Morning Brief: ED Challenges Acquittal Of A Raja In 2G Spectrum Case; NSA Ajit Doval Heads To Washington; Sasikala’s Husband Dies At 74

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

ED Challenges Acquittal Of A Raja In 2G Spectrum Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday moved the Delhi High Court against the acquittal of former telecom minister A Raja, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi’s daughter and MP Kanimozhi and others in the 2G spectrum allocation scam by a Central Bureau of Investigation court. In its plea, the agency has said that the accused were acquitted solely on the basis of the CBI case without looking at “clinching evidence” that it provided.

Citing lack of legal evidence, the court had exonerated all 17 accused in the case relating to irregularities in the allocation of 2G telecom spectrum and licences during Raja’s tenure. CBI had said in December that it would appeal against the acquittal within 60 days on the basis of documentary evidence. However, the agency has not filed a plea against the special court’s order in the case.

NSA Ajit Doval Heads To Washington

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will be in Washington on Tuesday for a two-day official visit. He is expected to meet his US counterpart HR McMaster, secretary of state-designate Micheal Pompeo and CIA director designate Gina Haspel. The visit comes at a time when the scheduled two-plus-two dialogue between foreign and defence ministers of the two countries has been put off at least for a month. Doval is expected to discuss the security situation in Asia, including the developments in the Indian Ocean Region. Interestingly, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will also be in the US when Doval arrives. He is on a five-day visit to the country ending 23 March. Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra were also in the US last week to lay the groundwork for the two-plus-two dialogue.

During his visit, Doval is also likely to discuss developments in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, given the Ashraf Ghani government’s interest in bringing a section of Taliban to the table for dialogue with Pakistan’s help.

Sasikala's Husband Dies At 74

Jailed All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader V K Sasikala’s husband M Natarajan, who was admitted to the intensive care unit in Chennai’s Gleneagles Global Health City on 16 March following a severe chest infection, died at 1:30 am on Tuesday. The 74-year-old was on ventilator support and underwent a tracheostomy on Monday. In October last year, he underwent a liver and kidney transplant. Sasikala had visited him after obtaining emergency parole last year. She is currently serving a four-year prison term in a disproportionate assets case.

Natarajan was among Sasikala's relatives who were expelled by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa from her Poes Garden residence. Jayalalithaa let Sasikala back on the condition that she would end all ties with her family, including Natarajan.

Uber Self-Driving Car Kills Woman In Arizona

The first fatality from a self-driving vehicle was reported on Monday. A woman was killed by an Uber self-driving sport utility vehicle in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona. The car reportedly had an emergency backup driver behind the wheel. The vehicle involved in the accident was a Volvo. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will probe the crash. Following the accident, Uber has suspended its autonomous vehicle program across the United States and Canada. Uber, Waymo and a long list of automakers have been testing their self-driving vehicles in cities across the US.

Air India To Begin Service To Tel Aviv From Thursday

After being allowed by Saudi Arabia to fly over its territory to reach Israel, disinvestment-bound Air India is all set to launch services on the New Delhi-Tel Aviv route from Thursday. The national carrier had on 7 March announced a tri-weekly flight to Tel Aviv from 22 March. Air India will fly over Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. This the fastest air route between the two countries. The duration of the flight between New Delhi and Tel Aviv will be seven hours. The direct flight operated by Israel’s national carrier El Al between Tel Aviv and Mumbai takes around nine hours.

Saudi Crown Prince Says Women Are 'Absolutely' Equal

In the midst of a major push to modernise his conservative Islamic Kingdom, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said that women are "absolutely" equal to men and “there is no difference” between the two. He acknowledged that Saudi Arabia has been dominated by an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam, adding “We were victims, especially my generation that suffered from this a great deal”. Since his emergence as a powerful member of the royal family, Saudi Arabia has seen some major changes. The Kingdom has agreed for the first time to allow women to drive. Movie theatres, shut in the 1980s, are set to open again. Women have also been allowed own businesses without consent a male relative.

China Is Building An Alternate Road To Doklam, Says Report

Seven months after India stooped China from constructing a road in Doklam, the People’s Liberation Army seems to have found a new route to the southern part of the plateau that overlooks the militarily-vulnerable Siliguri Corridor, a report has revealed. According to the report, which is based on latest satellite imagery, China worked through the winter to create an alternate route over 4 km away from the Indian border. Images show that China constructed approximately a kilometre of road in January and almost 5 km in February southwards from a point where it has constructed three new helipads. The road is not yet black-topped.

MUST READ OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

Over-Reading Gorakhpur: Despite the by-poll loss, Yogi Adityanath is a force for the future. It will be naive to write him off on the basis of the Gorakhpur loss.

Why India Needs The Right To Economic Growth: The current government has not been imaginative enough to reverse some of its predecessor’s policies.

The China Reset: India, by no means, is alone in confronting the problems with Chinese power. But New Delhi’s task is a lot more complicated.

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We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

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