After pagers, now walkie-talkies explode killing nine in lebanon thursdAY 19 Walkie-talkies exploded in Beirut and other parts of the country, killing at least nine people in the second wave of device explosions on Wednesday september, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard Bangladesh Magisterial powers to army The interim government has granted magisterial powers to the Army for two months to improve law and order in the country and prevent ‘subversive acts’. Page 9 solar power systems blast at homes A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 l Besides walkie-talkies, fingerprint readers and several solar power systems installed in homes across the country also exploded. A girl was injured when a solar power system exploded at a home in Beirut. In the south of the city, several blasts were heard at the funeral for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by exploding pagers the day before | P9 PAGES 12 cabinet stamp on ‘one poll’ scheme Implementation group to be formed to take it forward MU K ES H R A N J A N @ New Delhi A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated the Centre’s commitment to introducing the one nation, one poll scheme, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of a high-level panel led by former President Ram Nath Kovind on the matter. The proposal aims to bundle elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies together, followed by urban body and panchayat polls within the subsequent 100 days. They will be discussed across India on various platforms and an implementation group will be formed to take the proposals forward. A bill on the one nation, one election scheme is likely to be introduced in the upcoming winter session of Parliament. Since 18 constitutional amendments have to be made to synchronise polls, the NDA will need extra support to get it passed in Parliament. At present, the NDA has 293 in the 543-member Lok Sabha, and 119 in the 245-member Rajya Sabha. A constitutional amendment can be passed only if the proposal has a simple majority in the Lok Sabha as also twothirds of the members present and voting in the House. If all 543 members are present on the day of voting, the bill will require the support of 362. The Opposition INDIA bloc has 234 members in the Lok Sabha. In the Rajya Sabha, the NDA has 113 MPs and the assumed support of six nominated members, while the INDIA bloc has 85. If all members of the Rajya Sabha are present on the voting day two-thirds would be 164. , The process of synchronising elections would begin with the President notifying the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election 18 constitutional amendments To hold simultaneous elections, as many as 18 amendments to the Constitution and other statutes would be required. They include amending provisions on the preparation of the electoral roll (Article 325), and Article 324A to synchronise polls to the local bodies along with the general elections A man shows his inked finger after voting in the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections in Bijbehara in Anantnag district on Wednesday | Zahoor Punjabi Record 59% turnout in J&K Phase-I polls F aya z wa n i @ Srinagar President Murmu being presented a report on simultaneous elections by her predecessor Ram Nath Kovind | PTI as the “appointed date”, the panel suggested. The tenure of all state assemblies formed via polls after the “appointed date” and before the expiry of the full term of the Lok Sabha, will be only for the period ending up to the subsequent parliamentary polls. After this one-time transitory measure, all Lok Sabha and assembly polls will be held simultaneously . If fresh polls are necessitated to constitute a new Lok Sabha in the event of a hung House or a no-confidence motion, or any such event, its will be only for the unexpired (remaining) term of the immediately preceding full term of the House. If elections are held for state assemblies, then such new assemblies — unless sooner dissolved — shall continue only up to the end of the full term of Lok Sabha, the Kovind panel recommended. p7 I compliment our former President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji for spearheading this effort and consulting a wide range of stakeholders Voters made a beeline outside polling stations in seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir that voted in the first phase of Assembly elections, the first in 10 years, on Wednesday. Close to 59% of the electorate cast its vote by evening, which is decidedly the highest among the past seven elections. “I stood in a long queue and waited patiently to cast my vote. It was my first vote since the 1987 polls,” said 72-year-old Ghulam Nabi Mir at a polling station in Tral in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. There were long queues at all polling stations in the Tral Payeen area, a remarkable development given that Tral was known as “Kashmir’s Kandhar” during the era of militancy as it was a known stronghold of militants and separatists. Mallikarjun Kharge, Cong president pak indus treaty gets notice on India has served a formal notice to Pakistan seeking a review of Indus Water Treaty, citing “fundamental and unforeseen” changes in circumstances | P7 L-G proposes swearing-in of Atishi on Sept 21 A n u p V e r m a @ New Delhi A day after Arvind Kejriwal resigned as chief minister and Atishi staked claim to form a new government, L-G VK Saxena on Wednesday proposed September 21 as the date for the swearing-in of the CM-designate in a communication to President Droupadi Murmu. The L-G has sent Kejriwal’s resignation to Murmu. The oath-taking ceremony is likely to be held in Raj Niwas and expected to be a low-key affair in view of the circumstances of Kejriwal’s resignation. Meanwhile, the AAP has said that Kejriwal will give up all gover nment facilities, i n c l u d i n g s e c u r i t y, a n d move out of his official residence in 15 days. According to AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, the first thing Kejriwal talked about after stepping down was to vacate his official residence. He will stay in Delhi, and a search for a suitable accommodation is on. It was said that Kejriwal would vacate the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow within a week. The party later clarified that it would be vacated in 15 days. As per the rules, the AAP national convener must vacate the official bungalow within a month of his resignation. The national capital has no official chief minister residence, and previous chief ministers have lived at different locations. ple are coming out to vote. “In past assembly polls, only a handful of people used to cast their votes,” she claimed. Gulzar Ahmed, a middle-aged voter, said people have been waiting for a decade. “For a decade, there was bureaucratic rule in J&K and these bureaucrats are never accessible to the people. We will be electing MLAs, to whom we can at least go and seek redressal of our grievances,” he said. Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole said Kishtwar district recorded the highest turnout at 77% while Pulwama saw the lowest at 46%. The second and third phases of elections will be held on September 25 and October 1. The results will be declared on October 8. Multi-storey building collapses in Karol Bagh; 4 killed, 14 hurt Narendra Modi, Prime Minister It is not practical. It will not work. When elections come, and they are not getting any issues to raise, then they divert attention from real issues “People have realised the importance of electoral politics. After the abrogation of Article 370, which disempowered us, we want to safeguard whatever is left there through our vote,” Mir said. Zubair Ahmed, a first-time voter, said he hopes the elected government will create jobs and usher in an era of development in J&K, especially in the Valley . Brisk polling was reported in Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag districts of south Kashmir, which voted in the phase. The first phase of polls covered 24 seats across seven districts. An election official in a polling station in Tral said it is the first time that such a large number of peo- U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi Four people were killed, while 14 others sustained injuries after a portion of a multi-storey building collapsed in the Karol Bagh area on Wednesday morning, a senior police official said. The deceased were identified as Aman (12), Mukim (25), Mujib (18) and Mohsin (26), all from Khatanagar village, Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. Except for Aman, all three were into making of ladies’ slippers. According to the officer, they received information at 9.12 am regarding the collapse of a house at Bapa Nagar, Karol Bagh, following which five fire tenders were dispatched to the spot. DCP (Central) M Harsh Vardhan said, “We rescued 18 people from under the debris and shifted them to a nearby hospital. Four among them were brought dead.” The rescue agencies, which include teams of Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service, and National Disaster Response Force, cleared the debris manually to save those trapped. Of the injured, two are stated to be critical, while one was discharged after treatment. “Preliminary inquiry has revealed that some tenants were residing in the building were not from Delhi,” the DCP said. The police registered an FIR under Section 106 (causing death by negligence) and 290 (Negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings, etc) of the BNS. Meanwhile, Chief Minister-designate Atishi ordered the district magistrate to ensure all help to the injured. “I have ordered the district magistrate to provide all possible help to the people living there and the victims, if anyone is injured, get him treated and find out the reasons for this accident. I have also spoken to the Municipal Corporation Mayor regarding the accident,” Atishi wrote on ‘X’. She appealed to the people to inform the administration if they suspect any danger in the construction of any building. “In case you see any possibility of a construction-related accident, inform the administration and the corporation,” Atishi said. p3 Express read Junior docs meet chief secy to break RG Kar impasse ‘Bhoomi’ and ‘Srishti’ Engineers and workers celebrate after achieving the breakthrough of the Tunnel Boring Machines ‘Bhoomi’ and ‘Srishti’ at Pulbangash metro station site on Wednesday. This is Delhi Metro’s first twin tunnel breakthrough | PTI The second round of talks between the agitating junior doctors and the West Bengal government to resolve the RG Kar impasse was held on Wednesday for twoand-a-half hours, officials said. Meanwhile, the West Bengal Medical Council has decided to cancel the registration of Sandip Ghosh and the Kolkata Police suspended Tala police station’s officer-in-charge Abhijit Mondal who the CBI arrested in connection with the rape-murder of a doctor at RG Kar hospital. Minor scuffles, but day largely peaceful Srinagar: Security forces fanned on Wednesday to ensure that there was no trouble. There are reports of some minor incidents of scuffle or argument from a few polling stations but “no serious incident” occurred, Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole said Modi, Rahul urge people to vote in large numbers New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked people to come out in large numbers and vote to strengthen the festival of democracy. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said people must vote to reclaim their rights and for the prosperous future for J&K India goes past China in MSCI equities index E x p r e s s N e w s S e r vi c e @ New Delhi On the back of a growing economy and improving corporate earnings, India for the first time overtook China in the MSCI equities index. India’s weight in the MSCI investible large, mid and small cap index rose to 2.35%, higher than China’s weight of 2.24%, said global financial fir m Morgan Stanley in its latest note. The MSCI Index — Morgan Stanley Capital International Index — serves as a benchmark for many international investors, showcasing the performance of mainly mid cap and large cap companies. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), which hold significant importance in the Indian capital market, follow this index while deciding where to allocate capital. “India will continue to gain share due to market outperformance, new issuances and liquidity improvements,” said Morgan Stanley’s analysts. According to the firm, India’s nominal GDP growth rate is running in the low teens, more than thrice the economic growth in China, generating a “profound divergence in earnings growth environment”. India is now the sixth largest market globally . Ear to the ground Not much wriggle room on external debt for next Sri Lankan President Dilrukshi Handunnetti Award-winning journalist and lawyer, founder and director of the Colombobased Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s two presidential frontrunners have pledged to renegotiate the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), increase social security and ease people’s financial burdens, but experts say major deviations may not be feasible though it is possible to chip away at the edges. The fact of the matter is, irrespective of who becomes the president on September 21, he has an insurmountable task to revamp the economy and to keep things afloat. A new government will have to ensure that we meet revenue targets already agreed to. This is not negotiable. It is fundamental to the country’s survival to have a stable tax revenue flow,” said Umesh Moramudali, a lecturer in economics with the University of Colombo. Sri Lanka has performed well with revenue targets so far. There is little scope for making changes there. Irrespective of who comes to power, the IMF will have to adopt a pragmatic approach and work with the new administration. Negotiating with external creditors is a timeconsuming complex process. And neither the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) nor the National Peoples’ Power (NPP) will run such a political risk at this moment, Moramudali noted. The immediate priorities of the next government, according to Imran Furkan, a geopolitical economic risk analyst, will be to reach agreements with bond holders to overcome the island’s default status, deal with corruption towards accountable governance and to create conditions to increase consumption to pre-crisis levels to stabilise the economy and increase revenue. Furkan said that either party will try to introduce economic relief (which will require legislation). “The SJB will focus on expanding social welfare while the NPP will try to offer relief while tackling corruption,” Furkan told this newspaper. He added that the NPP has already been engaging with the IMF, realising that it will become necessary to reach an understanding in case of a victory. “Tackling corruption is key if Sri Lanka is to promote foreign direct investment,” he said. There is agreement that there are lessons to be learnt from the economic mismanagement of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration which brought the country to a standstill in 2022.Continued on P7