The Evening Wrap: May 28, 2025

The Hindu

28-05-2025

Amid the ongoing civil disobedience stir spearheaded by a Meitei organisation, 10 Manipur MLAs met Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday to seek the formation of a 'popular' government.
Eight of the MLAs were from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and one from the National People's Party (NPP) headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma. One was an independent.
'All the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) legislators want a popular government to be installed in the interest of Manipur. We need the support of the people for a smooth government formation,' Sapam Nishikanta Singh, the independent MLA, told journalists after the team met with the government.
He said the team gave the Governor, administering the State on behalf of the Centre since the imposition of the President's Rule on February 13, a paper signed by 22 MLAs.
'This is the same paper we gave to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier. The remaining signatories are not here, but we are all in this together. Everybody wants a popular government,' Mr. Sapam Nishikanta Singh said.
BJP legislator Thokchom Radheshyam Singh, who was part of the delegation, said that 44 MLAs of the NDA were ready to form a new government.
A statement from the Raj Bhavan said the 10 MLAs discussed the law and order, and political situation in the State. 'The issues they discussed included, among others, initiating a peace process based on mutual understanding and strengthening security arrangements. Further, they urged the Governor to expedite the formation of a popular government in the State,' the Raj Bhavan's statement read.
Central BJP leaders, however, downplayed the development at the Raj Bhavan in Imphal. A party leader said that the visit of the MLAs was more of a courtesy call, and a government is unlikely to be formed soon.
Manipur has 60 MLAs. Ten of them, including seven from the BJP, belong to the Kuki-Zomi communities and have not set foot in Imphal since the ethnic conflict with the Meitei people broke out on May 3, 2023.
The development occurred less than a day after former BJP Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh met with the Governor at the Raj Bhavan. After the meeting on Tuesday evening, he told journalists that the ongoing unrest in the State figured in the discussion.
He also said he had submitted a letter to the Governor, detailing the steps taken during his tenure to identify illegal immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh, and addressing the associated challenges.
Manipur has been on the boil since May 20, when security personnel allegedly made passengers of a bus cover the words 'Manipur State Transport' displayed on a government-run bus. The bus was carrying Imphal-based journalists and information officials to cover the Shirui Lily Festival in the Naga-dominated Ukhrul district.
The incident made the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an influential Meitei social organisation, call for a 48-hour general strike. The organisation demanded an apology from Mr. Bhalla for the bus incident, which 'undermined Manipur's identity, name, pride, and respect'.
The COCOMI also demanded the resignation of Chief Secretary P.K. Singh, Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh, and Director General of Police Rajiv Singh, holding them responsible for the incident. It announced the civil disobedience campaign on May 24 after the demands were not met.
Manipur has experienced several bursts of unrest since the start of the ethnic conflict two years ago, leaving more than 250 people dead and about 60,000 others displaced.
Congress takes on Modi government over India Inc's rising foreign investments
The Congress party has taken aim at the BJP-led Union government over the issue of Indian companies increasingly investing abroad while turning cautious about investing in India.
According to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, the reasons behind this trend are weak consumption growth, tax terrorism, a complicated Goods and Services Tax system, and an increasing disenchantment with the Narendra Modi-led government's approach.
Quoting an X post on The Hindu's report on outward FDI being a concern for the government, Mr. Ramesh said that a decade of stagnant wages across various sectors in the economy, from the rural agricultural sector to the salaried white collar classes, 'has meant that there is no discretionary income available for India's families to purchase more'. He added: 'Without consumption demand, corporate India has no systematic incentive to invest.'
Mr. Ramesh claimed that there was an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in India, amid ongoing 'tax terrorism'. He estimated that 41 corporate groups have faced a total of 56 raids by the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and Income Tax Department, and were 'effectively forced' to give ₹2,592 crore to the BJP via electoral bonds.
The third reason for poor domestic investment, he said, was a 'horribly complicated GST system which is crying out for reform'. Various sub-committees of the GST Council are currently in the midst of devising a plan to simplify the GST system and rationalise the rate structure.
Finally, Mr. Ramesh said that investment was down because of an 'increasing disenchantment with Maximum Theatrics, Minimum Governance', a play on the Modi government's theme of 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance'.
Kamal Haasan clarifies Kannada remark: It was a statement of love
Veteran star Kamal Haasan has responded to the controversy around his statement on the Kannada language. The actor, while promoting his upcoming movie Thug Life, had said that 'Tamil gave birth to Kannada.' Kamal Haasan's remark, made at the audio launch of the Mani Ratnam-directorial in Chennai, drew criticism from the people of Karnataka.
Pro-Kannada groups demanded an apology from Kamal Haasan even as they held protests in Bengaluru and Belagavi against the actor for hurting the Kannada sentiments. Angry fans on social media threatened to boycott the movie, set to release on June 05, 2025. Addressing the row, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah told reporters that 'Kannada language has a very long history...he (Kamal Haasan) doesn't know.'
The BJP too joined the backlash, demanding an apology from the star. Karnataka BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra condemned Kamal Haasan's remarks as 'uncultured' and 'insulting' to Kannada and its 6.5 crore speakers
Kamal Haasan, addressing the media in Thiruvananthapuram as part of the film's promotions, said people 'have confused the issue.' 'My statement was said out of love,' said the National Award-winning actor.
He added that politicians 'are not qualified to talk about it' (history of languages). 'They don't have the education to talk about it, including me. Let's leave the discussions to historians, language experts, and archaeologists. People will take care of Thug Life and Kamal Haasan,' he said.
Speaking about his controversial statement, Kamal Haasan said, 'It was a statement of love to Mr Shivanna (Kannada star Shivarajkumar). His father (Dr Rajkumar) is like my father. We are a family, and so are the other languages. If you look at it from the Northern point of view, what they say is right. If you look at it from Thenkumari, then what I say is right. There is a third angle to it, that's where the language experts come into play. They will say both the parties are right but 'they must decide where they want to belong, with their family or with the languages that came from the North'. It's up to the people. It's a democratic country.'
The Nayakan actor called Tamil Nadu an open state. 'A Menon, a Reddy and a Kannadiga Iyengar hailing from Mandya have become chief ministers in Tamil Nadu. When there was a problem in Chennai, which came from that chief minister who hailed from Karnataka, it was Karnataka who gave me support. The Kannadigas said 'come, we will give you a house. Don't go anywhere'.'
He concluded his response by saying, 'This is not an answer. It's an explanation. Love will never apologise.' Thug Life also stars Trisha, Silambarasan TR, Ashok Selvan and Joju George. The movie is produced by Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International and Mani Ratnam's Madras Talkies.
Life sentence for college teacher who plotted sensational murder in Odisha
A local court in Odisha on Wednesday sentenced Punjilal Meher, a college teacher, to rigorous life imprisonment for sending a parcel bomb to the home of a woman colleague who had been promoted ahead of him. The bomb, camouflaged as a wedding gift, exploded and killed two persons, including her newlywed son at Patnagarh in Balangir district on February 23, 2018.
The murder, infamously known as the Patnagarh parcel bomb case, shook the entire State and later went on to become the plot of movies in multiple languages. What stunned everyone was the sheer incomprehensibility of the motive — a college teacher orchestrating a brutal murder simply because his woman colleague was appointed principal of a college he believed should have been his.
Additional District Judge, Patnagarh, Sonali Patnaik found him guilty under Sections 302, 307 and 201 of the IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. After seven years of trial, the convict was sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 302 of the IPC and Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. He was also handed imprisonment of 10 years each separately and seven years on different counts. Total penalty imposed on him was ₹1.40 lakh. As many as 62 witnesses were examined, 100 numbers of documentary evidence and 51 material objects were submitted in the court.
The convict Meher, an English teacher, was in-charge principal of Jyoti Vikash College since 2009 and he felt threatened after senior lecturer Sanjukta Sahu became principal in 2014. Despite her seniority, he refused to step down, showed no respect, issued threats, and began creating controversies out of anger and jealousy. He began to hatch a plan to cause unimaginable pain to Ms. Sahu.
Ms. Sahu's only son, Soumya Sekhar Sahu, was working as an engineer at a Japanese electronics firm in Bengaluru. His wedding was solemnised on February 18, 2018, followed by a reception on February 20. As the family basked in the joy of the celebrations, a parcel arrived at their newly built home on February 23, 2018 — sent by Meher.
Believing it to be a wedding gift, Soumya opened the package out of curiosity. It exploded instantly. Soumya and his grandmother were killed in the blast, while his five-day-old wife Rima sustained grievous burn injuries.
Since there were no eyewitnesses to the tragic incident and no clues about who had sent the parcel, the Balangir district police investigation hit a dead end. However, when the Crime Branch of the Odisha Police took over, the case began to take a new direction.
'It was a blind case. We began the investigation based solely on circumstantial evidence — which, at the time, was virtually non-existent. The turning point came when a cryptic letter was sent to the Balangir Superintendent of Police, seemingly intended to mislead the investigation. But the letter, written in polished English, pointed us toward Meher,' said senior IPS officer Arun Bothra, who was leading the probe.
'Later, we collected scientific evidence and corroborated it through forensic analysis. During questioning, Meher himself admitted he had never imagined he would be caught. He had executed the murder plot with every possible precaution,' Mr. Bothra added.
The convict had learned to make bombs by watching YouTube videos and began collecting explosives from firecrackers purchased during Deepavali in 2017. Chitta Ranjan Kanungo, public prosecutor, said it was an extremely challenging trial, and the Crime Branch of the State Police had painstakingly gathered evidence that withstood judicial scrutiny. The parents of the deceased expressed satisfaction that the convict had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
In Brief:
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking a direction to the Centre for the creation of a Gujjar Regiment in the Army. Terming the PIL 'absolutely divisive', a Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the counsel for the petitioner to do some research before taking up such petitions. With the court cautioning the litigant of imposing costs, the counsel chose to withdraw the plea. 'After arguing at some length, the counsel for the petitioner states that she has instructions from the petitioner, who is present in the court, to withdraw the petition. The same is dismissed as withdrawn,' the court said.
The Haryana government will conduct a civil defence exercise, named Operation Shield, on Thursday (May 29, 2025), across all 22 of the State's districts to vet its emergency preparedness. Scheduled to take place between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., the drill is being organised under the guidance of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, to simulate critical incidents such as air raids, drone attacks, and other wartime scenarios in the light of current national security concerns, an official said. Sumita Misra, Additional Chief Secretary, Haryana Home Department, said the exercise aims to test existing emergency mechanisms, improve coordination between the civil administration, defence forces, and local communities, and identify areas that need to be strengthened.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.