Daily Briefing: Protesting doctors make Mamata blink; AAP’s search for a new CM; and more

Banerjee announced the removal of several senior police and health officials, including Kolkata Commissioner of Police Vineet Kumar Goyal. In doing so, she addressed one of the protesting doctors’ five key demands.

The junior doctors described the talks as “positive” but indicated that they needed to confer with their colleagues before making a final decision about resuming work.

Among the agreements reached in the meeting were a ₹100 crore allocation for hospital infrastructure, the establishment of a responsive grievance redressal mechanism, and the government’s commitment to providing all necessary assistance to the CBI.

‘Not everything is reaching Didi’s ears’

Some women MLAs from the ruling Trinamool Congress have broken their silence to acknowledge that the TMC government could have responded more effectively to the incident. From expressing dissatisfaction with the police’s role to highlighting the “lacunae” in the administration’s response, The Indian Express spoke to all 35 of Mamata Banerjee’s female MLAs. Here is what they had to say.

As junior doctors continue their protest, people from all walks of life have been flocking to the dharna site. Some bring food, while others provide umbrellas and tarpaulins, reflecting a wave of solidarity for the protesters.We tell you how the site has transformed into a center of community support, with individuals and organizations coming together to provide essential supplies and encouragement.

⚡Only in Express

• Private entities could misuse facial recognition technology such as Digi Yatra, and stricter safeguards are needed to protect biometric data.
• The airport app might soon become the standard for check-ins and boarding.

These concerns were highlighted in a study by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, funded by Niti Aayog and informed by the IT, Civil Aviation, and Home ministries. The Indian Express obtained these details through the RTI Act, reveals the ministries’ suggestions and how, despite these recommendations, the proposed data protection legislation did not include safeguards.

📰From the front page

A new worry has gripped Manipur, which has been severely impacted by over a year of ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zomi groups. Officials report that around 30% of the weapons recovered in the region are more advanced than those in state armouries. From ‘pumpis’ to crude bomb-carrying drones, we examine the types of weapons being used by the warring sides and how these developments are posing significant challenges for the security forces.

War of words: On Monday, Leader Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei listed India, along with Gaza and Myanmar, as regions where Muslims are suffering. In response, India “strongly deplored” his comments, labeling them as “misinformed” and “unacceptable.” This isn’t the first time Khamenei has expressed such concerns. We take a look at his comments over the years, including his remarks on the north-east Delhi riots and the abrogation of Article 370.

‘Science’ behind it? Three distinguished scientists – from TIFR, IISc and IIT Kharagpur – were allegedly excluded from the final list of selected potential awardees of the newly constituted Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (RVP) announced on August 7. Top scientists, even some from the jury, have raised questions about the “integrity” of the process, seeking clarity from the government on the considerations that may have influenced the selection — and been behind the deletion of some names.

📌Must Read

“Just as every Indian must prescribe you medicine for every known and unknown disease, every Indian who can barely type an SMS must have an opinion on EVM software.”

In this week’s ‘Deshkaal,’ columnist Yogendra Yadav comments on the debate surrounding the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) which, in his mind, is easily among the “most weird passions of our public life”. Reflecting on how to stop the conspiracy theories, he also writes about how the Lok Sabha elections provided an unusual opening to this debate.

Final call: Two days after his surprise announcement, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is set to submit his resignation today. Amid ongoing buzz, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) search for a new leader to take over the post is also likely to end. MLAs are scheduled to meet at Kejriwal’s residence Tuesday morning to discuss the name of a consensus candidate as his successor.

While announcing his decision to step down, Kejriwal on Sunday also asked for Assembly elections in Delhi to be held earlier, in November this year, instead of February 2025. The powers and control of polls rests with the Election Commission of India, but can a chief minister force the body to hold an election before it is due? Damini Nath explains.

🎧To dive deeper, tune in to today’s episode of the 3 Things Podcast where we discuss what prompted CM Kejriwal’s decision at this moment and how it impacts the BJP’s narrative against him.

Game of ‘chairs’: Up from just one in the last term, the Congress has managed to get chairmanship for three Parliamentary Standing Committees in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha this time. While it was pushing for a total of five, one chair each is also likely to be granted to INDIA partners  – the Samajwadi Party, DMK, and Trinamool Congress. Now, this comes after several months of negotiations between the government and Opposition members over the allocation.

👉And finally 

View from India nets: As a new cricket season begins for India on Thursday, a lot is riding on Yashasvi Jaiswal’s shoulders. His attacking brand of cricket is key to Team India’s prospects in the line-up of 10 Tests. With this in mind, Virat Kohli and head coach Gautam Gambhir have their focus firmly trained on him – and his struggle against pacers – during the practice sessions.

Delhi Confidential: Guess who is on a ‘role’? Former home secretary Ajay Bhalla, for sure! Already one of the longest-serving home secretaries in India, Bhalla, may not remain without an official job for long. Even though his tenure came to an end on August 22, the buzz in the power corridors is that he is set to get an “even bigger role”. Sources said Bhalla enjoys the trust of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah who organised a grand farewell for him in which he declared the possibility of another responsibility soon.

That’s all for today.

Until tomorrow

Aradhana Kalia and Vibha B Madhava

Business As Usual by E P Unny (September 17)