NEW DELHI 08 SEPTEMBER 2024 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard Game of Thrones https://epaper.morningstandard.in A Bloom for Their Thoughts The Company They Don’t Keep MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES Pushpesh Pant Sumeet Bhasin Ravi Shankar Sunaina Anand Putting the ‘Other’ in Perspective Shampa Dhar-Kamath Prabhu Chawla Shankkar Aiyar Namrata Joshi E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai HOKATO Hotozhe Sema had fought many battles. But the battle he fought within himself was the toughest. Any impairment of the body can create havoc in the mind. The battle between creating doubts and remaining positive is more intense. For almost 20 years, until the Paris Paralympics, he was just another person trying to pick up the pieces of whatever was left of his life. It was sports that acted as a balm. On Friday late night, Sema won bronze in the shot put at the Paralympics in F57 category and propelled him from obscurity to stardom. For a man who did not know F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar about Paralympics a few years ago, the medal itself is a surreal journey. His 14.65m was his best effort in the sport. He finished behind Yasin Khosravi winning the gold with 15.96m throw and Thiago Paulino dos Santos from Brazil silver with 15.06m. Because of the disabilty, athletes are harnessed to a seat for throwing. Sema was two months shy of 19, about two years into the profession, when he lost his left leg during a counter-infiltration operation (mine blast) in Jammu and Kashmir in 2002. For a teenager who was dreaming of entering Special Forces, this was the last thing he REBELLION in the ruling BJP in Haryana has intensified with former minister Bachan Singh Arya resigning from the party and joining those who have recently quit the party. In the past few days two ministers and one MLA, besides other senior leaders, have put in their papers after they were denied the party nomination. The polls for the 90-member Assembly are due October 5 and the last date for filing nom- JAI GANESH Devotees offer prayers to Lord Ganesh at the Lalbaugcha Raja on Ganesh Chaturthi, in Mumbai on Saturday. The Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh mandal is said to be the biggest, most revered and oldest in the city | PTI MURMURS OF CPM-RSS TACIT UNDERSTANDING E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ T’Puram THE face-off between Nilambur MLA PV Anvar and ADGP MR Ajithkumar refuses to die down. There are allegations of Ajithkumar meeting the RSS leadership, triggering a new narrative of a tacit understanding between the CPM and RSS. The allegation comes close on the heels of CPM taking action against its leader EP Jayarajan for meeting a BJP leader. The Opposition UDF has mounted an attack on the CPM, alleging a deal between CM Pinarayi Vijayan and the RSS. LoP VD Satheesan and Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the ADGP was the bridge between CM Pinarayi Vijayan and the RSS leadership. On a day when an RSS leader confirmed the meeting of its national general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and the ADGP surfaced reports of Ajithkumar holding yet another , parley with Ram Madhav during the ‘Chintan Shibir’ in Thiruvananthapuram. The CPM leadership in Kerala, however, dismissed the allgegations terming it “pure nonsense”. But its ally, the CPI, chose to distance itself from the development. P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati ON a day six persons were killed in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Saturday morning as there is no letup in the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo tribals, there were rumours that Chief Minister N Biren Singh had suggested all NDA legislators should quit. At a snap meeting called by Singh, 24 MLAs, including six ministers, turned up. What transpired could not be independently verified. Shortly thereafter, Singh went to Raj Bhawan and held discussions with Gover nor Lakshman Prasad Acharya for 40 minutes. As for the continuing violence, official sources said a 63-year-old Meitei civilian was shot dead in his sleep at Nungchappi village around 5.30 am. In the retaliatory gunfight, five insurgents — four Kukis and one Meitei — were killed. Later, the violence escalated to a nearby village where intermittent firing continued till 9.50 am, the sources said. HOTSPOT Jiribam district was unaffected last year. It is now a hotspot for violence Jiribam MANIPUR PARTY POSITIONS Manipur assembly strength: 60 Ruling NDA (53) BJP (37) JD(U) (1) NPP (7) NPF (5) Independent (3) Opposition (7) Congress (5) KPA (2) In the wake of the violence, district magistrate Krishna Kumar imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of BNSS. Located in Manipur’s westernmost periphery bordering Assam’s Cachar district, Jirib- Change Your Life, Today would have dreamt about. Yet, he was there shattered physically and emotionally. Forget about leading a normal life, he did not know how life would take a turn. Yet he remained stoic. He wanted to make a mark in his life and sports gave him the opportunity and also a platform to serve the country . It was not easy for the paraathlete after losing his leg. The mental scars remained. Yet, in this hour of extreme joy he remembered the hardship his family had to go through. Sometimes, according to reports, his wife would go without food to provide him with a proper diet. He dedicated the medal to her. Sema, who is in 9th Assam Regiment, first tried his hand in discus (standing) but since the event got scrapped from the Paralympics, he started training in shot put. “He has been at the Army Para Node in Pune and is working with me for more than two years,” said coach Rakesh Rawat, who trained able bodied throwers in Army Sports InstiP11 tute in Pune. He (Sema) has been training with me for more than two years now. Since then he won Asian Para Games bronze... He will win bigger medal next time — Coach Rakesh Rawat ination papers on September 12. Ballots will be counted on October 8. Arya was hoping for a ticket from the Safidon Assembly constituency in Jind district. However, the party has nominated Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) rebel Ram Kumar Gautam, who joined the party earlier this month. In a four-line letter to the state party chief, Arya stated that he was resigning from the primary membership of the party and the state executive. Arya lost the 2019 elec- tion by only 3,000 votes. Earlier power & energy minister Ranjit Singh Chautala, MoS (independent charge) for social justice Bishamber Singh Valmiki and MLA Lakshman Napa resigned. Besides, OBC leader Karan Dev Kamboj quit all party posts for the same reason. Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress is also feeling the heat of dissidence. Party leader Rajesh Joon quit Congress and decided to contest as an independent candidate after he was denied ticket from Bahadurgarh. The party has retained MLA Rajinder Singh Joon. Akhara based in Haridwar. PP (52) now has a new name — Prakashanand Giri. The akhara is a prominent sect within the Kumbh Mela. “We have initiated an inquiry into the matter,” said Shri Mahant Hari Giri, international patron of Juna Akhara. “We deny that PP was made the mahamandaleshwar or mathadheesh of our akhara.” That came with a rider. “Everyone has the right to voluntarily embrace Sanatana Dharma in their life. Therefore, we cannot abandon mafia don PP who , am has a mixed population of Meiteis, Kuki-Zo tribals, Nagas and various other communities. It was unaffected by the ethnic conflict in the past year until trouble broke out in the first week of June when the mutilated body of a Meitei farmer was found. Saturday’s attack came a day after a 70-year-old priest was killed when suspected militants fired a rocket that landed at the residential compound of former chief minister Mairembam Koireng Singh in Moirang area of Bishnupur district. Another rocket fired by the suspected militants on Friday morning at Terakhongshangbi in the same district damaged two buildings. The range of such rockets is over 3 km. Meanwhile, all schools in the state remained closed on Saturday to keep the students and teachers safe. Minister L Susindro blamed the recent spurt in violence on role of foreigners. “‘Old Kukis’ are being controlled by ‘new Kukis’ who came from Myanmar,” he said. CENTRE DISCHARGES KHEDKAR FROM IAS The Central government has discharged Puja Khedkar from the IAS with immediate effect, over a month after the UPSC cancelled her selection, officials said on Saturday EXPRESS READ 5 killed, 24 injured in Lucknow house collapse At least five people were killed and two dozen injured when a multi-storey commercial complex in Transport Nagar locality of Lucknow came crashing down on Saturday evening. The toll is likely to go up many feared trapped in the debris, police said. Meanwhile, 15 people were killed and 18 injured when an Aligarh-bound bus collided with a tempo loader late Friday evening. HC: Video recording of bail hearings under SC/ST Act must even for sex offences S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi PROUD MOMENT Cadet Usha Rani with her twins after the Passing out Parade at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai on Saturday. Her husband Capt Jagtar Singh had died in a rail accident in 2020 | ASHWIN PRASATH | P7 Jailbird mahant in pursuit of spirituality in Almora CRIME wears a veneer of mass acceptance when it combined with elements of spirituality . Take for instance, PP (moniker for Prakash Pandey), currently serving life sentence in Almora jail for multiple crimes, including killing senior Delhi Police officer ACP Rajbir Singh in 2008. He was recently anointed a saint—within the four walls of prison—by the management of the Shri Panchdashnam Juna ‘Couldn’t Have Planned This’ Unconfirmed reports suggest CM wants all NDA legislators to quit LIFE CONVICT N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS 6 more dead in Manipur violence, CM meets guv Haryana BJP rift widens over tickets H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh Life As We Must Know It Lost leg to insurgency, not Sema spirit NC-Congress will not form new J&K govt, claims Shah KICK-STARTING the BJP’s election campaign for the assembly polls from Jammu, home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said J&K is heading for historic elections under the Indian national flag and Constitution after the abrogation of Article 370, adding the National Conference-Congress alliance will not be able to form the new government. “The assembly polls in J&K is historic as it is the first time since Independence that J&K residents will be casting vote under one Constitution and one flag after the reading down of Article 370,” said Shah while addressing a rally in Ploura, Jammu. He said J&K was deprived of rights and development due to Article 370. “Now there is d eve l o p m e n t , peace and prosperity in the region. For example, over 5.12 lakh devotees from different parts of the country performed Amarnath yatra without any fear.” BJP is fighting the election to win and form the government, he asserted. “There should be no doubt in it,” Shah said and urged party workers to reach out to the public and apprise them about changes that have taken place in J&K since Article 370 was hollowed out. “Every BJP worker alongwith his family and three more families should reach polling booths and cast their votes by 11.30 am. If every BJP worker does that, then nothing will defeat us in polls,” he said. Shah said, “NC and Congress want to bring back Article 370 and are again going to bring a separate flag for J&K. They are going to take away reservations of Gujjars, Bakerwals, Paharis and Dalits and want to release those involved in terrorism and stone pelting. However, people of J&K and BJP will not let it happen,” he said. Sands, Scents and Sensibility PLUS: 12 PAGES has come into the fold of Sanatana Dharma, and leave him alone,” the Mahant said. “Akhara will support Prakash Pandey’s spiritual pursuits, it will not interfere with the legal consequences of his past crimes,” said Mahant Hari Giri. “We will cooperate in his spiritual journey Law will han. dle his criminal actions.” Mahant Hari Giri denied that money was involved in PP’s anointment. He has formed a seven-member inquiry commit- tee to investigate the matter. DIG (Prisons) Dadhiram Maurya said the Almora jail administration had no knowledge about the anointment. PP who hails from Haldwani, , began his criminal career in 1994, associating with Chhota Rajan’s henchmen Farid Tanasha and Vicky Malhotra. He committed his first murder in 1995, bumping off a local leader. PP even traveled to Karachi in 1998 and 2000 to attack Dawood Ibrahim. THE Delhi High Court has ruled that all proceedings under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, including bail hearings, must be video recorded, even in cases involving sexual crimes against women and children. The HC emphasised that Section 15A(10) of the SC/ST Act, which mandates video recording, does not provide any exception for sexual offences. Justice Vikas Mahajan, in a single-judge bench, highlighted that the legislature did not intend to exclude sexual offences from the purview of video recording requirements under Section 15A(10). The ruling came while hearing a bail plea from Laxmi Narayan, accused of the rape-murder of a minor girl. The case involved charges under IPC, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, and the SC/ST Act. The victim’s father argued that Section 15A(10) mandated the video recording of all proceedings un- der the SC/ST Act. Opposing this, the Additional Public Prosecutor argued that Section 23 of the Pocso Act and Section 228A of IPC, which protect the identity of sexual offence victims, should override the video recording provision. However, the HC clarified that video recording the proceedings did not imply public dissemination of the footage, and such recordings could be safeguarded to protect the victim’s identity. The court ruled that the provisions of Section 15A(10) were mandatory and must be followed, while also ensuring that the identity of the victim remains protected. “The upshot of the above discussion is that the provisions of Section 15A(10) of the Act are mandatory and the present bail proceedings will have to be video recorded. It is, however, clarified that this judgment will not affect the cases in which proceedings in terms of Section 15A(10) of the Act have not been video recorded and it will take effect prospectively,” read the court order.