MONDAY 24 JUNE 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR THE BUCK STOPS AT TOP ECHELONS OF MODI GOVT: KHARGE WHY THE PUTIN-KIM PACT WORRIES CHINA P7 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY LIGHT RAIN ACCOMPANIED WITH GUSTY WINDS (SPEED 30-40 KMPH). THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 39 AND 30 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: 00.06 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY P5 Max: 39.8 °C (+1) SUN RISES 05:25 hrs MOON RISES 21:47 hrs Min: 29.6 °C (+2) SUN SETS 19:23 hrs MOON SETS 08:29 hrs THUMBNAILS Indian Space Research Organisation conducted a third and final test of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) landing experiment (LEX) at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga on Sunday.  ANI Two security personnel killed in IED blast in Sukma: Two security personnel were martyred in an IED blast carried out by Naxalites in Silger area of Sukma district. The attack occurred on Sunday afternoon, targeting a truck carrying members of the 201 CoBRA Battalion during a routine Road Opening Party (ROP) duty. According to official sources, suspected Maoists planted the IED along the route from Jagargunda area to Tekalgudam. "I pray for the peace of the departed souls and strength for their families. The ongoing anti-Naxal operations in Bastar have left the Naxalites desperate, and they are resorting to such cow(Pg 4) ardly acts, said CM Vishnu Deo Sai. T The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha commences even as the Opposition raised objections to the appointment of BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker the Houses of Parliament on 27 June. The session will conclude on 3 July. Meanwhile, the 264th session of the Rajya Sabha will commence on 27 June and will conclude on 3 July. Congress had reacted sharply to the Union government's decision to appoint the seven-time BJP MP as Pro-tem Speaker over the party’s seniormost Dalit MP Kodikkunnil Suresh, saying the appointment deviates from the traditional practice of appointing the senior-most member of the House. However, defending the appointment of Bhartruhari Mahtab, BJP MP Sambit Patra said the decision was made in accordance with established convention rather than law. His remark came as a reaction to Congress's objection that it disrupted a long-standing process. The BJP leader said: “The President of India recommends the pro-tem Speaker through Article 95 of the Constitution of India. It is a long convention that has been going on in this beautiful democracy of India since independence. Now, Congress is trying to disturb this process." "Bhartruhari Mahtab is serving as an MP consecutively for the seventh time. The convention says that the MP with the longest period of unbroken service can be appointed as pro-tem Speaker. So, in this 18th Lok JD(S) MLC and Prajwal’s brother Suraj Revanna arrested in sexual assault case AGENCIES HASSAN, 23 JUNE Suraj Revanna, Janata Dal (Secular) MLC, leaves the hospital after a medical test, in Hassan on Sunday.  ANI ural sex), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation). The victim in the case had sent his complaint to the office of both the DGP and the Hassan Superintendent of Police. The police after getting the copy of the complaint in this regard had transferred the case to the jurisdictional Holenarasipura Rural police station. The police had contacted the victim in connection with the alleged sexual assault case and recorded his statement. The police had also taken the victim for a medical test. Reacting to the development, Suraj Revanna had said that it was a political conspiracy against him. “Baseless allegations are made against me and I outrightly reject these allegations. Things will be dealt with legally and an FIR has also been lodged,” he said. The victim alleged that he had met Suraj Revanna at a function organised by him. Impressed by his organisational skills, Suraj Revanna allegedly shared his mobile number and started sending cosy messages with love symbols. The man was called to Mr Revanna’s farmhouse where he was allegedly sexually abused. Mr Revanna's elder brother and former JD(S) MP, Prajwal Revanna has been arrested in connection with the sex video scandal. His father JD(S) MLA, HD Revanna was jailed and is out on conditional bail in a kidnapping case linked to the sex video scandal. His mother Bhavani Revanna is facing an investigation in a kidnapping case and was recently granted conditional bail by a court. The Karnataka Police have also filed an FIR against two persons on charges of extortion following allegations of sexual abuse against Suraj Revanna. Suraj Revanna's aide Shivakumar, meanwhile filed a case against the victim and his kin at Holenarasipura police station. Mr Shivakumar said in the complaint that false allegations were made against Suraj Revanna to extort money. The complaint claimed that the accused had threatened Mr Revanna with lodging a case of sexual abuse if he failed to pay Rs 5 crore. P12 Website, all portals fully secure, says NTA Session will witness oath & affirmation of the newly elected members he first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, which is set to commence on Monday amid a fresh row over the appointment of BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, will witness oath and affirmation of the newlyelected members including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the session, the Opposition is expected to corner the government on various issues including alleged irregularities in the NEET exam and price rise. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath to Mahtab as the protem speaker of the Lok Sabha on Monday at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. After that, he will reach the Lok Sabha and commence the proceedings of the House at 11 am. He then will administer the oath to newly-elected members and oversee the proceedings of the House until the new Speaker of the Lok Sabha is elected. The election of the new Speaker will be held on 26 June. The President will address a joint sitting of both ANDY MURRAY RULED OUT OF WIMBLEDON CBI forms special teams to probe alleged irregularities in NEET-2024 First session of 18th LS to commence today NEW DELHI, 23 JUNE Min. 49 % In yet another jolt to former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda’s family, Karnataka Police arrested JD(S) MLC and Gowda's grandson Suraj Revanna in connection with a forceful unnatural sex case. Suraj Revanna is the brother of arrested former JD(S) MP, Prajwal Revanna, the prime accused in the sex videos case. Suraj Revanna was arrested in the wee hours of Sunday by the Holenarasipura Rural police in Hassan District. Mr Revanna had appeared before the police on Saturday night following the lodging of an FIR against him. The Karnataka Police had lodged an FIR against Suraj Revanna on Saturday night and summoned him to the police station for questioning in connection with the alleged sexual assault case lodged by a JD(S) worker, police said. The police had registered an FIR against Mr Revanna under IPC Sections 377 (unnat- P10 NIKHIL VYAS Max. 73 % TEMPERATURE BSP CHIEF REINSTATES NEPHEW AKASH ANAND AS SUCCESSOR Sabha, Bhartruhari Mahtab qualifies to become the pro-tem Speaker," he said. He further said, "As far as Congress MP K Suresh is concerned, he has served as an MP eight times nonconsecutively. It is the 4th consecutive term of K Suresh. However, it is the 7th consecutive term of Bhartruhari Mahtab. So, there has been no breach of convention." Earlier on Friday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the appointment of Mr Mahtab has been done as per the "rules" and asked Congress to not politicise the issue. On Thursday, the parliamentary affairs minister announced that the President had appointed the BJP MP as pro-tem Speaker. President Murmu also appointed K Suresh of the Congress, T R Baalu of the DMK, Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste of the BJP and Trinamul Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay to assist the Speaker pro-tem in the oathtaking of the newly elected members. However, amid the Opposition’s objections to Mr Mahtab’s appointment, there were reports that the three Opposition MPs may choose not to take up their roles. AGENCIES Amid allegations of irregularities in the conduct of entrance examinations, the National Testing Agency (NTA) claimed on Sunday that its website and all its web portals are fully secure. The NTA further dismissed the claims of the portals having been compromised, calling them "wrong and misleading." “NTA website and all its web portals are fully secure. Any information that has been compromised and hacked is wrong and misleading," the NTA said in a post on X. The NTA is facing crit- icism over alleged irregularities in the conduct of National Eligibility-CumEntrance-Test (NEET) (UG) Examination 2024. This has led to an uproar across the country, with the opposition demanding to scrap the testing agency. Amid the NEET irregularities allegations, the Centre late yesterday also postponed the NEET-PG exam scheduled for. It also cancelled the UGCNET exam conducted on 18 June. Following protests, the Centre also removed the Director General of the NTA and the formed a high-level committee of experts to ensure transparency in the examinations. probe into the entire gamut of alleged irregularities, including conspiracy, cheating, impersonation, breach of trust, and destruction of evidence by candidates, institutes, and middlemen including attempted irregularities. The Ministry also requested the CBI to investigate the role of public servants, if any, connected with the conduct of the examination and also into the entire gamut of events and the larger alleged conspiracy. The federal probe agency accordingly registered a criminal case and initiated an investigation into the matter. Special teams have been constituted by the CBI to probe the matter on priority. The special teams of the Central probe agency are being sent to Patna and Godhra where cases have been registered with the local police. NEW DELHI, 23 JUNE Bihar police’s Economic Offences Unit personnel with NEET paper leak accused leave the LNJP Hospital after their medical test, in Patna on Sunday.  ANI STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 JUNE The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a criminal case against the alleged irregularities in the NEET-2024 examination based on a written complaint from the Director of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India, the agency said. The FIR mentions certain isolated incidents that occurred in a few states during the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 exam held by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5, 2024, at 4,750 centres across 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad. The Ministry of Education requested the Central probe agency to conduct a comprehensive CM knocks on SC’s door against interim stay on bail IMPOSING PRESENCE AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 23 JUNE Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has moved the Supreme Court against the interim stay granted by the Delhi High Court on his release on bail in a money laundering case linked to the alleged liquor policy scam. Further, it is learnt that Mr Kejriwal’s legal team has sought an urgent hearing of the matter by the apex court on Monday. In an interim direction, Delhi High Court on 21 June stayed the release of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo on the Enforcement Directorate’s plea challenging the trial court's bail order. Halting CM Kejriwal's release, a vacation bench of Justices Sudhir Kumar Jain and Ravinder Dudeja of the high court directed that the bail order should not be enforced until the matter is heard in full. Later that day, the Delhi High Court reserved its order The ED had requested the trial court on Thursday for a 48hour deferral in signing the bail bond following the pronouncement of the order, but it was refused. in the matter and said that it would pass its order in two to three days. The ED had requested the trial court on Thursday for a 48-hour deferral in signing the bail bond following the pronouncement of the order. However, the trial court firmly denied the ED's plea for a stay on its order granting bail. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visits the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Temple, in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.  ANI Shah asks flood monitoring centres to comply with global standards Haryana government STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 JUNE Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that the flood monitoring centres of the Central Water Commission (CWC) should be in accordance with the country's requirements and international standards. Chairing a high-level meeting here to review the preparedness of flood management, the Union home minister appealed to all the states and Union Territories for the timely implementation the advisories issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for flood management. In the meeting, Mr Shah also reviewed long-term measures to formulate a comprehensive and far-reaching policy to mitigate the menace of Union Home Minister Amit Shah chairs a high-level meeting to review overall preparedness for flood management in the country, in New Delhi on Sunday.  ANI floods in the country. He also took stock of the action taken on the decisions made in the meeting held last year. Along The meeting also discussed the new technologies being used by the agencies and the expansion of their network for flood management. Reviewing the preparations to deal with Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), he emphasised the need for optimum utilisation of satellite imagery provided by the Indian Space Research Organi- zation (ISRO) by various agencies for flood and water management. Amit Shah said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s Disaster management is moving forward with a ‘Zero Casualty Approach’. He directed the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the CWC to complete the process of recalibrating all the equipment used in flood forecast, at the earliest. He instructed the departments concerned to conduct a detailed study of the recent floods in Sikkim and Manipur and submit a report to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).The home minister directed to ensure that floodgates of all the major dams are in good condition. Pointing out that nonperennial rivers are prone to soil erosion resulting in floods, he called for efforts to upgrade the forecast system of water level of rivers for better flood management. He said a natural drainage system should be an integral part of the designs of road construction to deal with inundation of roads, in case of floods. At least 50 large ponds in the Northeast should be constructed so that the water of the Brahmaputra River could be diverted and stored in those ponds. He said this will help in developing agriculture, irrigation and tourism in those areas at a low cost and also help in tackling the floods, and, it will eventually benefit the local economy, he added. Mr Shah instructed the NDMA and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to take appropriate precautionary measures to prevent incidents of forest fire. For this, the Union home minister stressed the need to regularly create fire lines, remove dry leaves and conduct mock drills from time to time with local residents and forest personnel. Along with this, he also asked to analyse the incidents of repeated forest fires at the same place. He also asked the NDMA to prepare a detailed manual to deal with incidents of forest fires. The Union home minister directed the IMD that alerts regarding lightning strikes should be disseminated to the public on time through SMS, TV, FM radio, and other mediums. He emphasised the need to integrate weather, rainfall, and flood warning-related apps developed by various departments so that their benefits could reach the targeted population. increases reservation for backward classes AGENCIES ROHTAK , 23 JUNE Haryana Government on Sunday took multiple decisions for the benefit of the Other Backward Classes in the state. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced these decisions. The state government has increased the upper income limit for the creamy layer to Rs 8 lakh per year. The reservation for backward classes has been increased from 15 per cent to 27 percent in Group-A and Group-B government posts. Creamy layer is a term used in Indian politics to refer to some members of a backward class who are highly advanced socially as well as economically and educationally. The Government has announced that the backlog of jobs for Backward Classes A and B will be filled on priority basis, for which a special recruitment campaign will be run. Meanwhile, on the preparations for upcoming Haryana Assembly elections, Nayab Singh Saini said: "Today, we have welcomed our Union Minister and Haryana Assembly election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan; Haryana Assembly election co-in charge Biplab Kumar Deb and newly elected members of the parliament."