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On June 9, compounding her significant woes, police arrived at Mamata Banerjee’s house in connection with a case filed against her over the forgery of signatures of legislators who had supported her. It solidified her abject isolation in this odd moment.The collapse of the Trinamool Congress was as spectacular as its formation, driven by a striking organisational irony. The TMC began in 1998 as a breakaway force led by a rebellious Mamata Banerjee against the parent Congress. Decades later, its disintegration was accelerated from within when a turncoat with negligible independent popular support turned against the leadership that had trusted and elevated him. The rapid institutional dissolution of a party that dominated West Bengal politics for 15 years represents something far deeper than a conventional electoral reversal, defying the standard cyclical volatility of democratic politics. What has happened to TMC is more elementary than the fortunes lost by the Congress after the Emergency and the Left in Bengal. It is the fall of a ruling ecosystem that had forgotten how to exist outside power.The most brutal part of this collapse came not in Kolkata but in New Delhi. After the Assembly election defeat, TMC’s residual national relevance depended almost entirely on its parliamentary strength. Even after losing Bengal, Mamata Banerjee could still claim a national role as the leader of one of the largest non-Congress opposition parties in parliament. This last platform collapsed when the legislative rebellion replicated itself at the national level on June 8, 2026, unfolding directly in New Delhi, barely a kilometre away from the Constitutional Club where Mamata Banerjee was attending an opposition INDIA bloc meeting.Read more on thewire.in by @thewirein

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Across the United States, politicians routinely claim there is no money for universal healthcare, affordable housing, modern infrastructure, debt-free education or social welfare programmes needed to address poverty, unemployment and growing insecurity. Similar arguments justify austerity across much of the world. Yet, when it comes to war, resources seem virtually unlimited. “How will we pay for this?” is a question unheard of when it comes to waging wars or supplying arms to proxies.Since 1945, the US has spent trillions of dollars on building and sustaining a global military order: funding wars, interventions, occupations, overseas bases and weapons systems on an unprecedented scale. Such spending is measured not only in dollars, but also in terms of opportunity cost. Public needs are left unmet at home while societies are shattered abroad through displacement, destruction and a systematic generation of trauma. For Americans, this opportunity cost is immense. However, for several countries on the receiving end of this military power, the damage is impossible to calculate. The recent US and Israeli war on Iran offers a useful starting point for examining this wider history.According to Brown University’s “Cost of War” project, the Iran war had already cost around $29 billion in terms of missiles, bombs and personnel deployed, by May 18, 2026. On top of that, additional energy costs paid by American consumers had reached $40 billion. This massive amount of money could have been spent elsewhere on more beneficial projects, had there been a will to do so from the US state.Read more on thewire.in by @thewirein

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This story was originally published by ProPublica.In late November in Jamnagar, India, the scions of two of the most powerful families in the world stood face-to-face. On one side was 30-year-old Anant Ambani, son of one the richest men in Asia. On the other was Donald Trump Jr. For months, the Trump administration had been on the offensive against the sprawling Ambani energy empire, placing it at the centre of an escalating tariff campaign against India. But after Trump Jr. touched down, the two men toured the Ambanis’ private zoo, and at night they performed a Gujarati folk dance, grinning as they moved together to the music.Four months later, an obscure Texas startup called America First Refining announced that it had received a nine-figure investment from the Ambanis’ company. The deal puzzled numerous energy investors familiar with the project, which aims to build the first major new oil refinery in the US in about 50 years. The company is run by a serial entrepreneur with a history of bankruptcy and lawsuits alleging fraud. After more than a decade of failed attempts to raise money, blown deadlines and rebrands, it had been floundering.America First Refining’s unexpected breakthrough came after it forged a previously unreported relationship with Trump Jr., who secretly acquired a stake in the startup, according to records and seven people familiar with the company. The new details reveal the role the president’s son has played in a theme of Trump’s second term: overseas investors with interests before the administration putting money into the Trump family’s business interests.Over the past year and a half, Trump Jr. has amassed a fortune from stakes in companies ranging from crypto startups to a drone business to a firearms retailer. Some firms tied to the president’s son have received contracts or other support from the federal government, part of what critics describe as a run of Trump family self-dealing. Read more on thewire.in by @thewirein

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On June 8, the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Bareilly Junction told reporters that one person had been arrested in connection with the alleged murder of Muslim cleric Mohammad Tousif Raza from Bihar’s Kishanganj district. Raza’s body was found near railway tracks in Bareilly more than a month ago.In a press note issued by the GRP police station at Bareilly Junction, the police stated that “on June 7, 2026, at around 8:30 pm, one accused, Pankaj Rajput, a 25-year-old resident of Moradabad, was arrested in connection with FIR no. 52/2026”.“With the help of the surveillance team, and based on information obtained through the PNR numbers of passengers, as well as video clips received from co-passengers with respect to the incident, the role of Rajput in the case was established,” the press note further stated.When asked whether video footage was the sole basis for identifying the accused in this case, GRP Station House Officer, Sushil Kumar Verma, while speaking to The Wire over the phone said, “Based on our investigation, his [Rajput’s] presence and identity were confirmed. There is evidence which we have mentioned in the case diary.”Earlier, speaking to local reporters, Inspector Anil Kumar Verma, Circle Officer GRP, said: “On June 7, 2026, we received information from a mukhbir(informant) that the accused was present on Platform No. 2, following which action was taken by the concerned police personnel and the said person was arrested.”Read more on thewire.in by @thewirein

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Eight workers died and six were critically injured in the explosion of a ladle, a vessel used to hold molten metal at temperatures over 1,500 degree celsius, at the steel melting unit of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, a Navaratna Central Public Sector Enterprise whose corporate entity, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), functions under the Union Ministry of Steel, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on Tuesday (June 9) evening.The blast was caused by entrapped gases from liquid steel, a preliminary investigation by the chief inspector of factories at Visakhapatnam has found. The report mentioned that the explosion took place when the full steel ladle was being rotated and centred for casting. “A sudden explosion took place, causing the ladle to tip and molten steel to fall on workers working on the floor below. The explosion took place around 4.15 pm before opening the slide gate. The temperature of the molten steel in the large industrial ladle was around 1,500 to 1,600 degree celsius,” the report said. It added that with the explosion, “the overhead crane also caught fire”. A “ball of fire” rose from the explosion and extended up to the ceiling, a worker reported to the inspector of factories, the report mentioned. Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Steel issued a separate statement saying a sudden explosion triggered the accident.Read more on thewire.in by @thewirein

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Left leaders Srijan Bhattacharyya and Sujan Chakraborty were among protesters who were arrested while trying to stop the midnight demolition of shops and homes at the Jadavpur station in Kolkata, under the newly elected BJP government. by @thewirein

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The Union government has cut the number of subsidised cooking gas refills available to beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) from nine cylinders a year to just four. The move comes as global LPG supplies face mounting pressure following the ongoing conflict in West Asia.The curtailment was not formally announced and it remains unclear when exactly it took effect. It came to light only on Sunday (June 7), buried in a press statement about a fresh hike in domestic LPG prices, The Hindureported.On Sunday, the government announced a hike of Rs 29 per cylinder, the second such increase since the West Asia conflict began. Combined with an earlier revision, domestic LPG prices have now gone up by Rs 89.A 14.2-kg cylinder currently costs Rs 942 in Delhi. PMUY beneficiaries, who receive an additional Rs 300 subsidy per cylinder from the Union, pay Rs 642, as per the report.Read more on thewire.in by @thewirein

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Finding the trapdoor shutting on it, after a quasi-official report by a bipartisan US federal government agency, levelled serious charges against it, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has once again donned the mask of moderation and publicly diverged from a key policy of the Union government and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).The moot point however, is whether the restrained utterance is genuine or merely a ploy to return to its low key presence in the United States.The backdrop to this is the recent report of the highly influential United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). It labelled the RSS as the “umbrella organisation” for several dozen affiliate groups and held the ideological clique directly accountable for dubious actions of the Union government and the BJP.The US government is legally not obligated to act on the recommendations, which among others, called for “targeted sanctions” against the RSS and others for their “responsibility and tolerance of severe violations of religious freedom”.But, these suggestions for executive action remain an important talking point globally, more so in the US, given that USCIRF is a bipartisan advisory body created by the Congress.Read more on thewire.in by @thewirein

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#TheWireWrap | Modi's Digital India Fails CBSE Test Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Apar Gupta and Rohit Kumar to discuss the CBSE OSM row, the transfer of top board officials, and why no political accountability has followed after students exposed flaws in the system.Watch the full episode on our YT channel by @thewirein

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India’s economy appears to be growing as corporate profitability has risen, with India Inc’s profit to gross domestic product (GDP) climbing from 3.4% in financial year (FY) 2023 to 4.3% in FY26, according to a report by the Mint.The latest GDP numbers have been released and India’s economic momentum has grown in FY26, with real GDP growth climbing to 7.7% – up from 7.1% in FY25 – while gross value added (GVA) rose to 7.9% from 7.3% the previous year. Meanwhile, nominal GDP growth moderated to 8.9% – down from 9.7% in FY25 – amid softer inflation.According to the daily, this was largely driven by manufacturing and services on the supply side, whereas private spending and a rebound in capital investments fuelled the demand side.Aggregate profits of BSE 500 companies surged 14% year-on-year, against the 8% growth in the previous fiscal. However, underlying demand trends remained soft, with revenue growth ticking up only slightly to 7% from 6.4% in the prior year.While on paper India Inc appears to be doing really well, these impressive figures mainly account for the profits of larger companies and do not necessarily reflect the performance of the entire corporate sector.“Aggregate numbers tend to be influenced by the larger companies,” Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, was quoted as saying by Mint.AdvertisementThe top 50 companies accounted for a 2.2% share in the country’s economic output in FY23, which rose to 3.0% by FY26, driven by banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) firms as their profit-to-GDP ratio climbed to 1.7% from 1.3% three years ago.Read more on thewire.in by @thewirein

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Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation; how an online movement like the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) gained traction; questions for the Congress on its move to end its alliance with the DMK and on anti-CPI(M) statements its national leaders made during the campaign trail in Kerala; a focus on ground movements to build on discontent – these were the issues that dominated discussions in the opposition INDIA bloc’s meeting in New Delhi on Monday (June 8).The meeting held a month after the assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and amid the ongoing turmoil within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), saw leaders of 25 opposition parties attending to forge unity and chalk the path ahead.Following the meeting, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters that the parties agreed to a five-point consensus on sending a letter to the Chief Justice of India on the special intensive revision (SIR) and the fairness of elections, demanding Pradhan's resignation following the NEET-UG and CBSE examination fiascos and an all-party meeting on the current economic situation, and also resolved to meet every two months while continuing parliamentary coordination during the upcoming monsoon session.The Wire has learnt from opposition leaders present at the meeting that all issues, criticisms, grievances and suggestions were discussed. The current education crisis was discussed in the aftermath of the NEET-UG and CBSE examination fiascos along with the protest held by the CJP in Delhi on Saturday demanding Pradhan’s resignation.Sources said that Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Uddhav Thackeray was of the opinion that the attendance at the CJP’s protest showed that the people don’t have trust in the opposition and that should be introspected upon. However, the general consensus among the leaders was that any dissent against the BJP is welcome.Full Story: Coming soon on The Wire #StayTuned by @thewirein

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The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh number two, Dattatreya Hosabale, set the cat among the pigeons recently when he suggested that India should keep the “window of dialogue” open to Pakistan, even while emphasising people-to-people ties and civil society engagement. He observed that though Pakistan’s military and political establishment cannot be trusted, civic engagements through sports and science should continue.Hosabale’s remarks collided head-on with the official position of the RSS’s own political progeny. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which runs the government of India, has taken an unambiguous line: “terror and talks cannot go together.” Since the Pulwama attack of 2019 and the subsequent Balakot air strikes, New Delhi has operated on the doctrine that there is no question of any dialogue with Islamabad as long as it continues to support terrorism against India. Communications and trade between the two countries remain suspended and both deny overflight rights to the other. The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam attack of April 2025 and the military exchange that followed Operation Sindoor have hardened that position further.There is little doubt that Hosabale’s perspective is not liberal, but fundamentalist. The RSS believes in the concept of Akhand Bharat – an undivided subcontinent – and its chief, Mohan Bhagwat, has declared that all those who live in Bharat are related to Hindu culture, Hindu ancestors, and Hindu land. For the RSS, Pakistan is not a foreign country in the deepest sense; it is an estranged part of a civilisational whole, and therefore always, in principle, reachable.Full Story: Coming soon on The Wire #StayTuned by @thewirein

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