V-P ELECTION ON AUGUST 6 The Election Commission on Wednesday finalised the schedule for 16th Vice-Presidential Election The voting and counting of votes, if needed, will be held on the same day madurai l thursday l june 30, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Electoral College comprises 233 elected members of the Rajya Sabha, 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha, and 543 elected members of the Lok Sabha, making it a total of 788 members AUG 10 When the term of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu ends According to sources, the BJP-led NDA is likely to field a Muslim face for V-P, with Kerala governor Arif Mohammad Khan being the front-runner. Former Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s name is also doing the rounds CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Pakistan angle emerges in Udaipur horror Uddhav quits, Maha govt gone Decision after SC refuses to stay floor test; BJP expected to stake its claim to run the state R A J ESH A SN A NI @ Jaipur Express News Service AN inter national angle emerged in the barbaric killing of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal by two Islamists on Tuesday. Initial probe by the National Investigation Agency and Rajasthan police revealed that one of the killers has links with an extremist Sunni group in Pakistan and had undergone training there a few years ago. “Ghouse Mohammad has links with Karachi-based Dawat-e-Islami,” said Rajasthan DGP M L Lather. The possibility of the second killer, Riyaz Jabbar, too having terror links can’t be ruled out, he added. Both the culprits were arrested on Tuesday and booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Three others have also been detained. Rajasthan home minister Rajendra Yadav said Mohammad went to Karachi in 2014 and stayed there for 45 days. The Union Home Ministry has directed the NIA to take over the investigation.  P8 Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray threw in the towel on Wednesday night as he stepped down from office shortly after the Supreme Court refused to stay a floor test called by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday to prove his strength in the wake of a Shiv Sena rebellion, capping a day of intense drama. The BJP now has a clear advantage, with former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expected to meet the Governor soon to stake his claim to form the new government citing support from the Sena’s rebels. Announcing his resignation in a Facebook live address, Uddhav said, “We respect the Supreme Court judgment. Democracy must be followed.” He then want to Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation both as CM and member of the legislative assembly which was promptly ac, cepted by Koshyari. “My own people do not want @ Mumbai/ New Delhi They may have the numbers. I am not a person who believes in head count... I am not interested in a number game. Therefore, I have decided to resign as both chief minister and MLC Uddhav Thackeray me continue as CM. Sena and Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray made these people big. They were commoners; Sena gave them honour and positions, but they left me and pulled down my government,” a hurt Uddhav rued. The day began with the Governor directing him to take a confidence vote in the Assembly at 11 am. Sena’s chief whip Sunil Prabhu challenged it in the SC, since it had stayed the operation of disqualification notices to 16 rebels issued by the deputy speaker till July 12. The SC began hybrid hearing of the petition at 5 pm and pronounced its interim order at 9 pm. It said the result of the vote on Thursday will be subject to its verdict on July 11, when it will decide whether a section of MLAs from the Sena should be disqualified. During oral hearing, a Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala said, “We don’t think the matter will become infructuous. Suppose if we find later that floor test was conducted without authority, we can annul it. It is n t is not an irreversible situation.” The court also allowed jailed NCP MLAs Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh to participate in the floor test. Shinde’s side argued that the Uddhav faction is in a hopeless minority within the party and a floor test would be the best way to stop horse-trading. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Prabhu, said people who have changed sides do not reflect the will of people and heavens won’t fall if the floor test is not held on Thursday . In the evening, the Shinde camp came closer home as they parked themselves in Goa, another BJP-ruled state, after spending eight days in Guwahati.  P7 TN govt may mandate cameras on school buses EX P RESS NE WS SER V ICE @ Chennai TO ensure the safety of students, the Tamil Nadu government has proposed that two cameras and a sensor be fixed in every school bus. For this, the State government has notified a draft amendment to the Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles (Regulation and Control of School Buses) Special Rules, 2012. The draft amendment follows the death in March of an eight-year-old boy in Chennai after a school van allegedly ran over the child while it was being reversed. According to the draft amendment, one camera should be fixed at the front end of the bus and another at the rear in such a manner that the driver, while reversing, will have a complete view of the space behind the bus. A sensor should also be fixed at the rear of the bus to give a warning signal. Jab-o-meter Take your shot June 28 11,79,301 doses June 29 12,49,839 doses Total: 1,97,60,22,570 Welcoming the proposal, PG Subramanian, principal, Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram in Chennai, said, “The cameras will ensure there are no blind spots and will also help the driver monitor what is happening inside the bus.” However, KR Nandakumar, state secretary TN Nursery Pri, , mary, Matriculation and CBSE Schools Association feared the government’s move may cause the prices of the cameras to increase. “Most of the 58,000 school buses in TN are already equipped with cameras. The gover nment usually forces schools to purchase them from one company which charges at , least 25% more than other places. Schools must have the liberty to procure cameras on their own. Also, this should be implemented not just in school buses, but in regular government buses too,” he said.  P5 NATIONWIDE June 28 June 29 tamil nadu June 28 June 29 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 11,793 14,506 9,486 11,574 27 30 1,484 736 0 1,827 764 0