Morning Brief: Washington Post Caught Colluding With Trudeau To Malign Shah And Doval; Modi And Xi To Hold First Bilateral Meeting In Five Years; And More

Dear reader, make sense of the day’s news with Swarajya's roundup of what’s making headlines this morning. 

WaPo Caught Colluding With Trudeau To Malign Shah, Doval

It’s no surprise, but it’s now official.

The Washington Post, known for its cozy relationship with Western intelligence agencies, accepted intelligence regarding India as a handout from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security adviser and the deputy minister of foreign affairs.

According to a report, this briefing—handed over days before Canada accused India of involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorists in the country—was given directly to the US publication. Shockingly, the information implicated Home Minister Amit Shah in violent acts in Canada and tried to reduces National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to a caricature of a bumbling official.

Not only was the information handed out, but it was done with deliberate coordination between Trudeau’s top officials and The Washington Post, with the clear understanding that the newspaper would sit on the story until after Canada's news conference targeting India without presenting any evidence. Swarajya highlighted this possibility on the very day the report was published in The Washington Post.

Modi-Xi To Hold First Bilateral Meet In Five Years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday (23 October) during the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, marking their first formal talks in five years. The meeting follows an agreement between India and China to resume patrolling at remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, where tensions have been high since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.

China has confirmed that a resolution on key matters had been reached and pledged to work with India on implementing it. Relations between the two nations have been strained since 2020, when China moved large number of troops to the border, with India insisting that normalisation of ties depend on peace at the border. The last formal meeting between Modi and Xi took place in Mahabalipuram in October 2019.

Other Developments

'Easing Positions' In Arunachal Part Of LAC Patrolling Deal With China

As part of the new patrolling agreement between India and China, it has emerged that there will be an "easing of positions" in Arunachal Pradesh, the Economic Times has reported, without explaining what "easing of positions" translates on the ground. The larger agreement for patrolling along the LAC aims to restore the status quo to what it was in April 2020, according to the External Affairs Ministry.

Key areas involved in this deal include Yangtse, which experienced a significant clash in December 2022, and the Asaphila sector, known for frequent confrontations. Sources suggest that the disengagement and de-escalation process in Arunachal is more complex than in Ladakh and will require additional time, effort, and dialogue with China.

India Lifts Export Tax On Parboiled Rice

The Centre has eliminated the export tax on parboiled rice. This decision comes amid rising inventories in India, the world’s largest rice exporter, and expectations of a bumper crop due to ample monsoon rains. The removal of the tax follows last month’s reduction of the duty from 20 per cent to 10 per cent to encourage exports.

Additionally, the government has allowed the resumption of non-basmati white rice exports but set a floor price of $490 per metric ton. Increased rice shipments from India are expected to enhance global supplies and lower international prices by pressuring major exporters like Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam to reduce their rates.

Paytm Gets Approval To Onboard New UPI Users

Paytm’s parent company, One 97 Communications, has received approval to sign up new UPI users. This comes with conditions that Paytm must follow rules on safety, branding, and customer data set by the National Payments Corporation of India. Earlier this year, Paytm was blocked from adding new UPI users due to restrictions placed on its payments bank by the Reserve Bank of India. As a result, Paytm had to work with other banks like Axis Bank, Yes Bank, SBI, and HDFC Bank to handle UPI payments. Previously, Paytm Payments Bank managed this directly for the company.

From The State

MVA Finalises Seat Sharing

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming state Assembly elections. The Congress will contest 104 seats, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) will be allocated 96 seats, and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will field candidates in 88 constituencies. Smaller partners like the Samajwadi Party will also receive seats within these allocations.

There were initial disagreements over certain seats in the Vidarbha region, but a consensus has since been reached. The MVA aims to replicate its success from the Lok Sabha elections, where it secured 30 seats compared to the ruling Mahayuti alliance's 17.

Priyanka Gandhi To File Nomination For Wayanad Bypoll Today

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is set to file her nomination for the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll today, accompanied by her mother, Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi. This bypoll marks Priyanka's electoral debut, following Rahul Gandhi's decision to vacate the Wayanad seat after retaining Rae Bareli. If elected, this will be the first time that all three members of the Gandhi family serve in Parliament together. While she is anticipated to win comfortably, she will be up against Navya Haridas of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sathyan Mokeri, the candidate from the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

J&K: LeT Requirement Module Dismantled After Terror Attack

Jammu and Kashmir Police has dismantled a recruitment module of Tehreek-Labaik-Ya-Muslim, a newly formed terrorist outfit believed to be linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba . The operation involved raids at 10 locations across seven districts and targeted a module allegedly managed by a Pakistani LeT handler known as ‘Baba Hamas.’ The operation follows a deadly terror attack in Gagangir, Ganderbal district, that resulted in seven fatalities. As part of the ongoing investigation, officials have detained over 40 suspects for questioning, although no arrests have been made yet.

As the Tirupati laddu controversy was in the air, I was confronted with a rather strange situation. Many people I spoke to were convinced that this was all a Hindutvic Right–wing controversy to create an issue where none existed. Others were angry about desecration. When I probed into the matter, I found that hardly anyone knew much about Tirupati.

Long Read

Jaithirth Rao On Tirupati And Laddu Controversy

As the Tirupati laddu controversy was in the air, I was confronted with a rather strange situation. Many people I spoke to were convinced that this was all a Hindutvic Right–wing controversy to create an issue where none existed. Others were angry about desecration. When I probed into the matter, I found that hardly anyone knew much about Tirupati.

At least the believers had the convincing argument that their faith mattered more than anything else. One would have expected that the Leftist non-believers, who have been speaking of laddus in a mocking vein, would have their strong Marxist and post-modernist arguments grounded in facts, or at least some factoids. I was disappointed. No such luck.

Read the article here.

Stay tuned for more insights throughout the day.