MONDAY 07 IN SNUB TO TRUMP, ELON MUSK FORMS NEW POLITICAL PARTY JULY, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard TEXAS FLASH FLOODS TOLL RISES TO 67, CAMPERS MISSING Tech billionaire Musk has formed a new political party “to give Americans their freedom back”, after a fallout with Trump REGISTERING ‘AMERICA PARTY’ THE NEXT STEP The death toll from flash floods that rampaged through Central Texas rose to at least 67 on Sunday. The dead included 21 children, said officials. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 09  NEW DELHI  J8.00 After Bihar, poll panel now plans revision of voters’ list in Bengal EC says Bihar draft list would contain names of voters whose enumeration forms were received MUKESH RANJAN AND R A M A S H A N K A R @ New Delhi/Patna NOTWITHSTANDING the raging controversy around the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar electoral rolls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now preparing to launch and initiate a similar exercise in West Bengal sometime in August this year, sources in the poll panel told this newspaper on Sunday . The last time the ECI verified electoral rolls in West Bengal was in 2002. “As the assembly elections will be due in West Bengal after Bihar, we are preparing for the exercise in advance,” a source said. The ECI said the revision exercise in Bihar has been going on smoothly and the initial phase of it has been completed. In an official statement, the ECI said, “It is reiterated that SIR is being conducted in Bihar as per instructions issued on June 24 and there is no change in the instructions. The draft electoral rolls that will be issued on August 1, 2025 will contain the names of persons whose enumeration forms are received.” It said electors can submit any one of the 11 specified documents anytime before July 25, 2024. “After publication of Draft Electoral Rolls, if any document is deficient, EROs can obtain such documents, from the electors whose name appears in the draft Electoral Roll, during scrutiny in the claims and objection period,” it noted. “The new directive has provided a great relief to people, as they have been given a relaxation of nearly 45 days to submit required documents,” said a senior official posted at the Bi- MAHUA, RJD MOVE SUPREME COURT Trinamool Congress leader and Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court challenging an order of the Election Commission of India for special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. “ECI has introduced it to deprive bonafide young electorate of Bihar. Later, they will target Bengal,” Moitra told a news agency. In her plea, Moitra sought a direction to restrain ECI from issuing similar orders in other states of the country. The RJD and an NGO have also moved the top court. har CEO office in Patna. Highlighting the need for the SIR in the country Chief Elec, tion Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar told this newspaper that during the past four months, “all 4,123 EROs, all 775 DEOs and all 6 CEOs have held nearly 5,000 meetings with 28,000 political party representatives”. “ECI has invited all recognised political parties for interaction. No one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or the other.” A total of 77,895 BLOs, were engaged in the house-to-house exercise to help electors fill their Enumeration Forms. In a large number of cases, the BLOs were also taking live pictures of electors and uploading them, to further expedite and streamline the process. In addition, 20,603 BLOs were being appointed for timely completion of the revision. Nearly 4 lakh volunteers are working on the field. The deadline for submission of forms is July 26. March 16, 2008 cut-off date notified for Delhi electoral roll revision A S H I S H S R I V A S TA V A @ New Delhi Training of Electoral Registration Officers and BLOs have begun from July 3. The doorto-door campaign for verification and other processes is expected to start in August. The schedule regarding this will be out soon Senior poll official AADHAAR NOT VALID A select set of documents are being accepted for verification. These include birth certificates, passports, ID cards caste certificates, forest documents, housing allotment certificates. Notably, Aadhaar is not among the accepted documents. THE political climate in the national capital is set to heat up with the Election Commission of India (ECI) notifying the cut-off date for a special intensive revision (SIR) of Delhi’s electoral rolls--an exercise currently stirring controversy in Bihar. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi has notified the cut-off date for the revision as March 16, 2008 -- the date when the last SIR was carried out. This means that all voter names added to the rolls after this date will now be subject to verification. Individuals falling in this category will be required to furnish proof of citizenship to retain their names on the electoral list. Officials have indicated that the process is likely to begin in August. “Training of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have begun from July 3. The door-to-door campaign for verification and other processes is expected to start in August. The schedule regarding this will be out soon,” a senior poll official said. The Delhi revision echoes the ongoing process in Bihar, where only a select set of documents are being accepted for verification. These include birth certificates, passports, ID cards or pension orders issued to government employees or pensioners, permanent residence certificates, caste certificates, forest rights documents, family registers maintained by local authorities, and government-issued land or housing allotment certificates. Notably, Aadhaar is not among the accepted documents. The ECI has maintained that the SIR aims to clean the electoral rolls and incorporating demographic changes triggered by urbanisation and migration. On the run for 25 years, killer of taxi drivers in police net S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi A 49-year-old man, on the run for the last 25 years, has been arrested in connection with a string of crimes when he hired taxis, killed the drivers, dumped their bodies in remote forested areas of Uttarakhand, looted vehicles and resold them across the Nepal border in Delhi, police said on Sunday . Ajay Lamba alias Bansi was wanted in four brutal robberycum-murder cases across Delhi and Uttarakhand and declared a proclaimed offender in a 2001 murder case registered at New Ashok Nagar police station. He was the mastermind behind several heinous crimes, including killing taxi drivers between 1999 and 2001, a senior police officer said A Delhi-born, he shifted base to UP’s Bareilly and teamed up with Dhirendra and Dilip Negi,” DCP (Crime) Aditya Gautam said. Lamba managed to remain undetected for over two decades by frequently changing locations and identities. In 2020, he became involved in narcotics smuggling, primarily operating between Odisha and Delhi. In 2021, he was arrested in a narcotics case under the NDPS Act by Sagarpur police and again in connection with a jewellery shop dacoity in Berhampur, Odisha, in 2024. Lamba was out on bail and was arrested in a coordinated operation in Delhi, DCP said. Indian players celebrate the wicket of Jamie Smith along with Akash Deep in Edgbaston on Sunday | AFP MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM AT EDGBASTON EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai FIVE days ago when India captain Shubman Gill was probed by Michael Atherton during the toss on the Playing XI (then) that looked defensive on paper, an Indian win seemed to be still in the realm of a beautiful dream. In the real world, however, even before a ball was bowled in the second Test, the balance was tilted in favour of hosts England. They successfully chased a record total in the first. India had decided to rest ever-dependable Jasprit Bumrah despite a nine-day gap between the two games. The captain Gill is just one Test old. On top of that India decided to go ahead with all-rounders rather than bolster their bowling. Things looked even more grim when India were 211/5 and were staring at another likely collapse after tea on Day One. Well, that was the last moment India seemed lost. But the one-Test old captain batted, batted and batted, and in the company of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, broke one record after another on his way to a marathon 269. India stopped at 587. The total seemed to have done the trick. If the first innings seemed an ab e r r at i o n , t h e s e c o n d seemed like highlights with fours and sixes peppered around the ground. Morally, England were crushed on the fourth day . Inspired by the captain’s innings, Akash Deep and Mo- hammed Siraj did what India bowlers struggled in the first Test – take 20 wickets in the two innings. ‘No Bumrah, no problem’. The duo shared all ten wickets between them as India gained a 180-run lead and Gill decided to make sure the target was beyond the hosts with another strokeful hundred (161). It was only a matter of time before India levelled the series with ease, thanks to Akash Deep’s 6/99 in the second innings. For the record, this is the biggest margin (336 runs) of win for India away from home and this is their first win at Edgbaston. In sports, dreams do turn into reality . Over to Lord’s with hope and hoopla.  “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk said in a post on X. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said. To legally form the party would require Musk to register it with the US Federal Election Commission PAGES 12 BRICS slams Pahalgam attack, demands urgent UNSC reforms J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi BRICS leaders on Sunday condemned the Pahalgam terror attack “in the strongest terms” and flagged the dangers of cross-border terrorism. “We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025, during which 26 people were killed,” the BRICS leaders declaration said. In his hard-hitting address at the BRICS Summit at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called out countries that support terrorism, saying they “must pay the price.” He urged BRICS to take a clear stand to deal with terrorism, saying there is no room for double standards. “We reaffirm our commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing, and safe havens. We urge to ensure zero tolerance for terrorism and re- Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva upon his arrival in Brazil | PTI ject double standards in countering terrorism,” the BRICS leaders’ declaration said. The declaration called for the swift adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism under the United Nations framework and demanded concerted global action against all UN-designated terrorists and entities. In a notable shift, the Rio Declaration carried BRICS’s strongest-ever language on the need for United Nations Security Council reform. “We reiterate our support for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council, with a view to making it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient,” it said. Making a sharp geopolitical statement, the BRICS leaders also condemned the recent Israeli airstrikes on Iran, terming them “a violation of international law”. In his address, Modi also made a clarion call for a multipolar, inclusive world order led by meaningful institutional reform. “The Global South has often faced double standards. Whether it’s about development, distribution of resources, or security-related matters, the interests of the Global South have not been given due importance,” Modi said. P7 Will urge SC to allow uniform rules on overage vehicles: CM A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi DELHI Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said her gover nment will urge the Supreme Cour t to allow uniform rules on overage vehicles in the national capital in line with those followed across the country . Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had earlier urged the CM to file a review petition in the SC against its 2018 order that banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years. Last week, the Delhi government urged the Centre’s air quality panel to immediately suspend the fuel ban on overage vehicles and said it will make “all-out efforts” to resolve issues related to restrictions on the movement of endof-life vehicles on city roads. Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, in his letter to the CAQM chairman Rajesh Verma, said the fuel ban cannot be implemented due to technological challenges. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event here, Gupta said the government will echo the sentiments of the people before the top court. “We will tell the Supreme Court about the pollution control measures taken by the government. The parameters that are applicable in the entire country should also apply to Delhi. We want Delhiites not to face any inconvenience,” she said. British Royal Navy fighter jet F-35B being towed to hangar at Thiruvananthapuram airport. Inset: UK’s Atlas ZM417 that brought aviation engineers and equipment | PTI British team arrives to fix stranded F-35B fighter jet EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ T’Puram / New Delhi THE F-35B fighter aircraft of the British Royal Navy strand, ed in the Thiruvananthapuram international airport for the past three weeks, was on Sunday moved out from the tarmac. The aircraft was towed by a team of British engineers who arrived from the UK on Sunday, using special equipment necessary for the movement and repair process. The 14-member team arrived aboard a Royal Air Force Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft, carrying specialist equipment. The jet, stranded since June 14 due to a hydraulic system failure, was moved to a designated hangar space provided by Air India. The development came after the UK accepted the offer of a space in the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport. EXPRESS READ Majithia sent to 14-day judicial custody Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia was on Sunday sent to a 14-day judicial custody in a disproportionate assets case by a Mohali court. Majithia, who is brother-in-law of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, was produced before the court amid tight security. Several prominent SAD leaders and workers were detained. 17 warships and 9 submarines in pipeline CBI takes over probe into Sandeshkhali case Around 17 warships and nine submarines of the Indian Navy are currently undergoing various stages of approval, according to sources on Sunday. This is in addition to the existing fleet of 61 warships and submarines, which are at various stages of construction. | P7 The CBI has taken over the probe into the killings of three BJP workers during the 2019 postpoll violence in Sandeskhali, and filed an FIR naming TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh as the prime accused, officials said. The development follows Calcutta High Court’s June 30 order. | P8 “The UK remains very grateful for the continued support and collaboration of the Indian authorities and airport teams,” British High Commission stated. This newspaper had earlier reported that F-35B Lightning II fighter would be repaired at its present location, for which a team would be flown in from the UK. The F-35B fighter jet made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram on the night of June 14, 2025 as it faced adverse weather conditions and low fuel. The aircraft was unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales as it was caught in adverse weather conditions. A Royal Navy helicopter had flown in an additional pilot and engineer the next day but early , repair efforts were unsuccessful. Towing the aircraft was deemed too risky, prompting the UK to send a full engineering crew. DILEMMA FYUP DISARRAY HITS DELHI UNIV The ambitious 4-year UG programme in DU risks falling flat on its face owning to lack of structural & financial support, administrative lapses and unplanned policy shifts | P4