tirupati l thursday l june 27, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Jaishankar flags India’s concerns over violence to Myanmar Dy PM The external affairs minister on Wednesday conveyed India’s ‘deep concerns’ over the impact of violence in Myanmar on the Indian border First engagement with senior junta leader Security sought for Indian projects Jaishankar’s meeting with Myanmar’s Deputy Prime Minister U Than Shwe in New Delhi is the government’s first publicly acknowledged engagement with a senior leader of the Myanmar military junta in India. Jaishankar told Shwe that the continuing violence in Myanmar has led to a rise in illegal arms and narcotics arriving at the Indian border ■ Jaishankar sought cooperation for the early return of about 100 Indians trapped in Myanmar’s Myawaddy town. Most of them fell prey to an international racket promising jobs in Myanmar ■ The minister also said he had pressed for credible security protection for India’s various ongoing projects in the strife-torn country 1,640 km is the length of India’s border with Myanmar 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 Birla stays in LS Speaker’s saddle Second presiding officer to get two terms; elected by voice vote R a k e s h K u m a r @ New Delhi P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Om Birla was on Wednesday elected Lok Sabha Speaker for the second consecutive term after a motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was adopted through voice vote. The Speaker election for the 18th Lok Sabha was keenly watched as it witnessed a rare contest between Birla and the Opposition INDIA bloc’s candidate Kodikunnil Suresh after both sides failed to arrive at a consensus. Birla became the only presiding officer to serve two terms after Balram Jakhar. Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab made the announcement after the Opposition did not press for division of votes to the motion. While elections to the Speaker’s post were common before Independence, the position witnessed contests only thrice in Independent India — in 1952, 1967 and 1976. Three-term BJP MP Birla represents Kota in the Lok Sabha. NDA allies Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM-S), Prataprao Jadhav (Shiv Sena) and Chirag Paswan (LJP-RV) also moved motions in Birla’s favour. Shiv Sena (UBT) member Arvind Sawant moved the motion to elect Congress’ Suresh to the post. After the voice vote, Mahtab announced that all other motions, barring the prime minister’s, became infructuous. Birla’s election was a foregone conclusion as the NDA has 293 members as against the INDIA bloc’s 237 in the Lok Sabha. Congratulating Birla on his re-election, Modi expressed confidence that he will guide parliamentarians and play a big role in the House in fulfilling people’s expectations. In his speech, Birla said that in the last decade, the expectations, hopes and aspirations of the people have increased. “Therefore, it becomes our responsibility to make collective efforts to fulfil their expectations and aspirations effectively The 18th . Lok Sabha is the world’s largest celebration of democracy More than 64 crore voters participated . with great enthusiasm. On behalf of the House, I express my gratitude to them,” he said. 5G spectrum auction fetches just 12% of targeted revenue Video grab of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in a rare handshake before escorting Om Birla to the Speaker’s chair, in New Delhi on Wednesday | PTI Sharp statement “The nation turned into a prison... Emergency brought with it anti-social and dictatorial policies that destroyed the lives of the poor, the Dalits and the deprived,” Speaker Om Birla said Massive Oppn protest after Chair’s Emergency rap P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Soon after his election as Speaker, Om Birla on Wednesday sparked a row by reading out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency as an attack on the Constitution by former prime minister Indira Gandhi, triggering massive protests by the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. “This House strongly condemns the decision to impose Emergency in 1975. We appreciate the determination of all those who opposed Emergency , fought and fulfilled the responsibility of protecting democra- cy 25th June 1975 will always be . known as a black chapter in the history of India,” he said. The House was adjourned after chaotic scenes of protests and sloganeering by the Opposition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the Speaker’s reference to Emergency. “The happenings during the Emergency exemplified what a dictatorship looks like,” Modi said. For his part, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, “What we saw was the Speaker unfortunately raising a matter that had not been discussed in the House and in a manner that came across as confrontational.” Lukewarm response The Central government’s second 5G spectrum action on Wednesday saw subdued bidding by telecom companies, which collectively bid `11,340 crore for a total 141.4 MHz of airwaves. The bid value, amounts to just 12% of the reserve price of `96,238 crore. The auction concluded in two days with seven rounds of bidding. Bharti Airtel emerged the top bidder by acquiring airwaves worth `6,856.76 crore, followed by Vodafone Idea at `3,510 crore. India’s largest telecom operator Reliance Jio had deposited the highest ear nest money of `3,000 crore but it bid only `973.62 crore to pick up additional spectrum. This year’s auction included spectrum across various bands — 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz. However, telcos showed interest only in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 2500 MHz bands big tie Men in Blue seek T20 WC final berth The Rohit Sharma-led side will take on England, the defending champions against whom they lost in 2022 T20 World Cup semifinals, in Guyana. A win on Thursday will take India to their first T20 WC final since 2014 | P11 ‘Not removing volunteers, but govt staff will disburse pensions’ E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy assumes office as Social Welfare Minister | Express Stating that staff at the Village and Ward Secretariats will deliver social security pensions at the doorstep of the beneficiaries on the first of July Minis, ter for Social Welfare, Disabled and Senior Citizens’ Welfare, Sachivalayam and Volunteers Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy clarified that the gover nment is not removing volunteers. After taking charge at the express read Jagan will not be recognised as LoP: Minister Vijayawada: Stating that former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is the floor leader of YSRC and not the Leader of Opposition (LoP) as per rules, Legislative Affairs Minister Payyavula Keshav asserted that there is no possibility to give the status of LoP to him. Payyavula also took potshots at Jagan for his claim that he was not allowed to take the oath in the Assembly after the Leader of the House | P4 Strictly enforce helmet rule, MV Act: HC to police E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The High Court of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday directed the State government and police to ensure that motorists wear a helmet and that the Motor Vehicles Act is implemented properly . The Bench, comprising Chief Justice Dheeraj Kumar Singh and Justice N Jayasurya, ordered that motorists found riding twowheelers without a helmet should not be spared. The court issued the orders while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Tandav Yogesh. Yogesh informed the High Court that the MV Act was not being implemented and that violators were not being penalised. Stressing the need to wear helmets while riding twowheelers, the petitioner pointed out, “In 2022, a total of 3,703 deaths occurred due to road accidents. Of the total, 3,042 died because they were not wearing protective headgear.” Further, he alleged that traffic police officers were not taking action against such violators. Yogesh also sought the court to give instructions to the traffic and officers of other police wings, who can impose fines under the Motor Vehicles Act, to wear body cameras while enforcing the helmet P4 rule. Secretariat on Wednesday, the minister recounted, “After the Election Commission of India issued an order preventing volunteers from disbursing pensions to the beneficiaries, the previous YSRC government and officials had turned a deaf ear to our appeals asking them to distribute aid to the beneficiaries through the Secretariat staff. Instead, pensioners were asked to collect the money from Secretariats and banks.” He declared that the TDP-led NDA government will prove that pensions can be door-delivered efficiently through the Village and Ward Secretariat staff. Later, he held a meeting with his department officials and instructed them to complete the process of disbursing pensions at the doorsteps of the beneficiaries in a day or two. He asked all the secretariat staff to take part in the exercise. Pointing out that some volunteers, who resigned before the elections, have not surrendered the mobile phones and SIM cards, Swamy asked officials to recover the phones and initiate action against such volunteers. He also instructed the officials to submit a report on the secretariats which were constructed away from villages. Further, Swamy said `3,573.22 crore funds were kept pending by the previous regime on all the schemes pertaining to his departments. He asserted that the NDA government under the leadership of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will meet the expectations of people on welfare and development. In the last 5G spectrum auction held in August 2022, the government had fetched a record `1.5 lakh crore. The lukewarm response this time is attributed to the fact that most telecom service providers (TSPs), except Reliance Jio, participated in the auction mostly to renew their expired spectrums. Bharti Airtel, led by Sunil Mittal, acquired 97 MHz of spectrum to renew its expiring licences and also to bolster its mid-band spectrum holdings across select circles. Bharti Hexacom, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, acquired 15 MHz of airwaves for `1,001 crore. Vodafone Idea picked up 50 MHz spectrum across low band and mid band series (900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2500 MHz) in as many as 11 circles. Reliance Jio acquired additional spectrum in the 1800 MHz band in Bihar and West Bengal. The radiowaves on offer carry voice and data signals for phones. “Spectrum auction 2024 was part of a continuous allocation process... TSPs have taken spectrum not only for continuity of service but for expanding their services but the volume is limited because already a large part of the spectrum required was auctioned only last year,” said Union telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. Pinnelli held after HC refuses anticipatory bail E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Guntur Palnadu district police arrested YSRC leader and former Macherla MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy on Wednesday in connection with the cases pertaining to the vandalisation of an electronic voting machine (EVM) and inciting violence during the elections. He was taken to the SP office and later produced before a court in Macherla. The arrest comes after the High Court refused to grant anticipatory bail to the former legislator in the cases. Pinnelli has been booked in four cases for allegedly vandalising an EVM and assaulting TDP agent Namburi Seshagiri Rao at a polling booth in Palvai Gate, Macherla district on May 13, the day of polling in Andhra Pradesh. The YSRC leader allegedly assaulted Rao when the latter prevented him from leaving the booth after damaging the equipment. Pinnelli was also accused of threatening a woman at the same polling station. The day after polling, the HC orders status quo on YSRC party offices The High Court issued an interim order to maintain status quo on the YSRC party office buildings, which were being demolished by the civic bodies concerned in the State politician and his supporters allegedly incited violence in Karampudi, during which a CI, identified as Narayanaswamy, was injured. After a video of Pinnelli breaking the EVM went viral on social media platforms, the Election Commission of India (ECI) directed officials to take legal action against him. P4 TDP, BJP will do everything possible for development of Andhra: PM Modi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the BJP and the TDP are working closely for the progress of India and development of Andhra Pradesh. A delegation of TDP MPs, including Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, Minister of State Pemmasani Chandrasekhar, Parliamentary Party leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and Kalisetti Appala Naidu, called on the Prime Minister in Delhi on Wednesday . Modi posted on X, “Met MP colleagues from @JaiTDP Our . Parties are working closely at the Centre and in Andhra Pradesh under the leadership of my friend @ncbn Garu. We will do everything possible for the progress of India and the development of AP .” Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu responded, “Absolutely @narendramodi Ji! Our , MPs will offer Andhra Pradesh an efficient representation in the Lok Sabha. Under your leadership at the center, our parties shall together strive for a Viksit Andhra Pradesh and Viksit Bharat.” freedom hug WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange meets his wife Stella after landing at Canberra, Australia, on Wednesday. He was freed under a US plea bargain deal | AP | P9 Delhi court sends Arvind Kejriwal to three-day CBI custody S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Wednesday sent to three-day CBI custody by a local court after his arrest by the central probe agency in the excise policy case. The CBI, which produced Kejriwal in Rouse Avenue Court, sought five-day remand to interrogate him in the case, but Judge Amitabh Rawat ordered three days of custody Kejriwal . is in Tihar Jail over his alleged involvement in a money laundering case linked to the nowscrapped liquor policy The En. forcement Directorate had arrested him on March 21. After serving a production warrant late on Tuesday night, the CBI on Wednesday sought the court’s permission before formally arresting him in the case. There was high drama during the hearing in the court- CBI officials leave Rouse Avenue Court with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal | PTI room, with Kejriwal himself addressing the court and saying he and other AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia, were innocent. “I am innocent, my lord,” he told the judge. Rejecting the CBI’s plea that he had blamed Sisodia for the alleged scam, Kejriwal claimed that the central probe agency’s objective was to ensure that headlines in the media are manipulated. Senior advocate Vikram Chaudhari, appearing for Kejri- wal, submitted that the CBI has been acting in a biased manner. Chaudhari alleged that the CBI didn’t give any notice to Kejriwal and said the timing of his arrest was illegal. CBI’s lawyer D P Singh said the liquor policy was revamped at the behest of the ‘South Group’ during the pandemic. “What was the need of this,” Singh wondered and sought the CM’s custody, saying he needed to be confronted with other accused.
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