Read about these and other developments that are making headlines today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Delhi ahead of the 18th BRICS summit as the national capital gears up to host the big global event. Meanwhile CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has dared the government over activist Jarange Patil’s protest.
PM Modi met Putin at Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam on Friday ahead of the BRICS summit. Chidambaram on Tuesday stoked controversy when he questioned the tangible benefits India gained from such events. Click here to read about the fresh row CJP founder Abhijit Dipke met Manoj Jarange Patil as the Maratha quota activist’s indefinite hunger strike entered its 14th day on Friday, warning the state government that people from across Maharashtra would descend on the protest site if Patil is harmed.
The meeting took place hours after Putin landed in New Delhi on a three-day visit to participate in the high-stakes BRICS summit. His remarks came under sharp criticisms from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which later raised questions on the Congress’ approach to diplomacy. Dipke dared the government to forcibly remove Patil from the protest site, as the Delhi Police did with Sonam Wangchuk, which galvanised the student protest against exam irregularities at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and forced the then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign in July. He warned that the government would face the consequences. She also alleged that several false cross-FIRs had been registered against her in different states, raising concerns that she could be forced to travel to places where she may face a life-threatening attack. Read more here
The two leaders held wide-ranging talks, focusing on enhancing annual bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2030 and ramping up existing cooperation in areas such as defence, energy, critical minerals, and fertiliser supplies.
Read full story here The political row over Congress MP P Chidambaram’s remarks on the BRICS Summit has taken a fresh turn, with party MP Shashi Tharoor breaking ranks to back the event and calling it proof of India’s “diplomatic convening power”. Fourteen-year-old student protester Nishu Aazad has said that she and her family have still not been provided adequate security despite the Supreme Court taking note of threats against them and directing authorities to ensure their protection. In a post on X on Thursday, Aazad said continued threats had left her “genuinely afraid” for the safety of herself and her family. “Despite the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, neither my family nor I have been provided with adequate security so far,” Azad said in the post, tagging the Delhi Police and Uttar Pradesh Police.
