Morning Brief: Pakistan Planning To Renegotiate Deals Signed With China Under CPEC; Modi To Unveil World’s Tallest Statue Next Month; And Other News

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

Pakistan Planning To Renegotiate Deals Signed With China Under OBOR

Although Pakistan disbanded the panel of top economists constituted to solve the country’s financial woes as promptly as it was formed, the managers in Islamabad seem to have learned a thing or two from it. According to a report in the Financial Times, the Imran Khan-led government is planning to review and renegotiate agreements signed with China under President Xi Jinping’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative. If Pakistan decides to go ahead with its plan, the country will make its way into a growing list of countries which are finding themselves caught in a debt trap just years after signing deals with China under OBOR, including Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.

This report came on the day China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi completed his three-day trip to Pakistan. During the visit, he indicated that China was open to reworking the 2006 trade deal with Pakistan. On the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Chinese Foreign Minister said that it has “not inflicted a debt burden on Pakistan”. However, Abdul Razak Dawood, a top adviser to the government, said, “ we should put everything on hold for a year. Perhaps we can stretch CPEC out over another five years or so.”

Modi To Unveil World’s Tallest Statue Of Sardar Patel Next Month

The Statue of Unity will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has said after reviewing the progress of work on the memorial. The foundation stone for the statue was laid by Modi when he was the chief minister of Gujarat on 31 October 2013. The memorial is coming up at Sadhu Bet, an island on the Narmada 3.32 km downstream from the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Around 80 per cent of the work on the statue has been completed so far.

The 182-metre tall statue is being built with 25,000 tonnes of iron and 90,000 tonnes of cement. When complete, the statue will be the world’s tallest, overtaking the 208 metre-tall Spring Budhha statue in China. The Statue of Unity will be almost twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in the United States. It will offer visitors a view of the surrounding area with a viewing deck at the height of 500 m. It will house an audio-visual gallery, feature a laser light and sound show on Patel’s life, a virtual tour of the Sardar Sarovar Dam and a tribal museum.

Multiple Reforms For Power Sector In The Pipeline

The government is all set to introduce a number of reforms in the power sector with an amendment to the Electricity Act, 2003, a draft of which is available on the power ministry’s website. These include implementing direct benefit transfer, freeing renewable energy from licensing requirement for generation and supply, and promoting retail competition. The electricity (amendment) bill, 2014, was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2014. A revised draft based on recommendations of the panel on Energy has now circulated.

The most important reform is the push to separate carriage and content businesses and electricity supply business to enable consumers to change their power suppliers as they do for telecom services. The bill will make space for more than one service operator to supply power in one distribution area to allow users to buy electricity from a supplier of their choice.

Tamil Nadu Recommends Release Of Rajiv Gandhi’s Assassins

Tamil Nadu has recommended the release of seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Gandhi was assassinated at an election rally in Sriperumbudur near Chennai on the night of 21 May 1991. Political leaders, including M K Stalin, welcomed the decision. The development comes after the Supreme Court said on Thursday that the state governor can take a decision on a mercy petition filed by of one of the convicts, AG Perarivalan. Article 161 empowers the Governor to grant pardons.

However, the state government is likely to need the Centre's approval for the release of the convicts. Calling the assassination a “heinous and brutal crime" in August, the Centre had told the apex court that it was against the release of the convicts as it will set a “dangerous precedent” and have “international ramifications”. In June, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said he and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have "completely forgiven" the killers of their father. Back in 2008, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also met Nalini Sriharan, one of the killers.

Kerala Police Chief Sabotaging Probe In Rape Case, Say Angry Nuns

Five nuns from a convent in Kottayam, who took to the streets on Saturday alleging laxity in the probe against a Roman Catholic Church Bishop accused of raping a nun, have now accused Kerala Director General of Police (DGP) Loknath Behra of sabotaging the ongoing inquiry and said they will move the court. The nuns have said that the state government, the local police and the church have not initiated any action against accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar diocese. The protesting nuns added that they “are ready to go to any extent for ensuring justice to our sister”. Earlier, reports had indicated that the Kerala police was under immense pressure from the Left Democratic Front government to not act against the accused bishop.

This development comes a day after P C George, a Member of Legislative Assembly, has said that he has "no doubts" that the nun who is demanding the arrest of a bishop who allegedly raped her is a prostitute. The nun had lodged a rape and sexual assault complaint against the bishop based in Jalandhar in July. The investigating team had last month recorded the bishop's statement.

From Swarajya

Why The State Must Step Back From Running Temples: It is only in the Indian version of secularism where governments run and manage temples. And mind you, only temples, not churches or mosques.

How Nehru Shaped India’s Ideas On Dissent: History of how modern Indian state deals with the idea of dissent must begin with its first prime minister.

What Would You Say About An Indian State With A Hindu Soul: No country ever achieved greatness on borrowed ideas. Imagine India devoid of borrowed baggage and Nehruvian traits. A republic whose soul is Indic, essentially Hindu.

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