THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l friday l august 09, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee departs at 80, was bengal cM for 11 years The Communist stalwart passed away on Thursday morning at the age of 80 in Kolkata. He was suffering from age-related ailments 1 March 1944 - 8 August 2024 A communist who backed big industries Remembered for his pragmatic approach Bhattacharjee, a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was known for his efforts to bring industrialisation to the state to create jobs. He invited big companies to come to West Bengal and set up factories there. However, protests broke out over land acquisition. Police firing on protesters in Nandigram in 2007 eroded the Left Front’s support and it lost power in 2011 ■ ■ He was the chief minister of West Bengal for 11 years from 2000. Though his party’s prospects have declined in the state, Bhattacharjee remained a revered figure, remembered for his ‘pragmatic approach’ Condoling the death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “He was a political stalwart who served the state with commitment” | P4, 7 1977 when he was first elected as member of west Bengal legislative assembly 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 44 amendments proposed in the legislation introduced in the Lok Sabha; INDIA bloc questions inclusion of non-Muslims on boards NDA allies on the same page NDA allies JD(U), TDP, Shiv Sena and LJP backed the bill saying it was aimed at bringing transparency. JD(U)’s Lalan Singh said, “How is the bill anti-Muslim?” Chirag too was on the same page. However, YSRCP MPs opposed it Enemies of Muslims, says Owaisi Fiercely opposing the bill, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said it violates Articles 14, 15, and 25 of the Constitution. “You are enemies of Muslims and this bill is evidence of that,” he charged Bill on eviction withdrawn The govt withdrew the Waqf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Bill 2014 from the Rajya Sabha. It was introduced by Rahman Khan that year and referred to a Standing Committee for vetting Some people have captured Waqf boards and this Bill has been brought to give justice to ordinary Muslims Kiren Rijiju, BJP It’s draconian. Next you will go for Christians, then Jains, then Parsis...we are Hindu but we respect other religions K C Venugopal, Cong We believe the registration is going to help poor Muslims and women of the country and bring transparency Harish Balayogi, TDP Why are nonMuslims included on Waqf boards when it is not done in other religious bodies? The truth is that the BJP has brought this bill to appease its hardcore supporters Akhilesh Yadav, SP Waqf bill goes to JPC after Oppn labels it as draconian P r ee t ha N a i r @ New Delhi Facing stiff opposition from the united INDIA bloc, the government referred the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill to a joint parliamentary panel (JPC) for scrutiny after it was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday . The House witnessed a twohour long heated debate with minority affairs minister Kiran Rijiju asserting that the proposed legislation is in tune with the recommendations of the Sachar Committee and the JPC instituted by the previous Congress governments, while the Opposition dubbed it as anti-Muslim, anti-Constitution and malicious. From giving the Centre the power to frame rules to providing representation for women to the inclusion of two non-Muslim members in Waqf boards and a separate Board of Auqaf for Boharas and Aghakhanis, the government proposed 44 amendments to the Waqf Act 1995. Rijiju said the Waqf Act of 1995 did not serve its purpose and the amendments were necessitated as the Congress could not achieve the reform it should have. He added that the government has done extensive consultations with various stakeholders over the last 10 years to bring in the changes. “With this bill, there is no interference in the freedom of any religious body ....It has been brought to give rights to those who never got them.” Leading the Opposition offensive, Congress MP K C Venugopal accused the government of violating the right to freedom of religion and argued that the legislation was brought with an eye on the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana. He said the government wants to induct non-Muslims in the governing body of state Waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council through the amendments. “When the committee to build the Ram temple was constituted, were nonHindus part of it?” he said. Accusing the government of attempting to appease BJP’s hardcore supporters, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “What is the point of including nonMuslims in Waqf boards when this is not done in other religious bodies?” RSP MP N K Premachandran said that the government doesn’t have the legislative competence to make the amendments. Rijiju said in the earlier law, there was no provision to challenge or review the order or judgment of the tribunal. Now, a provision has been made for verdicts to be challenged in higher courts. He claimed that many leaders in the Opposition had privately told him that state Waqf boards had turned into a mafia. “I won’t take their names and destroy their careers,” Rijiju said. Indian players take a lap of honour to thank the crowd for their support after beating Spain 2-1 in the bronze medal play-off on Thursday. This third place finish confirmed India’s 13th Olympic medal in the sport | PTI After pain, happiness for India I After heartbreak, Vinesh announces retirement Having been disqualified ahead of the 50kg final at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, wrestler Vinesh Phogat announced on social media that she is bidding adieu to the sport. press Intake Scamsters target NEET-PG aspirants, promise ‘leaked’ ques papers | P5 Natural rubber price hits all-time high of G244 | P5 Kerala hails Sreejesh’s farewell performance | P5 RBI leaves rates unchanged for 9th time in a row B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai Students of Amrita Vidyalayam, Wayanad, pay tributes to the victims of the landslides, at the mass burial site in Puthumala | E Gokul CM: Comprehensive rehab package sought for victims HC: Stop excavation Kochi: The HC has directed the state government to stop the excavation of soil from steep hills until further orders. A division bench said excavation could not be allowed for now considering the ecological imbalances it creates | P4 E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @T’Puram Kerala has sought a comprehensive rehabilitation package from the Union government for the victims of the Wayanad landslides, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday adding that , the response from the Centre has been favourable so far. “We hope the Centre will extend support to help the affected families, their rehabilitation and in establishing a township for them,” he told reporters. The CM said he hopes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is visiting Wayanad on Saturday, will take a favourable stand on the state’s requests. He said Kerala has also asked the Centre to declare the calamity as one of “rare severity” nature. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has appointed a nine-member team to submit a report on the state’s request, Pinarayi said, adding that MHA joint secretary Rajeev Kumar, the team leader, met him on Thursday “Search op. erations are continuing. On Friday, the search at Mundakkai and Chooralmala will see people’s participation. The victims will be taken to the search areas, and can join the officials in the operations, which would be conducted in six zones,” he said. ● More on P4 Reiterating the resolve to tame inflation and bring it down to the desired target for a sustainable, durable period, the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), chaired by Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das voted to leave the key policy rates unchanged at 6.5% and decided to continue to suck out excess liquidity from the system for the ninth consecutive time. The announcement did not spook stock markets as nobody was expecting a rate cut. However, the hawkish undertone did make the market nervous. This had the indices falling by threefourths of a percentage points. The decisions were taken after a 4:2 vote at the 50th meeting of the MPC since its inception in September 2016. Das said that the flexible inflation targeting framework will soon complete eight years and is up for review next month. P10 EXPRESS READ Yunus takes oath as head of B’desh interim govt Dhaka: Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84, on Thursday took oath as the head of the interim government in Bangladesh. He will lead a 16-member cabinet. P7, 9 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express t was emotional, it was epochal. But above everything, it was cathartic. The pall of gloom that descended over India cleared on Thursday for some cheer. If it was wrestling that broke Indian hearts, it was hockey that lifted them. The azure astro turf gave India a fourth medal at the Paris Olympic Games, a week after Swapnil Kusale had won the third. After everything that had happened over the past couple of days, that bronze was worth its weight in gold. That last-minute goal at the end of the second quarter the biggest saves of his life in spurred the team on. They dying seconds as India win the wanted to win for PR Sreejesh, bronze beating Spain 2-1. the trusted custodian The Yves du Manoir of India’s fortunes and Stadium is part of Parone of the greatest is’s suburbian folklore. It goalkeepers of his gen- TNIE @ olympics is part of sporting histoeration, who was playry too. This is the only ing his final game. stadium that hosted They celebrated. Soakevents in the 1924 Paris ing in the summer PaOlympics. T his was risian sun, the XI rose where Paavo Nurmi, the Indraneel Das together one last time. legendary Flying Finn, Paris As he did three years won four gold. On Thursago against Germany day it added a new fable , in Tokyo to help the team win to its annals. The story of Intheir first Olympic medal after dia’s second bronze in succes41 years, Sreejesh again made sive Olympics. P11
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.
09082024 of The New Indian Express-Thiruvananthapuram