India-China talks on, silence on territory

Cong claims Khera deplaned from flight

In Brazil, Sao Paulo’s Rua Augusta on Saturday, saw a vibrant display of colors, drum rhythms, dances and Bollywood music, as Bloco Bollywood returned to the streets. The biggest celebration of Indian culture in the entire Latin America, the event was started in 2016 by an Indo-Brazilian couple, Shobhan Saxena and Florencia Costa. The couple wanted to give the locals a taste of Indian culture but overtime, the event went on to become a wonderful fusion of Indian and Brazilian culture. The event sees both Indians and Brazilians dressed in their traditional best as bhangra, Bollywood and drum beats adorn the streets. Thousands of revelers were seen in this unique event.

India and China on Wednesday held the 26th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on Border Affairs (WMCC) in Beijing during which the two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control and discussed proposals for disengagement from the remaining areas in eastern Ladakh.

This was the first WMCC meeting to be held in person since the 14th meeting held in July 2019, a statement from India’s foreign ministry said. The statement, however, remained silent on the restoration of the status quo as it was before the Chinese intrusions in eastern Ladakh in May 2020. Military veterans have for months questioned India’s continued silence on the restoration of status quo. They have accused the Narendra Modi government of ceding further territory by agreeing to the creation of demilitarised “buffer zones” within India-claimed lines as part of the disengagement process with the Chinese.

The Congress on Thursday claimed its leader Pawan Khera was deplaned from a flight to Raipur, where he was going to attend the party’s plenary session. Several party leaders got off the plane after Khera was deboarded and staged a dharna on the tarmac. As drama escalated at terminal one of the domestic airport here, flight staff told Congress leaders there was confusion with Khera’s bags.