wednesdAY 04 december, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard vietnam Yoon Suk Yeol, S Korean Prez court upholds death to tycoon A Ho Chi Minh court said that property tycoon Truong My Lan’s life could be spared if she paid back three quarters of the assets she embezzled. Page 9 South korea put under martial law A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 l Hours after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law— to protect the country from North Korea’s ‘communist forces’—the country’s parliament voted to lift it. It’s unclear what effect the vote will have, though the president is obliged to comply. In the picture, soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul on Tuesday after the declaration of martial law | AFP | P9 PAGES 12 Improvement in BJP weighs new proposal to split India-China ties, the home cake to appease Shinde says Jaishankar Su d h i r Su r yawa n s h i @ Mumbai Disengagement process complete; next step is de-escalation in massing of troops on LAC PREE T H A N A I R @ New Delhi the conclusion of disengagement in Eastern Ladakh, achieved through a step-by-step process, will allow both countries to pursue other aspects of bilateral engagements in a calibrated manner, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday Making a statement on India. China ties in the Lok Sabha, Jaishankar said the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas would be the basis for the relationship moving forward. Jaishankar’s statement in Parliament, the first since the India and China reached an agreement to disengage from the two remaining friction points of Depsang Plains and Demchok, came a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia’s Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. Prior to the meeting, both countries had firmed up an agreement on patrolling by their militaries along the Line of Actual Control. The minister also said that in his recent meeting with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, they reached an understanding that the Special Representatives- and the Foreign Secretary-level mechanisms will be convened soon. With disengagement complete, he said the next priority is de-escalation, which would address the massing of troops along the LAC. India is committed, he said, to engaging with China “through bilateral talks to arrive at a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable settlement”. Underling the three key principles that must be observed under all circumstances, he said both sides should strictly respect the LAC, neither side should attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo, and agreements reached in the past must be abided by in their entirety P7 . We are clear that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas is a prerequisite for the development of our ties S Jaishankar Border vigil to continue While substantial progress has been achieved in defusing face-offs, the management of border areas will require further attention in light of India’s recent experiences, Jaishankar said ‘sewadar’ sukhbir Sukhbir Singh Badal at the Golden Temple in Amritsar to serve the religious punishment given to him by the Akal Takht on Tuesday | PTI | P8 SC seeks details on shelter homes as temp set to dip e x p r e ss n e ws s e r v i c e @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought details from the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) on the facilities available for housing the homeless in the city considering the , approaching winter months. “We are concerned. We are on the eve of what is going to be a very chilly winter,” a top court bench, led by Justice B R Gavai and Justice V Viswanathan observed. The apex court asked the DUSIB to give details about the number of people who could be accommodated in shelter homes and an estimate of those requiring such facilities. Appearing for one of the petitioners, advocate Prashant Bhushan said the total capacity of shelter homes in Delhi was around 17,000 people and the DUSIB had demolished nine such facilities. These demolished shelter homes had around 450 people living there, though the capacity was only 286, he added. Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday called on aggrieved caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at the latter’s official residence to resolve the deadlock over portfolio allocation ahead of the swearing in ceremony of the MahaYuti government in a couple of days. In 2019, Fadnavis missed the bus to become CM as he dithered in calling up the undivided Shiv Sena’s leader Uddhav Thackeray to iron out wrinkles in their alliance. By the time he came around to doing so, Uddhav had hardened his position and refused to take the call. Fadnavis tried to avoid that misstep this time around. He is set to be sworn in as CM after he is ‘elected’ the BJP legislative party leader on Wednesday . As per the current plan, Fadnavis would retain home while the finance portfolio will go to Ajit Pawar (NCP) and urban development to the Shiv Sena. The BJP will also hold the revenue portfolio as also the positions of Speaker and the Chairman of the legislative council. The NCP will get Eknath Shinde at a meeting in Mumbai Devendra Fadnavis calls on Shinde 43 ministries also demanded the Speaker’s position. The BJP wants Shinde to take up the deputy chief minister’s post along with some key portfolios but he is yet to yield. Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar said Shinde is a tall leader, so the BJP should treat him with respect by allocating weighty portfolios. Shinde underwent a medical test at a hospital, where all parameters were found to be normal. Meanwhile, the BJP has invited 10,000 Ladli Bahins, 1,000 farmers and 400 Hindu saints for the swearing-in of new MahaYuti CM at the Azad maidan at 5pm on December 5. The ceremony will be attended by PM Narendra Modi, Union ministers and CMs of BJP -ruled states. Of the 43 ministries, BJP will get 21-22, NCP 9-11 and Sena 10-12. BJP will hold revenue portfolio as also positions of Speaker and Chairman of the legislative council, while NCP will get the Deputy Speaker’s post and Sena Deputy Chairman of the legislative council. the Deputy Speaker’s post while the Sena will get the post of Deputy Chairman of the legislative council. Of the 43 ministries up for grabs, BJP will get 21-22, NCP 9-11 and Sena 10-12. But since Shinde is particular about home, the BJP is weighing the possibility of bifurcating it so that both parties get a share of the powerful portfolio. Shinde has 150 arrested, farmers call mahapanchayat on Dec 4 U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi Gautam Budh Nagar Police on Tuesday detained and forcibly removed hundreds of farmers from the ‘Rashtriya Dalit Prer na Sthal’ where they had camped since Monday after the cops prevented them from entering Noida or moving towards the national capital. According to a Noida Police officer, more than 150 protesting farmers were arrested under Section 170 of BNSS. The provision allows the police to make arrests to prevent committing a cognisable offence. The arrested were sent to Luksar jail. “Among the detainees were elderly people, with some disease or specially abled, who all were released. All the women have also reached their homes; our team has ensured this,” the officer told this newspaper. On Monday the farmers gath, ered near the Mahamaya flyover and proceeded towards Delhi, Hundreds of people protested outside a private school in southwest Delhi after the mysterious death of a 12-year-old boy following a minor scuffle with his classmates on Tuesday according to a , senior police officer. While the police suspect that the boy died of a seizure, the family alleged foul play, claiming that their child, Prince, was beaten up by his classmates leading to his death. DCP (southwest) Surendra Chaudhary said they received information around 10.15 am from a private hospital in Vasant Kunj regarding admission of a 12-year-old boy a Class , VI student of Chinmaya Vidyalaya Vasant Vihar, who was “brought dead” at the hospital. “The body had no visible injuries. Some foam material was oozing out from his mouth when LeT terrorist killed in Kashmir encounter A top Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist, who was involved in the October 20 attack on construction site in Gagangir area of central Kashmir in which six workers and a doctor lost their lives, was killed in an encounter with the security forces in Dachigam forest area in outskirts of Srinagar on Tuesday. | P8 Packaged drinking water now ‘high-risk food’ The Food Safety and Standards Authority has announced reclassification of packaged drinking water and mineral water as ‘high-risk food’. With the new categorisation, these products will now undergo more stringent safety checks through regular inspections and audits. | P7 B’desh raps India envoy over Agartala vandalism demanding adequate compensation for the land acquired by the gover nment. However, they were stopped by the police near Dalit Prerna Sthal, after which they sat on a dharna there. The protestors had threatened to resume their march to the capital if their demands were not met within seven days. At around 1 pm on Tuesday, the cops wielding batons and dressed in riot gear arrived at the Dalit Prerna Sthal with half a dozen UP roadways buses. The protestors were forcibly removed from the site, bundled into buses, and taken to jail. The police officer said that the farmers did not have permission to protest. “Not only did they try to march towards Delhi, which was not allowed, they broke the barricades and indulged in scuffle with the police officials,” they said. Moreover, violating the traffic norms, the protestors set up temporary tents disrupting the Y e s h i S e li @ New Delhi traffic, the officer added. Unwilling to flinch, the Bharatiya Kisan Union has given a call for a mahapanchayat to be held at Zero Point of Greater Noida at 10 am on Wednesday . Thousands of farmers from Western UP and surrounding districts are expected to reach with their tractors. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has heightened their vigil and are closely monitoring the vehicle entering the capital. Protest outside school over Class VI student’s death U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi express read he was brought to the hospital,” the DCP said. He said that doctors have opined that the deceased might have had some “fitsrelated problem”. However, on the parent’s complaint, the police questioned teachers and students. They learnt that the child had gotten into a scuffle with some boys, which was captured on a CCTV camera. In the foottage, two-three students could be seen manhan- dling the boy, but none hit him. Suddenly, Prince collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. Meanwhile, Prince’s father, Sagar, a sewer line worker in Vasant Vihar Society, claimed that his son was completely fit and had no medical history. “He was a football player and had participated in inter-school tournaments and won several medals,” he said and demanded registration of an FIR. Bangladesh on Tuesday summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma in Dhaka to register its protest over a mob breaching the premises of its Assistant High Commission in Tripura’s Agartala the previous day . The country also suspended all visa and consular service at Agartala with immediate effect. The development marked an new low in ties between the two nations after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from power. India has already arrested seven individuals and suspended three police personnel in connection with the vandalism in Agartala. Verma met Bangladesh’s Acting Foreign Secretary Riaz Hamidullah in Dhaka and later described the interaction as routine. “We have wide ranging relationship, We have wide multi faceted relationship. We want to ranging, build positive, stable, constructive rela- multi-faceted tionship. We have so many inter depend- relationship. We want to build encies,” Verma said after the meeting. Meanwhile, bail was denied to jailed positive, stable and constructive ISKCON priest Chinmoy Das. Since no relationship. We lawyer appeared for him, the next date of have many interhearing date was set as January 2. Das’ dependencies supporters claimed that his advocates Pranay Verma, were under threat. Das, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh India’s high Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was ar- commissioner to Dhaka rested from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25 for alleged sedition. He was denied bail and sent to jail by a Chattogram court on November 26. ISKCON Kolkata appealed to the Bangladesh government to ensure the safety of lawyers willing to represent Das. P8 plan Hamas, fatah to jointly run post-war Gaza Hamas and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party have agreed to create a committee to jointly administer post-war Gaza, negotiators from both sides said. | P9 2.7km @ `150 cr Pilgrim’s Progress: Come ’26, a ropeway to reach Sabarimala in 15 minutes S h ya m P V @ Kochi A ropeway service from Pampa to Sabarimala Sannidhanam aimed at facilitating the transport of devotees and goods will be established before the 2026 pilgrimage season, Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan has said. During an interaction with this newspaper, Vasavan said the proposed ropeway will be constructed under the BuildOperate-Transfer (BOT) con- tract at an expense of `150 crore. The government, he said, hopes to begin construction by the end of January 2025 or February Once ready people would . , be able to travel between Pampa and the hilltop in less than 15 minutes. “We hope to complete the project before the 2026 pilgrimage season,” Vasavan said. He said the forest department will be provided 4.53 hectares of land in Kollam district in lieu of the land acquired for the ropeway in Sabarimala. The state government mooted a ropeway between the mainland and Sabarimala about 17 years ago. “The previous proposal was to carry only goods. Now, the Kerala High Court has given the nod for carrying elderly people and persons with disabilities too. The project will be fully beneficial only then. We have set a target to start construction by the end of January 2025 or the beginning of February and are mov, ing the files quickly,” Vasavan said, adding that it will take more than a year-and-a-half for the project to be completed. Identifying the land to be handed over to the forest department in return for the land acquired for the ropeway had been the main hurdle before the government. “We first identified land at Chinnakanal in Idukki, but since people were living there, the proposal was dropped. Land was then identified at Kanjikuzhy panchayat in Idukki, but the forest department did not approve it. The land in Kollam district has now been finalised,” Vasavan said. Sources said the 2.7 km ropeway will start from the Pampa hilltop and end near Malikappuram police barracks. Each cabin will be able to carry up to 500 kilograms.