FRIDAY 17 JANUARY, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard FRESH STRIKES KILL 70 IN GAZA HOURS AFTER CEASEFIRE DEAL ANNOUNCED SOUTH KOREA PLEA TO RELEASE YOON REJECTED Lawyers for impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol failed in their court effort to secure his release on Thursday, a day after he was detained. PAGE 9 Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy Israeli strikes that killed more than 70 people since a ceasefire agreement was announced on Wednesday night ‘NO CABINET APPROVAL TILL HAMAS BACKS DOWN’ A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 India joins elite club with docking of space capsules 8 Central pay panel gets nod E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru 6th pay panel (October 2006 — March 2008) Introduced pay bands and grade pay. Minimum proposed salary: `7,000/month; maximum salary: `80,000/month Fresh Israeli strikes on Gaza come as Netanyahu signalled there were issues with the deal just hours after US President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was complete. Netanyahu’s office said his Cabinet won’t meet to approve the deal until Hamas backs down, accusing it of reneging on parts of the agreement to gain concessions | P9 IN a big push for India’s space ambitions, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully docked two spacecraft as part of its Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission early Thursday This feat makes India the fourth . country to achieve the milestone, after USA, Russia and China. The docking occurred at 1.04 am, but ISRO scientists took time to analyse data and confirm the achievement before making it public. ISRO announced the successful A STEPPING docking on ‘X’, stating, STONE: PM “Spacecraft docking sucPrime Minister cessfully completed! A hisNarendra Modi took toric moment. Post docking, to X to congratulate control of two satellites as a the ISRO team. single object is successful. “Congratulations to Undocking and power transour scientists at fer checks to follow in com@ISRO. This is a ing days.” significant stepping Although India’s docking stone...” he said capability is behind the other three countries, ISRO scientists said this was a “challenging mission”. The docking occurred at a lower earth orbit, making communication more difficult. Additionally, docking smaller spacecraft is more challenging than larger ones, an ISRO scientist said. The `370 crore SpaDeX mission was launched on December 30, 2024, from Sriharikota, on the PSLV- C-60 launcher. The achievement is crucial for future space missions, including ISRO’s planned space station by 2035 and its ambitious manned space and lunar missions by 2040. th Union Cabinet okays proposal; panel chairman, members to be appointed soon LOOK BACK 7th pay panel (Feb 2014 — Nov 2016) Minimum pay raised to `18,000/month; maximum pay `2,50,000/month M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi AIMING to enhance the purchasing power of its employees amid high inflation, the government on Thursday approved the constitution of the eighth Central Pay Commission. The new panel is expected to recommend the revision of salaries and allowances of over one crore employees and pensioners. The term of the seventh Pay Commission will end this year. Briefing the media after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Min- IN JALLIKATTU AND MAJUVIRATTU IN TN AT least 12 Maoists were killed in a fierce encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Thursday, police said. “Based on a specific information about the presence of Maoists in a forested terrain of Bastar area, a joint team of security forces left on an operation. On Thursday morning, a gunfight broke out and the intermittent exchange of fire lasted till late in the evening. At least 12 Maoists were killed,” a senior police officer said. “The exact casualties will be known by Friday morning EXPRESS READ Docs call strike after Didi’s suspension move With the government suspending 12 doctors of Midnapore Medical College and Hospital for negligence after the death of a women due to expired IV fluid, the medicos called a strike from 8 am on Friday. Junior doctors said they would convene a general body meeting and decide their course of action. Order reserved on plea to table CAG reports The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its judgment on a petition demanding a special Assembly session to present several Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports. The court had earlier criticised the government for delaying the presentation of CAG reports, calling it “unfortunate”. P3 NEET-UG to be held in pen & paper mode The National Testing Agency on Thursday announced that the NEET-UG 2025 will be conducted in pen and paper mode (OMR) on a single day and single shift. Earlier, there was speculation that the exam would be conducted on an online mode. The date of the exam is yet to be announced. P7 Thunderstorms and rain likely to continue in city till Sunday, predicts IMD I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi A spell of overnight rain witnessed in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and other places in the National Capital Re gion on Thursday intensified the cold weather conditions, further bringing down the temperature. Delhi is likely to experience light rain and thunderstorms till Sunday according to , a forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The city’s minimum temperature on Thursday hovered around 12.05oC and maximum temperature at 21.41 oC. The minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to settle around 8 and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively on Friday , . Delhi’s primary weather station at Safdarjung recorded 3.7 mm of rainfall. Among other weather stations, Palam recorded 8.6 mm rainfall, Pusa 7.5 mm, and Mayur Vihar 4 mm. The IMD has issued yellow alert across Delhi, predicting light rain, smog and shallow fog in the morning hours until Sunday Cloudy conditions are . also likely to persist on Friday . Team of doctors: Neurosurgeon Dr Nitin Dange, cosmetic surgeon Dr Leena Jain and Dr Nisha Gandhi Pope Francis fell on Thursday and hurt his right arm, the Vatican said, weeks after another apparent fall resulted in a bad bruise on his chin. A sling was put on as a precaution, the Vatican spokesman said | P9 A bull racing past the tamers at Alanganallur. About 989 bulls & 500 tamers took part in the event | EXPRESS counter this year in Bijapur. On January 12, five Maoists, including two women, were killed in a gunfight at Bandepara-Koranjed jungles under Indravati National Park. On January 6, eight DRG jawans and a civilian driver were killed when Maoists blew up their vehicle with an IED in the district. With this, 26 Maoists have been gunned down in separate encounters in the state this month. Last year, at least 219 Naxalites were neutralised by security forces in separate encounters in the state. TWO MINOR, TWO INTERMEDIATE AND TWO DEEP INJURIES FRANCIS HURTS ARM, 2ND INJURY IN 2 MONTHS Five spectators, a bull owner, and two bulls died at jallikattu and manjuvirattu events held across TN on ‘Kaanum Pongal’ day on Thursday. Abichithar, who tamed 20 bulls, won the first prize of car in Alanganallur when the forces carry out search operations in the region and return,” the officer said. Personnel belonging to the state police District Reserve Guard (DRG), CoBRA and CRPF were involved in the operation, he said, adding that no harm was reported to security forces. The encounter spot is located around 150km from the district headquarters and the area is considered a stronghold of Maoists’ battalion No. 1, their strongest military formation in the Bastar region, according to police. This is the second major en- HOME INVASION The new panel will hold consultations with Central and state governments and other stakeholders before submitting its recommendations, the minister added. The 7th Pay Commission was constituted in 2014 and its recommendations were implemented on January 1, 2016. It resulted in an expenditure increase of `1 lakh crore for fiscal 2016-17. As for the new pay panel, employee representatives and leaders of various trade unions have had numerous meetings with the government in the last one year about its formation. POPE 6 DEAD 12 Maoists gunned down in Bijapur encounter, January toll rises to 26 E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Raipur ister Narendra Modi, Union minister Ashwani Vaishnaw said: “Prime Minister has approved the 8th Central Pay Commission for Central government employees. Its chairman and two members will be appointed soon.” Over 50 lakh Central government employees and nearly 65 lakh pensioners are the expected beneficiaries of the eighth Pay Commission. Setting up of the new pay panel in 2025 will ensure that its recommendations are received well before the completion of the term of the 7th Pay Commission, Vaishnaw said. One injury on the back close to the spine A major injury to his thoracic spine Two other deep wounds in his left hand and right neck TREATMENT Surgery performed to remove the knife and to repair the leaking spinal fluid Saif Ali Khan is completely stable now. He is recovering well and is out of danger now Dr Nitin Dange, Lilavati Hospital Saif stabbed inside Bandra home, is ‘safe’ S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai BOLLYWOOD star Saif Ali Khan was stabbed multiple times inside his home in Mumbai’s Bandra early Thursday morning by an intruder armed with a knife. Mumbai police said the stabbing occurred around 2.30 am on Thursday The . Bollywood actor is admitted at Lilavati Hospital, where he is “safe” after a surgery Khan’s attacker, armed with a stick . and a knife, initially demanded `1 crore from his staff, Khan’s public relations team said while confirming the burglary attempt. The demand led to a scuffle with the actor leading to the attack. Some family members were present at the time. A preliminary probe found that the intruder did not break CCTV visual of into the actor’s flat in the intruder ‘Satguru Sharan’ building, but sneaked in at some point earlier in the night through a fire escape staircase, a police official said. Khan’s house-help, who raised the initial alarm, also suffered a minor knife injury during the incident, police said. Shamila Tagore, along with daughter Soha Ali Khan, was seen arriving the hospital to check on her son. CM Devendra Fadnavis said, “...To say that Mumbai is unsafe is not right.” BJP performs, AAP makes promises: Puri Atishi, Singh summoned in defamation case PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi UNION minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh on Thursday criticised AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s “false claims” on slum demolition in the national capital and said the former chief minister manufactures lies. Puri said the AAP chief only makes unfulfilled promises. On the other hand, the BJP always keeps its words, he said. In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Puri said, “The BJP believes in working for the people. Kejriwal, however, doesn’t even start work on his promises. He has making an astonishing claim that if the BJP comes to power, then the informal settlements or slums will go. He is talking nonsense. We are saying people living in informal settlements will be given pucca houses.” Puri said that the BJP government had built 3,200 houses in Kalkaji for the economically weaker section (EWS). “That’s the difference between Kejriwal and BJP .” While addressing a press conference from a slum in Shakur Basti, Kejriwal on S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi Sunday had said that the BJP would demolish all slum clusters if it comes to power. “The BJP wants your votes first and your land after the elections,” the AAP leader had said. The Union minister said that the party would take a call on possible freebies or schemes for the people in Delhi. “We have a rational view on these things (schemes). We teach people how to fish rather than give them the fish to eat. The party leadership will decide on the promises meant the people and the city .” Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva and former Union minister Harsh Vardhan with party candidate from Krishna Nagar constituency; AAP’s Saurabh Bhardwaj offers prayers at the Kalkaji temple before filing his nomination papers on Thursday | PTI MORE REPORTS ON P3 & 4 Savour politics with ‘Democracy Discount’ P R A B H AT S H U K L A @ New Delhi Vehicles move through a waterlogged service road of the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway after heavy rains, in Gurugram, on Thursday | PTI The Centre’s panel on air quality revoked curbs under stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) amid dip in pollution levels following rain. Stage 4 curbs include a ban on all construction activities, entry of non-essential polluting trucks, and mandatory shifting of school classes. The curbs were imposed on Wednesday as calm winds, low temperatures and foggy conditions allowed accumulation of pollutants in the region, with the AQI clocking 396 on Wednesday evening. AHEAD of the elections, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has launched an initiative to encourage voter participation. Under the “Democracy Discount” programme, special offers will be available in the Karol Bagh and Rohini zones to incentivise residents to vote. In the Karol Bagh Zone, over 500 guesthouses, 30 restaurants, and 32 sweet shops will offer 15%-20% discounts. The Rohini Zone provides a 25% discount at select eateries, guesthouses, and cinema halls. To avail of these offers, voters must show the ink mark on their finger as proof of voting. Deputy Commissioner of Karol Bagh Zone, Abhishek Kumar Mishra, said, “Voting is the cornerstone of democracy With the Democracy Dis. count, we aim to encourage more citizens to take part in the electoral process and make their voices heard.” The initiative also aims to engage first-time voters. “This effort not only rewards civic responsibility but also fosters a sense of community and highlights the significance of every single vote in shaping Delhi’s future,” said an official from the Rohini Zone. The offers are valid in Assembly constituencies 23, 24, 25, 26, and 39 under the respective zones. Lists of participating establishments will be made available locally . Delhi will go to polls on February 5 and counting will take place on February 8. A city court on Thursday issued notices to Chief Minister Atishi and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in response to a defamation complaint filed by former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit, who is pitted against former CM Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency . Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Paras Dalal of Rouse Avenue Court set January 27 as the date for the accused to present their case. The notices offer Atishi and Singh a chance to be heard before the court considers the complaint. Dikshit’s complaint, filed through advocate Sarim Naved, has accused Aitishi and Sanjay Singh of making defamatory remarks during a press conference on December 26, 2024. The complaint has alleged that Atishi and Singh accused Dikshit and the Indian National Congress (INC) of accepting money from the BJP and colluding with them to undermine the AAP’s electoral prospects. The complaint notes that Atishi shared the live press conference proceedings on her ‘X’ account with the caption, “BJP is helping Congress in the Delhi election.” This post reportedly garnered over 30,000 views. The complaint underscores that despite a legal notice sent on January 2, 2025, the alleged defamatory post remains accessible online. It argues that the statements made by Atishi and Singh were intended to damage Dikshit’s reputation, thus constituting defamation under Section 356 of the BNS, 2023. BJP LIST CONG PROMISE BACK IN TIHAR 8 4 1 C A N D I DAT E S BJP named nine more candidates, fielding Shikha Rai and Anil Vashishth from Greater Kailash and Babarpur, respectively. BJP has named 68 candidates, its ally JD(U) declared candidate from Burari, while Deoli (reserved) may go to Chirag Paswan party. Congress said it would give `500 LPG cylinder, free ration kits, and free electricity up to 300 units to the residents if voted to power. On January 6, Congress announced its ‘Pyaari Didi Yojana,’ promising a monthly grant of `2,500 to women, if it is voted to power. Tahir Hussain, a former AAP councillor and accused in the Delhi riots case, filed his nomination papers for Mustafabad. After filing the nomination papers, Hussain, now contesting as an AIMIM candidate, retured to Tihar jail under tight security. A total of 500 candidates filed their nomination papers on Thursday, taking the total number of candidates to 841 for the 70 assembly seats, according to the Chief Electoral Officer. The deadline for filing nominations end on Friday.