Thiruvananthapuram l friday l june 21, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION eight applications received for EVM verification, says Poll panel The Election Commission said eight aggrieved candidates have sought verification of tampering or modification of micro-controller chips in EVMs Verification sought for 92 polling stations The BJP’s Ahmednagar candidate Sujay Vikhe-Patil, who lost to Nilesh Lanke of the NCP (Sharad Pawar), sought verification of EVMs from 40 polling stations. A YSR Congress Party and a Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) candidate in Tamil Nadu are also among those who have sought verification. In all, verification is sought for 92 polling stations across six states 30 days Candidates must pay D47,200 per set of evm ■ The Supreme Court had on April 26 allowed unsuccessful candidates securing second and third places to seek verification of micro-controller chips embedded in 5% of EVMs per assembly constituency ■ Candidates must pay D47,200 per set of EVM. The amount will be refunded only if a discrepancy is found by EVM makers during verification is the time from announcement of results within which such pleas must be filed 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 panel to scrutinise NTA UGC-net paper leaked on the dark net Pradhan urges Oppn to have faith in the system says Isolated incidents should not affect lakhs of NEET aspirants Institutional failure of NTA: Govt Regarding the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam for junior research fellows, assistant proUnder fire over alleged irregu- fessors, and PhD scholars, Pradlarities in the NEET-UG and the han revealed that the exam paUGC-NET, Union Education per had been leaked on the Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Telegram site. He, however, addon Thursday admitted that con- ed that the government was secutive paper leak cases affect- committed to maintaining the ing the lives of at least 35 lakh integrity of the examination students represent an institu- process and sought people’s tional failure of the National trust in the system. Testing Agency (NTA). Pradhan said although an anHe announced the formation ti-cheating bill had been apof a high-level panel to scruti- proved by both Houses of Parlianise the functioning of the NTA, ment earlier this year, the law which conducted ministry is currently those exams. The refining the associatpanel will comprise ed regulations. “At eminent individuals, present, we lack efsociologists and edufective measures to cation experts who confront such chalwill examine the lenges (paper leaks),” NTA’s structure, he said. functioning, exam “Modern software processes, transparsuch as Telegram is ency and data manoften utilised to leak By taking agement, he said. exam questions. P r a d h a n ’s a n - responsibility, we have When administering to rectify the system. nouncement came a exams for PhD scholWe are committed to day after the NTA exams with zero errors. ars, ensuring high cancelled the UGCstandards is crucial. I request everyone to NET after it got conDespite the difficulnot spread rumours formation that the ties, we are commitDharmendra Pradhan question paper was ted to addressing leaked on the dark them. New examinanet. The matter is now under in- tion dates for the UGC-NET will vestigation by the CBI. be announced shortly he said. ,” Addressing concerns about The results of the NEET-UG the NEET-UG as well, Pradhan conducted on May 5 across 4,750 said isolated instances of mal- centres with approximately 24 practice should not unfairly im- lakh candidates was announced pact lakhs of students who le- on June 4. An unprecedented 67 gitimately passed the exam. He students got the perfect score of urged the Opposition not to po- 720 on 720, raising concerns liticise the matter and assured about possible irregularities in strict actions against any the the test. guilty including NTA officials. , NEET-UG is gateway for ad“Let us have faith in our sys- missions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH tems; no irregularities or mal- and related courses in both govpractices will be tolerated by the ernment and private institugovernment,” he said. tions nationwide. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Not to dictate, but to listen and learn: CPM’s new mantra E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram Students protesting over alleged malpractices in the NEET-UG and the UGC-NET exam, in New Delhi on Thursday | PTI CBI files case in UGC-NET paper leak The CBI on Thursday registered a case against unknown persons under various sections of the IPC on the basis of a complaint from the Secretary, Department of Education. “The complaint said UGC recieved inputs that the integrity of UGC-NET may have been compromised,” a senior CBI official said PM will struggle to run govt: Rahul Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the prime minister saying he is silent on NEET because he is “crippled” and is only worried about the Lok Sabha Speaker’s election. Rahul claimed the PM has psychologically collapsed and will struggle to run a government like this | P7 SC stays proceedings on NEET-UG in hCs, issues notices to NTA, govt S u c h i t r a K alyan M o hant y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed all proceedings before various high courts on the the conduct of the NEET-UG exam and issued notices to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Centre on a fresh bunch of pleas against irregularities in the exam. A two-judge vaca- tion bench of justices Vikram Nath and S V N Bhatti was hearing the NTA request to transfer ’s all cases filed in various high courts on the matter to itself. The bench tagged it along with other pending pleas for hearing on July 8. The court reiterated its refusal to stay the counselling. More than 35 petitions have been filed in the top court, including a fresh petition by a group of 20 students, seeking the scrapping of the NEET-UG 2024 and an SCmonitored probe by the CBI or any other independent agency into the alleged irregularities. “ this has been argued from All day one and they (some petitioners) have been wanting stay of counselling. We have denied that. Ultimately if all of you suc, ceed, everything will go,” the bench told the petitioners, one of whom sought deferment of the counselling till July 8. Finding itself pushed to the wall following the drubbing in the Lok Sabha election, the CPM, in an uncharacteristic move, publicly admitted that it had failed to effectively gauge the people’s sentiment. In a curious shift in its style of functioning, the party said it’s willing to listen to the public. However, the leadership refused to admit criticism by several state committee members that anti-incumbency sentiment against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his government led to the defeat. The CPM’s five-day summit that reviewed the poll outcome decided to chart out an elaborate course correction, including assigning priorities for the LDF government. The party felt that the government should act in a manner that would not alienate the masses and erode its base. Briefing the media on Thursday on the decisions of the meet, CPM state secretary M V Govindan said the party would reach out to the masses, listen to them and take necessary corrective steps. Realising that anti-incumbency against the LDF government played a crucial role in the defeat, the CPM has finalised major corrective measures. The party will hold four regional meetings that are to be attended by general secretary Sitaram Yechury and senior leader Prakash Karat, in addition to district-level meetings. Efforts would be taken in right earnest from the booth level to address the lapses. “The regional meetings to be held on July 2, 3 and 4 are aimed at giving a new sense of direction to the party Gatherings . with the public will also be held at the local level before August 19, to lend them an ear as well as to convey our version of events,” said Govindan. Those who spoke at the state committee meet pointed fingers at major lapses in the home and fi● More on P4 nance departments. CPM’s observations Erosion of Ezhava and minority votes, in addition to the national political scenario and the possibility of the Congress forming a government led to LDF defeat The Sangh parivar successfully made inroads into the SNDP leadership through BDJS. Vellappally Natesan’s remarks reflect a pro-RSS mindset in line with the Sangh parivar agenda. Due to different reasons, a section within the Christian community too voted for the BJP this time. Organisations like Jamaat-eIslami, SDPI and Popular Front stood with the UDF Delay in welfare pension disbursal too led to the poll verdict Tribal leader Kelu to join Pinarayi cabinet as SC/ST welfare minister Delhi court grants bail to Kejriwal E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram S u c h i t r a K alyan M o hant y @ New Delhi in a big relief to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a Delhi court on Thursday granted him bail in the money laundering case that stems from the alleged excise scam. Kejriwal is the prime accused in the now scrapped Delhi liquor case. The court granted bail after directing Kejriwal to furnish a personal bail bond of `1 lakh. Vacation Judge of the Rouse Avenue Court, Niyay Bindu, declined the Enforcement Directorate’s request to keep the bail order in abeyance for 48 hours to give t h e a g e n cy time it to appeal. Kejriwal is expected to come out of Tihar Jail by Friday evening after furnishing the bail bond and other completing other formalities. The judge also directed Kejriwal to appear before the court whenever required and to cooperate with the investigation. It is to be noted that as the summer vacations are currently going on in courts, it’s the duty judges who hear important cases involving human liberty and bail matters. Earlier, on June 5, special judge Kaveri Baweja of the same court had rejected Kejriwal’s bail plea on the ground that his involvement in the crime could not be ruled out. The ED had told the court that Kejriwal is the mastermind of the liquor scam. ‘failed to gauge people’s mood’ upbeat mood AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal drapes a shawl on state Congress president K Sudhakaran at the KPCC executive meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. CWC member Ramesh Chennithala, AICC general secretary in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan and CWC member Kodikkunnil Suresh are also seen | Express HC strikes down Nitish govt’s quota bump-up R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna IN a major setback to the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, the Patna High Court on Thursday set aside the state government’s move to raise quotas for deprived classes from 50% 65%. A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order on a bunch of petitions that opposed the Bihar Reservation (for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes) (Amendment) Act, 2023 and the Bihar (in admission in educational institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023. The bench, also comprising Justice Harish Kumar, set aside the amendments brought by the state government in November 2023 as ultra vires and being violative of equally under the Constitution. The amendments had resulted in the reservation cap for government jobs and educational institutions touching 75% after adding 10% quota for the Economically Weaker Sections. The amendments were based on the findings of a caste survey . Following the survey , the state government increased the quota for SC to 20%, ST to 2%, Extremely Backward Classes to 25% and for Other Backward Classes to 18%. The petitioners argued the hike in reservation by the state government was beyond its legislative powers. In a landmark decision, the Left front in Kerala has chosen a leader from the tribal community as the new minister for welfare of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Senior CPM leader and MLA from Mananthavady O R Kelu is all set to become the first CPM minister from the ST category . He will replace K Radhakrishnan who stepped down on Tuesday after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Alathur. Kelu is likely to be sworn in on Sunday A final decision will be . taken on Friday after Governor Arif Mohammed Khan retur ns to the state capital. By choosing Kelu, the CPM has ensured Wayanad’s representation in the Pinarayi cabinet. A two-time MLA, Kelu is the first leader from ST community to be elected to the CPM state committee. A leader of the Tribal Welfare Committee, Kelu belongs to the Kurichya community He now . Heatwave hits over 40,000, kills at least 110 since March, say officials K A VI TA B A J E L I - D AT T @ New Delhi The brutal heat wave sweeping large swathes of the country killed at least 110 people in the past three months and left around 40,000 people grappling with the effects of suspected heat stroke, Union health ministry sources said on Thursday . The figures emerged from the data received from states between March 1 and June 18. Of this, six deaths were recorded on June 18 alone, officials said. They added that the numbers could go up as they were still assessing data on heat-related incidents submitted by states. They added that Uttar Pradesh is the worst affected, followed by Bihar, Rajasthan, and Odisha. In a review meeting held on Wednesday Union health minis, ter J P Nadda had directed states and Union territories to submit data from all health facilities daily and flag suspected heatrelated deaths. The direction came in the absence of official data on cases and deaths due to heat stroke in the country . Nadda said he has issued directions to all hospitals to treat heat stroke-related cases on a priority basis. “I have also told officials to visit central hospitals and centrally-managed hospitals to see if separate arrangements have been made for heat wave-affected cases. I also urge the public to give special focus on liquid diet, and have more and more water to avoid dehydration,” he said. chairs the assembly panel on SC/ST welfare. “It’s a decision taken by the party. Wayanad faces two major issues —related to tribal welfare and humanwildlife conflict — that need to be addressed. Former ministers K Radhakrishnan and A K Balan were following LDF policies. I will stick to that path,” Kelu told reporters after emerging from the CPM state committee, which finalised his name. Kelu’s induction into the cabinet makes him the second leader from the ST community to become a minister. ● More on P4 express read With help from SKY, India beat Afghanistan Bridgetown: A cameo from Suryakumar Yadav helped India win their first Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan. After opting to bat, Yadav (28-ball 53) helped team to score 181/8. Jasprit Bumrah picked 3/7 as India skittled them for 134 | P11 Suicides among cops: Support group launched Kochi: With suicide deaths among members of the police force remaining high, Ernakulam Rural division has taken the welcome step of launching a support group that would assist officers facing mental trauma and other issues. P5 Two students cover their heads to protect from scorching heat in Lucknow | ANI 16 pages, including 4 pages of Thiruvananthapuram Express
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