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 vijayawada 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 Thackeray steps down as Pakistan angle emerges in apex court OKs floor test Udaipur horror TAILOR MURDER Govt falls after days of revolt in Sena; BJP likely to stake claim soon E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Mumbai/ New Delhi Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday night resigned shortly after the Supreme Court refused to stay a scheduled floor test on Thursday .   Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had directed him to take the confidence vote in the Assembly in the wake of a big rebellion in the Shiv Sena. The BJP now has a clear advantage, with former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expected to meet the Governor soon to for m the new government. Announcing his resignation in a Facebook live address, Uddhav said, “We respect the Supreme Court judgment. Democracy must be followed.” He then went to Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation both as CM and MLA, which was promptly accepted by Koshyari. “My own people do not want 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. Earlier, the Governor directing him to take a trust vote in the Assembly at 11 am on Thursday. Sena’s chief whip 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 Cabinet clears renaming Aurangabad In his last decision as CM, the Uddhav cabinet on Wednesday approved proposals to rename two districts — Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar and Osamanabad as Dharashiv. It was his attempt to retake the Hindutva plank that got diluted within the Aghadi. But, it cannot be implemented since the government has fallen 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 Sena MLAs should be disqualified. A vacation bench comprising judges Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala said, “We don’t think the matter will become infructuous. If we find later that floor test was conducted without authority we can annul it. It is not , irreversible.” 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 minority and a floor test would be the best way to stop horse-trading. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Prabhu, said heavens won’t fall if the floor test is not held on Thursday  . P7,8  R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Jaipur 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 for their alleged involvement in the heinous crime. Confirming the international terror link, Rajasthan home minister Rajendra Yadav said Mohammad went to Karachi in 2014 and stayed there for 45 days. The mobile numbers of several people in Pakistan and some Arab countries were stored on his phone and he was in constant touch with 10 persons in Pakistan. “The Udaipur killing was carried out to spread instability and create an atmosphere of fear and riots,” the minister added. The Union Home Ministry has directed the NIA to take P8 over the investigation.  HC allows CID to quiz rebel YSRC MP raghurama krishna E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The Andhra Pradesh High Court asked the Crime Investigation Department (CID) to go ahead with questioning the rebel YSRC MP Raghura, ma Krishna Raju, for his alleged derogatory comments against Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and some communities.  However, the court directed the investigating agency not to probe into the charges filed against the Narsapuram MP under IPC Section 124-A (sedition). After a fallout with the ruling party, the rebel MP and his close aides allegedly criticised the State government for its policies. Following this, the CID had registered a case against him under IPC Section 124-A, 153 (criminal conspiracy) and 505. Seeking the court to quash the case, Raghurama had filed a petition informing the HC that the CID officials had tortured him under the pretext of questioning him. He further sought the court to direct the CID to question him at his residence, if necessary . Arguing against the plea, Advocate General S Sriram maintained that the CID officials will not question the MP GPF account withdrawals: Govt to file report to court E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Taking a serious view of the State government withdrawing money from the general provident fund (GPF) accounts of the employees without informing them, the Andhra Pradesh High Court questioned the government how it could act against the court’s previous orders. While hearing a PIL filed by AP Gazetted Officers Joint Action Committee chairman KV Krishnaiah, challenging the government order issued with regard to the new Pay Revision Commission (PRC), the HC observed that the government’s action amounts to contempt of court. When the division bench of Chief Justice Prasanth Kumar Mishra and Justice DVSS Somayajulu said it would serve notices to the chief secretary, Advocate General S Sriram sought time to submit full details of the case. The court then posted the hearing to July 12. The bench directed the government not to cut even a single paisa from the total salary of any government P4 employee.  at his residence. He informed the court that the MP had passed derogatory remarks against the CM and people belonging to the Reddy community in a bid to destabilise the government. Sriram said the MP referred to Reddys as “Dear Pastors” to create law and order problems and sought the court’s permission to question the MP . In an order on Wednesday, Justice C Manavendranath Roy of the high court allowed the CID to quiz the rebel MP at the Dilkusha Guest House in Hyderabad, as he is apprehending threat to his life from P4 the CID.  express read RJD weans away four AIMIM MLAs in Bihar Patna: Four of the five AIMIM MLAs in Bihar joined the RJD, making it the largest party in the Assembly. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav drove the MLAs to the House. The Speaker was informed that the MLAs wish to be treated as a separate group | P8 4 sailors injured during GT test at INS Eksila Visakhapatnam: Four naval sailors sustained injuries while they were engaged in testing the gas turbine (GT) at INS Eksila in Vizag, on Wednesday. They are out of danger and being treated at INHS Kalyani