chennai l Thursday l June 08, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION 700 Indian students in Canada face deportation over fake documents The students, most of them from Punjab, had moved to Canada in 2017-19 on student visas. Their admission letters were found to be fake Twitter `16-20 lakh paid to agent to secure visa Canadian oppn leader pledges support The fraud was discovered in March, when the students applied for permanent residency in Canada. When the Canadian Border Service Agency perused the documents the students had submitted for their visas, it found the purported admission letters from Humber College in Toronto were fake. The students had paid `16-20 lakh each to a Jalandhar-based agent for moving to Canada | P9 ■ Once the students reached Canada, the agent told them to seek admission elsewhere saying Humber seats were full. He also returned some money ■ Meanwhile, Canadian opposition leader Pierre Poilievre hit out at the Justin Trudeau-led government for the decision to deport the students. He said the students came in good faith and completed their programmes June 13 When the deportation is set to start, according to the notices to students 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 Wrestlers put agitation on hold for a week U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi Top protesting wrestlers on Wednesday agreed to suspend their agitation after Sports minister Anurag Thakur assured them that the police probe into sexual harassment charges against sidelined Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will be wrapped up by June 15. “We had a very positive discussion with the protesting wrestlers... They demanded that the investigation be concluded and a chargesheet be filed by June 15. This demand was agreed by consensus,” Thakur said after having a sixhour-long discussions with the a wrestler delegation. This was the second meeting between the government and the wrestlers in a week. The grapplers had met Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday . On Wednesday the wrestlers , including Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik met Thakur and raised five demands, including the appointment of a woman WFI chief and the scrapping of FIRs against them for violation of law and order on May 28. “In the meeting, it was suggested by the wrestlers that the WFI elections be held by June 30 and an Internal Complaints Committee of WFI be formed that should be headed by a woman,” Thakur said, adding all of them were agreed. “Also, two names of coaches were suggested by the wrestlers who will be part of the ad-hoc committee for technical assistance,” he added. The minister said all decisions were taken unanimously , adding the wrestlers also demanded that Singh, who has completed three terms as president, and his associates not be allowed to participate in the election process. Bajrang Punia said he is satisfied with the outcome of the meeting with Thakur, but quickly added that the protests will resume if the government fails to deliver on its promise. Vinesh Phogat, who had been spearheading the protest at the Jantar Mantar since April 23, skipped Wednesday’s meet.  P9 Trump BJP, save democracy: CM to oppn E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai All the opposition parties must bury their differences and come together to remove the BJP from power in the 2024 general elections to save Indian democracy Chief Min, ister M K Stalin said at a public meeting organised to launch the year-long birth centenary celebration of former CM M Karunanidhi in Chennai on Wednesday . During his speech, the CM elaborated on the significance of celebrating the birth centenary of the DMK patriarch express read TN temple sealed in clash over entry of SC members Villupuram: Officials on Wednesday sealed the Sri Dharmaraja Draupadi Amman Temple at Melpathi village in Villupuram following a dispute over entry of Scheduled Caste members into the temple | P5 HC allows DVAC probe in ex-min Velumani’s case Chennai: The Madras HC has allowed the DVAC to continue its probe into complaints of irregularities against former minister S P Velumani in awarding tenders during 2018-19 | P2 Chief Minister M K Stalin receives a Sengol with ‘Rising Sun’ on top from HR&CE Minister P K Sekar Babu at the Kalaignar centenary celebration meet held in Chennai | ashwin prasath who contributed significantly for the welfare of the state. Stalin said, “We have planned the year-long celebration to express our gratitude to ‘thalaivar Kalaignar’ for his service to society and to highlight his achievements.” Emphasising on the importance of the upcoming 2024 parliamentary election, the CM said, “This election is not about deciding who should rule the country but it is about , deciding who should not rule the country. It is not just a power transfer; it is about safeguarding Indian democracy and federalism.” Stalin stressed on the need for unity among opposition parties and mentioned that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had informed him about a meeting of opposition leaders scheduled for June 23 in Patna and has extended an invitation to him. Stalin said, “I have been talking to leaders of various state parties and to CMs of different states on the importance of joining forces against the BJP.” While cautioning against the BJP’s potential attempts to disrupt opposition unity he , said, “The BJP will go to any lengths to break the unity of opposition parties.”  P5 Speculation rife on minor cabinet rejig RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi A series of meetings held by the BJP brass here since Monday has set off speculation of an organisational revamp and a possible minor reshuffle in the Union cabinet before the departure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US. Some ministers could be dropped and given organisational roles ahead of 2024 polls. Sources said a rejig in the ministries of agriculture, aviation, finance, Jal Shakti, environ- ment, power and rural development is on the cards. The BJP is also looking at revamping party units in MP Ra, jasthan, Bihar, Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala. The party is also expected to announce the name of leader of Opposition in Karnataka. Karnataka BJP chief Nalin Kateel has completed his term. As for Madhya Pradesh, there is buzz over Union min- ister Pralhad Singh Patel being elevated as state unit head. Patel is considered an influential leader who can tone up the party’s performance in the state elections later this year. Incumbent BJP state chief V D Sharma is said to not have a good rapport with CM Shivraj Chauhan. Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar may get a national role. The BJP brass also discussed the strategy to expand the National Democratic Alliance. Centre hikes MSP of kharif crops by 5-10% J i ten d r a Ch o u b e y @ New Delhi A day after lifting the procurement cap for pulses under the price support scheme to encourage farmers to boost production, the Centre increased the minimum support price (MSP) of kharif crops. The latest move is to provide better remuneration to farmers and motivate them to diversify crops. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved revision in MSP for all mandated kharif crops grown in 202324 crop year. For primary food crops such as paddy, the new MSP stands at `2,183 per quintal — an increase of `143 from the previous year. The MSP of moong (green gram) has been increased by `803 to `8,558 and that of sesame by `805 to `8,635. The MSP for maize has been raised by 6.5% to `2,090 a quintal, pigeon peas by 6% to `7,000, black gram by 5% to `6,950, soybean by 7% to `4,600, and groundnut by 9% to 6,377. However, MSP data over the past nine years (2014-2023) show the rate of hike by the NDA regime was lower than that of the previous nine years (2004-2013) under the UPA government.