSF’s jurisdiction in the state from 15 km to 50 km from the international borders.
The Chief Minister is also likely to meet the leaders of the opposition parties, including interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
International News
Bangladesh High Court orders high-level probe into power deals with Adani group amid supply cuts
Bangladesh’s High Court ordered the formation of a high-level enquiry committee comprising international energy and law experts to reevaluate all electricity-related agreements with the Adani group, The Business Standard, a local news portal, reported on Tuesday, November 19.
The bench of Justices Farah Mahbub and Debasish Roy Chowdhury has reportedly ordered the cabinet secretary to form the committee within a month and submit the report to the court in the next two months.
Adani Power shares closed 0.47 per cent lower at ₹524.10 on Tuesday’, compared to ₹526.60 at the previous market close.
The court, while hearing a petition, asked why instructions should not be given to cancel the uneven agreements made with the Adani group. It also asked for the documents related to the signing of the deal within a month.
Barrister M Abdul Qayyum, representing the petitioner, filed the writ in the High Court asking for the cancellation of all electricity deals with Adani group. Adani signed the 25-year power purchase agreement in 2017; at that time, no imported coal-based power plants were operational in Bangladesh, as per the report.
Adani’s Bangladesh power supply
Adani group’s Bangladesh power is supplied from Jharkhand’s 1,600 MW power plant. The cost of power is $0.1008 per unit or Tk12 per unit, a Bangladesh Power Development Board official was quoted as saying in the report.
This rate is 27 per cent higher than the rate of India’s other private producers and as much as 63 per cent more than the Indian state-owned plants.
After Adani Power cut the Bangladesh power supply by half over the unpaid dues, the company also set a deadline of November 7 to switch off the flow of electricity if there was no clarity on the settlement of the outstanding amount.
Bangladesh reportedly owes Adani almost $850 million. Adani group later clarified that it had not demanded the full payment in seven days, as per the report.
Shortage of Power
Bangladesh continues to face a shortage of electricity, increasing the risk of blackouts, even after making a partial payment to Adani group, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday.
Adani Power has received a letter of credit for $170 million, easing pressures from lenders, reported the agency, citing two people aware of the development. The partial payment doesn’t resolve the crisis, but the company won’t halt supplies for now, pending talks with the lenders of the Godda thermal plant in Jharkhand, the officials said.
“Payments should have been made by this time,” Ahsan H Mansur, governor of Bangladesh Bank, said in a phone interview on Friday as per the report. The central bank “issued an instruction for the payment”, Mansur had said earlier this week.
The Adani electric supply accounts for nearly 10 per cent of Bengladesh’s total supply. The power company reduced its supply further to 500 megawatts on Thursday after cutting it to 700 megawatts earlier, as per the data collected from Power Grid Bangladesh cited in the news report.
National News
Chhattisgarh: 5 Maoists Killed, 2 Jawans Injured In Narayanpur Encounter; Visuals Surface
Narayanpur: In a major anti-Maoist operation, at least five Maoists were killed during a fierce encounter with security forces in the dense forests of the Abujhmad region in Chhattisgarh Narayanpur district on Saturday.
The gunfight took place after security personnel received reports about the presence of Maoists in the area.
According to officials, a joint team of security forces launched a search operation early Saturday morning. Around 6 a.m., the forces came under heavy fire, leading to an intense gunfight that lasted nearly five hours.
Statement Of One Of The Jawans
One of the jawan, part of the searching team, said that approximately 20 Maoists were present there, with at least five of them killed during the encounter.
“We were a team of 1,439 personnel deployed in the search operation. The encounter lasted until around 11 a.m., during which several Maoists were also injured. I came back but the search operation is still going on to capture the remaining Maoists,” he said.
2 Security Personnel Injured
During the operation, two security personnel sustained injuries. One of them, identified as Khileshwar Gawade, suffered bullet wounds in the head and right hand, while the other, Hiraman Yadav, was hit in the thigh. Both injured personnel were immediately evacuated and airlifted to Raipur for further medical treatment. Officials have assured that their condition is stable.
Security personnel have so far recovered the bodies of five Maoists, along with some weapons. The process of identifying the dead Maoists is underway.
About Abujhmad Region
The Abujhmad region, which borders Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, is known for being a hotbed of Maoist activity. Just last month, security forces achieved an important victory by neutralising 31 Maoists in one of the most successful operations in Chhattisgarh’s history.
On the rising success of such operations, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P., had, last week said that a total of 192 Maoists have been killed this year alone. Authorities believe that sustained pressure from security forces is gradually weakening the insurgents’ grip in the region.
National News
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Slams BJP Over Infiltrator Issue In Jharkhand, Says ‘Ghuspetiya Andar Aa Rahe Aur Shah Sahab So Rahe’
Jamtara (Jharkhand): As the BJP constantly evoked the issue of infiltration in Jharkhand, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Saturday that the BJP is scaring everyone in the name of infiltrators and when there is their government in the Centre, why can’t they stop it?
Addressing a public rally in Jharkhand’s Jamtara, Kharge said, “They (BJP) are scaring us in the name of infiltrators. You are in the central government, you are the Prime Minister, you are the home minister, then from where did the infiltrators enter?”
“Ghuspetiya andar aa rahe aur Shah Sahab so rahe,” he added.
He further said that the BJP only knows how to divide.
“When you can stop our helicopters, why can’t you stop infiltrators? They don’t know how to run the government. They only know how to divide. They have raised the matter of infiltrators in the elections and they are making people afraid of this. People are being incited in this way. This won’t work. Now people have understood you,” Kharge added.
About The Chopper Issue
The Congress Chief further targeted the BJP after party MP Rahul Gandhi’s chopper was delayed on Friday and said that today, his chopper was also delayed.
“Rahul Gandhi also did meetings here. We don’t know what problem does BJP has with us. When we want to come our helicopter gets stopped. Yesterday Rahul Gandh’s helicopter was denied permission to fly. Today Shah was coming here so I was stopped today for 20 minutes. His path was different and my path was different. Modiji comes in every way of ours,” Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Congress President Targets BJP Star Campaigners In Jharkhand
Sharpening his attacks further, Kharge targeted BJP star campaigners in Jharkhand and said that they all have gathered like a “war” is going on.
“In Jharkhand helicopters are flying like vultures. Did they come when anyone was in need here.? Some Chief Minister from Assam, Madhya Pradesh, all have gathered like a war is going on. This is battle of democracy where people participate and leaders have no role,” he said.
Voting for the first phase of the Jharkhand assembly elections concluded on November 13, with voting taking place in 43 out of the state’s 81 seats.
Elections on the remaining 38 seats will be conducted on November 20. The counting will be held on November 23.
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