wednesdAY Assange out of London prison after plea bargain with the U.S. 26 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was on Monday freed from a London prison where he spent five years fighting extradition to the US june, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard k e n ya Tax protesters set house afire Part of parliament building was burned on Tuesday as thousands of protesters against a new finance bill entered and legislators fled Page 9 U.S. court to take up the plea deal today A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 l PAGES 12 Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents, according to filings in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, where the hearing will be held on Wednesday. Under the plea, he won’t face further prison time and can return home to Australia | P9 First election of Speaker in over 5 decades today Trinamool yet to take call on supporting INDIA candidate K Suresh Oppn demanded Dy Speaker post P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Atishi moved to hosp after sharp drop in sugar level An u p V e r m a @ New Delhi Water Minister Atishi ended her hunger strike after her health deteriorated and she was hospitalised on Tuesday. The minister was taken to the Lok Nayak Hospital’s ICU following her blood sugar level dropping to 36. AAP leaders said that the minister’s blood sugar level dropped to 43 at midnight and went further down to 36 by 3 am following which she was taken to the hospital. Giving an update on her health, hospital’s medical director She is currently Suresh Kumar stable and in described her the ICU. Her condition as stablood tests were ble. “ midnight, At conducted and she felt drowsy. things are fine She is currently now. She is stable and in the conscious ICU. Her blood and is on tests were done intravenous and things are therapy” fine. She is conDr Suresh Kumar, scious,” he said. Atishi is being medical director, Lok Nayak given liquids and Hospital’s is on intravenous medical director medicine. Kumar said if a person’s sugar level goes below 50 mg/ dL, it can have serious consequences. “A fall in the blood sugar levels can also lead to multiple organ failure. Hypoglycemia is a medical emergency for brain cells and other organs if not addressed in time,” he added. The minister started an indefinite ‘Pani Satyagraha’— demanding the release of more water from Haryana—on Friday. She has repeatedly complained about water shortage in Delhi and the city’s dependence on neighbouring states. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that doctors had warned her life was in danger. “She has now been forced to stop her fast as she battles for her life,” he said. A post on ‘X’ from Arvind Kejriwal’s official handle said people of Delhi “will definitely give a reply to the injustice that the Centre is doing to the city”. NEET paper leak: SP workers stage a protest over the alleged irregularities in results near party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s residence in Lucknow on Tuesday | PTI UP ordinance proposes life sentence, `1 cr fine for paper leak offenders n a m i ta b a j pa i @ Lucknow Amid rising instances of paper leaks, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday decided to bring in a stringent ordinance to check malpractices in exams, proposing a maximum punishment of life sentence and `1 crore fine. The proposal for the ordinance—Prevention of Unfair Means and Paper Leaks in Public Examinations Ordinance 2024—was cleared in a cabinet meeting chaired by Yogi on Tuesday . Finance and parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna said the government chose the ordinance route because the Assembly is not in session, adding that the Council of Ministers have already approved it. Khanna said the ordinance would bring the Public Service Commission, Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Board, Uttar Pradesh Board, universities, authorities and institutions nominated by them under its ambit. “It will apply to all recruitment examinations, regularisation or promotion exams, and entrance exams for degrees, diplomas, or certificate courses,” he said. The minister said the ordinance will criminalise the distribution of fake question papers and creation of fake job sites. “If an examination is compromised, the financial burden will be recovered from the solver gang involved, the institutes and service providers, who will be permanently blacklisted,” he said. The ordinance includes provisions for property attachment. All offences under this ordinance are classified as cognizable, non-bailable, and triable by sessions court and are non-compoundable. It also proposes stringent conditions for bail. P8 With Parliament set to see an unprecedented election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker on Wednesday the Trinamool Con, gress, an ally of INDIA bloc, is keeping the Opposition on the edge as the party is yet to reach a final decision on the matter. While the BJP-led NDA nominated third-time MP Om Birla for the Speaker’s post for the second consecutive term, the Opposition forced an election by nominating the eight-time MP from Kerala, Kodikunnil Suresh, as its candidate after the talks between both sides failed to reach a consensus. At a late evening INDIA bloc meeting, TMC leaders said they will co-operate with the Opposition on the Speaker’s election. However, the final call will be taken on Wednesday . The meeting was attended by several top leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, TMC’s Derek O’Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, RSP’s N K Premachandran and CPM’s K Radhakrishnan. An Opposition leader who attended the meet told this newspaper, “Though other parties, including the Congress, have issued a whip to their MPs for the election, the TMC said that they will convey their decision tomorrow after more consultations. But they have assured that they will cooperate with the Opposition in the Speaker election.” Earlier, TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee complained that the Congress unilaterally decided to put up K Suresh as the INDIA bloc’s candidate for the post without consultation. A brief interaction involving Congress leader K C Venugopal E x p r ess N e ws S e rv i c e @ New Delhi trudeau under pressure as party loses seat Canadian PM’s Liberal Party has suffered a major upset in a poll for a Toronto district it has held for three decades, raising doubts about Justine Trudeau’s leadership ahead of next year’s general election | P9 Compounding troubles for jailed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the CBI is going to produce him before a trial court on Wednesday, which may result in his arrest by the agency, sources said on Tuesday. This comes a day before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Kejriwal’s plea challenging a Delhi High Court order, which stayed the bail granted to him by a lower court. On Monday, the CBI questioned Kejriwal in Tihar Jail in the excise policy case and recorded his statement. On Tues- day, the central agency moved an application before a special court seeking a production warrant for Kejriwal, which was later granted by the court, sources said. The CBI will produce Kejriwal before a trial court at 10 am on Wednesday, which will be likely before the SC hearing begins, they said. The sources said that since Kejriwal is already in judicial custody in a Prevention of Money Laundering case by the ED, his formal arrest can take place before a court. If the CBI arrests Kejriwal P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi the Congress on Tuesday named Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The announcement came after a late evening meeting of floor leaders of the Opposition parties. Congress general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal told the media, “CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, informing the decision of appointment of Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha”. Other officebearers will be decided later, he added. Rahul was sworn in as a member of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday He has been an MP for five terms . and now represents Rae Bareli. Early this month, the Congress Working Committee had unanimously passed a resolution requesting Rahul to take up the post of the LoP in the 18th Lok Sabha. The party did not have the requisite seats to claim the post in 2014 and 2019. To claim the post, a party needs at least 10% of the membership of the Lok Sabha. While the Congress had 52 seats in 2019, in 2014, it had 44. However, the party registered a spectacular show by increasing its tally to 100 in the 2024 elections. and DMK’s T R Baalu and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and J P Nadda, at Singh’s office in Parliament to evolve a consensus ended in acrimony as both sides stuck to their positions. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said, “Union Minister Rajnath favourable orders,” says a DIGranked official. Pointing out the trend of lengthening beards, another senior jailor notes that the length of facial hair can often transform a man’s appearance. “There are no laws that apply to the length of the beard, and that puts us in a fix. Some inmates are now growing beards that are long and often scruffy he adds. ,” Senior officials say they allow exceptions for religious reasons such as Sabarimala pilgrimage or Ramadan. However, a growing number of prisoners, especially those involved in NIA cases, are deliberately growing beards on the pretext of religious beliefs. This is problematic in main- and gets his custody the Chief , Minister won’t be able to walk out of Tihar on Wednesday even if the SC overturns the HC’s stay on his bail. Earlier in the day, the HC stayed the trial court order granting him bail in the money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam, holding that the lower court did not “appropriately appreciate” the material placed before it by the ED. A vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain said the ED’s contentions assailing the bail order required E x p r e ss r e a d Wardens scratch their head as jail beards trend jAILORS in Kerala have a hairy situation on their hands —literally. The number of inmates choosing to grow beards is rising and their robust facial hairs are reaching epic lengths. Bemused wardens are at their wits’ end but there is hardly anything they can do about it. According to Rule 292(1) of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Rules, prisoners have the right to grow beard. Officials say the problem is that if one grows a beard, it is very likely that other inmates will follow suit. “If disallowed, they protest saying their fundamental rights have been violated. They then approach the court and obtain Rahul to lead Cong charge as LoP in Lower House last evening said that he will call back our president Mallikarjun Kharge on our demand on the Deputy Speaker post. However, Rajnath ji has not returned the call. PM Modi says there should be constructive cooperation and then our leader is being insulted. So their intention is clear.” P7 CBI likely to produce Kejriwal in court today Hairy tale P RAM D AS @ Kochi Candiadates for Speaker’s post Om Birla (BJP) and Kodikunnil Suresh (INDIA) The last election for Speaker was in 1976. The INDIA bloc’s made a last minute decision to go for the contest after senior BJP leaders refused to accept its precondition that the Opposition must be offered the post of Deputy Speaker in lieu of supporting Birla Illustration: Sourav Roy taining jail discipline and hygiene,” says a senior official. Other officials complain that instead of keeping normal beards, inmates are intentionally maintaining long ones, causing problems for others. “The hair may fall into other inmates’ food, triggering clashes and security issues inside the prison,” says an officer. Recently, the superintendent of Viyyur prison opposed the plea of UAPAaccused Sahad M to grow a beard. The superintendent argued in court that to maintain hygiene and discipline, cutting hair and shaving beard is necessary, as per the rules. Sahad argued that he is a practising Muslim with the right to follow the customs and rites of his religion. He obtained an order to grow a beard from the NIA special court in Ernakulam, which said the ‘right’ can’t be denied. Sensex, Nifty reach all-time high levels Benchmark Sensex breached the historic 78,000 level for the first time while Nifty settled at a new record high on Tuesday on buying in blue-chip bank stocks and Reliance Industries. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 712.44 points or 0.92% to settle at a new closing peak of 78,053.52. P10 Cauvery water: Team to check K’taka dams The Cauvery Water Management Authority on Tuesday decided to send a team to Karnataka to check and review the water situation in the Cauvery basin before passing an order on Tamil Nadu’s plea for Cauvery water. It has directed both Karnataka and TN to conserve water in all reservoirs of the Cauvery basin. serious consideration. “The vacation judge (trial court) ought to give adequate opportunity to the ED to argue the bail application,” the HC judge said. The trial court, presided over by vacation judge Niyay Bindu, had granted bail to Kejriwal on June 20 and ordered his release on a personal bond of `1 lakh. On June 5, a local court rejected Kejriwal’s bail plea on the ground that his involvement in the crime could not be ruled out. The ED had told the court that he was the mastermind and main conspirator in the Delhi liquor case. Prajwal booked for recording sexual act, back in SIT custody Express News Service @ Bengaluru The special court dealing with cases related to MLAs and MPs on Tuesday remanded former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna in SIT custody till June 29 in another case. An FIR was registered against him at a police station in the city based on a complaint by one of Prajwal’s suvrivors accusing him of recording his alleged sexual act with her. This is the fourth FIR against Prajwal. Former BJP MLA Preetham Gowda has been named accused No. 4 in the case for allegedly circulating the explicit pictures and videos of Prajwal. Two more people have been named in the FIR. The SIT will issue a notice to Preetham, who, however, said that he was not aware of the FIR. Prajwal, who was appeared before the judge through a video conference from the jail, was informed about the complaint. SIT officials brought Prajwal from Bengaluru Central Prison to the CID office in the afternoon. In her complaint, the survivor alleged that recording of the sexual act by Prajwal and sharing pictures and videos by other accused not only caused embarrassment, but also tarnished her family’s image. The first FIR against Prajwal and his father HD Revanna was registered on May 28, the second against Prajwal on May 1 and the third on May 8. T20 WC Afghans reach semi final Afghanistan beat B’desh to make it to the T20 WC semis for the first time, knocking Oz out. They will face South Africa in semi final 1 on Thursday. India will play England in semi final 2 the same day | P11 4 of a family suffocated to death in Dwarka house fire UJWA L JA L A L I @ New Delhi A family of four—mother, father and two kids—lost their lives in a fire incident in Dwarka area early Tuesday, police said. The deceased were identified by cops as Heera Singh Kakkar (48), his wife Neetu (40) and their sons Robin (22) and Lakshay (21). DCP (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said a PCR call on the fire at a house in Chhawla area of Dwarka was received. Cops and fire department personnel rushed to the spot at around 3.30 am. The flames were doused within a few minutes. By the time cops managed to break open the locked main gate of the house, four people were gasping for breath with rooms being filled with smoke, a fire officer said. The four were rushed to the Rao Tularam Memorial Hospital, where doctors declared them dead, police said. One more member of the family, Heera Singh Kakkar’s mother Sita Devi was rescued from the ground floor of the two-storey building, the DCP said. As per preliminary probe, it seems that the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the inverter at the entrance gate. A case under relevant sections has been lodged, the DCP added. Fire incidents have so far claimed 83 lives in the city till June 25 this year, as per the data shared by the Delhi Fire Service. P3
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