1. Himachal: Several Cong MLAs reach Panchkula; CM Sukhu says Vikramaditya’s grievances will be solved
2. PM Modi slams DMK govt for ‘China rocket’ in newspaper ad, calls it ‘insult’ of ISRO scientists
3. Manipur: Commandos lay down arms to protest against ‘attacks on police’, ‘not being given free hand’
4. CBI calls SP chief Akhilesh Yadav as witness in illegal mining case: Sources
5. Sandeshkhali row: Absconding TMC strongman Shahjahan arrested by police

What Else

• 4 rounds of argument, judge changed thrice — how Mohd Qasim lynching case remained in limbo for 6 yrs
• India blocks China’s IFD in WTO, it’s unlikely to feature in outcome: Sources
• Delhi: Foreign Secy, Nepalese counterpart hold bilateral; follow up on 7th India-Nepal Joint Commission meeting
• White House highlights Quad achievements, eyes progress under India’s host year
• Pakistan: NA session to swear in newly elected lawmakers to begin at 10am
• KP assembly session to elect speaker, deputy speaker to commence today
• EU fails to pass law requiring human rights and environmental audits on Chinese suppliers

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Himachal: Several Cong MLAs reach Panchkula; CM Sukhu says Vikramaditya’s grievances will be solved

• Himachal Pradesh Minister Vikramaditya Singh resigned from his position on Wed, a day after Congress’ debacle in the Rajya Sabha elections.
• “All I would like to say is that under the current circumstances, it is not correct for me to continue as a part of the govt. But I will support the govt to pass the Budget,” he said.
• Amid the political crisis, the BJP sat on dharma outside the Assembly after 15 of its MLAs were suspended by the Congress govt, and the House was adjourned.
• Congress observers on way to Shimla, says Sachin Pilot: On Congress, Rajya Sabha candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi losing the election from HP, Congress leader Sachin Pilot says, “Some MLAs did not vote. The party has appointed observers who are reaching Shimla soon. They will speak to everyone. The matter would be resolved soon…”
• BJP leader Harsh Mahajan said at least 10 Congress MLAs have approached BJP to join the party.
• CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wed debunked “news” of his resignation amid the political drama in his state, as opposition leader Jai Ram Thakur “predicted” the Congress govt “will fall today or tomorrow”. (here)

PM Modi slams DMK govt for ‘China rocket’ in newspaper ad, calls it ‘insult’ of ISRO scientists

• PM Modi on Wed slammed the ruling party, DMK, of Tamil Nadu for allegedly using a ‘China rocket’ picture in a newspaper advertisement aimed at promoting the proposed second launch pad of the ISRO in the state. 
• During a political rally in Tirunelveli city, PM Modi said, “DMK is such a party which doesn’t do any work but goes ahead to take false credit. Who doesn’t know that these people put their stickers on our schemes?” 
• “Now they have crossed the limit, they have pasted stickers of China to take credit for the ISRO launch pad in Tamil Nadu,” PM Modi added. 
• The advertisement was meant for the new ISRO rocket launch in Thoothukudi district.
• PM Modi is also laying the foundation stone there.
• For the same, a full-page newspaper advertisement was published on Wed by DMK Minister Thiru Anita Radhakrishnan. (here)

Manipur: Commandos lay down arms to protest against ‘attacks on police’, ‘not being given free hand’

• “Hundreds” of Manipur commandos, across 5 valley districts of Imphal, laid down their arms in protest against “attacks on police” expressing dissatisfaction with the govt’s “insistence on exercising restraint” and “not giving them a free hand”.
• This comes a day after dy police chief (op) M. Amit posted in Imphal (W) was thrashed and abducted by “unknown armed miscreants” from outside his home.
• An AK47 was also snatched from an inspector-rank officer with the SP and his driver’s nose was also broken by the crowd.
• The officer was, however, rescued by a police team at the end of a 2-hour operation.
• Following this, the commandos demanded a crackdown on the activities of the Arambai Tenggol and strict action against the perpetrators of Tue’s attack.
• Senior police officers are now holding a meeting with the commandos to “diffuse the tension”, the source said. (here)

CBI calls SP chief Akhilesh Yadav as witness in illegal mining case: Sources

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav as a witness for questioning in the illegal mining case.
• Sources within the agency revealed that the former UP chief minister is scheduled to undergo questioning on Feb 29.
• Akhilesh Yadav had previously headed the mining department from 2012 to June 2013.
• Illegal mining incidents were reported in 7 districts of UP including Shamli, Deoria, Kaushambi, Fatehpur, Saharanpur, Hamirpur, and Siddharthnagar.
• Allegations- govt officials unlawfully allocated mining sites, disregarding rules and regulations between 2012 and 2016, against the NGT orders.
• The CBI contends that on Feb 17, 2013, leases were Illegally granted by the DM of Hamirpur, in contravention of the 2012 e-tender policy. (here)

Sandeshkhali row: Absconding TMC strongman Shahjahan arrested by police

• Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested on Thu from the Minakhan area in North 24 Parganas where he was hiding.
• Shahjahan and his aides have been accused of systemic gang rape and sexual exploitation of women in the Sandeshkhali area of the district.
• Shahjahan was on the run following the attack on ED officials in Sandeshkhali last month.
• The arrest comes a day after the Calcutta HC said that the TMC leader can be arrested by the CBI, ED or the West Bengal Police.
• The court clarified there was no stay on Shahjahan’s arrest.
• Moreover, the arrest comes after West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Tue gave a 72-hour ultimatum to Mamata Banerjee’s govt to arrest the strongman. (here)

4 rounds of argument, judge changed thrice — how Mohd Qasim lynching case remained in limbo for 6 yrs

• Justice has long evaded the family of cattle trader Mohd Qasim, who was lynched by cow vigilantes in UP’s Hapur in 2018.
• The perpetrators had assaulted Qasim, 45, for over an hour, pierced his body with screwdrivers, and scraped his skin with sickles.
• 11 people, including two juveniles, were accused of the crime in which Samaydeen, 65, barely managed to escape the gruesome fate.
• 3 rounds of final arguments were heard by the sessions court in Hapur over the years, but thrice the judge was changed right before the judgment.
• Finally, after hearing the arguments for the 4^th time again, the court heard the rebuttal of the prosecution’s arguments Tue and reserved the judgment. (here)
• [Though the average time taken to dispose of execution cases is 4 years nationwide (here), which means the case hasn’t been taken as “seriously” as it should be]

India blocks China’s IFD in WTO, it’s unlikely to feature in outcome: Sources

• India on Wed blocked the China-led Investment Facilitation Development Agreement in the WTO, so the proposal is unlikely to be mentioned in the outcome document of the ministerial conference.
• Along with India, South Africa also joined the WTO to block the Investment Facilitation Development Agreement.
• The 123-member group led by China tried to forward a proposal in the working group meeting on development.
• Earlier, India maintained IFD –an agreement among the BRI countries and is led by vested interests– as a non-trade issue in the forum.
• Such pacts come under Annex 4 of the WTO which deals with plurilateral agreements.
• The group wants the proposal through Annex 4, under which the proposal would be binding on only the signatory members and not on those who are opposed to it. (here)

Delhi: Foreign Secy, Nepalese counterpart hold bilateral; follow up on 7^th India-Nepal Joint Commission meeting

• Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra held a bilateral meeting with Nepalese counterpart Sewa Lamsal in New Delhi on Mon, who is on her first visit to India since assuming charge, the MEA said.
• Lamsal is in India to participate in the 8^th Asia Economic Dialogue 2024, being jointly convened by the MEA and Pune International Centre on Feb 29 in Pune.
• This is the first visit by Foreign Secretary Lamsal to India since she assumed charge.
• During the meeting, the two secretaries held discussions on the entire range of multifaceted cooperation between India and Nepal. (here)

White House highlights Quad achievements, eyes progress under India’s host year

• The WH on Wed emphasized the strides made by the Quad over the past 3 years and also the importance of continuing this momentum into 2024, under India’s host year.
• WH addressed the upcoming anniversary of the Quad, expressing President Biden’s pride in the progress and the shared vision of a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
• The Quad, consisting of the United States, India, Japan, and Australia, aims to deliver concrete benefits across critical sectors for the Indo-Pacific region.
• Switching focus to the I2U2, WH reiterated its importance and President Biden’s deep commitment to advancing innovative, inclusive, and science-based solutions.
• The initiative aims to address challenges related to food and energy security, space operations, water conservation, waste management, and other ventures.
• The I2U2 Group is a grouping of India, Israel, the UAE, and the US. (here)

 [Neighborhood]

Pakistan: NA session to swear in newly elected lawmakers to begin at 10am

• The first session of the newly elected National Assembly will be held at Parliament House in Islamabad at 10 am Thu.
• Given President Arif Alvi’s initial reluctance to summon the session, NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf took matters into his own hands and summoned the session on the deadline day — Feb 29.
• However, hours ago, President Alvi relented from his earlier stance and assented to a summary seeking the summoning of the maiden sitting of the lower house.
• The agenda- the members-elect of the house will take oath during the session. (here)
• Alvi says returning summary for NA session was by Constitution: The President has said that his returning the summary for an NA session was “very much in accordance with the provisions of Article 48(1)” of the Constitution.
• The president said that he “did not want to indulge and engage himself or to dwell into such baseless accusations of constitutional violation attributed in the summary”. (here)

KP assembly session to elect speaker, deputy speaker to commence today

• KP Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani Thu summoned a session of the newly-elected members for the election of speaker and deputy speaker at 10 am today.
• Sunni Ittehad Council has nominated Babar Saleem Swati — who won the election as a PTI supported candidate but joined SIC later — for the post of speaker, while their deputy speaker nominee is Suraya Bibi.
• Meanwhile, the Opposition has named PPP Ahsanullah Miankhel as the speaker, while PTI-Parliamentarian Arbab Waseem has been nominated for the dy speaker post (here)

EU fails to pass law requiring human rights and environmental audits on Chinese suppliers

• The EU failed to secure an agreement on Wed on a controversial law that would hold big companies responsible for human rights and environmental abuses in their supply.
• The rules would have required EU firms with more than 500 staff and US$162.7 mn net turnover worldwide to conduct detailed audits of their suppliers and partners, including those in China.
• 3 years after first coming into force, they would also then be extended to cover non-EU companies who have over €150 million net turnover generated in Europe.
• However, a Wed vote of the bloc’s 27 members in Brussels fell short of the qualified majority required to adopt the rules.
• Big member states including Germany, Italy, and 10 others abstained, while Sweden voted against– leaving them below the required of 14 members with populations representing at least 65% of the union’s citizens. (here)