Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Wednesday and later in the day flew to Kerala to join Rahul Gandhi in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the party’s ongoing mass contact programme. “The party has given me everything, the high command has given everything. For the last 40-50 years, I have been in various party positions. No post is important for me, what is important for me is how would I handle whatever responsibility is given to me,” Gehlot told reporters after the meeting with Sonia. HT brings you a round-up of the most important and interesting stories, so you don’t miss your daily dose of news. |
THE BIG STORY Gehlot meets Sonia, says open to any role Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Wednesday and said he was ready for any responsibility the party gave him, potentially setting the stage for an electoral battle against former Union minister Shashi Tharoor for the Congress presidential poll next month. Read more. |
STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED |
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The Big Question Is there a legal recourse to serve as a deterrent against ‘hate speech’ on TV? Terming hate speech a “poison” affecting the social fabric of the country, the Supreme Court on Wednesday rued the lack of a legal framework that can serve as a deterrent against such remarks being propagated through television debates, and gave the Centre two months to decide whether it intends to bring a law to make “hate speech” a penal offence. Read more. |
 Venkata Rao and Geetapriya had the winning bid of Rs 45 lakh at a pandal in Hyderabad, for the prasad (sacred offering) blessed by Ganapati. The couple went home with 12 kgs of a single sweet, moulded into a single oval ball. Which? |
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From the Edit Page What CBI’s shrinking jurisdiction implies The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is in the eye of the storm again as Opposition parties allege that the federal agency is targeting them. Nine Indian states have, so far, withdrawn consent to the CBI for prosecution in their respective jurisdictions and, this month, signals emerged that Bihar, which recently saw a change in government, could soon be the 10th. Unlike the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has a nationwide mandate for investigating terrorism-related cases, the CBI needs consent of the states to operate. As expected, most of such states that withdrew consent were ruled by parties opposed to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Distrust in a central security agency by a third of India’s states underlines the weakening federal structure of the Constitution and the spirit of cooperative federalism. Read more. |
NUMBER THEORY Is there a China angle to India’s trade deficit? India’s merchandise trade deficit, in the April-August period of the current fiscal year was $124.7 billion. This is significantly higher than the number has ever been in any corresponding period. While a rise in international commodity prices, especially energy, has played a big role in the widening of trade deficit, there are also fears that Chinese imports are growing. How true are such concerns? Read more. |
From the Field Chariot of the gods: Inside the plan to revive the iconic Sun Temple The most vibrant example of Kalinga style of art and architecture, the Sun Temple of Konark was once described in 1939 by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as a place “where the language of man is defeated by the language of stone”. Three hundred years earlier, Abu’l Fazl, the chronicler at Mughal emperor Akbar’s court, wrote in Ain-i-Akbari, “Even those whose judgement is critical and who are difficult to please stand astonished at its site.” Read more. |
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Infographic of the Day On back foot, Russia makes fresh push  (Click to expand) |
 Laddoo |
Photo of the Day The doors of Vakeel Lane |
HT This Day: September 22, 1969 Govt fixes car prices  (Click to expand) The Government of India today issued a Gazette notification imposing statutory control on the prices of the Ambassador, Fiat and Standard Harold cars. The action was taken under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act of 1951 which empowers the Government to control supply, distribution and prices of certain articles. Read more. |
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