Passage 1
The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Sharad Pawar faction to contest Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly polls under the party symbol and the name ‘NCP-SP.
A Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant further asked the Election Commission not to allot the symbol to any other party or independent candidate.
The court permitted the breakaway Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister to continue using the other symbol, which was the original party symbol of the undivided NCP, for the present.
The Deputy CM’s group has been directed to issue a public notice in the newspapers in English, Marathi, Hindi editions declaring that the issue regarding allocation of the symbol was sub judice in the Supreme Court, and his group was allowed to use the symbol “subject to the final outcome of the proceedings” in court.
Source – https://www.thehindu.com/elections/lok-sabha/sc-allows-sharad-pawar-s-
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Passage 2
In a damning open letter to literature and human rights group PEN America, several eminent writers have announced their decision to boycott this year’s PEN World Voices Festival citing the group’s failure to adequately address the war in Gaza.
Naomi Klein, Michelle Alexander, Hisham Matar, Isabella Hammad, Maaza Mengiste, Zaina Arafat and Susan Muaddi Darraj are among the signatories of the letter that also urges other writers to reconsider their decision to participate in the event.
“In the context of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, we believe that PEN America has betrayed the organisation’s professed commitment to peace and equality for all, and to freedom and security for writers everywhere,” the letter reads.
The letter also calls out PEN America’s reluctance to join other human rights organisations in demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Source- https://thewire.in/world/several-eminent-
