FRIDAY 27 SEPTEMBER, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard VLADIMIR PUTIN U.S., FRANCE URGE ISRAEL, LEBANON TO PAUSE FIGHT N-COERCION TO PRESSURE UKRAINE The Kremlin said an updated doctrine that will allow Moscow to use N-weapons against nonnuclear states should be seen as a warning to the West. PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF DELHI NEW DELHI Key panel poll postponed amid late-night drama P R A B H AT S H U K L A @New Delhi THE election to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Standing Committee was marred by day-long chaos and confusion. The election was scheduled for 2 pm on Thursday to fill the final vacancy in the 18-member Standing Committee, the top decision-making body of the MCD. The position fell vacant after the resignation of BJP’s Kamaljeet Sehrawat. However, proceedings in the House were interrupted after councilors protested against being frisked to ensure no one was carrying cellphones. Mayor Shelly Oberoi objected to the frisking, calling it “undemocratic and insulting” to the councilors. She ordered officials to ensure all councillors were let in without checking. Oberoi later postponed the election and adjourned the meeting until October 5, citing non-compliance with her order. However, in a last-minute move, L-G VK Saxena overturned the postponement and directed Commissioner Ashwani Kumar to conduct the elections late at night and submit a report by 10pm. “The Commissioner is hereby directed to submit a report Khattar’s absence in Haryana BJP rallies sparks row H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh THE trend of absenting oneself from party rallies has caught up with the saffron camp, too. If it was Kumari Selja of Congress a few days back, it is former CM and Union minister ML Khattar, now. Sources attribute Khattar’s absence from party rallies to “negativity” associated with him. Of late his photo was missing from the party’s campaign material. “The absence of Khattar from PM Modi’s rallies was meant to tide over the anti-incumbency against the BJP in Haryana,” said a party leader. The party has been in power in the state for a decade, and Khattar was the CM for most years. The ex-CM was absent when PM Modi launched the party campaign on September 14 in Kurukshetra, a BJP stronghold. He was not seen in the PM’s rally in Sonepat. “The party is focusing on non-Jat, backward class and Punjabi votes,” said another party leader. of conduct of elections of the sixth member of standing committee by 10 pm today positively,” the L-G order that came around 8pm read. He further instructed that if the mayor refused to preside, the deputy mayor should step in, or, in the event of their refusal, the senior-most member of the House would preside over the electin. AAP’s Manish Sisodia accused the BJP of undermining democracy by pushing for the late-night election. He appealed to the L-G to retract the order, warning that AAP might pursue legal action. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva stepped in. “Why are you afraid of voting? They (AAP members) are afraid of elections even when they have more members. This is because they don’t trust their party members,” he said. Despite Saxena’s orders, the elections could not be held. “The Standing Committee election for the sixth member will not be held today The date and . time of the election will be announced later,” the civic body said in a statement. The MCD message came after 10 pm. Late night, MCD officials said that the elections will take place at 1 pm on Friday . ALL IN A DAY The Commissioner is hereby directed to submit a report of conduct of elections of the sixth member of standing committee by 10 pm today positively — L-G order around 8pm A meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, in Mumbai on Thursday witnessed tumultuous scenes after a verbal spat between TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee and Shiv Sena (Shinde)’s Naresh Maske. According to sources, the Opposition boycotted the meeting for half an hour after the ruckus. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Maharashtra government, Ministry of Minority Affairs, state Waqf Board, state Minority Commission, and various NGOs. Sources said Maske and Banerjee locked horns after the latter intervened during an NGO’s submission before the panel, in support of the Waqf Bill. Speaking to this newspaper, an MP said the witness from the NGO spoke to the TMC leader in a disrespectful manner, which irked the Opposition. “Banerjee asked the Chairman to take action against the witness. But the Sena MP supported the person. Later, the ONE VACANCY: Currently, BJP has 9 & AAP 8 seats STRENGTH: In 250-member House, AAP has 124 councillors, BJP 115 & Congress 9. It has one Independent councillor and one seat is vacant Chairman asked the witness to apologise, which he didn’t. The Opposition then walked out,” he said. Speaking to the media later, Maske alleged that Banerjee asked the representatives of the NGO to get out of the meeting as they supported the bill. “Witnesses from the Gulshan Foundation were present to discuss the Waqf Amendment Bill. However, Kalyan Banerjee shouted at them and called for their removal, which is disrespectful. I will not allow such behaviour in Maharashtra,” he said. The meeting was the first stop of the JPC’s consultations with various stakeholders from September 26 to October 1. Such meetings, which will be held in five states, aim to refine the proposed Waqf Act. Wednesday’s meeting came close on the heels of BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s allegations of a possible role of Pakistan’s ISI and China behind the 1.25 crore submissions received by the JPC. But the Opposition called it a ‘mockery of democracy’ and said that the BJP was unnerved after the massive feedback. EXIT SHAKIB ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT 37 kids among 46 drowned after holy dip across Bihar The Jivitputrika festival is celebrated by mothers for the well-being of children R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna The Standing Committee poll will not be held today. The date and time of the election will be announced later —MCD statement after 10 pm TOP PANEL: 18-member Standing Committee is highest decisionmaking body PAGES 12 Sena-TMC spat at Waqf Bill JPC’s meeting in Mumbai P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Councillors during a meeting for the election of the MCD Standing Committee on Thursday | SHEKHAR YADAV J8.00 The US, France and other allies jointly called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire on Thursday to give room for negotiations to de-escalate tensions. Israel has rejected the truce proposal and vowed to continue fighting. The Indian Embassy in Beirut urged Indians to avoid travelling to Lebanon and advised those present there to leave at the earliest | PTI | P7 People mourn on Thursday after their family members drowned in Aurangabad district of Bihar | PTI NO ARRANGEMENT TO MANAGE CROWD, COMPLAIN PARENTS “Had the administration made arrangements for proper crowd management at the river ghats and village ponds, such tragedies could have been averted,” said Radheshyam, another parent whose 12-year-old daughter Shobha Kumari drowned. Last year, 22 had died in the state during the Jivitputrika festival As many as 46 people, including 37 children, drowned in the last 24 hours while taking a holy bath in rivers and ponds across Bihar as part of the three-day Jivitputrika festival’s celebrations, which began on Wednesday Four . women were among the 46 who lost their lives. Women observe fast for the well-being of their children to mark the occasion. The three-day festival began with nahay khay (fasting) when devotees take a holy dip in rivers and ponds. Wednesday’s deaths were reported from 15 districts of the state. “A total of 43 bodies have been recovered so far. Further search operations are underway ,” the Bihar disaster management department said. People blamed the casualties on the lack of crowd management near water bodies. “There was no deployment of the state disaster response team at any of the water bodies in the district,” said Upendra Yadav, father of eight-year-old Ankaj Kumar, a resident of Kusaha in Aurangabad district. Jaglal Rai, who lost his 14-yearold daughter Rikki Kumari, said his daughter had gone for taking bath in the village pond when tragedy struck. Rai, a resident of Olhanpur village in Saran district, said his daughter was part of a group of women and girls who had gone to the pond for a holy dip. Incidents of drowning were reported in East Champaran, West Champaran, Aurangabad, Nalanda, Kaimur, Buxar, Siwan, Rohtas, Saran, Patna, Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Gopalganj and Arwal districts. While eight persons died in Aurangabad, seven in Kaimur, five each in Patna, Saran, East Champaran, three in West Champaran, three in Rohtas, two each in Vaishali, Samastipur and Muzaffarpur, one each in Gopalganj and Arwal districts, respectively . Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced an ex-gratia of `4 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased. “The process of providing the ex-gratia has begun,” the statement said. Death to ex-warden for raping 21 kids P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati A special POCSO court at Yupia in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday awarded death sentence to the former hostel warden of a residential school for sexually assaulting 21 children, including 15 minor girls. Two other accused persons were sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment. The crime was committed at a gover nment residential school at Karo village in Mo- nigong of Shi Yomi district between 2019 and 2022. The prime accused, Yumken Bagra, was the warden of the hostel at Karo Government Residential School in ShiYomi district, where he sexually assaulted 21 children, including 15 girls aged between 6 and 15 years, between 2019 and 2022. Co-accused Marbom Ngomdir was a Hindi teacher while Singtun Yorpen was former headmaster of the school. “The accused warden forced the children to watch pornographic movies and repeatedly subjected them to sexual assault. The medical reports of most of the victims corroborate the fact that they were sexually assaulted as marks of violence were noticed on their private parts,” the court said. The gruesome incident came to light after two sisters complained to their parents about it. Bagra was arrested but he obtained bail. Following this, the Gauhati High Court took suo motu action in the case and cancelled the bail. RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY Slush at the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally at SP College grounds in Pune after heavy rains, on Thursday. The PM’s visit was cancelled | PTI Polls on, but counting only after campus gets cleaned, says HC S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court on Thursday allowed the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections to go ahead as planned on September 27, but ordered delay in vote count until all election-related posters and graffiti are removed from the campus. “As all preparations for the elections are complete, it wouldn’t be right to cancel them at this stage. However, counting should only begin once the candidates have cleared the posters and graffiti, and compensated for any damage caused,” a bench, led by Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, said. The ruling came in response to a plea by advocate Prashant Manchanda, who raised concerns about the defacement of public and private properties through posters and hoardings during the campaign. On September 25, the HC had questioned MCD, cops and DU on their efforts to address the issue, referencing a 2018 order on similar concerns. The HC noted that various public spaces, including bus stops, metro and police stations, were defaced, and that areas surrounding the university were littered with pamphlets. The university acknowledged that candidates violated court directives as well as the Lyngdoh Committee’s guidelines. The university informed the HC that it had asked the candidates to remove all materials. Manchanda argued for the cancellation of polls, saying, “Allowing elections would only encourage misconduct.” During a previous hearing, the HC expressed frustration. “I may have to take strict action. Let the campaign spending go to waste. This level of defacement is worse than what we see during the general election,” said Justice Manmohan. The HC assigned responsibility for cleaning and repairing the damage to candidates. Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan announced retirement from T20Is and said that 2nd Test against India will be his last if not given a farewell tie vs SA SC junks Guj plea to delete remarks in Bilkis verdict S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a review plea filed by the Gujarat government seeking to expunge certain adverse remarks against it while quashing the premature release of the 11 men convicted of gangraping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven of her family members in the 2002 riots. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan also rejected the application for listing review petition in open court as well as the review plea filed by the convicts. “Having carefully gone through the review petitions... we are satisfied that there is no error apparent on the face of the record... The review petitions are dismissed,” it said. A review petition is a plea seeking modification of an earlier order. It is heard by the same bench which delivered the original verdict, in their chamber. The purpose of a review petition is limited to remedying an apparent error, if any and the result, ant grave injustice. The Supreme Court had on January 8 quashed the Gujarat government’s August 15, 2022, decision to grant remission to 11 convicts, who were sentenced to life term. In the verdict, the SC observed that the Gujarat government “usurped the powers” of the Maharashtra government in granting remission to the convicts because the case had been transferred to the neighbouring state. Following this, the Gujarat government filed a review plea seeking to expunge these remarks. EXPRESS READ K’taka withdraws nod for CBI probe in state After West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday withdrew general consent under Section 6 of the DPSE Act 1946, allowing the CBI to probe cases in the state. But the move will not stop the agency from investigating CM Siddaramaiah in the MUDA scam case as there is a court order for Lokayukta probe. | P5
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