Tomorrow’s protest in Delhi is already heating up. CJP and the Left student groups – SFI, AISA, AISF and the rest – are saying their people are being stopped left and right before they can even reach the capital. They’re claiming students from Pune got pulled off midway and put on a bus to some unknown place, volunteers from Telangana got detained by Madhya Pradesh police while passing through Bhopal, and one of their senior guys, Deepak Baliyan, was picked up from his house in Rajasthan. They’re throwing around a number like ten thousand detentions when you count everyone – students, farmers’ groups, activists. SFI says police have been going to homes, scaring families, telling people not to travel. Delhi is already packed with extra forces. The groups are still saying they’re going ahead at Jantar Mantar, calling the whole thing a fight against “vote chori” and demanding Gyanesh Kumar step down. Whether the numbers are exact or not, the tension is real.
On the travel front, anyone flying to Riyadh is in a mess. Houthis claimed they fired a missile at King Khalid Airport yesterday. Explosions were heard, smoke near a plane on the ground, Saudi side saying they intercepted the incoming ones. Air India had a Delhi flight already in the air that turned right around and came back. Now Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo and Akasa have cancelled or diverted services – most till the 9th or 10th. Full refunds or free rescheduling for those stuck. India has also told its people in Saudi to stay careful and not move around much.
Sad news from the film side. Nana Patekar passed away early Thursday at his place in Goa. Cardiac arrest. Doctors tried for almost 45 minutes but couldn’t bring him back. He was 75. Last rites happened with state honours at his farmhouse near Pune. Everyone from the PM to Fadnavis to co-stars has been remembering how intense and honest his performances always were – Parinda, Krantiveer, the whole lot. One of those actors who never phoned it in.
Elsewhere, the GST Council sat and decided to ease things a bit for businesses. No more arrest powers for tax officers under GST, prosecution threshold pushed up to five crore from one, penalties brought down. Refunds should move faster, registration simpler, and credit available on more everyday business expenses. Nirmala Sitharaman said the idea is to move towards trust instead of constant checks. No rate changes this time.
Opposition leaders kept their sit-in going at Rajghat for the third day, still pushing for the CEC’s resignation. Capital is locked down pretty tight. Markets had a rough session earlier, and there’s also this US move suspending some big Indian IT companies from a green-card related programme that’s making people in the sector nervous.
That’s the main stuff for this morning. If you’re travelling or planning to be around Delhi tomorrow, just keep your eyes open.
Sources:
The Hindu, Times of India, Business Standard, Reuters, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, Al Jazeera, PTI, Outlook India, News18, Firstpost, Economic Times.
@Rohit Manral
