MONDAY 22 JULY 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 P6 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN/ THUNDERSTORM. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 34 AND 27 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: 7.0 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 98% TEMPERATURE Max: 36.3°C (+2) SUN RISES 05:38 hrs MOON RISES 20:24 hrs UP ID-DISPLAY DIRECTIVE NOT A WELL THOUGHT OUT DECISION: RLD CHIEF ‘HUNDREDS DEAD, PEOPLE WILL TEACH LESSON’ CHINA PLENUM P5 P10 Budget Session begins today, may be stormy NEW DELHI, 21 JULY Min: 26.4°C (-1) SUN SETS 19:18 hrs MOON SETS 07:23 hrs THUMBNAILS Devotees take out a procession from the Muthumariamman Temple on the occasion of Aadi festival (Tamil month), at Korattur in Chennai on Sunday. ANI 3 dead due to landslide on Kedarnath Yatra route in U’khand: Three people are dead and eight were injured in a landslide in the Chidwasa region of Rudraprayad district of Uttarakhand on Sunday. The incident occurred on the Kedarnath Yatra route this morning when the devotees were on their way to Kedarnath Dham from Gaurikund on foot. The District Control Room in Rudrapr- ayag informed the State Disaster Response Force team that some people have been trapped under debris due to a landslide in that region on the Kedarnath Yatra route. T he Narendra Modi government’s first Budget in Mr Modi’s third term as Prime Minister will be presented in the Parliament session beginning on Monday, and indications are in spite of a strong Opposition, the government will not respond to any issue raised without procedural clearances. The government held an all-party meeting on Sunday to seek cooperation of political parties for smooth conduct of proceedings in the two Houses of Parliament. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told the Opposition leaders that disruption of the Prime Minister’s speeches in the last session was against democratic norms. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Opposition has been told running of Parliament is as much responsibility of the government, as of the Opposition. The Opposition has been impatient to raise several issues during the session, and told the government that the post of the Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha by convention belonged to the Opposi- Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju and Arjun Ram Meghwal arrive at Parliament House to attend the all-party SUBRATA DUTTA meeting, in New Delhi on Sunday. tion and should be filled up by a candidate from the Opposition. The Opposition has many troubling questions to ask from the government, but there can be an early storm over the Uttar Pradesh government’s order for shops on the Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of their owners. The Opposition parties said they want the Centre to intervene as the order is targeted against the Muslims. The Opposition parties are planning to seek answers on the revival of terrorist activity in Jammu and Kashmir, the Manipur imbroglio, the alarming state of higher education, spiralling prices, the unemployment situation getting out of hand and recurring railway accidents due to human failures. The Prime Minister spoke on the Manipur situation in the Rajya Sabha in its last session, but the Lok Sabha with a much stronger Opposition will see demands again to discuss the ground reality in the state and how the government was responding to it. After a comparative lull of peace, Jammu and Kashmir is reporting shocking incidents of terrorist attacks in Jammu districts, which has led to heavy deployment of the Army. The Opposition is planning to demand answers what failures were behind the situation. The state of higher edu- P12 PM reaffirms India’s commitment to promoting global cooperation in heritage conservation STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 21 JULY Opposition has been impatient to raise several issues during the session DEEPAK RAZDAN Min.70% HARMANPREET, RICHA GUIDE INDIA TO WIN OVER UAE cation, along with the NEET examination paper leaks, has caused nationwide concern requiring Central attention. The issue will be raised again forcefully. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has broken off from the ruling BJP, will take up the issue of special status for Odisha, along with other Opposition parties demanding special status for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, with the objective of getting additional economic packages for the States. As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 202425 in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, after the Economic Survey, the focus of the session will be on economic issues, like spiralling prices, and the state of non-agricultural employment in the country.Opposition parties said despite government reports and claims, there is no clarity on employment of the educated and skilled manpower, with frequent events showing too many youth chasing too few openings of regular employment. The Opposition has been demanding higher allocations for health and education sectors which meet social needs while providing employment opportunities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday declared his government's commitment to promoting global cooperation and engaging local communities in efforts towards heritage conservation. “We have seen that there are different centres of heritage in the world. But India is so ancient that every point of the present tells us the story of some glorious past,” he said addressing the 46th World Heritage Committee meeting. In this connection, Mr Modi gave the example of the national capital, saying the world knows Delhi as the capital city of India. But this city is also the centre of thousands of years old heritage. “Here you will see historical heritage at every step. About 15 km from here, there is an iron pillar weighing several tons. A pillar that has been standing in the open for 2000 years, yet it is rust-resistant to date. This shows how advanced India's metallurgy was even at that time,” he said. The PM said it is clear that India's heritage is not only history, India's her- itage is also science. India's heritage also shows the glorious journey of topnotch engineering. ''Today India is celebrating the holy festival of Guru Purnima. First of all, I congratulate all of you and all my countrymen on this festival of knowledge and spirituality. On such an important day, today the meeting of the 46th World Heritage Committee is starting and this event is being organized in India for the first time and naturally, all my countrymen including me are very happy about it,” he said. Speaking at the meet, Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said: “The G-20 Summit held last year under the leadership of PM Modi has changed the way the world looks at India. After forming the gov- ernment for the third time after the historic election, we have once again succeeded in drawing attention towards India through this big event in a very short time.” This event will not only showcase the advanced skills and achievements achieved by India in modern knowledge and science, but along with this, it will also showcase the country's rich cultural heritage and its diversity, historical heritage related to India's glorious history and the serious efforts of the government related to their maintenance on the world stage, he said. This is the first mega event to be hosted by India in the third term of Prime Minister Modi. The 46th World Heritage Committee meeting has been organized by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), on behalf of the Ministry of Culture. It brings together delegates from across the globe to discuss and collaborate on preserving our shared cultural, natural and mixed heritage. It is a significant step towards India’s everincreasing stature in fostering global cooperation and ensuring the protection of World Heritage properties. TMC, SP to work together to oust BJP govt: Mamata, Akhilesh Modi to visit Kargil for 25th Vijay Diwas STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 21 JULY The Central government has come to power because of the arbitrary decisions of the Election Commission, highhandedness of the agencies and is not a stable one and may collapse any day, said Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Sunday. Miss Banerjee was addressing a mammoth rally organised to observe the Martyrs’ Day at Esplanade in Kolkata this afternoon. Holding high the hand of Samajwadi Party president and MP Akhilesh Yadav, Miss Banerjee said the Trinamul Congress fully supports the SP in Utter Pradesh and the two parties will work together to oust the BJP government and strengthen the INDIA bloc. Echoing Miss Banerjee, the Samajwadi Party president said the BJP government at Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee addresses the party's annual Shahid Diwas in the presence of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Kolkata on Sunday. BISWAJIT GHOSHAL the Centre can topple at any moment. Coming down heavily on the BJP, he said: “The party has lost the confidence of the people. They are some how managing to stay at the Centre by the strength of the (Central investigative) agencies.” On 21 July 1993, 13 supporters of the Youth Con- 14-yr-old boy dies of Nipah virus in Kerala STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 21 JULY The 14-year-old boy from Chembrasseri near Pandikkad in Kerala’s Malappuram district, who was infected with Nipah virus, passed away on Sunday while under treatment for the disease at Kozhikode medical college hospital. State Health Minister Veena George told media persons in Malappuram that the boy, who was surviving on ventilator support at the hospital, had a massive cardiac arrest at around 11 a.m. Though the doctors tried to revive him, their efforts failed and he died around 11.30 a.m, she said The minister said the post-death formalities would be carried out following the international Nipah protocol. "We will discuss with the family members of the boy to finalize the formalities related to the funeral.” The boy had been undergoing treatment at the med- The health minister said there are 246 people in the Nipah contact list in Kerala’s Malappuram district, with 63 of them in the highrisk category. ical college hospital since 20 July. Earlier, he was treated at three different hospitals in Malappuram before being referred from a private hospital in Perinthalmanna to MIMS hospital, Kozhikode in the wake of his condition deteriorating. The boy was shifted to the government medical college hospital on 20 July after he was diagnosed with Nipah infection. Ms George said at present three of his close relatives are under surveillance at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, and four other acquaintances are at the Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri, Malappuram. One of them is intensive care unit support. (Pg4) gress who had assembled in different parts of the Central Business District to demand that voter ID card should be made mandatory in elections, were killed in police firing. “Thirteen of my colleagues had laid down their lives on 21 July, 1993 and the movement had finally led to making voters’ ID card manda- tory for election,” Miss Banerjee recalled on Sunday. Miss Banerjee said there no space for power- or muscle-flexing in the Trinamul Congress. “I do not want rich workers, my workers should be sincere and ready to sacrifice their lives for service to the people. Those who have not voted for us, we should try to bring them to our fold. Money will come and go but service to people remains,” she said, adding: “Do not be greedy and fall into the trap of the BJP. So long as you work for the people, no one can dislodge you.” Lakhs of Trinamul Congress supporters braved torrential rain to give her a patient hearing. “ We could not do well in North Bengal. I ask the leaders to go to the people and apologise to them as they failed to understand them and voted against the party. In Malda, we lost two seats. People voted for Congress and BJP. Will they ever work for the development of the people?” she asked and vowed that the Trinamul will do well in the 2026 Assembly election in the district. She thanked the people for giving their support to Trinamul Congress in the recently held general election which has helped the party to bag 29 out of 42 seats. “ I thank the people of Baranagar, Bhagabangola, Ranaghat South, Mancktala, Bagda, Raigunj (where by-elections were held). We fought against the BJP, CPI-M and Congress. We have 10 lakh jobs ready but they are trying to thwart our move by filing Public Interest Litigation ( PIL) before the court. Sometimes they are demanding to remove people from jobs and are ready to take away rights of the OBCs. I assure you no one will lose their jobs and to establish the rights of the OBCs we are fighting in the Supreme Court,”she remarked. anniv, to inaugurate Shinku La Tunnel STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE JAMMU, 21 JULY Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the 25th anniversary celebrations of the 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' at the Kargil War Memorial at Drass on 26 July. The Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd), held a meeting on Sunday to discuss the arrangements for the visit of the Prime Minister. The LG informed the Departmental Secretaries, Deputy Commissioner Kargil, Police and Army officials that the Prime Minister would be visiting the Kargil War Memorial at Drass on 26 July to attend the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas. GOC, 8 Mountain Division, Major General Sachin Malik informed the meeting the The Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd), held a meeting on Sunday to discuss the arrangements for the visit of the Prime Minister. PM would land at Drass Brigade Helipad on the morning of 26 July 26 and Army officials would receive the PM at the Helipad. Major General Malik further informed that the Prime Minister would participate in the wreath-laying ceremony followed by the visit to the Shaheed Marg (Wall of Fame). The PM would also interact with Veer Naris (War Widows) and visit the Veer Bhoomi. He further informed that the PM would inaugurate the Shinku La Tunnel virtu- ally and will also address the gathering and then depart from the Kargil War Memorial. Advisor to the LG, Dr Pawan Kotwal, Principal Secretary, Sanjeev Khirwar, ADGP, Ladakh, Dr SD Singh Jamwal, Commissioner Secretary, Dr Vasanthakumar N, Deputy Commissioner, Kargil, Shrikant Suse, Senior Superintendent of Police, Kargil Shree Raam R, GOC, 8 Mountain Division, Major General Sachin Malik; Chief of Staff, 14th Corps were present in the meeting. B’desh’s SC scales back jobs quota that sparked deadly protests AGENCIES  With the top court’s rul- DHAKA, 21 JULY Bangladesh Supreme Court has scrapped most of the quotas in recruitment to government jobs that had sparked countrywide protests and clashes between police and university students claiming over a hundred lives. With the top court’s ruling, just 5 per cent of civil service jobs would be reserved for the relatives of veterans from the country's war for independence from Pakistan in 1971, instead of 30 per cent. The Supreme Court also ruled that the majority of government jobs, 93 per cent, will now be allocated based on merit, while the remaining 2 per cent will be earmarked for members of ethnic minorities, transgender individuals, and the disabled. The verdict, delivered on Sunday, comes after weeks of demonstrations led predominantly by students. Tensions reached a peak when clashes erupted between protesters and groups alleged- ing, just 5 per cent of civil service jobs would be reserved for the relatives of veterans from the country's war for independence from Pakistan in 1971, instead of 30 per cent. The SC also ruled that the majority of government jobs, 93 per cent, will now be allocated based on merit, while 2 per cent will be earmarked for members of ethnic minorities, transgender individuals, and the disabled. ly linked to the Awami League, resulting in accusations of excessive force by the police against demonstrators.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government had previously attempted to abolish the quota system in 2018, but the High Court reinstated it last month, reigniting public outrage and prompting renewed protests. Throughout the unrest, the government imposed stringent measures, including a curfew, the deployment of mil- itary forces, and a communication blackout that isolated Bangladesh from the outside world. The protests have posed the most serious challenge to Bangladesh’s government since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won a fourth consecutive term in January elections that were boycotted by the main opposition groups. Universities have been closed, the internet has been shut off and the government has ordered people to stay at home. With most communications offline, it was unclear whether the verdict has satisfied protesting students. Law Minister Anisul Haq welcomed the court’s decision and said it “well thought of.” The protests turned deadly on Tuesday, a day after students at Dhaka University began clashing with police. Violence continued to escalate as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and hurled smoke grenades to scatter stone-throwing protesters. Bangladeshi authorities haven’t shared any official numbers of those killed and injured, but at least four local newspapers on Sunday reported that over 100 people have been killed. Ahead of the SC hearing, soldiers patrolled cities across the country. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the stay-at-home order will be relaxed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday for people to run essential errands. Meanwhile, the government has declared Sunday and Monday as public holidays, with only emergency services allowed to operate. Protesters argue the quota system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, saying it should be replaced with a meritbased system. Hasina has defended the quota system, saying that veterans deserve the highest respect for their contributions in the war against Pakistan, regardless of their political affiliation. Representatives from both sides met late Friday in an attempt to reach a resolution and Law Minister Anisul Huq said the government was open to discussing their demands. In addition to quota reform, the demands included the reopening of university dormitories and for some university officials to step down after failing to protect campuses. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has backed the protests, vowing to organise its own demonstrations as many of its supporters have joined the student-led protests. However, BNP said in a statement its followers were not responsible for the violence and denied the ruling party’s accusations of using the protests for political gains. The Awami League and the BNP have often accused each other of fueling political chaos and violence, most recently ahead of the country’s national election, which was marred by a crackdown on several opposition figures.