A political row, a state police under scanner, and two court orders led the star of newly-released film Pushpa 2, Allu Arjun, to spend a night in prison after a stampede at its premiere that left a woman dead, and her child in a critical condition. The case resulted in a political slugfest in Telangana, where the Opposition parties Bharat Rashtra Samithi and the Bharatiya Janata Party called police’s action to be “excessive.” The court had remanded him to 14-day judicial custody, but while he was being taken to prison, the Telangana High Court granted him interim bail.
With that, let’s move on to today’s edition:
- Faultlines deepen in the Parliament
- Future of Formula 1 cars
- The Lord of the Rings The War of the Rohirrim review
🚨 Big Story
Deepening faultlines: On the first day of ‘discussion on the Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India,’ in the Lok Sabha, the Opposition targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for disrupting India’s communal harmony and, therefore, tinkering with the Constitution’s secular values.
‘Constitution under threat’: Citing incidents such as Graham Stein’s killing in Odisha in 1999 and the 2002 Gujarat riots, Babri Masjid’s demolition in 1992, conflict in Manipur, and the most-recent Sambhal violence, the leaders of different parties targeted the current BJP-led government at the Centre, saying that the Constitution was facing its “biggest threat in history” under their leadership.
‘Hijack?’ Defence Minister Rajnath Singh mounted a scathing attack on Congress, claiming it has never respected the Constitution and has always chosen “power over the Constitution”. He went on from listing the excesses of the Emergency, the toppling of elected governments, to overturning the Shah Bano verdict to undermine the judiciary, blunting out their demand for caste census in the country. “One party tried to hijack and appropriate the Constitution. All these things have been concealed. Our Constitution is not the gift of a party but belongs to the people of India,” he said.
‘Samvidhan’, or ‘Sangh ka Vidhan’? Speaking immediately after Singh, in her maiden speech, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sought to turn the tables on the government, saying it has forgotten that the “Samvidhan” (Constitution) is not “Sangh ka vidhan” (the law of the RSS). Vadra accused the Modi government of “oppressing” people and spreading “fear”, and said the Constitution gave common people courage in the face of oppression.
No-trust: The Opposition also filed a no-trust motion to remove the House Chairman, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar. Dhankhar, commenting on the no-trust motion, said that the Opposition was deviating from procedures, and that it will be brought up after 14 days of written notice.
⚡ Only in Express
As the eight-year-old stood outside a glass box, watching two giants of the game like Anand and Carlsen battling it out, Gukesh made an audacious wish: to reach where they were. Eleven years later, Gukesh D is now the youngest World Chess Champion. Hailing the champion, chess legend Susan Polgar wrote on X: “He will inspire millions of kids around the globe, especially in India! He will be the best chess ambassador ever!” “Chess is in a great place!” A moment like this has the potential to change the landscape of the sport, both in India and world over.
📰 Express Explained
Formula 1 races are indeed the hotly contested races, with superstar drivers slugging it out at over 200 miles an hour to win glory, and of course, fat paychecks. But behind the glitz, glamour, and the adrenaline rush is a sport that has engineering at its core. Engineering that is not just limited to the 20 race cars on the F1 grid. What’s in the future for these races? How will they impact your car? We explain.
✍️ Express Opinion
In our Opinion pages today, S Y Quraishi delves deeper on the questions that arise out of ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal, which was approved by the Union Cabinet, in order to implement simultaneous elections across India. He writes: “With the dilution of the original proposal, the moral authority of the idea of simultaneous elections has been undermined. If the proposal was sincere, why have all elections been extended over the past decade?”
🍿Movie Review
Wondering what to watch this weekend? Well, we’ve got you covered! The Lord of the Rings franchise is back, and this time, as Shalini Langer puts it, the latest The War of the Rohirrim “stands apart”. In her review, Langer writes: “Where its heart lies in it is not glorifying war even as it glorifies its heroes, but in repeatedly underlining the cost of it – for the good and the bad side, which both make mistakes. Where its beauty lies in its relationships, major and minor, which seem amazingly fleshed out despite the medium.”
That’s all for today. Have a lovely weekend!
Until next time,
Ariba
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