FRIDAY 09 1977 AUGUST, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in WHEN HE WAS FIRST ELECTED AS MEMBER OF WEST BENGAL LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard ISRAELI MINISTER’S JIBE ON STARVING GAZAN Israel’s allies have condemned the far-right finance minister’s remarks that the starvation of Gaza’s population “might be just” until hostages are returned home. PAGE 9 1 MARCH 1944 - 8 AUGUST 2024 BUDDHADEB BHATTACHARYA DEPARTS AT 80, WAS BENGAL CM FOR 11 YEARS A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00 PAGES 12  The Marxist stalwart passed away on Thursday at the age of 80 in Kolkata. He was known for his efforts to bring industrialisation to the state | P7 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 “You are enemies of Muslims and this bill is evidence of that,” he charged Bill on eviction withdrawn The govt withdrew the Waqf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Bill 2014 from the Rajya Sabha.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 E E T H A 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 “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 THIS ONE MEANS MORE 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 Aman loses in semifinal, to fight for bronze today Indian grappler Aman Sehrawat lost to Japanese top-seed Rei Higuchi in the 57kg freestyle semifinal bout as the country’s hopes of winning a gold from wrestling suffered a big blow at the Olympics here on Thursday. The 21-year-old Aman will now play for the bronze medal. Aman was no match for Higuchi — the 2016 Rio silver medallist T was emotional, it was epochal. But above everything, it was cathartic. The pall of gloom that descended over India finally cleared on Thursday for some cheer. If it was wrestling that broke Indian hearts, it was hockey that lifted it. 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 spurred the team on. They wanted to win for P R Sreejesh, the trusted custodian of India’s fortunes and one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, who was playing his final game. They celebrated and will continue to do so until late at night. Soaking in the summer Parisian sun, the XI rose together one last time. As he did three years ago against Germany in Tokyo to help the team RBI holds rates for ninth time in a row Yunus takes oath, leads 16-member team to bring nation back on track Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi NOBEL laureate Muhammad Yunus on Thursday took oath as the head of the interim government in Bangladesh. The 84-year-old economist-turnedpolitician was administered the oath of office by President Mohammed Shahabuddin at a ceremony at the presidential palace ‘Bangabhaban’ in Dhaka in the evening. Yunus will lead a 16-member cabinet, whose members are titled advisers, not ministers. The ceremony was attended by political leaders, civil society leaders, generals and diplomats, including the Indian High Commissioner in EXPRESS READ Capital breathes cleanest air in 6 yrs Delhi recorded its cleanest AQI for any day between January 1 and August 8 during the period from 2018 to 2024, according to the Centre’s air quality panel CAQM. The AQI in the national capital was recorded in the “satisfactory” category with a reading of 53 at 4 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. Light rain lashed parts of the city and the maximum temperature settled at 34.1 degrees Celsius, normal during the season, according to IMD. If you have faith in me and trust me, please ensure no one is attacked in the country. If you cannot listen to me on this, I have no use being here Muhammad Yunus Dhaka, Pranay Verma. According to reports from Dhaka, there is now hope that the law and order situation will improve. “I personally know most of the advisors and expect them to restore law and order, check corruption, take steps to ensure that life returns to normalcy, and the economy is back on track,” Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, a political commentator from Bangladesh, told this newspaper over phone. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday that he received a phone call from his British counterpart David Lammy to discuss the unfolding situation in Bangladesh. According to sources in Delhi, the Indian government has urged Air India and IndiGo to continue to operate their flight services to and from Bangladesh without disruption so that Indian citizens can come back. The Indian mission in Dhaka has facilitated movement of Indian nationals including project personnel across land borders. P7, 8, 9 B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai Muhammad Yunus (centre) speaks to the media in Dhaka on Thursday | PTI ENSURE SAFETY OF MINORITIES: MODI 10,000 INDIANS STILL IN BANGLADESH Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday extended best wishes to Muhammad Yunus as he took oath as the head of an interim government in Bangladesh, hoping for early return of normalcy and ensuring safety of Hindus and other minorities there Sources told this paper that 10,000 Indians are still in Bangladesh. Most students had returned to India before the violence peaked. Nonessential diplomatic staff and their families have also been brought back from Bangladesh 3 ‘govt officials’ who duped banks held after 5 yrs U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi THREE fraudsters, who duped national banks by posing as government officers for five years, were finally arrested by the Delhi Police recently an of, ficer said on Thursday . While Sunil Kumar and Kuldeep Singh were graduates, the third accused, Vinay Kumar, was a school dropout. DCP (Crime) Satish Kumar said that the matter came to light in September 2022 when Bajaj Finance lodged a com- plaint alleging that one Manish Kumar and others had taken a personal loan by producing fake government employee ID cards and other income documents. They had taken more than `30 lakh loans from the finance company Their fraud came . to the fore when the EMIs bounced. “When Bajaj Finance officers visited the CAG office, they learnt that no such people worked there and that the documents win their first Olympic medal home in India, this medal after 41 years, Sreejesh again means more than just a bronze. made the biggest saves of his It’s what 1.4 billion souls have life in dying seconds as India been praying for. It also is the win the bronze medal. fulfillment of a process, meticThe Yves du Manoir Stadium ulously charted and executed. is part of Paris’s suburbian The story did not start yesterfolklore. It is part of sporting day, not last year but well behistory too. This is the only stafore the last Games. A silver or dium that hosted events in the gold would have been the cher1924 Paris Olympics, ry on the cake. In India, stick skill is including athletics, the found in abundance. opening and closing The transition to modceremonies. This was TMS @ OLYMPICS ern hockey demanded a where Paavo Nurmi, change in their attitude. the legendary Flying They started focusing Finn, won four gold. on their fitness regiThe stadium was men. Indian hockey has named after Yves du gone through numerManoir, a promising INDRANEEL DAS ous changes, with physrugby player, who died PARIS ical trainers and motiin a plane crash at the vational sessions age of 23, and was rebecoming part of training. furbished and rebuilt for hockCraig Fulton took over just ey. It does have an emotional about a year ago. He has brought connection. his defensive acumen to India’s On Thursday it added a new , game — plugged the defensive fable to its annals. The story of holes, oiled the flanks and India’s second bronze in sucstrengthened their mind. All cessive Olympics. For the ordithose bore fruit as India beat nary French people, it may Spain 2-1 to win their second have looked like just another straight Olympic bronze. P11 medal. But for all those back were fake,” Kumar said. The Crime Branch lodged an FIR in September 2022. The investigation continued for five years, during which the cops analysed more than 100 CDRs. Finally, one mobile number was identified. “The number was being used by accused Kuldeep Singh,” the DCP said. During further probe, the second accused Vinay Aggarwal was identified. A photo of Vinay Aggarwal on Customer Acquisition Form matched with that of Manpreet Singh, who had taken loan from Bajaj Finance. “It was also found that Kuldeep and Vinay along with one , Sunil, were cheating banks by taking loans on forged documents,” the DCP said. He added that all the three accused and their associates had fraudulently taken over 50 loans from different banks since 2019. Their locations were traced and they were arrested from different places. 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 the stock markets as nobody was expecting a rate cut. However, the hawkish undertone did make the market nervous. This had the indices falling by three-fourths of a percentage points. The decisions were taken after a 4:2 vote at the 50th meeting of the rate setting panel — Monetary Policy Committee — since its inception in September 2016. Das said that the flexible inflation targeting RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das | PTI framework will soon complete eight years and is up for review next month. Like in the past two reviews, the two exter nal members Ashima Goyal and Jayanth R Varma voted to reduce the policy repo rate by 25 bps and also for changing the stance from withdrawal of accommodation to neutral. The MPC has also decided to remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that “inflation progressively aligns to the target, while supporting growth. P10 TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT CANCELLED DUE TO MASS MURDER PLAN A 19-year-old IS sympathiser planned a suicide attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna designed to kill many people, the country’s intelligence agency said on Thursday. | P9