BHUBANESWAR  WEDNESDAY  DECEMBER 18, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION HC JUDGE DEPOSES BEFORE SC COLLEGIUM TO PRESENT HIS CASE Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav met the Collegium members on Tuesday to explain why he made controversial statements at a recent VHP event SC PANEL TO CONSIDER EXPLANATION GIVEN JUSTICE YADAV GETS U.P. CM YOGI’S BACKING At the event on December 8, Justice Yadav said the Uniform Civil Code’s aim was to promote social harmony, gender equality, and secularism. He also allegedly made some communal remarks against Muslims. The SC Collegium asked him to put fourth his version on the remarks to satisfy the principles of natural justice, before any action is considered against him ■ ■ While the judge’s speech was panned for its communal undertones, it received the backing of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who said targeting the judge for merely expressing his opinion was wrong Justice Yadav had made the controversial remarks while addressing a provincial convention of the legal cell of the VHP at the Allahabad HC Dec 10 WHEN THE SC SOUGHT RESPONSE FROM ALLAHABAD HC ON THE JUDGE’S REMARKS CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Bishnupada Sethi shunted out, posted as OSD in GA EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar DRAGGED into controversy over the CBI investigation into Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited bribery scandal, senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi was on Tuesday shifted from the three keys positions he was assigned and placed as officer-on-special duty (OSD) in the General Administration and Public Grievance department. Sethi was earlier issued summon by the central agency to join the investigation. Though has not personally appeared, sources said, he could be served a fresh summon in this regard. While the IAS officer has been under intense media scrutiny, with Opposition political parties seeking action against him, the Mohan Charan Majhi government acted swiftly by effecting a mini reshuffle in the senior level. Sethi was replaced by Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra on the latter’s repatriation from central deputation. A 1997-batch IAS officer, Mishra has been posted as principal secretary in the ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare department with additional charges of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and Odia Language, Literature and Culture departments. CONTINUED ON P5 ONE NATION, ONE ELECTION 269 198 MEMBERS IN FAVOUR VOTES AGAINST THE BILL A video grab of proceedings of the Lok Sabha during the introduction of two bills on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal, in New Delhi on Tuesday | PTI ‘One poll’ bill introduced in LS Draws fierce protest from Oppn; govt ready to send it to a joint parliamentary committee P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi AMID fierce protests from the Opposition INDIA bloc, the government introduced two contentious bills on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday through a division of votes, with 269 ayes and 198 nays. While the Opposition termed it anti-federal and against the basic structure of the Constitution, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal defended the bill on simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies across the country . Union home minister Amit Shah and Meghwal said that the government is willing to refer the bills to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further deliberations (JPC). “When the One Nation, One Election bill YSR CONGRESS ON BOARD, BJD MUM The YSRCP, which has four LS members, declared its support for the bill. The BJD is yet to reveal its cards — it drew a blank in the LS polls this year, but has seven members in RS. Kovind panel had said 32 parties were in favour of joint polls while 15 were against it was taken up in the Cabinet for approval, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it should be sent to a JPC for detailed discussion. If the law minister is willing to send the bill to the JPC, the discussion on its introduction can end,” Shah said in the House. As the government failed to secure two-thirds majority in the introduction stage, the Opposition wondered if the ruling NDA had the requisite numbers to push them through to amend the Constitution. Speaker Om Birla allowed a division of votes after Opposition members insisted on it. Taking potshots at the government, Congress MP Manickam Tagore wrote on X, “Two-thirds majority (i.e., 307) was needed out of the total 461 votes... but the government secured only (269), while the Opposition got 198. The ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal failed to gain two-thirds support.” The brief discussion on the bill saw uproar as a united Opposition, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party Trina, mool Congress and several other parties demanded its House panel against APBS for NREGS payment P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi FLAGGING concern over the low wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a Parliamentary Panel has recommended raising the wages of the workers. In a report submitted to Par- RECRUITMENT EXAMS OUT NTA to manage higher edu entrance tests alone K A V I TA B A J E L I - D AT T @ New Delhi IN a significant shift from its role, the National Testing Agency (NTA) will now focus solely on conducting entrance exams for admissions to higher education institutions. It means the agency will no longer oversee recruitment exams. Making the announcement, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday that the idea is to conduct error-free exams for which accountability will be fixed. He also said that the government is considering moving to computer-adaptive tests and tech-driven entrance exams soon. As the agency will be restructured next year, new posts are being created. “We DIGI-EXAM have started the process of restructuring the NTA by creating new posts and apSYSTEM pointing new officers. This will bring A major fresh energy the minister said. ,” proposal was The re-structuring of NTA, which conthe ducts 10 major exams in India taken by an introduction of estimated 50 lakh candidates, is part of its a DIGI-EXAM reforms based on the recommendation of system to a high-level panel set-up earlier this year ensure that following alleged leaks and malpractice in only the the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance candidate Test (NEET-UG) medical entrance exam writing the as well as a series of cancellations of othexam takes the er exams due to suspected leaks and other test. “Multi- glitches. stage authentiOn NEET-UG exams, Pradhan said they cation of the are in talks with Union health minister J candidate’s P Nadda on whether to hold it as a compuidentity is ter-based test (CBT) or pen-paper format. envisaged “Two meetings have been held with the which makes health minister. We will announce the mouse of Aadhaar dalities as early as possible,” he said. and biometrics As part of restructuring, he said 10 adand AI-based ditional NTA posts have been created. data analytics,” “There will be many changes in the funcit said tioning to ensure there is zero-error testing. We want NTA to be a specialist body . We have already started recruitment.” It’s in line with the panel’s proposal to set up 10 specific verticals, headed at the director level. liament on Tuesday, the panel said that since 2008, it found the amount inadequate and not in consonance with the rising cost of living. “Taking up work under MGNREGA is a sort of last resort for many of the poor rural masses who do not have any other option of livelihood or job option to utilise but wages of such nominal nature sometime with delayed payment only discourage them and propel them to migrate and seek work in areas giving better remuneration,” said the panel, headed by Cong ress MP Sapta giri Sankar Ulaka. CONTINUED ON P5 withdrawal. Leading the discussion from the Opposition side, Congress MP Manish Tewari said the bills are an absolute assault on the basic structure of the Constitution and are beyond the legislative competence of the House. “ONOE bill gives illegal powers to Election Commission to advise the President,” said Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi. Opposing the bill, DMK member T R Baalu said, “As my leader M K Stalin said, it is antifederal. Electors have the right to elect the government for five years. This right cannot be curtailed with simultaneous elections.” TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee said, “The proposed bill hits the basic structure of the Constitution, so it is ultra vires.” However, NDA allies TDP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) offered their unwavering support. RUSSIAN GENERAL HEADING N-ARMS VERTICAL ASSASSINATED A senior Russian general was killed by a bomb hidden in a scooter in Moscow | P9 Congress treated Constitution as pvt fiefdom: Shah R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi UNION home minister and the BJP’s principal strategist Amit Shah on Tuesday tore into the Congress, terming it an anti-reservation party that recklessly amended the Constitution of India to pander to its appeasement politics during its long stint in government. Replying to the discussion on the ‘Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India’ in the Rajya Sabha, Shah accused the grand old party of treating the country’s Constitution as its private property and amending it frequently to appease its Muslim vote bank. “In 1953, the Kaka Kalelkar Commission was formed to provide reservations to the OBC, but its report was nowhere to be found. Had the recommendations of the Commission been accepted, the Mandal Commission would not have been formed,” Shah said. He further said that the Mandal recommendations came out in 1980, but they could be implemented only after the grand old party was voted out of power in 1990. Describing the Indian Constitution rooted with India’s culture and every aspects of natural justice and social ethos, Shah said the Constitution strengthened the roots of democracy and the transfer of power happens without shedding even a drop of blood. “The Constitution is not a tool for misleading or creating confusion in rallies; it is a symbol of belief and faith that must be respected,” he said. Targeting the Gandhi family Shah cited sev, eral amendments which he said were done during the Congress rule to appease one community so that the party controlled by the family can retain power. On the other hand, the amendments done during the BJP rule were aimed at providing justice, welfare, and empowerment to the people, Shah claimed. “Even before the first elections in the country Jawaharlal Nehru effected the first Consti, tutional amendment to curtail the freedom of expression. The Congress considered the Constitution as ‘private fiefdom’ of one family and deceived Parliament,” he said, adding that the Constitution is a symbol of belief and faith that must be respected. They (NehruGandhi family) considered not just the party as their private property, but also treated the Constitution as their ‘private fiefdom’ Amit Shah JIBE AT RAHUL Taking potshots at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shah said: “The 54-year-old leader who calls himself ‘yuva’, roams around with Constitution” 77 VS 22 CHANGES Shah said the Congress amended the Constitution 77 times during its 55-year rule, while the BJP made 22 changes in 16 years