SATURDAY `1,26,887 CR 06 JULY, 2024 OVERALL VALUE OF DEFENCE PRODUCTION IN INDIA IN FY24, ACCORDING TO GOVT DATA epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard WEST BANK 7 DEAD IN ISRAELI OPS IN JENIN Palestine on Friday said seven people had been killed in West Bank city, but did not specify whether they died in exchange of fire or the airstrike. PAGE 9 AHEAD OF MODI’S RUSSIA TRIP, ARMY GETS 35,000 ‘KALASHNIKOV’ RIFLES A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI J8.00 KEIR STARMER IS NEW BRITISH PM; EXPECTED TO KEEP UP GOOD TIES WITH INDIA Left turn with mega Labour landslide in UK tive contribution to deepen the ties between India and the UK AFTER sitting on the opposi- during your term in office.” tion benches for more than a Accepting defeat, Sunak said decade, the Labour Party on he respects the people’s manFriday stormed to power in the date. “I have given this job my UK, ending 14 years of Con- all. But you all have sent a clear servative rule. Labour leader message, and yours is the only Keir Starmer assumed charge judgement that matters. This is as the 58th prime minister after a difficult day, but I leave this his customary audience with job honoured to have been the King Charles III at Bucking- Prime Minister of the best ham Palace. country in the world,’’ “Our country has Sunak said in his resvoted decisively for ignation speech. change, for national reThe change of guard Whether you newal and a return of in London happens at voted Labour or politics for public serva time when the free not, in fact, ice,” said Starmer in especially if you trade agreement (FTA) his inaugural address between India and UK did not, I say to from a lectern outside you directly: ‘my is in the final stages. 10 Downing Street, the government will Star mer has often serve you’ official residence of maintained that he the British PM. wants good relations British Prime Minister Starmer, 61, noted with the Modi-led govKeir Starmer that people have beernment. The FTA also come disillusioned and featured in the party’s cynical about politics and his poll manifesto which stated priority is to restore their faith that they were committed to in government. pursuing a new strategic partPrime Minister Narendra nership with India. Modi congratulated Starmer Soon after taking charge, adding that he looks forward to Starmer named David Lammy a constructive collaboration to as his foreign secretary A back. strengthen India-UK relations. er of strong bilateral ties with Modi also commented on out- India, Lammy had said last going prime minister Rishi Su- month that he would be visitnak’s leadership: “Thank you ing New Delhi within the first Rishi Sunak for your admirable month of office if his party was P13 leadership of the UK, your ac- voted to power. E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Chennai K Armstrong (52), Tamil Nadu state president of the BSP was , hacked to death by an unidentified six-member gang attired as food delivery executives near Sembium in Chennai’s Perambur on Friday evening. He was rushed to a private hospital, where the doctors declared him dead. The body was then sent to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for post-mortem. At least five special teams have been formed to trace and nab the suspects. Two aides of Armstrong, who were near him, also sustained injuries and are under treatment. According to police, Armstrong, along with a few of his party cadre, was overseeing construction work of a building in Sembium at around 7pm when the six-member gang came in two bikes and surrounded him. They allegedly hacked him with knives and machetes and fled, leaving Armstrong in a pool of blood. The weapons were left behind at the crime scene, said police. The police have registered a case and are analysing CCTV footage to identify the suspects. They are also checking Armstrong’s mobile phone records. An advocate, Armstrong was a prominent Ambedkarite voice in the city and is remembered by many residents as a leader who educated and empowered youngsters. Elected as a councillor of Chennai Corporation in 2006, he unsuccessfully contested the 2011 Assembly election from Kolathur. Armstrong is survived by his wife and one-year-old daughter Savitri Bai (named by BSP chief Mayawati). THE Enforcement Directorate recently conducted searches in four states in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) corruption case, an official said on Friday. The searches were carried out at locations in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Hyderabad on July 3. “Cash amounting to `41 lakh, incriminating documents and digital evidence were seized,” the official said. The ED has been probing two separate cases of irregularities in the tendering process of DJB. The criminal case stems from a CBI FIR and from the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government. Govt, NTA affidavits oppose demand to scrap NEET-UG @ New Delhi Britain’s Labour Party Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria wave to the crowds from the doorstep of 10 Downing Street in London on Friday | AP/PTI LOOK WHERE IT CROSSED 400 TOTAL SEATS 650 28 BRITISH-INDIANS WIN iN ELECTION MAJORITY MARK 326 412 (+211) Labour Party 9 (-38) Scottish National 121 7 (-251) 29 LABOUR: Preet Kaur Gill, Kanishka Narayan, Navendu Mishra, Satvir Kaur Tan Dhesi, Seema Malhotra, Valerie Vaz, Lisa Nandy, Jas Athwal , Kanishka Narayan, Baggy Shanker, Harpreet Uppal, Warinder Juss, Gurinder Josan, Sonia Kumar, Sureena Brackenbridge, Kirith Entwistle, Jeevun Sandher, Sojan Joseph CONSERVATIVE: Rishi Sunak, Suella Braverman, Priti Patel, Claire Coutinho, Gagan Mohindra, Shivani Raja LIBERAL DEMOCRAT: Munira Wilson IND: Shockat A Patel, Iqbal Mohamed (+63) Sin Fein (+15) (FIGURES IN BRACKETS ARE INCREASE/ DECREASE FROM 2019 ELECTION) 71 Others Conservative Party * RESULT OF 1 SEAT PENDING AT PRESS TIME ED conducts searches in 4 cities, seizes `41L cash & docus in DJB tender ‘scam’ UJ WA L JA L A L I @ New Delhi PAGES 12 S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi BSP TN chief killed by 6 ‘food delivery’ men on bikes in Chennai ANOTHER CASE IN THE PIPELINE ED is probing separate cases of money laundering and a criminal case in tendering process ACB FIR says scam in the name of augmentation and upgrade of 10 STPs 3 JVs took part in 4 STP tenders to ensure each got the tender Tenders valued at `1,943 cr The ED initiated probe based on an ACB FIR against a company Euroteck Environmental , Pvt Ltd. and others alleging a scam in DJB in the name of augmentation and upgrade of 10 STPs at Pappankala, Nilothi (Package 1), Najafgarh, Keshopur (Package 2), Coronation Pillar, Narela, Rohini (Package 3] and Kondli (Package 4). Officials said the four tenders valued at `1,943 crore were given to joint venture entities in October 2022. Three JVs took part in four STP tenders to ensure that each one got the tender. The FIR alleges that the tendering conditions were made restrictive, including adoption of a special tech to ensure that a select few entities participated in the tenders. “The cost estimates initially prepared was `1,546 crore but was revised during the tender process to `1,943 crore,” the official said. Indo-Russian Rifles Pvt Ltd has delivered the first batch of made-in-India Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles to the Indian Army | P7 NEET-PG on August 11 The NEET-PG 2024 will be held on August 11 in two shifts, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences announced. Scheduled to be held on June 23, it was put off a day before the exam DAYS before the Supreme Court begins its hearing on petitions seeking the scrapping of the NEET-UG on July 8, the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday filed separate affidavits opposing its cancellation, arguing it would be counterproductive and seriously jeopardise the efforts of lakhs of honest candidates who took the test. “Scrapping the exam in its entirety would seriously jeopardise lakhs of honest candidates who attempted the question paper in 2024,” the affidavit filed by the Union Ministry of Education said. It said demands for cancellation and the retest based on surmises and conjectures must be rejected. For its part, the NTA, which conducted the exam, said the entire NEET-UG 2024 was carried out fairly and with due confidentiality without any illegal practices. It sought to rubbish the claim of mass malpractice during the exam, arguing it was “completely unfounded, misleading, and lacks any basis”. “It is submitted that the present case is not a case wherein the entire examination process conducted across 4750 centres in 571 cities (including 14 cities abroad) has More than 20 Agniveers dead within a year of their induction Rahul reaches out to kin of Hathras stampede victims, blames admin for the lapse M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi N A M I TA BA J PA I @ Lucknow ON a day the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi continued to allege that compensation has not been paid to the next of kin of Agniveer Ajay Kumar who died in a landmine blast in J&K in January, it emerged that around 20 Agniveers lost their lives in less than a year of their induction. The first batch of Agniveers joined the Army in August 2023. Around 18 Agniveers who died are from the Army Most of them died in ac. tion or due to some ailment. The latest is of death by suicide in the Air Force, a first for an Agniveer in the IAF. Srikant Kumar Chaudhary, 22, allegedly died by suicide while on sentry duty at the Air Force Station in Agra late Tuesday night. A Board of Inquiry has been set up to probe his death. Incidentally, the first death of an Agniveer within the Army was also by suicide. It had stirred a controversy as a military funeral was not accorded to him since it’s the Army’s policy not to glorify deaths by suicide. After Rahul Gandhi alleged in the Lok Sabha that Agniveer Ajay Singh’s family wasn’t given compensation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hit back, saying `1 crore compensation is paid to to families of Agniveers who die in the line of duty . CONGRESS MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday met the families of the victims of the Hathras stampede, saying that there were certain mistakes that led to the deaths of 121 people on July 2. Rahul’s visit came on a day when the UP police claimed to have got the custody of Dev Prakash Madhukar, the main accused in the stampede. A `1 lakh reward was declared to nab him. Madhukar is undergoing treatment in Delhi, reports said. However, the UP police have not been able to ascertain the whereabouts of Bhole Baba alias Narayan Sakar Hari. The initial confidential report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising statements of Hathras DM Ashish Kumar, SP Nipun Aggarwal, and senior health officials is yet to be submitted to CM Yogi Adityanath, sources said. When asked whether the preacher would be arrested, Additional DG, Agra Zone, Anupam Kulshreshtha, who headed the SIT, said: “First, we will catch the organisers of the event and then as the probe progresses, names of others will also be added to the FIR.” “It is a matter of profound grief. There have been mistakes PTI MORE THAN A SPORT This kabaddi village ‘on a raid’ to become nat’l hub L A KS H M I AT H I R A @ Kannur FLASH FLOOD ALERT IN NEXT 24 HOURS IMD on Friday predicted widespread intense rains in northwest and east India, northeast region, Western Ghats and Gujarat and also extremely heavy rainfall over northwest, east and northeast regions in the next 4-5 days | P8 FOR Kadirur residents, kabaddi is not just a sport but an emotion. The deep-rooted passion for the sport permeates the community, with many households in the panchayat boasting at least one kabaddi player. For them, kabaddi holds as much significance as cricket or football, if not more. Currently, this village in Kannur district has 13 state and national players. The panchayat’s goal is to become a national hub for kabaddi talent within a few years. To realise this dream, and to give further impetus to the sport, the panchayat has launched a flagship project aimed at nurturing kabaddi talent. As part of the initiative, 70 students from Kadirur Government High School Kadirur has 13 state and national players Kadirur village in Kannur of Kerala currently has 13 state and national players. The panchayat has made an estimate of `5 lakh to provide facilities to players. It has purchased synthetic mats spending `2.5 lakh. The panchayat hall has transformed into a top-class training camp. have been selected for specialised training, bringing the total number of trainees under the panchayat project to 140. To support the endeavour, the panchayat has made an an- suffered systematic failure, as it has not been vitiated by all pervasive factors of unfair means or paper leak etc,” the agency said. It added that the alleged irregularities were confined to certain centres in two cities — Patna and Godhra. The NTA said other individual instances of the alleged use of unfair means are very few and do not have any co-relation with the malpractices referred to by the petitioners. In all, 63 cases of use of unfair means were reported, and a committee submitted its recommendations for action. The panel recommended withholding the results of 33 candidates, debarment of 22 up to three years and declaring the result of nine. Exam functionaries of NEET (UG) 2024 have also registered 13 FIRs in cases of unfair means at different exam centres, the NTA said. nual estimate of `5 lakh to provide necessary facilities for the players. As an initial step, the panchayat has purchased synthetic mats spending `2.5 lakh. The panchayat hall has now transformed into a top-class training camp. “A number of kabaddi clubs have existed in the panchayat for the past several decades. Earlier, players used to practice on muddy grounds. When they compete in professional matches, it becomes difficult for them to perform as those matches are held on synthetic mats. Players used to practice on rented mats, spending `300 a day. That’s why we decided to buy the synthetic mat,” said panchayat president P P Sanil. Kunhali Vetummal, a local club, is credited with leading Kadirur to kabaddi fame. Five members of the club were selected to the state team. Many women players too h av e e m e r g e d t h r o u g h the kabaddi training started by the panchayat. Rahul Gandhi consoles a woman, whose family member was a stampede victim and those should be looked into. The bereaved families come from the poor and deprived section of society They . must be given more compensation,” said Rahul. Gandhi, who remained with the families in a park for about 30 minutes, said most victims complained about the administration. “The required police arrangement to handle such a huge gathering was absent,” he said and urged Yogi to arrange generous financial help. “It will be of no significance if the compensation is delayed by six months or a year,” said Rahul. P8 EXPRESS READ Naidu seeks Nirmala help to bail out state CM N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday appealed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to rescue Andhra Pradesh as it is in a deep debt owing to the inefficient governance of the previous YSRC government. Naidu also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president and Health Minister JP Nadda among others. P5 Action against 16 over Bihar bridge collapse The Nitish Kumar government on Friday suspended 16 engineers for negligence in the first crackdown following the collapse of 10 bridges in Bihar within 16 days, officials said. The government also sought explanations from two other engineers. The role of some contractors is under the scanner, the officials said. P7
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