SATURDAY 31 AUGUST, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard VISTARA TO MERGE WITH AIR INDIA FROM NOV 12, DEAL GETS GOVT NOD 1ST INTERVIEW HARRIS DEFENDS POLICY FLIP FLOPS Singapore Airlines (SIA) said the Indian govt has cleared its `2,058.50 crore FDI into the enlarged Air India Group as part of Vistara-Air India merger Kamala Harris said Americans are ready to turn the page on Donald Trump as she reached out to voters in her first interview since her entry into prez race. From September 3, those trying to book Vistara for travel on November 12 or beyond will be redirected to Air India’s website. Customers who have already booked Vistara will automatically have their reservations converted to Air India flight numbers. Though flight numbers will change, the aircraft fleet, flight schedules, and crews will largely remain the same till early 2025. P10 NO IMMEDIATE CHANGE IN SCHEDULE, AIRCRAFT A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 STRONG WORDS EAM: Era of non-stop talks with Pak over Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi THE era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan is over, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. Speaking at a book launch here, he said all actions—positive or negative—will have consequences, adding that nobody can expect India to remain a silent spectator in matters concer ning its core national interests. “As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, Article 370 is done. India is not passive and whether events take a positive or negative direction – either way we react,” Jaishankar said while speaking at the release of former ambassador Rajiv Sikri’s book, Strategic Conundrums: Reshaping India’s Foreign Policy. Commenting on the turmoil in India’s neighbourhood, he said neighbours are “always a conundrum” and so are “major powers”. He, then, went on to explain that major powers are challenging because of their broad interests. Their agendas will sometimes align with India but can also differ, he remarked, adding that mature countries work their way around such complexities. As for Bangladesh, Jaishankar said the small nation is “India locked” and the strong people-to-people connections can’t be ignored. “When people say that happened in Bangladesh, this happened in Maldives... they need to look around. Which country doesn’t have challenges, complexities vis-a-vis with its neighbours?” he noted. On India’s delicate ties with China, he said Beijing presents a ‘double conundrum’ because it is both a neighbour and a major power, making it a complex challenge to deal with. IN another twist to Akali politics in Punjab, the Akal Takht on Friday declared Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal “tankhaiya’’ (guilty of religious misconduct) for the “mistakes” of his party and its government from 2007 to 2017. The move triggered demands for Sukhbir’s resignation within and outside SAD, a party that has been reduced to the margins of mainstream politics in the state, winning only one out of 13 Lok Sabha seats and two in EXPRESS READ Implement existing laws: Centre to Didi Union Minister Annapurna Devi on Friday asserted that the existing laws were stringent enough to tackle violence and crimes against women and urged the West Bengal government to implement the same in “letter and spirit”. In her second letter, Banerjee on Friday wrote to PM Narendra Modi, reiterating her request for stringent central legislation and exemplary punishment on heinous crimes like rape and murder. P8 NEW DELHI Those who consider Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologise to them Narendra Modi, prime minister Modi apologises over collapse of Shivaji’s statue J8.00 PAGES 12 GDP growth slips to 15-month low in Q1 M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi POOR performance of the agriculture and services sectors pulled down India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in the April-June 2024 quarter to a 15-month low of 6.7%, against 8.2% in the yearago period, government data released on Friday showed. The agriculture sector registered a 2% growth during April-June 2024, down from 3.7% in the same quarter a year ago. Trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting moderated to 5.7% from 9.7%, as per data released by the National Statistical Office. The NSO data also indicated that India’s gross value added or GVA, which measures the growth in supply by subtracting net product taxes from GDP showcased a 6.8% , g rowth rate in the April-June quarter. The latest GDP growth rate is less than the Reserve Bank of India’s estimate of 7.1% for the same period and also lowest in the past five quarters. Explaining the dip, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran said it could be due to reduced government spending during the general elections. “Growth momentum has remained strong, with the slowdown in the first quarter anticipated due to elections and less spending by the Government ,” he said. The CEA noted that the final consumption expenditure and net exports have remained resilient, even as the growth rate in agriculture and livestock sectors appears to be Takes a swipe at Rahul Gandhi for insulting Veer Savarkar, another son of the land Visited Raigad in 2013: PM “In 2013, when my party projected me as the prime ministerial candidate, the first thing I did was to visit Raigad Fort. I bowed before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue and sought his blessings,” Modi recalled in his address at Palghar Shinde, Ajit said sorry A few days ago, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Ajit Pawar had extended their apology. However, the Opposition continues to demand Shinde’s resignation WITH assembly elections in Maharashtra around the corner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sought to limit the political damage caused by the recent collapse of a 35-ft statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the state, by apologising to the legendary ruler and all those who were hurt by it. Modi had inaugurated the statue at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg district on December 4, 2023, on the occasion of Navy Day . The prime minister was addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of the `76,000-crore Vadhvan Port project in Palghar district located adjoining Mumbai. “The moment I landed here, I first apologised to Shivaji over the statue collapse. I also apologise to the people who were hurt by the collapse,” he said. “Those who consider Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologise to them. For us, nothing is bigger than our deity he added. ,” The statue was erected to honour the legacy of the Maratha Navy and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj towards pioneering maritime defence and security and its historical linkage with the mod, ern Indian Navy . Modi also took a swipe at the Opposition for insulting and abusing another famous son of the land, Veer Savarkar. “Our values are different, we are not those who keep abusing and insulting the great son of Mother India, the son of this land, Veer Savarkar. They are not ready to apologise, they are ready to go to the courts and fight,” he added, taking potshots at Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. However, the Opposition said there can be no pardon for the corruption in the construction of the statue. NCP (SP) president Jayant Patil said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj never condoned corruption and negligence. “Maharashtra follows the path shown by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. So, sir (Modi), Maharashtra will not forgive this mistake. The people who are responsible for this lapse will have to face punishment,” Patil said. the 117-member Assembly . Soon after the declaration, Sukhbir said he accepted the order of the Akal Takht and would soon appear before it. The Akal Takht also summoned Sikh ministers in the then Parkash Singh Badal cabinet who were part of the contentious decisions on mainly the sacrilege cases that included “pardoning” Dera Sacha Sauda chief in 2015. Hours after the decision, rebel SAD leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra and Charanjit Singh Brar demanded Sukhbir step down. JD(U), TDP join Oppn walkout from Waqf JPC P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Avani Lekhara celebrates her gold medal with coach Suma Shirur at Chateaurous on Friday | AP SHOOTING FOR THE STARS 10th INDIA ARE 10TH ON THE OVERALL STANDINGS India also won a silver medal through Manish Narwal in the men’s 10m air pistol (SH1) final at Chateauroux AVANI’S HISTORIC GOLD Avani Lekhara became the first Indian to win two successive Paralympic gold medals with a recordbreaking performance. She bettered her Olympic record set in Tokyo to finish ahead of South Korea’s Lee Yunri. Mona Agarwal won bronze on her maiden Paralympics in SH1 air rifle | P11 ATHLETE ON TRACK India won their first track medal at the Paralympics in Paris when Preethi Pal finished third in T35 category Court nod to frame charges against Tytler S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi THE Rouse Avenue Court on Friday ordered the framing of charges against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 Pul Bangash Sikh killings case. Special Judge Rakesh Syal, presiding over the case, said there is “sufficient material” to proceed with charges against Tytler. The court has directed the framing of charges under several sections of the IPC, dealing with unlawful assembly, promoting enmity between different groups, disobedience to an order, defiling place of worship), murder and abetment. However, Tytler has been discharged under Section 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly reaching its lowest point. Nageswaran said India is positioned to achieve a GDP growth of 6.5-7% in FY25, as projected in the Economic Survey. He added that growth exceeding 7% is attainable, especially since the Budget includes measures to enhance employment generation. According to the CEA, a decrease in net FDI does not indicate a lack of confidence in the Indian economy; rather, it reflects profitable exits in FY24. This trend should serve as an encouragement for future investment, he observed. SEC 40 OMISSION S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai Takht holds Badal guilty of ‘religious misconduct’ H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh weapon) of the IPC. The court has scheduled the formal framing of charges for September 13, and Tytler has been directed to appear on that date. The case traces back to the violence that erupted in Delhi following the assassination of then PM Indira Gandhi by her bodyguards on October 31, 1984. On November 1, 1984, a mob gathered near the Pul Bangash gurdwara, leading to the deaths of three people. According to the chargesheet filed by the CBI in May 2023, Tytler, a former Union minister, is accused of inciting the mob with inflammatory remarks. The chargesheet details testimony from a witness who alleged that Tytler arrived at the scene in a white Ambassador car and provoked the crowd. This incitement reportedly fueled the mob’s fury . Last year, Tytler was granted anticipatory bail by a sessions court, requiring him to post a personal bond of `1 lakh along with a surety of the same amount. Case dates back to ’84 in capital The case dates back to 1984 violence that erupted following the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi by her bodyguards on Oct 31, 1984. On Nov 1, 1984, a mob gathered near Pul Bangash gurdwara, leading to the death of three people THE second Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Friday ran into rough weather after Opposition MPs and the ruling NDA allies staged a walkout over several amendments in the proposed legislation. Sources said the Opposition walked out after officials of the minority affairs ministry failed to provide satisfactory replies regarding the proposed omission of Section 40 from the Waqf Act 1995, which currently allows Waqf boards to decide if a property is a Waqf or not. The Opposition also alleged that the government was trying to mislead the public by giving misinformation regarding the bill. Sources said DMK’s A Raja questioned the government’s intention to remove Section 40, which was included by amending the Waqf Act 1995 in 2013 under the Manmohan Singh government. As per Sec- An amendment passed by tion 40 of the Waqf Act 1995 (as Parliament amended in 2013), the state Waqf included Section Board is empowered to decide 40 in the law. any question that arises as to How can the whether a particular property is government overrule the a Waqf property or not. law? “An amendment passed by Parliament included Section 40 A Raja, DMK Lok in the law. How can the governSabha member ment overrule the law?” Raja asked. Sources said that members of the Opposition Congress, DMK, and AAP along with TDP, and JD(U) boycotted the meeting after they alleged that officials could not answer their sharp questions. AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi joined the Opposition walkout. The committee had called representatives of the All India Sunni Jamiyatul Ulama, Mumbai, the Delhi-based Indian Muslims for Civil Rights, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board and the Rajasthan Board of Muslim Waqf among others for consultation. Sources said that the Muslim bodies, too, objected to the various amendments in the proposed bill, such as the inclusion of two non-Muslims in the Waqf boards and implications on the autonomy of Waqf institutions. STARLINK BRAZIL FREEZES FINANCIAL ASSETS A standoff between a Brazilian Supreme Court judge and Elon Musk intensified as his Starlink company said its assets had been frozen in the country amid a feud over the fate of his social media platform ‘X’ | P9 Alert: Cyber fraud capital has moved — from Jamtara to Tarapith 331 Cyber frauds 55 Computer related offences 157 ONLINE PUBLICATION OF OBSCENE OR SEXUALLY EXPLICIT ACTS 5 CHEATING BY PERSONATION 21 Publishing or transmitting obscene material online ON THE PROWL Capital records 685 cases in 2022 116 CASES registered for publishing or transmitting photographs & audio or video clips depicting children involved in sexually explicit acts U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi IN a multi-state operation running nearly a month, Delhi Police arrested 19 fraudsters allegedly involved in separate cases of cybercrimes, a senior officer said on Friday . It appeared that the racket spanned from Jamtara and Giridih in Jharkhand to Paratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh and Tarapith in West Bengal. The investigation indicated that the cyber fraudsters shifted from Jamtara to Tarapith. The cops were able to unearth `6.93 crore in multiple bank accounts. In the multistate operation, the cops found six types of modus operandi— online stock market investment, online work from home t hro ug h t el e g r a m, f r au d through customer care numbers, among several others. The cyber cons also found new ways of cheating by using 99 Acre App, Quicker App and driver track plus cards. DCP (South-West) Rohit Menna said multiple teams were formed in early August that began probing the cyber scams to target main fraudsters. During the week-long search operation, the police teams conducted raids at Jamtara and Giridih, Samastipur in Bihar, Rajgarh, Sephora and Biaora in Madhya Pradesh, Paratapgarh, Mumbai, Ajmer and Tarapith. Jamtara is known as the phishing capital of India after umpteen incidents of cyber fraud across the country were reported from this small town. A senior police officer said with back-to-back cases of cyber frauds being registered from Jamtara, the focus of law enforcement agencies remained on the region which alerted the scamsters. So, they headed further east at Tarapith village in West Bengal. “We have arrested 4-5 people from Tarapith who were involved in cyber crimes,” the DCP told this newspaper. P4
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