Chronology of events in Maharashtra case
New Delhi: Following is the chronology of events in the Maharashtra government formation in which the Supreme Court on Sunday asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place before it by Monday morning the letters of Maharashtra Governor recommending revocation of President's rule in the state and inviting Devendra Fadnavis to form government.
- October 21, 2019: Elections for 14th Legislative Assembly carried out in Maharashtra for 288 seats.
- October 24: Results declared. BJP gets 105 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena which got 56 seats. NCP got 54 seats while the Congress secured 44 seats.
- November 9: Governor invites BJP to indicate willingness to form the government while giving it 48 hours to prove that it has the requisite majority.
- November 10: BJP expresses inability to form government.
- November 10: Shiv Sena asked by Governor to convey its willingness to form government by granting it 24 hours to demonstrate its majority.
- November 11: Shiv Sena stakes claim to form government while submitting that it has the majority support. It also requests for three days time to give the letters of support.
- November 11: Governor declines to accommodate the request for three days and rejects the claim of Shiv Sena to form the government. Governor invites NCP to indicate its willingness and ability to form government.
- November 12: Governor's decision in rejecting Shiv Sena's claim to form the government with requisite support challenged in SC.
- November 12: President's rule imposed in Maharashtra.
- November 13: Shiv Sena does not mention its plea challenging the governor's decision in SC.
- November 22: Combine agrees to name of Uddhav Thackeray as the Chief Minister of the post-poll alliance "Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi".
- November 23: President's rule revoked at 5.47 am on Saturday, Fadnavis sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister, Ajit Pawar as Dy CM.
- November 23: Combine moves SC challenging Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari's decision, seek urgent hearing. SC registry posts the matter for hearing on Sunday.
- November 24: SC asks Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place before it tomorrow morning letters of Maharashtra Governor recommending revocation of President's rule, issues notice to Centre and others.
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Trump returns from China; terms meeting with Xi as 'G-2'
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump returned from a visit to China, describing his discussions with President Xi Jinping as a meeting of leaders of "two great countries".
Trump landed at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on the outskirts of the US capital on Friday evening, claiming to have struck important trade deals, including one for China's purchase of 200 aircraft from Boeing, with a promise for another 750, as well as agreements benefiting the American agriculture sector.
The US President reached here after a brief refuelling stop at Anchorage in Alaska.
“It’s the two great countries. I call it the G-2. This is the G-2. I think it’ll go down as a very important moment in history,” Trump told Fox News in an interview after meeting Xi on Thursday.
The Washington Post reported that Trump’s remarks put China on an equal footing with the US, exactly what Xi had aimed to achieve with the visit.
“Over two days of meetings here, the carefully choreographed pageantry and the reciprocal gestures of friendship and respect between the world’s two most powerful men displayed a geopolitical dynamic that the Chinese have long craved and Americans had resisted," the Post said.
Trump told Fox News that the relationship with Xi was important and suggested that China may not resort to any aggressive moves over Taiwan, at least till he is in office.
“It’s not a takeover. They just don’t want to see this place — we’ll call it a place because nobody knows how to define it — but they don’t want to see it go independent,” Trump said.
“I don’t think they’ll do anything when I’m here. When I’m not here. I think they might, to be honest with you,” Trump said.
"I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down," he said.
"We're not looking to have wars, and if you kept it the way it is, I think China's going to be OK with that," he added.
The US President said he had invited Xi for a visit to Washington in September.
“Xi has done something Chinese leaders have been working toward for decades — bringing an American president to Beijing as an undisputed peer,” said Julian Gewirtz, who served as China director on the National Security Council under President Joe Biden.
“Xi used the opulent optics of the visit to make clear to the world that China and the United States are the two dominant, equally matched superpowers. There is no going back.”
Trump’s friendly statements toward Xi and the Chinese people were being amplified in China’s state-controlled media, sending the message that “we’re getting along better with the Americans,” John Delury, a senior Fellow at the Asia Society, was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
It was understandable that Trump wanted to be polite to Xi, but that the American president’s gushing approach “weakens Trump and the US”, R. Nicholas Burns, the ambassador to China during the Biden administration, was quoted as saying in The New York Times.
“Xi did not hesitate to warn Trump over Taiwan. Trump should not hesitate to be frank about our concerns, too,” he said.
Trump and Xi are expected to meet at least three times this year.
The US President has invited Xi to the White House in September.
Trump may travel to Shenzhen in China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November. And Xi could come to the G-20 summit in December in Miami.
“This is a summit again that was heavier on symbolism than it was on substance — focus on managing problems, not on solving the problems that exist between the US and China,” said Rush Doshi, former National Security Council deputy senior director for China and Taiwan in the Biden administration.
“The way that both leaders talked about the future indicates that this is going to be part of a process that will play out this year,” said Kurt Campbell, former deputy secretary of State in the Biden administration.
