LT General Upendra Dwivedi next Army chief wednesdAY 12 june, 2024 The government has appointed Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, currently serving as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, as the next Chief of the Army Staff epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard June 30 Malawi When Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi will take over as chief of the Army staff VP, 9 others die in plane crash The small military plane crashed in bad weather in a mountainous region in the north of the country, the president said on Tuesday Page 9 Decorated officer with 40-year service A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 Mohan Majhi gets the Odisha BJP baton; new CMs to take oath today Singh Deo and Parida selected as deputy cms B i j o y P r ad h a n @ Bhubaneswar Ending the week-long speculation, the BJP on Tuesday announced senior tribal leader and four-time MLA Mohan Charan Majhi as its first chief minister of Odisha. Majhi will have two deputy chief ministers in former state BJP president and six-time MLA Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and debutant legislator Pravati Parida. Majhi was elected as the leader of the BJP Legislature Party here at a meeting attended by Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Bhupender Yadav as central observers. Majhi’s name as the legislature party leader was proposed by senior leader Surama Padhi and seconded by MLAs Prithviraj Harichandan and Laxman Bag. Rajnath said, “I am delighted to announce that Mohan Charan Majhi has been elected unanimously as the leader of Odisha BJP Legislature Party . After discussion, Majhi suggested that it will be better if the names of K V Singh Deo and Pravati Parida are an- Mohan Charan Majhi nounced as deputy chief ministers. I accept his proposal.” The CM-elect and his two deputies, all MLAs, three Independents who extended support to the BJP and top leaders , called on Governor Raghubar Das to stake his claim for forming the new government. The Governor invited Majhi and his council of ministers for the swearing-in ceremony at 4.55 pm at Janata Maidan here on Wednesday. The ceremony will be attended by PM Narendra Modi. The 53-year-old Majhi belongs to the Santali community He was the . Opposition chief whip in the outgoing Assembly . Majhi, who comes from the RSS background, is well-known for his organisational skills and public service. He has been elected from Keonjhar Assembly constituency four times. Majhi expressed his gratitude to Lord Jagannath and the people for the opportunity to the BJP to serve them. “We will try our best to fulfill their aspirations and take the state to the pinnacle of progress,” he said.  More reports on pg 5 & 7 N Chandrababu Naidu P Ha r e e s h @ Vijayawada Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu will be sworn in as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday Prime Minister Narendra . Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and newly inducted Union ministers J P Nadda and Bandi Sanjay Kumar will attend the function scheduled to take place at 11.27 am at Kesarapalli on the outskirts of Vijayawada. Prominent actors Chiranjeevi and Rajnikanth will also be present. The entire Cabinet will be sworn in along with Naidu, it is learnt. Sources said 4-6 Cabinet berths will be given to alliance partners BJP and Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP). Shah arrived in Vijayawada on Tuesday night and held discussions with Naidu on the Cabinet berths for the BJP Modi is . expected to reach on Wednesday morning. Speaking to NDA MLAs meeting earlier in the day, Naidu hinted at Pawan Kalyan being inducted into the Cabi- Modi, shah to attend Andhra ceremony net. Speculation is rife that the JSP chief will be given the deputy CM’s post. In such a scenario, Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh won’t be a part of the Cabinet, sources said. He would be given the responsibility of overseeing party affairs and might even be elevated to the top post in the TDP . Earlier in the day, Andhra Governor S Abdul Nazeer invited Naidu to form the government after a delegation of NDA MLAs met him and conveyed their decision to elect Naidu as the NDA Legislature Party leader. Soon after taking charge as CM, Naidu is likely to sign a file for conducting a mega DSC (District Selection Committee) exam to fill vacant teacher posts across the State. Meanwhile, Naidu said Amaravati will be the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh. He said Visakhapatnam will be developed as a financial capital. The NDA registered a thumping victory in AP winning 164 of the 175 Assembly seats and 21 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats. l Born on July 1, 1964, Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi was commissioned into the Infantry (J&K Rifles) on December 15, 1984. During his service spanning 40 years, he has served in Command, Staff, Instructional and Foreign appointments. He has been decorated with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and three GOC-in-C Commendation Cards PAGES 12 Real crime Kannada actor Darshan among 13 arrested for murder P r av e e n K u m a r a n d Rak s h i t h G o w da @ Bengaluru Popular Sandalwood actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and 12 others, including his ‘close acquaintance’ Pavithra Gowda, have been arrested for allegedly torturing and murdering a 33-year-old medical store worker from Chitradurga. The victim had reportedly sent derogatory and lewd messages to Pavithra on social media and this was said to be the reason for his murder. Ironically, the victim was a die-hard fan of Darshan and sent messages to Pavithra, assuming that she was spoiling the relationship between the 47-year-old actor and his wife Vijayalakshmi. All the 13 accused have been remanded in police custody till June 17. The victim has been identified as S Renukaswamy, a resident of Lakshmi Venkateshwara Layout in Chitradurga. He was alleg- Actor Darshan Thoogudeepa after he was arrested. (Inset: Renukaswamy) edly kidnapped from Chitradurga on Saturday His body . was thrown into a stormwater drain near Sumanahalli bridge in the wee hours of Sunday The murder came to . light around 8.30 am on Sunday when Keval Ram Dorji, a security staffer at an apartment in Sumanahalli, saw stray dogs dragging the body and reported the matter to police. The police registered a murder case after noticing injury marks on the body . Preliminary investigations revealed Renukaswamy was fatally assaulted with a blunt object. 3 culprits surrendered on Monday On Monday, three persons surrendered before police, claiming they had murdered Renukaswamy. It is suspected that they were asked to surrender after the murder came to light. However, during interrogation, the trio pointed fingers at Darshan and Pavithra City faces long AAP, L-G in war power cuts as UP of words over grid catches fire water shortage A n u p V e r m a @ New Delhi A s h i s h S r i va s tava @ New Delhi Delhiites were back to the lack of basics on The water crisis has escalated into a blame Tuesday Various parts of central, east and south. game between the AAP government and the east parts of the city were left sweating it out in Lieutenant-Governor as residents continue to the peak summer season following a power outscramble for the supply Both sides accuse each . age in the afternoon that continued for nearly two other of shielding the water tanker mafia and hours. The affected areas included those housing inadequate water. At the centre of the row is the the Delhi L-G secretariat and the CM’s residence. Munak canal and the Haryana government. In a meeting on Monday between Water MinisFollowing the disruption, city’s water treatment ter Atishi and the L-G, an inspection report was plants too went quiet affecting supplies. Officials said a substation of the power presented. That said that Haryana, through grid in neighbouring UP’s Mandola caught Munak canal, is releasing water more than fire resulting in the supply disruption. its defined quota. But the supply gets short Capital by 200 cusecs after entering Delhi, which The Mandola unit supplies 1,200 MW to the national capital. the crisis amounts to 18% of two water released. it: The report cited reasons behind Civil Lines, Model Town, Kashmiri non-maintenance of the canal leading to Gate, Gulabi Bagh, Shakti Nagar and Vileakages and theft by the water tanker majay Nagar in north Delhi too faced outages, fia. The officials showed tankers lined up along said a discom official. Power Minister Atishi termed the disruption the Munak canal lifting water illegally . worrying and said she would meet the Central In her response, Atishi pointed to an affidavit minister and chairman of the Power Grid Corsubmitted by Haryana in the Supreme Court poration to ensure the cut doesn’t recur. stating that the state was releasing water less Water treatment plants at Sonia Vihar and than its quota. On the Munak canal repairs, she others faced power cuts. Some of the affected said, “Its maintenance is the responsibility of areas were ITO, Sarita Vihar, Sukhdev Vihar, the Haryana Irrigation Department. The Delhi Laxmi Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Jamia, Narela, government pays for its supply from Haryana.” Raj Niwas officials accused AAP of fuelling Model Town, Rohini, Gopalpur, Sabzi Mandi, the crisis in connivance with the tanker mafia. Wazirpur, Kashmiri Gate. Indian univs to offer admissions twice a year to keep global profile, says UGC K av i ta B a j e l i - D at t @ New Delhi ‘Will improve job scene’ Indian universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) will be allowed to offer admissions twice a year on lines of foreign universities. The two admission cycles—followed globally—will be July-August and January-February from the 2024-25 academic session. Speaking with this newspaper, UGC chairman M Jagdesh Kumar said, “If Indian universities can offer admission twice a year, it will benefit many students, such as those who missed admission to a university in The UGC chief says biannual university admissions—JulyAugust and January-February from 2024-25 academic session— will help industries with their campus recruitment twice a year. the July/August session due to a delay in the announcement of board results, health issues, or personal reasons.” He said biannual university admissions would help students maintain motivation since they do not have to wait for one full year to be admitted if they miss admission in the current cycle. This will also help industries to do campus recruitment twice a year. “Universities worldwide already follow a biannual admission system. If Indian HEIs follow the system, our HEIs can enhance their global tie-ups and student exchanges,” Kumar said. He, however, said that it will not be mandatory to offer biannual admissions for universities. The HEIs that have the required infrastructure and teaching faculty can utilise the opportunity . auspicious beginning Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy offers prayers before assuming office on Tuesday | Parveen negi | P7 Express read 1 militant killed, 2 held in Kathua encounter Two days after militants attacked a bus carrying pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district, a militant was killed and two others trapped in an encounter at Seda Sohal village in Kathua district. A civilian was also injured when fired at by the militants, reports said. 2 Indians killed in Russia-Ukraine war Two Indian nationals recruited by the Russian Army were killed in the Russia-Ukraine recently, Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday. “Our Embassy in Moscow has pressed the Russian authorities for early repatriation of the mortal remains,” the MEA said. P7 Toxic gas from sewer chokes 3 to death Toxic gas emanating from an underground sewer line entered the toilets of homes and asphyxiated two women and a 15-year-old girl at Pudhunagar in in Puducherry early on Tuesday. Over 200 residents of the area have been evacuated to safety. P5 NEET sanctity breached, says SC, issues notice to NTA S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi Observing that the sanctity of the NEET-UG exam for admission to medical courses has been affected following a raging controversy over awarding grace marks and an alleged paper leak, the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA) for its detailed reply on a batch of pleas seeking a fresh test. “It is not that simple that because you have done it is sacrosanct. Sanctity has been affected, so we need answers,” a two-judge vacation bench of justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah told the NTA. The court, however, declined a request to stay the counselling process and posted the matter for further hearing to July 8. “Let the counselling start, we are not stopping the counselling,” the bench said. While tagging the petition filed by 10 NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) candidates, the court warned the petitioners not to persist with the demand to stay the counselling, else it would dismiss the pleas. The pleas alleged that the exam was riddled with malpractices. The petitioners claimed they had learnt from that there were instances of paper leaks, which was violative of Article 14 (right to equality) under the Constitution. The NEET-UG exam is the gateway for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and veterinary courses in government and private institutions across the country The exam was con. ducted on May 5 and its results were declared on June 4. It later emerged that 1,536 candidates were awarded compensators on the grounds of ‘loss of time.’ There is no defined logic for grace marks, the petitioners said. No list was shared on the grace marks. Besides, the provision of compensatory marks were not disclosed in the information bulletin before the exam, the pleas argued. “Cheating undermines the principles of meritocracy and equal opportunities, which are essential for fostering social mobility and ensuring fairness in society the pleas said. ,” TNPL team owner ‘duped’ of `6 cr, ex-India A cricketer named in FIR F i r o z M i r z a @ Chennai How he got misled In a bizarre incident, an owner of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) has apparently been duped of more than `6 crore while trying to buy shares in a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team. M Selvakumar, the owner of Salem Spartans, had lodged a complaint with CCB - 1 police station in Chennai last year following which an FIR had been registered against four accused including domestic cricketers Robin Bist and Akash Sumra. The former was the coach of the Salem team while the latter played for the franchise last season. Interestingly, Bist, who had played more than 100 first-class matches and had a stint with Delhi Daredevils in the IPL and India A, was again bought by Salem Spartans during this year’s auction. The middle-order batter had retired from all forms of cricket last year. The matter is under trial in the lower court and it is l e a r n t t h at a c o u p l e o f accused were arrested and pro- Representative photo Selvakumar told the cops that Satish and Nitin claimed that they own 27 per cent share in a CPL team and he too would be allotted 25 per cent of shares if he invest in the team. “When I showed my interest, the above mentioned two persons came to Chennai and met me. They claimed that they themselves owned 27% share in a CPL team and they further showed various documents and convinced me of their genuineness. duced in court. “Robin and Akash introduced me to Satish Kumar and Nitin Khokhar saying they own shares in a CPL team and wanted me to invest in their team,” Selvakumar claimed while speaking with this daily. The FIR states that the owner had paid `6.10 crore to Satish and Nitin on different occasions. “When I realised I was duped, I demanded my money back but one of the accused threatened me with life. Left with no option, I approached the cops and registered an FIR.” He later said that Bist was named for witnessing purpose. When contacted, Bist was shocked that he was named in the FIR. “I have to speak to Selvakumar sir. I only introduced the guys to him and cooperated with the cops in their investigation,” the cricketer said. The owner, speaking on his decision to buy Bist for this season too said, “I will release him. I will request the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) in a couple of days.” P11