MONDAY 15 JULY 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 REVANTH REDDY FACES PROTESTS ON JOB ISSUE CONGRESS APPOINTS GOGOI AS PARTY'S DEPUTY LEADER IN LS P5 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY WITH LIGHT RAIN. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 36 AND 28 DEGREE CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 92 % TEMPERATURE P4 P10 Donald Trump survives assassination attempt FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks (20) of Bethel Park Min. 58 % Max: 37.1 °C (2) SUN RISES 05:34 hrs MOON RISES 13:47 hrs ‘CONG IS A PARASITIC PARTY, IT WILL SWALLOW WHOEVER IT STANDS ON’ AGENCIES Min: 27.6 °C (0) SUN SETS 19:21 hrs MOON SETS 00:45 hrs THUMBNAILS A newly arrived white tiger from the Bhubaneshwar Nandankanan Zoological Park seen inside the enclosure of the Birsa Munda Zoological Park in Ranchi on ANI Sunday. 3 heavily armed terrorists killed in J&K: At least three heavily armed Pakistani terrorists were killed on Sunday afternoon as the Indian Army foiled an Infiltration bid on the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran Sector of North Kashmir's Kupwara district. A defence spokesman said that weapons and war-like stores have been recovered from the spot.The operation is going on. KP Sharma Oli returns as Nepal PM THE KATHMANDU POST/ANN BUTLER, 14 JULY F ormer US President Donald Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt Saturday at a Pennsylvania rally, days before he was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. A barrage of gunfire set off panic, and a bloodied Trump, who said he was shot in the ear, was surrounded by Secret Service and hurried to his SUV as he pumped his fist in a show of defiance. Trump’s campaign said the presumptive GOP nominee was doing “fine” after the shooting, which he said pierced the upper part of his right ear. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place,” he wrote on his social media site. In videos of the incident, Trump is seen touching the right side of his face after what seemed like the first two shots and dropping to the ground. Secret Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday strongly condemned the attack on former US President Donald Trump, saying that “violence has no place in politics and democra- cies”.In a post on X, the Prime Minister said: “Deeply concerned by the attack on my friend, former President Donald Trump. Strongly condemn the incident. Violence has no place in politics and democracies. Wish him a speedy recovery.”Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also condemned the attack. In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi wrote: “I am deeply concerned by the assassination attempt on former US President.” Service agents threw themselves on him to protect him. When they rose, the agents had him inside protective shield of their bodies.The former President appeared to be bleeding on the right side of the face. He raised a fist in the air as he was led away. He was taken to a local medical facility for treatment. The FBI early Sunday iden- tified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The agency said the investigation remains active and ongoing. (Pg 9) BJP to appoint new nat’l president by Dec AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 14 JULY KATHMANDU, 14 JULY President Ramchandra Paudel on Friday appointed CPNUML Chairman KP Sharma Oli as the prime minister of Nepal. This is Oli’s fourth stint as the country’s chief executive. First appointed the prime minister in October 2015 (until August 2016), Oli was head of the government from February 2018 to May 2021 and from May 2021 to July 2021. Paudel appointed him as per Article 76 (2) of the constitution after he staked a claim with the support of 166 lawmakers, including 88 from the Nepali Congress and 78 from the UML. The newly appointed prime minister and his Cabinet ministers will take their oaths at 11 am on Monday. On Friday, President Paudel called on a House member to claim leadership of a coalition government by 5 pm on Sunday. The minimum number needed to form a government in the 275strong House of Representatives is 138. Modi, Rahul condemn attack on former US President STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 14 JULY The tenure of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) National President, JP Nadda, has come to an end. Although his term was extended until June 2024, he has now been assigned significant responsibilities within the government. As a result, the BJP is now in search of a new president. The BJP aims to appoint a new national president by December this year. The election process for this position will commence on 1 August. Before the election of the national president, a comprehensive membership drive will be conducted, along strengthening the district and state units. The process to elect a new BJP national president will begin on 1 August. Initially, a membership drive will be launched, which will run until 15 September. Following this, an active membership campaign will take place from 16 September to 30 September. From 1 October to 15 October, the verification of active membership will be conducted. According to the The process to elect a new BJP national president will begin on 1 August. BJP party constitution, every member is required to renew their membership every nine years. This year, the membership campaign will require the Prime Minister, the party president, and all party leaders to renew their membership. From 1 November to 15 November, the BJP will hold elections for the Mandal (local unit) presidents. This will be followed by district president elections from 16 November to 30 November. Sources within the BJP indicate that after the Mandal and district president elections, members of the state council and central council will be elected. Only after these elections will the process for selecting the state presidents begin. The election process for state presidents will commence on December 1. Once the elections in 50 per cent of the states are completed, the official process to elect the national president will begin. Armstrong’s murder accused killed in ‘encounter’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE CHENNAI, 14 JULY An accused in the gruesome murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu president K Armstrong was killed in an encounter with the police early on Sunday at suburban Puzhal in north Chennai. The police said, the accused, Thiruvengadam who was in custody, was shot dead after firing at the cops with a pistol in a bid to flee. The encounter took place when a police team took him to a hideout along the Madhavaram lakeside to recover the weapons used in the murder of Armstrong. According to the police, when he threatened them with a recovered pistol and refused to lay down the weapon, the cops fired two rounds in self-defence. Hit by bullets above the hip, he died on the spot. Thiruvengadam body was sent to the Stanley Government Medical College Hospital for postmortem. (Details on page 4) With over 100 m followers, PM is most followed world leader on X STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 14 JULY Setting another milestone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the most followed world leader on the social media platform X with over 100 million followers. Expressing happiness after crossing 100 million followers on social media platform X, Mr Modi said he is happy to engage with the people on this “vibrant medium”. In a post on X, PM Modi said: “A hundred million on X! Happy to be on this vibrant medium and cherish the discussion, debate, insights, people's blessings, constructive criticism and more. Looking forward to an equally engaging time in the future as well." Union Home Minister Amit Shah also extended his wishes to the Prime Minister for achieving the milestone. Mr Modi is far ahead of other world leaders like US President Joe Biden, who currently has 38.1 million followers, HH Sheikh Mohammed, the present ruler of Dubai (11.2 million) and Pope Francis (18.5 million). “The Modi phenomenon trail blazes on X. Congratulations to PM Narendra Modi Ji on crossing the staggering 100 million follower mark on X. A leader whom the world looks up to, Modi Ji remains unchallenged as the most followed global leader,” Mr Shah said on X. “This achievement is a testament not only to his unparalleled popularity in India but also to his towering statesmanship on the global stage,” he added. When comparing the social media followings of various Indian politicians, PM Modi stands out significantly in terms of social media followers. LoP Rahul Gandhi has 26.4 million followers, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has 27.5 million, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav has 19.9 million, and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has 7.4 million. RJD’s Lalu Prasad Yadav has 6.3 million, Tejashwi Yadav has 5.2 million followers, while NCP Chief Sharad Pawar has 2.9 million. Mr Modi is far ahead of other world leaders like US President Joe Biden, who currently has 38.1 million followers, HH Sheikh Mohammed, the present ruler of Dubai (11.2 million) and Pope Francis (18.5 million). Mr Modi has more followers when compared to some active global athletes such as Virat Kohli (64.1 million), Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr (63.6 million) and American basketball player LeBron James (52.9 million) followers. He is ahead of even celebrities like Taylor Swift (95.3 million), Lady Gaga (83.1 million), and Kim Kardashian (75.2 million). INDIA BEAT ZIMBABWE, SECURE T20I SERIES 4-1 P12 Lord Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar opened after 39 years STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BHUBANESWAR, 14 JULY The inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of Puri's Jagannath temple was opened on Sunday after being locked for 39 years. An 11-member team, including Justice (retired) Biswanath Rath and the chief administrator of the Jagannath Temple Administration, Arabinda Padhee, broke three locks to gain entry into the chamber. The inner chamber was last opened in 1985, coincidentally on the same date, 14 July. However, an inventory of valuables was not conducted in 1985; the last inventory was done in 1978. The 11-member team, after praying to Lord Lokanath, Maa Laxmi, and Goddess Bimala for permission, entered the temple at the auspicious time of 1:28 p.m. and remained until 5:20 p.m. Heavy equipment, cutters, lights, six huge newly made chests and even snake helpline members were kept in readiness. Briefing mediapersons, Padhee and Justice Rath explained that they first opened the locks of the outer Ratna Bhandar in the presence of Gajapati Maharaja Dibya Singh Deo and others. The valuables in the outer room are used on a day-to-day basis and during festivals and are accessed regularly. It took considerable time to shift all the valuables from the outer room to a temporary strong room inside the temple, which was then sealed. Following this, the team entered the inner Ratna Bhandar, which had three locks. The keys brought from the treasury did not work, so they broke the locks as per the SOP approved by the state government. Due to time constraints, the team only inspected the chamber and decided to return. The valuables will be shifted on another date as decided by the committee and government. Another temporary strong room has been prepared for this purpose. Justice Rath noted that the inner chamber contained at least five cupboards and two chests, with a few long items on the floor. He denied reports of water logging inside the chamber. The members unanimously decided to shift the chests and cupboards from the inner chamber at a later date. Padhee stated that once the date for shifting the valuables is set, the ASI will undertake repair and restoration work on the Ratna Bhandar. After the ASI completes its work, the valuables will be returned to the inner chamber, and an inventory will be conducted. "On the wish of Lord Jagannath, the Odia community, with the identity of 'Odia Asmita,' has started making efforts to move forward," the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a post on the X platform. "On your wish, the four gates of the Jagannath temple were earlier opened. Today, on your wish, the Ratna Bhandar was opened after 46 years for a greater purpose,” the CMO added.