MONDAY 17 JUNE 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR P6 WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY. HEAT WAVE CONDITIONS AT MOST PLACES WITH SEVERE HEAT WAVE & WARM NIGHT CONDITIONS AT ISOLATED PLACES. STRONG SURFACE WINDS (SPEED 35-45 KMPH) OCCASIONALLY IN GUSTY DURING THE DAY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 45 AND 34 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 47% Min. 19% Max: 44.9 °C (+6) SUN RISES 05:24 hrs MOON RISES 15:02 hrs Min: 33.2 °C (+6) SUN SETS 19:21 hrs MOON SETS 02:15 hrs TEMPERATURE THUMBNAILS Aspirants leave an examination centre after appearing in the Union Public Service Commission Civil Services (Preliminary) exams, in New Delhi on Sunday.  ANI Mob attacks madrassa in T’gana: Ahead of Bakrid, tension prevailed in Medak in Telangana after a mob attacked a madrassa over allegations that cattle was being transported for sacrifice. Several local BJP leaders were taken into custody and party MLA Raja Singh who was trying to reach Medak was also placed under preventive custody. Sec 144 has been imposed to prevent any untoward incident in the district. BRS and other political parties have blamed the Congress government in the state for (Pg 4) failing to control law and order. NEW CRIMINAL LAWS MANDHANA BECOMES WILL TAKE EFFECT 2ND INDIAN WOMAN TO FROM 1 JULY: MEGHWAL SCORE 7,000 INT’L RUNS LDF LS POLL DEBACLE RESULT OF KERALA CM'S ARROGANCE: CPI CHALLENGES IN SOUTH AFRICA P4 P5 Replicate Kashmir model in Jammu: HM STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 16 JUNE R STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 16 JUNE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 16 JUNE In the five-hour-long meeting, the Union Home Minister also took stock of preparations for the upcoming annual Amarnath Yatra which will commence on 29 June and conclude on 19 August. attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pandey, Union Home Secretary, Director, Intelligence Bureau, senior Army Officers including Chief of Army Staff (Designate) Lt. General Upendra Dwivedi, Directors General of CAPFs, Chief Secretary, DGP of J&K and other senior officers. The Union Home Minister directed security agencies to replicate the successes achieved in Kashmir valley through Area Domination Plan and Zero Terror Plan in Jammu division. Mr Shah asserted that Narendra Modi-led government is committed to set an example by cracking down on terrorists through innovative means. He directed all security agencies to work in a mission mode and ensure quick response in a coordinated manner. Mr Shah laid stress on seamless coordination amongst the security agencies, identifying vulnerable areas and addressing the security concerns of such areas. Mr Shah said efforts of the Government of India have yielded great positive results in Kashmir Valley with significant reduction in terror related incidents. He noted that the improvement in law-andorder situation is reflected in record flow of tourists in Kashmir Valley. The Union Home Minister appreciated security agencies and the J&K administration for successful conduct of the Lok Sabha elections, which witnessed record voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was held two days after the Home Minister held a similar meeting with Home Ministry officials, who informed him about the current security situation and preparedness to handle such terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. Since 9 June, there have been terror strikes at four places in Reasi, Kathua and Doda, in which nine pilgrims and a CRPF jawan were killed, and a civilian and seven security personnel were injured. they were prone to hacking by humans and Artificial Intelligence. “We should eliminate electronic voting machines. The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high,” Mr Musk said. Former Union Minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrashekhar was quick to counter Mr Musk's apprehensions on EVMs and asserted that the voting machines that are built in India can't be hacked. Moreover, the BJP leader also offered to run a tutorial for the Tesla chief on how to build EVMs correctly. “This is a huge sweeping generalisa- tion statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware. Wrong,” replied the former minister. “Elon Musk’s view may apply to US and other places ~ where they use regular compute platforms to build Internet connected Voting machines... Indian EVMs are custom designed, secure and isolated from any network or media ~ No connectivity, no bluetooth, wifi, Internet. ie there is no way in. Factory programmed controllers that cannot be reprogrammed. Electronic voting machines can be architected and built right as India has done. We would be happy to run a tutorial, Elon," Mr Chandrashekhar said. However, Mr Musk rejected the BJP leader's claim and said: “Anything can be hacked”. Mr Chandrasekhar, in turn responded by saying anything is possible with quantum compute and “I can decrypt any level of encryption”. in NEET paper leak AGENCIES PATNA, 16 JUNE Two accused, including an examination mafia, have confessed their role in the question paper leak in the National Eligibility-cumEntrance Test (NEET), an official of the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police said on Sunday. The EOU has constituted a 9-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the NEET question paper leak case. Thirteen persons including six examination mafias, four students and three parents have been arrested in connection with the alleged question paper leak case. One of the arrested exam mafia, Sikandar Yadvendu (56) who is a Junior Engineer in Danapur Municipal Council, confessed his role in the paper leak. Besides him, a candidate named Ayush AGENCIES MUMBAI, 16 JUNE DRP for allotments as per government schemes. This arrangement ensures that the land remains under government control throughout the process. The state support agreement which is part of the tender, clearly states that government of Maharashtra has the obligation to provide land to their own DRP/SRA department. The Rs 23,000 crore slum redevelopment project comes under controversy after questions were raised whether the project would unduly benefit the Adani Group. In a 15th June news report in an English daily, newly elected Congress MP Varsha Gaikward raised questions about the issue of government land transfer to Adani for the project. “Earlier, the Mulund land was sought for the project. Then, the government allocated salt pan lands in Mumbai for the project. They also want Deonar land now, the government issued an order to hand over the land at Kurla. Why does the government want to transfer so much land to Adani?" asked Mr Gaikward. However, DRPPL sources clarified that the railway land allocated to the DRP was acquired by DRPPL at a premium of 170 per cent above the prevailing market rates. On concerns about the allocation of land across Mumbai to Adani when residents A day after the INDIA bloc hinted that it might field its candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday asserted that the Opposition's alliance will back a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) candidate for the post. Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Mr Raut said that the election to the Speaker's post is important and that the situation is not the same as it was in 2014 and 2019. He claimed that the BJP will try to break the NDA alliance partners if the Speaker's post is not given to them. “This fight of the Lok Sabha Speaker is important. This time, the situation is not similar to 2014 and 2019. The government is not stable... We have heard that Chandrababu Naidu has asked for the Lok Sabha Speaker post... If a candidate of NDA does not get the post of Lok Sabha Speaker, then PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will break TDP, JDU and LJP (Ram Vilas)... If Chandrababu Naidu doesn't get this position then we will ensure that his candidate gets the support from the INDIA alliance..," he said. A key meeting of the NDA was held at the residence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss candidates for the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha, sources said. The sources further said that the meeting, attended by among others, Union Minister and BJP President JP Nadda, held discussions on the first parliamentary session of the 18th Lok Sabha. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Union Ministers, Rajiv RanAccording to reports, the INDIA bloc has been demanding the post of Deputy Speaker. If not given the post, the Opposition alliance said, it will field its own candidate for the Speaker's post as it has the numbers to make it a tough contest. Nitish Kumar's JD-U has said that they will support the BJP's pick for the important post of Lok Sabha Speaker. However, Chandrababu Naidu's TDP has reportedly demanded an “NDA candidate”. Speaking to an English daily, a TDP spokesperson on Saturday said that the decision on the Speaker's candidate must be taken after reaching due consensus. "The NDA partners will sit together and decide who our candidate for the Speaker is going to be. Once a consensus is jan Singh alias Lalan Singh and Chirag Paswan, were also present on the occasion. The election to the post of Speaker is scheduled to be held on 26 June during the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha. Meanwhile, referring to the upcoming appointment of the aforementioned posts, Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha Om Birla said all these decisions are taken by political parties and he has no role in it. "All these decisions are taken by political parties. These decisions cannot be taken by me," Mr (Pg 3) Birla said. reached, we will field that candidate and all partners, including the TDP, will support the candidate," TDP spokesperson Pattabhi Ram Kommareddy was quoted as saying. Following the allocation of portfolios in Mr Modi's third Cabinet, the election for the Speaker's post is being closely monitored. This heightened interest stems from NDA allies, such as the JD-U and TDP, having to accept relatively smaller Cabinet positions. The TDP and JD-U, with 16 and 12 seats each, are the largest non-BJP allies of the Narendra Modi-led NDA coalition's government. With the BJP well short of the majority mark, their support is crucial for the Modi government to complete the full five-year term. WATER CRISIS Thirteen persons including six examination mafias, four students and three parents have been arrested in connection with the alleged question paper leak case. Kumar also confessed that he was made to memorise the question paper a day before the exam. The NEET was held on 5 May and examination mafias obtained the question paper a day earlier on 4 May. As per the confession of Sikandar Yadvendu, two persons named Amit and Nitish had obtained the question paper on 4 May. They went with the question papers and answers to a playschool located within Ramakrishna Nagar police station limits. At least 25 to 30 NEET candidates were already there. All were made to memorise the question paper and its answers till 9:00 a.m. on 5 May. Dharavi redevelopment project: ‘Land transfer is to Maharashtra govt, not developer Adani Group’ The world's largest slum redevelopment project involves no land transfer to Special Purpose Vehicle created for the project (SPV) or to the Adani group. Sources close to the project told Asian News International that land transfer will be done to Dharavi Redevelopment Project/slum rehabilitation authority (DRP/SRA) which is part of the Maharashtra government’s housing department. According to the tender documents, DRPPL will pay for the land in lieu of development rights and build facilities like housing, commercials and hand over back to the Maharashtra government’s Speaker, Dy Speaker: NDA meet discusses candidates STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 16 JUNE Chandrasekhar & Musk debate over Bihar: Two accused EVMs, Rahul calls it ‘black box’ confess their role After former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar joined issue with Tesla chief Elon Musk after the latter called for elimination of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday jumped into the debate, calling the voting machines a “black box" that can't be scrutinised. In a social media post on microblogging site X, the Gandhi scion said: “EVMs in India are a ‘black box’, and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them. Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability.” His remarks came against the backdrop of a social media debate following Mr Musk's remarks. On Saturday, the Tesla chief had called for elimination of EVMs, saying ‘INDIA bloc will support TDP’s candidate for Speaker’s post’ Fight against terrorism in J&K in its decisive phase, says Amit Shah eiterating the government’s zero tolerance policy against terrorism, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the government will leave no stone unturned in rooting out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir. Chairing a high-level review meeting on the security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir in the national capital, the Union Home Minister said the fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is in its decisive phase, adding that recent incidents show that terrorism has been forced to shrink from highly organised acts of terrorist violence to a mere proxy war. “We are determined to root it out as well,” he stressed. In the five-hour-long meeting, which was separated into two rounds, including a short break, the Union Home Minister also took stock of preparations for the upcoming annual Amarnath Yatra which will commence on 29 June and conclude on 19 August. The meeting was P12 of Dharavi prefer in-situ rehabilitation (simple technique of rehabilitation which provides pucca dwelling units with basic civil infrastructure to improve the quality of life and safe living). Sources clarified that the tender norms and government resolutions from 2018 and 2022, have specifically assured that no Dharavi resident will be displaced. Residents with tenements existing on or before 1 January 2000, are eligible for in-situ rehabilitation within Dharavi. Those with tenements from 1 January 2000, to 1 January 2011, will receive homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) outside Dharavi for a nominal fee of Rs 2.5 lakh or through rental housing. People wait for a water tanker as a severe water crisis looms during the extreme hot summer in (Pg 2) Chanakyapuri area in the Capital on Sunday. SUBRATA DUTTA India attends Ukraine peace summit but doesn’t sign any communique STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 16 JUNE India participated in the two-day “Summit on Peace in Ukraine” at Burgenstock in Switzerland but did not sign any communique or document. Mr Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, attended the Opening and Closing Plenary Sessions of the two-day summit which concluded this evening. “India did not associate itself with any communique/document emerging from the summit,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. Reports said Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico and the UAE were also among countries that did not sign the final communique. Switzerland said over 90 countries took part in the talks, and a vast majority of them signed the communique. Brazil, which was listed as an 'observer' on the list of attendees, also did not feature as a signatory. “India’s participation in the Summit, as well as in the preceding NSA/Political Director-level meetings based on Ukraine’s Peace Formula, was in line with our consistent approach to facilitating a lasting and peaceful resolution to the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. We continue to believe that such a resolution requires a sincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict,” the MEA added. It said India will continue to remain engaged with all stakeholders as well as both parties to contribute to all earnest efforts to bring about an early and abiding peace. India to carry out high altitude trials of indigenous short-range air defence missiles AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 16 JUNE Amid the large-scale requirement for shoulder-fired air defence missiles, DRDO is going to carry out trials of the indigenous shoulder-fired air defence missiles before handing them over to the Indian Army for user trials. The DRDO has been developing Very Short Range Air Defence missiles to meet the requirements of the Indian Army and Air Force to tackle aerial targets like fast-moving drones, fighter aircraft and helicopters in border areas. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is looking to carry out high-altitude trials of the Indigenous tripod-fired short-range air defence missile in mountainous regions like Ladakh or Sikkim, defence officials told ANI.