COIMBATORE l wednesday l june 26, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE city EDITION Assange out of London prison after plea bargain with the U.S. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was on Monday freed from a London prison where he spent five years fighting extradition to the US U.S. court to take up the plea deal today Sentence to match term already served Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents, according to filings in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, where the hearing will be held on Wednesday. Under the plea, he won’t face further prison time and can return home to Australia | P9 ■ The court in Northern Mariana Islands — a US commonwealth in the Pacific midway between Australia and Japan — was chosen because of Assange’s unwillingness to go to mainland US and also because of the territory’s proximity to his native country Australia, a court filing said on Tuesday ■ Assange is due to be sentenced to 62 months of time already served in prison April 2019 When Assange was lodged in the high security Belmarsh prison in London 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 Rahul named Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha P r e e t h a Na i r @ New Delhi On the eve of the election to the post of Lok Sabha Speaker, the Congress on Tuesday named Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha. The announcement came after a late evening meeting of floor leaders of the Opposition parties. Congress general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal told the media, “CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, informing the decision of appointment of Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha”. Other office bearers will be decided later, he added. Rahul was sworn in as a member of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. He has been an MP for five terms and now represents Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli in the Lower House. E a rl y t h i s month, the Congress Working Committee had unanimously passed a resolution requesting Rahul to take up the post of the LoP in the 18th Lok Sabha. The party did not have the requisite seats to claim the post in 2014 and 2019. To claim the post, a party needs at least 10% of the membership of the Lok Sabha. While the Congress had 52 seats in 2019, in 2014, it had 44. However, the party registered a spectacular show by increasing its tally to 100 in the 2024 elections. The LoP post requires the MP to regularly interact with the prime minister. He/she will be a member of crucial committees, including Joint Parliamentary Committees. The LoP will also be a member of the committees that choose the CVC, the Central Information Commission, the CBI and the NHRC heads, etc. T20 WC Afghans reach semi final Afghanistan beat B’desh to make it to the T20 WC semis for the first time, knocking Oz out. They will face South Africa in semi final 1 on Thursday. India will play England in semi final 2 the same day | P11 75K govt vacancies will be filled in 18 months: CM E X PRESS NEWS SER V I C E @ Chennai Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday announced that over 75,000 vacancies in various government departments will be filled by January 2026. Making a statement under Rule 110 in the Assembly, the CM said that over the next 18 months, 17,595 vacancies will be filled through the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission and 19,260 teacher vacancies will be filled through the Tamil Nadu Teachers Recruitment Board. Similarly, 3,041 posts would be filled through the Medical Services Recruitment Board and 6,688 posts through the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board. About 30,219 vacancies in the social welfare and municipal administration and water supply departments will also be filled within that period, the CM said. Stating that the Tamil Nadu government has been implementing several schemes for creating employment opportunities through skill development training and by providing quality school education 17,595 vacancies to be filled through TNPSC Chief Minister MK Stalin making a statement in the Assembly | Express Over the next 18 months, 17,595 vacancies would be filled through TNPSC and 19,260 through TRB. While Medical Services Recruitment Board will recruit 3,041 candidates, Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board will conduct tests to recruit 6,688 candidates for various posts, the CM told the Assembly and higher education, the CM said, “Through education, we have been developing an intellectual economy Schemes like . ‘Pudhumaipen and Thamizh Pudalvan’ have been devised not aiming at the next election but at the next generation.” Trinamool yet to take call on supporting INDIA candidate K Suresh P r e e t h a Na i r @ New Delhi Seeking neat solution Samajwadi Party workers stage a protest over the alleged irregularities in NEET results, near party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s residence in Lucknow on Tuesday | PTI cbi’s turn to go after kejri to keep him in jail Ex p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday questioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the nowscrapped liquor policy and recorded his statement from Tihar jail, a day before his bail plea was to come up in the Supreme Court, sources said. According to reports, the CBI will produce Kejriwal in trial court on Tuesday and seek custodial interrogation. This means, the Aam Aadmi Party leader may not be freed even if the SC gives him relief in the money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise scam being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Reacting to the development, AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that the BJP has hatched a conspiracy with CBI officers to frame Kejriwal in a ‘fake case’. “We have learnt from reliable sources that the BJP-led Centre has hatched a conspiracy with CBI officers at a time when there is a huge possibility of Kejriwal getting bail from the Supreme Court. They have planned to frame him in a fake case by the CBI and get him arrested. The entire country is watching the atrocities of the BJP How . will one get justice in such circumstances? People will stand up against this,” the Rajya Sabha MP of the Aam Aadmi Party said in a post on X. Earlier in the day the Del, hi High Court stayed a trial court order granting bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case, holding that the lower court did not apply its mind or consider the material placed before it by the ED. With Parliament set to see an unprecedented election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker on Wednesday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), an ally of the INDIA bloc, is keeping the Opposition on the edge as the party is yet to reach a final decision on the matter. While the BJP-led NDA nominated third time MP Om Birla for the Speaker’s post for the second consecutive term, the Opposition forced an election by nominating the eight-time MP from Kerala, Kodikunnil Suresh, as its candidate after the talks between both sides failed to reach a consensus. At a late evening INDIA bloc meeting, TMC leaders said they will co-operate with the Opposition on the Speaker’s election. However, the final call will be taken on Wednesday . The meeting was attended by several top leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, TMC’s Derek O’Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, RSP’s N K Premachandran and CPM’s K Candiadates for Speaker’s post Om Birla (BJP) and Kodikunnil Suresh (INDIA) Oppn demanded Dy Speaker post The last election for Speaker was in 1976. The INDIA bloc’s made a last minute decision to go for the contest after senior BJP leaders refused to accept its precondition that the Opposition must be offered the post of Deputy Speaker in lieu of supporting Birla Radhakrishnan. A senior Opposition leader who attended the meeting told this paper, “Though other parties, including the Congress, have issued a whip to their MPs for the election, the TMC said that they will convey their decision tomorrow after more consultations. But they have assured that they will cooperate with the Opposition in express read Sensex breaches 78,000 level Mumbai: BSE Sensex on Tuesday breached the historic 78,000 level for the first time while Nifty settled at a new record high, led by a rally in bank stocks. The Sensex breached the 77,000 mark for the first time on June 10 | P10 CWMA team to check K’taka dams New Delhi: The Cauvery Water Management Authority on Tuesday decided to send a team to Karnataka to check and review the water situation in the Cauvery basin before passing an order on TN’s plea for Cauvery water | P2 Wardens scratch their head as jail beards trend jAILORS in Kerala have a hairy situation on their hands —literally. The number of inmates choosing to grow beards is rising and their robust facial hairs are reaching epic lengths. Bemused wardens are at their wits’ end but there is hardly anything they can do about it. According to Rule 292(1) of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Rules, prisoners have the right to grow beard. Officials say the problem is that if one grows a beard, it is very likely that other inmates will follow suit. “If disallowed, they protest saying their fundamental rights have been violated. They then approach the court and obtain Continued on p5 First election of Speaker in over 5 decades today Hairy tale P R A M D A S @ Kochi Stalin said after the DMK government assumed office in 2021, as many as 32,774 persons have been appointed to various positions in state government departments through recruiting agencies. In local bodies and in public sector undertakings, 32,709 people have been appointed to various positions. In all, 65,483 youths have joined government service over the past three years. The CM also said a large number of employment opportunities have been created in industries and MSME sectors. favourable orders,” says a DIGranked official. Pointing out the trend of lengthening beards, another senior jailor notes that the length of facial hair can often transform a man’s appearance. “There are no laws that apply to the length of the beard, and that puts us in a fix. Some inmates are now growing beards that are long and often scruffy he adds. ,” Senior officials say they allow exceptions for religious reasons such as Sabarimala pilgrimage or Ramadan. However, a growing number of prisoners, especially those involved in NIA cases, are deliberately growing beards on the pretext of religious beliefs. This is problematic in main- Illustration: Sourav Roy taining jail discipline and hygiene,” says a senior official. Other officials complain that instead of keeping normal beards, inmates are intentionally maintaining long ones, causing problems for others. “The hair may fall into other inmates’ food, triggering clashes and security issues inside the prison,” says an officer. Recently, the superintendent of Viyyur prison opposed the plea of UAPAaccused Sahad M to grow a beard. The superintendent argued in court that to maintain hygiene and discipline, cutting hair and shaving beard is necessary, as per the rules. Sahad argued that he is a practising Muslim with the right to follow the customs and rites of his religion. He obtained an order to grow a beard from the NIA special court in Ernakulam, which said the ‘right’ can’t be denied. A growing number of prisoners, especially those involved in NIA cases, are growing beards on the pretext of religious beliefs. This is creating problems for jail wardens - Senior official the Speaker election,” he said. Earlier, TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee complained that the Congress unilaterally decided to put up K Suresh as the INDIA bloc’s candidate for the post without consultation. A brief interaction involving Congress leader K C Venugopal and DMK’s T R Baalu and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and J P Nadda, at Singh’s office in Parliament to evolve a consensus ended in acrimony as both sides stuck to their positions. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “Union minister Rajnath last evening said that he will call back our president Mallikarjun Kharge on our demand on the Deputy Speaker post. However, Rajnath ji has not returned the call. PM Modi says that there should be constructive cooperation and then our leader is being insulted. So their intention is clear,” he said. Later, Venugopal accused the government of not following the “convention” of an opposition candidate for the Deputy Speaker’s position. Lankan Navy personnel dies while trying to seize TN boat Antony Fernando @ Nagapattinam A Sri Lankan Navy personnel allegedly died after he suffered critical injuries while attempting to seize an Indian trawler that was fishing near Neduntheevu on Tuesday. A Sri Lankan Navy statement said the Indian fishers had crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line and were fishing illegally in Sri Lankan waters. Around 10 Indian fishers, including seven from Nagapattinam district and one from Cuddalore district, were part of the group of fishers arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on the charge of illegal fishing in the incident. On Tuesday around 1.30 am, , the Indian fishermen were allegedly fishing near Delft Island (Neduntheevu) of Sri Lanka. They had left on a mechanised boat from Nagapattinam fishing harbour on June 21 morning. The boat was registered under the name of V Ananthan of Akkaraipettai village in Nagapattinam district. A team from the Lankan Navy’s Northern Naval Command arrived on a fast attack craft, confronted the fishers, and urged them to surrender. According to the Sri Lankan Navy’s official statement, a sailor from the Navy’s Special Boat Squadron attempted to board the Indian trawler, which maneuvered ‘aggressively’. The sailor suffered critical injuries in the ‘accident’. T he Sri Lankan Navy claimed that their fast attack craft also sustained significant damage due to the ‘aggressive maneuvers’ of the Indian trawler while resisting the seizure. The Lankan naval personnel eventually detained the fishers, seized their boat and fishing gear, and directed them to Kangesanthurai Fishing Harbour. Continued on p5
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