SATURDAY 12 JULY, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard Shirsat in a videograb; and the bag full of cash US STATE DEPT FIRING OVER 1,300 STAFF The US State Department is firing over 1,300 staff on Friday in line with a dramatic reorganization plan from the Trump administration. PAGE 9 CLEAN YAMUNA Centre calls for check on industry waste & STP upgrade SENA MINISTER CAUGHT ON CAM WITH CASH, SAYS IT’S ONLY CLOTHES I-T LENS ON MIGHTY SPIKE IN DECLARED ASSETS A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 4 bullets hit ex-tennis player from behind, says autopsy EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi THE autopsy report of a 25-year-old former Haryana tennis player Radhika Yadav has revealed that she was hit by four bullets from behind. Radhika was allegedly shot dead by her father, identified as Deepak Yadav, at their house in Sushant Lok-II, Gurugram Sector-57, by using his licensed firearm on Thursday. Deepak A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi CHAIRING a review meeting on Yamuna rejuvenation on Friday, Home Minister Amit Shah emphasised the need to enhance the capacity of sewage treatment plants (STPs) and stop increasing pollution of the river from industrial units. Shah directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to work in action mode to curb water pollution. As chemical waste from other states also flows into the Yamuna, he called for joint efforts to clean the river. The meeting was attended by Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal, Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil, CM Rekha Gupta, PWD Minister Parvesh Verma and senior officials. Shah underlined the need to improve the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the main drains of Najafgarh and Shahdara, emphasising that a drone survey be conducted. Shah directed that capacity of STPs be increased to 1,500 MGD by 2028. “All three states, Haryana, Delhi and UP should , make efforts for Yamuna’s rejuvenation and there should be regularity and transparency in testing of the water flowing out of their STPs. A third-party quality testing of STP outflow should be done,” he said. Emphasising on increasing the e-flow in Yamuna, Shah said there is a need to talk to the UP government and find a solution so that the flow of the river can be improved at the time of its entry into Delhi. He said the treated water of Okhla STP should be released downstream of Yamuna, which will help in improving the quality of the river water. The home minister said a detailed survey should be conducted regarding water supply in Delhi, so that it can be ascertained how much water is required to be supplied to cater to the people of the city . Uncontrolled water extraction through borewells is a big problem in Delhi, on which the Delhi Jal Board needs to prepare an action plan, he said.  The video surfaced a day after reports emerged of Shirsat facing scrutiny from the Income Tax Department regarding a significant increase in his declared assets, which surged from `3.3 crore in 2019 to `35 crore in 2024. The Opposition parties in Maharashtra have sought the resignation of Shirsat, who branded the video as a preplanned conspiracy to frame him | P8 was presented before a court on Friday which sent him to one, day police custody . The post-mortem was conducted by a board of three doctors on Friday during which four bullets were recovered from the body. Later, the body was handed over to family members for cremation at their village in Wazirabad. There were silence and tears as the player was cremated, said a villager. About 150 people, in- One Nation One Election Bill not unconstitutional but needs rework Ex-CJIs red flag sweeping powers of EC under ONOE PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi FORMER Chief Justices of India D Y Chandrachud and J S Khehar have flagged the sweeping powers that the One Nation One Election (ONOE) Bill seeks to confer on the Election Commission of India. According to sources, both ex-CJIs clarified that the bill for simultaneous elections does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution—as alleged by some Opposition parties—but suggested some tweaks in the language and provisions of the bill to check the unbridled powers of the Election Commission. On Friday, Chandrachud concluded his presentation before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) headed by BJP MP P P Chaudhary which , was entrusted with the task to review the Bill. Justice Khehar had already given his views on the legal and constitutional aspects of the proposed legislation. “The former CJIs told the JPC that though the Bill does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution, some of the proposed provisions may not get past judicial scrutiny. They also suggested the ways to address these issues. Both jurists suggested that there should be an ‘oversight mechanism’ on the conduct of elections,” said sources. Former Chief Justices of India D Y Chandrachud and J S Khehar Experts seek clarity on bill’s grey areas Experts have flagged several grey areas in the bill. What will happen if the govt at the Centre falls? Wouldn’t the synchronised election cycle be disrupted in the event of a national emergency or premature dissolution of assemblies? Meanwhile, Opposition members including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and DMK’s P Wilson raised queries about the constitutionality of dissolving assemblies midway to synchronise their polls with Lok Sabha elections. Making his point before the JPC, Wilson argued that the aim is to curtail election expenditures but the proposed system would lead to numerous polls in the event of the fall of the government at the Centre. In such a scenario, the purpose of the Bill would be defeated, he pointed out. Several other MPs also pointed out the issue of mid-term elections, sources said. Justice Khehar suggested that Parliament or the Union Council of Ministers should have a say in taking the call on holding the election of an assembly as envisaged under Sec, tion 82A(5) of the Bill. The Section in its current form says, “If the Election Commission is of the opinion that the elections to any Legislative Assembly cannot be conducted along with the general election to the House of the People, it may make a recommendation to the President, to declare by an order, that the election to that Legislative Assembly may be conducted at a later date.” Referring to another Section of the proposed law, Justice Khehar said it should also specify what will happen in case of an Emergency . After the meeting, Chaudhary said each aspect will be discussed and recommendations made. “We want a transparent discussion to take place… Parliament gave us the Bill so that it can be corrected. It was not given to us to return in the present form. We are making efforts on how simultaneous elections should be conducted in the national interest,” he said. Chaudhary said the panel welcomes divergent views as it will help the panel make good recommendations. cluding her family, attended the funeral with her brother Dheeraj lighting the pyre. A case regarding the murder has been registered at the Sector 56 police station based on the complaint of Rahdika’s uncle. The revolver used in the crime and five empty cartridges were recovered. Deepak confessed that he killed his daughter because he was often mocked for living off her income, police said, adding that the tennis academy Radhika ran was the bone of contention between the father and the daughter. Deepak was depressed for the last 15 days, police said. Deepak is financially well off and has good rental income, so he thought that there was no need for his daughter to run an academy police said. , In his complaint, Radhika’s uncle Kuldeep Yadav said that her mother Manju Yadav was present on the first floor of the ‘I believe that if anyone has any concerns about the special poll roll revision in Bihar, he/she should approach the ECI. Not with presumption but with examples... We have a firm policy on running India using Indian languages. The fight is in the minds of those who still believe India should run on foreign languages’ Oppn manufacturing anxiety, says Shah E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi U NION Home Minister Amit Shah says the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which is under way in poll-bound Bihar, would be implemented in other states as well. “I think roll revision will be done across the country he remarked. ,” Speaking to this newspaper, Shah said the Opposition is manufacturing anxiety over the process to mask its lack of electoral winnability “If anyone has any . concerns over the process, they should approach the Election Commission, not with presumptions, but with examples of the outcomes of the process,” he said. Predicting a win for the BJP-led alliance not only in Bihar later this year, but also Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, among other states scheduled to vote for new assemblies beginPRESS INTERVIEW ning next year, Shah said this reflected the massive and ongoing popular endorsement of the 11-year-old Narendra Modi government. “The world looks up to India again. Under Modi ji, we have restored faith in India’s future. Today 140 crore believe India can be, come a fully developed nation by 2047. Every sector is filled with confidence about making India self-reliant,” Shah said. “Is there any area that has not seen improvement? Be it foodgrain production, advances in space, internal security , our global stature, reduction in corruption, our integrated approach to health?” In reply to a question, Shah predicted, “The AIADMK– BJP alliance will win by a landslide in the coming election in Tamil Nadu. The people are fed up with corruption, nepotism and the family feuds of the DMK.” On the Opposition’s apprehensions about the effect delimitation may have for the South Indian states, Shah asserted, “There is no need for anyone to feel anxious. I have said this categorically: There will be no injustice to FULL INTERVIEW: P5 the South.” house when the crime took place. Deepak, Manju, and Radhika lived on the first floor of the house, while he lived on the ground floor with his family . According to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) website, Radhika played tournaments earlier this year in Indore and Kuala Lumpur. She was ranked 1999 by the International Tennis Federation. She achieved the AITA women’s singles ranking of 35. EXPRESS READ Molestation accused lynched in Arunachal An irate mob in Arunachal Pradesh dragged a 17-year-old molestation accused out of a police station and lynched him on Friday. The deceased was accused of molesting seven girls—aged between 5 and 7 years. | P8 1-yr extension for home secy Govind Mohan The Centre on Friday extended the tenure of Home Secretary Govind Mohan till August 22 next year, officials said. The 1989batch IAS officer was named the home secretary in August 2024. AJIT DOVAL CHALLENGES WESTERN MEDIA The National Security Advisor said India smashed nine terror targets with precision in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. He dared the foreign media to show “even one image” of damage to any Indian structure in the war | P7 Tharoor losing UDF sweet spot as Oh Lord’s: Ladybird infestation & climate change IUML, RSP sour over ‘provocation’ BODYLINE FLY SLIP F I R O Z M I R Z A @ London IT is not always that a game of cricket has been stopped due to a swarm of ladybirds invading the pitch. On Thursday the , first day of third Test in Lord’s between India and England, players including that of hosts encountered a peculiar phenomenon. A swarm of ladybirds flew over the ground, some even landed on the helmet of Ben Stokes. These are unusual and rare sights but are invariably tied to the usual suspect, climate change. Rising temperature and dry spell in England has already have had an impact on the playing conditions. The beetles are only adding to the woes. The game as of now doesn’t have a rule to stop because of insect attack. According to the groundsmen, the rising temperature in England has led to swarms of these species of beetle to invade open areas including grounds. England batter Ollie Pope admitted this was the first time he had seen anything like this. “No, I haven’t (seen that before). It’s a first and the crowd (Top) Jasprit Bumrah tries to fend off ladybirds on the first day at Lord’s. He took five wickets on Friday. (Left) Joe Root celebrates ton against India | AFP got that. I didn’t even know why we stopped,” replied Pope when questioned about the interruption during media interaction at the end of day’s play . One of the ground staff said the menace will continue during the entire duration of the match as temperature is expected to only increase in the next few days. “It may touch 35 degrees (centigrade), which is unprecedented as the last time we witnessed this was during the first Covid wave in 2020. The insects are harmless but can cause disruption if they come in a large number. We use spray to counter them but that will not be that effective if they swarm the venue,” said the staffer, who did not wish to be named. The extreme hot weather accompanied by dry patch also led to hosepipe ban in Yorkshire. The warm climate is responsible for the increase in the population of the ladybirds, who anyways are evolving to adapt to different weather patterns. The warmer temperatures mean the presence of aphids (garden pest), ladybirds primary source of food, that h e l p s t h e m t o m u l t i p ly exponentially . The recent incident at the Home of Cricket highlighted yet another reason how the sport is being challenged for its existence by external factors P11 like extreme weather. K S S R E E J I T H @ T’Puram HARD on the heels of his most recent provocations, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor is losing the support of UDF partners, many of whom had stood with him in times of crisis. Two major allies, the Muslim League and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), have come out openly against Tharoor over two separate incidents that placed him at odds with UDF’s political positioning. Referring to Tharoor attending a luncheon hosted by the Israeli ambassador to India, IUML general secretary P M A Salam said that the Congress has no control over Tharoor. “Tharoor has been doing things without the knowledge of the Congress leadership. The Muslim League has serious reservations about some of his actions. This has been continuing for some time. It is the Congress that has to take a call on how to deal with it,” Salam told this newspaper. The League had extended its support to Tharoor when the majority of the state Congress ‘Let us see how far he (Tharoor) will go’ A Congress leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the party is closely watching Shashi Tharoor’s actions. “Let us see how far he will go. We have already said that we expect Tharoor will recognise his mistakes and repent,” he said. leadership tried to block his active participation in Kerala politics. In 2023, the League leadership invited Tharoor to its pro-Palestine rally, where his reference to Hamas as a terrorist organisation had put the former in an awkward spot. Tharoor attended the event hosted by the Israeli envoy for Parliament members on June 27. It was organised to solicit the support of the political class for Israel in its war with Iran and attack on Gaza. Among those invited were BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda and Congress’ Praniti Shinde and Deepender Singh Hooda, besides Tharoor. However, Praniti and Deepender did not attend the function. Tharoor attended the function just two days after Sonia Gandhi criticised Israel’s aggression on Gaza and Iran. In an article published in a national daily, she criticised the Union government’s silence on the devastation in Gaza and the hostilities against Iran. The RSP is also not pleased with the manner in which Tharoor is acting against UDF interests. The party is of the view that Tharoor’s article, published in a Malayalam daily, criticising the Emergency and former PM Indira Gandhi is a calculated move. “It is intriguing that Tharoor, who has been elected on a Congress ticket, is deliberately speaking in the voice of the BJP,” RSP state g eneral secretary Shibu Baby John told this newspaper.