Your Daily Wrap: ED seals Young Indian office, Centre withdraws Personal Data Protection Bill; and more

With the Centre favouring an end to freebies by political parties using public money to lure voters, the top court today asked petitioners and respondents of a plea seeking directions against freebies to give suggestions on the composition of a committee which will study the issue and make necessary recommendations.

At least 17 Opposition parties have expressed apprehensions about the long term impact of the Supreme Court verdict upholding the constitutional validity of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and sought a review of the order. In a joint statement, the Opposition leaders said the judgment will strengthen the hands of a government that “indulges in political vendetta” to target its opponents and expressed hope that this “dangerous verdict will be short-lived”.

The government today withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019. In a statement, Union Information and Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was deliberated in great detail by the Joint Committee of Parliament. 81 amendments were proposed and 12 recommendations were made towards comprehensive legal framework on digital ecosystem. Considering the report of the JCP, a comprehensive legal framework is being worked upon. Hence, in the circumstances, it is proposed to withdraw ‘The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019’ and present a new bill that fits into the comprehensive legal framework.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reshuffled her cabinet today, inducting eight new faces. Among the new ministers to take oath is Babul Supriyo, former Union minister and BJP leader. Apart from Supriyo, district-level TMC leaders — Snehashish Chakraborty, Partha Bhowmik, Udayan Guha and Pradip Majumder — got ministerial berths.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan after a visit that heightened tensions with China, saying that America will not abandon its commitment to the self-governing island. Pelosi, the first US Speaker to visit the island in more than 25 years, courted Beijing’s wrath with the visit and set off more than a week of debate over whether it was a good idea after news of it leaked. China, however, hit back at Pelosi’s visit with an unprecedented range of actions against the self-ruled island it considers its own. A look at the ways China has already responded and what it could still do.

On the sixth day of Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, India’s Lovepreet Singh won a bronze in men’s 109 kg to continue the country’s medal rush in weightlifting. In the hockey event, Indian women’s team survived some anxious moments before beating lower-ranked Canada 3-2 in its must-win Pool A match to qualify for the semifinals. On the other hand, the men’s hockey team produced a completely dominating performance to rout Canada 8-0 in their third match and jump to the top of Pool B. Meanwhile, India’s Tulika Mann booked her berth in the women’s 78kg Judo final to be assured of a medal.

Political Pulse

After getting two-third of the Shiv Sena’s MLAs, 12 of its 18 MPs and hundreds of corporators, besides senior leaders and district unit heads, the Eknath Shinde Sena faction may now acquire some Thackerays. Last week, Smita Thackeray and Nihar Thackeray, the daughter-in-law and grandson, respectively, of Sena founder Bal Thackeray, met Shinde and expressed their support for him. The two insisted they were paying just a courtesy call, to acknowledge Shinde as the real Shiv Sainik, carrying forward the ideology of Bal Thackeray. However, whether or not they join politics formally, their presence besides Shinde sent out exactly the message that both sides wanted to convey.

With Congress MLA from Telangana’s Munugode constituency, Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy, announcing his resignation from the party and as legislator, the stage is set for a crucial by-election ahead of the state Assembly polls slated for December 2023. Raj Gopal Reddy is expected to join the BJP and contest the bypoll on its ticket. The outcome of the Munugode bypoll would indicate if the ruling TRS still holds sway in the state or whether the resurgent BJP has gained some more grounds and emerged as its formidable challenger. Reddy’s resignation has dealt a severe blow to the Congress. The BJP, on the other hand, has already made its first moves. Read Sreenivas Janyala’s report.

Express Explained

India is closely monitoring the movement of a Chinese “spy ship” that is on its way to Sri Lanka and will dock at its Hambantota port around August 11. The vessel’s visit to the Lankan port comes at a time when the country is battling a severe economic crisis, and India is learnt to have already lodged a verbal protest against the ship’s visit. But why is the ship headed to Sri Lanka, and why is India concerned about this development? We explain.

In a step to ensure better flow of data on taxpayers to the authorities and higher compliance, the turnover threshold for e-invoicing has been halved to Rs 10 crore effective October 1 this year under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. What is e-invoice generation under GST? What does the lowering of thresholds for e-invoice signify? Read this Explained piece to understand.