Your Daily Wrap: Uddhav offers to resign, Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquake; and more
◾ In the top story of the day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray offered to step down in a bid to defuse the crisis that has gripped the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government following the rebellion led by Eknath Shinde. An emotional Thackeray added that he was willing to resign if the rebel leader and MLAs supporting him declare that they don’t want him to continue as CM.
◾ Meanwhile, Shinde stated that the MVA govt in Maharashtra was an “unnatural alliance” and it was imperative for his party to walk out of the coalition with the NCP and the Congress for its own sake and that of party workers.
◾ Touted as the biggest-ever loan fraud case in India, the CBI has booked former promoters of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL), Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, among 13 accused for defrauding a consortium of 17 banks of over Rs 34,000 crore. Until now, the Nirav Modi-led PNB loan fraud (Rs 13,000 crore) and ABG Shipyard loan fraud (Rs 20,000 crore) were considered to be the biggest.
◾ In one of the country’s deadliest quakes in decades, a powerful earthquake struck a rural, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early today, killing 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more. Officials warned that the already grim toll may still rise.
Political Pulse
◾ In this exclusive interview with The Indian Express, Yashwant Sinha, who has emerged as the Opposition’s consensus candidate for the July 18 presidential election in which he will be up against the NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu, talks about the presidential election being an ideological battle, Murmu’s candidature, and why it is too early to conclude that he does not have the numbers to win. Read more here
◾ The protests across the country against the Centre’s short-term military recruitment scheme Agnipath have a recurring feature: railway properties have been vandalised, torched or attacked from Bihar to West Bengal to Telangana. This isn’t the first time the Indian Railways found itself the target of such protests. As a 168-year-old organisation that is a subsidised mode of travel for millions of Indians, the Railways carries huge symbolism for demonstrators seeking to make a point. Here’s why
Express Explained
◾ As poll results for Haryana’s 46 municipalities rolled in Wednesday, BJP scored a clear edge over its opponents by winning 22 civic bodies, while its ally JJP managed to win three. The lion’s share of the remaining local bodies went to the Congress, with debutant AAP managing just one. What do these results mean for all major political players in the state?
◾ Britain is in the middle of its biggest rail strike in 30 years. Tens of thousands of rail workers took part in a mass walkout on Tuesday (June 21), protesting frozen salaries, changing working conditions, and proposed job cuts. What impact has the strike had and what happens here onward?
