Morning Brief: TDP, YSR Congress To Push For No Confidence Motion; India Takes First Step Towards Integrated Theatre Commands; Putin Wins Fourth Term

Good morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news and views brief for today.

TDP, YSR Congress To Push For No Confidence Motion Today

Amid no signs of a let-up in the deadlock in proceedings in the Lok Sabha, the Y S Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSR Congress and the N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party, which recently snapped ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will push for the acceptance of their notices for no-confidence motion today. While Y V Subba Reddy of the YSR Congress has written to the Lok Sabha secretariat to put his notice, the TDP had also moved a notice for a no-confidence motion. The TDP, a longtime BJP ally, decided to break its ties with the party over the issue of Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. If a no confidence motion is moved in the Lok Sabha, the two parties will need the support of at least 50 members to admit the motion. This will be followed by voting. The ruling BJP has 274 members, more than the majority mark of 270. The party also enjoys the support of several allies.

India Takes First Step Towards Integrated Theatre Commands

Modi government has notified new “statutory rules and orders” under which an officer from any one service can “exercise direct command” over personnel from the other two services, who are all governed by different acts and rules, in tri-service organisations. With this, India has taken the first step towards eventually having integrated theatre commands. Under the integrated theatre command arrangement, all the manpower and assets of the Army, Navy and Air Force are under the operational control of a single three-star general. Moving to this system will improve the coordination between the three services and their ability to conduct joint operations successfully. All major militaries in the world, including the Chinese, have moved to this system to optimize their war fighting capabilities.

“If the country is to have a chief of defence staff and theatre commands in the years ahead, this tweaking of the Army, Navy and IAF rules is the first step towards it,” a daily quoted a source as saying.

Vladimir Putin Wins Fourth Term As Russian President

Exit polls suggest Vladimir Putin has won a fourth term as Russia’s President. A Russian state exit poll, conducted by the All-Russia Opinion Research Centre, gave him 73.9 per cent of the vote, easily defeating his closest competitor. According to the poll, Communist candidate Pavel Grudinin was in second place with 11.2 per cent. Nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky came in third with 6.7 per cent votes. Putin, Russia's longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, has dominated the country’s politics for 18 years. With this win, he is set to retain a firm grip on power till 2024. Exit polls are not final. Official results will be released in coming hours.

National Highways Authority Plans Equity Funding Mechanism

Following the success of the toll-operate-transfer model, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is likely to bring in an equity-funding model for its upcoming expressway and economic corridor projects, auctioning them before they are built. NHAI’s Rs 5.35 lakh crore-Bharatmala programme, where 34,800 km of national highways will be developed, could be the first project under this model.

“The idea is being discussed and worked upon to be introduced in the next fiscal once the government gives go-ahead. Global investors have shown interest for such a financial model,” a government official said. The implementation of the equity funding mechanism will help clear the debt from NHAI books, raise its market value and catalyse infrastructure development, he added.

BJP Terms Rahul Gandhi’s Speech As ‘Rhetoric Of A Loser’

Hitting back at Congress for accusing Modi government of failing to fulfill promises and calling party President Amit Shah “a man accused of murder”, Defence Minister and BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday termed Rahul Gandhi’s speech as “false, motivated campaign” by the grand old party and insisted that Shah has been cleared of all charges by the court. Giving a point-by-point rebuttal of Gandhi’s speech, the party said in a press conference that his address was “rhetoric of a loser” and “devoid of substance. The party which questioned the fundamental existence of Shri Ram today wants to identify itself with Pandavas,” Sitharaman said, responding to remarks that the BJP was like Kauravas who fought for power.

Do More Against Terror Groups, Mike Pence Tells Pakistan PM

United States Vice President Mike Pence has told Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi that his country “must do more” against Taliban and other terror groups, the White House has said. Abbasi, who was on a personal trip to the United States to see his ailing sister, met Pence at his Naval Observatory residence. The meeting, reports said, was held at the request of Abbasi.

“Vice President reiterated President Trump’s request that the Government of Pakistan must do more to address the continued presence of the Taliban and other terrorist groups operating in their country,” the White House said.

KCR To Meet Mamata Banerjee Today For Talks On Third Front

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR), who is trying to bring together regional parties to form a non-BJP and non-Congress alternative, will meet his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee today in Kolkata. Calling for a “qualitative change” in politics, Rao had announced that he is ready to take on the mantle of leading a political front. He has already received support from Banerjee, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi and actor-politician Pawan Kalyan. KCR is expected to tour the country before 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

MUST READ OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

Re-Imagining Federalism To Fulfil India’s Potential: The time has come for India to move to the third phase of federalism. It will strengthen India’s unity and integrity, and allow us to fulfil our potential. The one-size-fits-all model cannot deliver.

Urjit Patel’s Speech Shows The Limits Of Regulation: Too many people accused Patel of lacking independence after the demonetisation episode. The RBI governor has in the past few months proved that he is his own man.

More Powerful Than The King: By undermining judiciary, PM K P Oli has indicated his totalitarian ambitions. With a brute majority and armed with the sweeping powers, Oli has become more powerful than the king.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

India’s Right To Education Law Gives Children The Right To Lottery, Not Essentially Education: There are possibly two ways to transform RTE. First is by instantly increasing the available seats, and second by doing away with the limit of 25 per cent reservation and moving to a system of education vouchers.

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