NDA meet over cabinet posts today as Modi accused of stock market manipulation

A Kashmiri politician who won the election in his constituency despite being in jail on charges of funding terrorism has requested bail to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Sheikh Abdul Rashid, widely known as Engineer Rashid for his past as a construction engineer, was elected as the MP from Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla constituency.

He beat the well-known former chief minister of the state, Omar Abdullah, by over 200,000 votes.

Rashid entered a bail plea on 4 June. Judge Chander Jit Singh has requested a response from National Investigative Agency in the case and the matter is expected to be heard today.

Rashid is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail under anti-terror laws, and has been held since 2019.

He has not been allowed to talk to his family over the phone since January this year, a family member told the Frontline magazine.

Congratulating Rashid, Omar Abdullah posted on X: “I don’t believe his victory will hasten his release from prison nor will the people of North Kashmir get the representation they have a right to but the voters have spoken and in a democracy that’s all that matters.”

A special court in the southern Indian state of Karnataka has granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed by a local politician from Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

The case filed by Keshav Prasad alleged that Congress engaged in propaganda by publishing full-page advertisements accusing the previous BJP government in the state of charging a 40 per cent commission for providing government projects.

Earlier, two other Congress party members – chief minister of state Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar – were granted bail on 1 June.

They also sought exemption from personal appearance.

Gandhi skipped that hearing, and the court set the next date for today, directing that he should appear in person.

Narendra Modi will take oath as Prime Minister for the third time on 9 June , Sunday, at 6pm, said BJP spokesperson Prahlad Joshi at the parliamentary meeting.

Earlier, members of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance met in the parliament to elect the Mr Modi as the bloc’s leader and prime ministerial face.

Mr Modi is for the first time forced to rely on his alliance partners after his party fell way short of majority mark of 272 seats, winning 240 seats, while NDA crossed the mark getting a total of 292 seats.

Newly elected parliamentarians of the BJP led National Democratic Alliance arrived in parliament to elect Narendra Modi as the leader, paving the way for his third term, ahead of his slated meeting with president Draupadi Murmu.

“We are very happy. It is a matter of great joy,” says BJP MP, Hema Malini.

“This is just a formality to choose the PM as the leader [of NDA],” says Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan. “We contested the election under his leadership. Under his leadership, we have the capability that NDA is forming the government for the third consecutive time with a thumping majority.”

Prime minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet president Droupadi Murmu to formally claim he has the numbers to form the new government later today, reported NDTV, citing sources.

Modi’s BJP has been meeting for the past two days with its key alliance partners, who are critical to prop up a third administration for Modi after his BJP failed to cross the majority mark of 272 seats in its own right.

All eyes are on the Hindu nationalist party’s balancing act, as they work to accommodate the demands of the Telugu Desam Party’s Chandrababu Naidu and Janata Dal (United) chief, Nitish Kumar.

Plans are being made for Modi to give his oath as prime minister in a ceremony on Sunday evening.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is set to appear for a defamation case before a court in southern Indian state of Karnataka.

The case filed by Keshav Prasad, a local politician from Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party alleged that Congress engaged in propaganda by publishing full-page advertisements accusing the previous BJP government in the state of charging a 40 per cent commission for providing government projects.

Earlier, two other Congress party members – chief minister of state Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar – were granted bail on 1 June. They also sought exemption from personal appearance.

Gandhi, however, skipped the hearing, as the court set the next date of hearing for 7 June, directing his personal appearance,

The Calcutta High Court has criticised the West Bengal state authorities over post-poll violence, saying it may ask the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to stay deployed in the state for the next five years if the state fails to control violence.

“We want to ensure security of the people of the state at any cost,” said two-judge bench Justice Kausik Chanda and Justice Apurba Sinha Ray as it directed the state to allow people affected by violence to submit complaints to the Director General of Police via email.

“We want to ensure security of the people of the state at any cost,” the Bench said.

A petitioner named Rastrabadi Ainjeebi, through their lawyer, told the court that 11 people have died since the conclusion of the election.

Justice Koushik Chanda said: “Every day, we are watching in the media about post-poll violence. What happened after the last Assembly election, the same thing is happening this time also. You (State) should be ashamed.”

“If the state fails to control this violence, we have to make a decision that in the next five years, the Central forces will stay in this state.”

Senior Congress politician Sachin Pilot says Narendra Modi should not be allowed to form the next government, arguing that he does not have a mandate to do so based on the election results.

“The BJP should introspect,” he said during a media interaction.

“When the 1989 election happened, Rajiv Gandhi got around 200 seats. He was asked to form the government, but he refused saying he had not got the mandate,” he said, referring to a former Indian prime minister for the Congress party.

“Then, the next largest party was asked to form the government.”

Mr Modi’s ruling BJP fell way short of the halfway mark of 272 seats, winning 240 seats, and he must now rely on minor partners in his National Democratic Alliance to make up a majority in parliament. The NDA as a whole won a total of 292 seats.“People didn’t accept BJP’s campaign of ‘Mandir Masjid’, Hindu-Muslim issues, and ‘Mangalsutra’,” he said referring to divisive remarks made by the prime minister during the campaign.

“The central government adopted an attitude, especially against the opposition, targeting them, imprisoning elected chief ministers, and misusing (central probe) agencies like the [Enforcement Directorate] and [Central Bureau of Investigation]. All these actions have been rejected by the people,” Mr Pilot said.

The BJP accused Congress of misleading market investers after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi held a press conference alleging a connection between the Hindu nationalist party, “exit pollsters and dubious foreign investors”.

“Rahul Gandhi has still not overcome the loss in the Lok Sabha Elections. Now, he is conspiring to mislead the market investors,” said union commerce minister Piyush Goyal.

“Today, India has become the fifth-largest economy.”

Alleging that Mr Gandhi wants to instill “fear in the minds of both the domestic and global investors, so that they do not invest,” he said: “We all know equity markets react to various estimates and predictions during any elections, or for that matter any forecasts by banks and institutions. Ups and downs are normal even during a non-event.”

China has launched a formal protest over an exchange between Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi following the election results.

Mr Lai, in a post on X, congratulated Mr Modi on winning a third term, saying: “My sincere congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi on his election victory. We look forward to enhancing the fast-growing #Taiwan-#India partnership, expanding our collaboration on trade, technology & other sectors to contribute to peace & prosperity in the #IndoPacific.”

“Thank you @ChingteLai for your warm message,” responded Mr Modi. “I look forward to closer ties as we work towards mutually beneficial economic and technological partnership.”

Objecting to the exchange, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: “First of all, there is no such thing as ‘president’ of the Taiwan region.”

“As for your question, China opposes all forms of official interactions between the Taiwan authorities and countries having diplomatic relations with China. There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China,” she said.

“The one-China principle is a universally recognised norm in international relations and a prevailing consensus in the international community,” Ms Mao said, adding, “India has made serious political commitments on this and is supposed to recognise, be alarmed about and resist the Taiwan authorities’ political calculations. China has protested to India about this.”India “has diplomatic relations with China.

“China opposes all forms of official interactions between the Taiwan authorities and countries having diplomatic relations with China. This position is very clear and India knows this well,” she said.