kozhikode l Sunday l july 07, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l city edition rEFORMIST MASOUD pEZESHKIAN WINS iRAN’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Pezeshkian scored over other hardline candidates by promising to reach out to the West, ease enforcement on headscarf law new leader comes with no experience will not have sway over foreign policy Pezeshkian secured 53.3% of the votes polled while his nearest hardline rival Saeed Jalili got 44.3%. Pezeshkian is a heart surgeon and a member of Parliament. He is considered inexperienced as he has never held any sensitive post before. After the victory, he tweeted, “The difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship, empathy, trust” ■ Mostafa Khoshcheshm, a Tehran-based analyst, told Al Jazeera he was not expecting strategic changes to Iran’s foreign policy, which is decided by the entire establishment, the supreme leader and the Parliament | P9 ■ PM Narendra Modi tweeted, “Looking forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our warm and long-standing bilateral relationship ... ” 30m voters the lowest turnout for the presidential polls historically 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 Starmer ready for FTA that works for both Modi speaks to his new British counterpart, invites him to make an early visit to India Ye s h i Sel i @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi decision time FM to present full yr budget on July 23 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the government’s first full year budget of Modi’s third term on July 23 in Lok Sabha. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted on Saturday that the budget session of House will be held between July 22 and August 12. Expectation about the budget are running high as President Droupadi Murmu in a joint address to Parliament said that it will be marked by many historic step, adding the budget will highlight major social and economic decisions. Only an interim budget was presented in February due to the Lok Sabha polls. The first session of Parliament after the formation of 18th Lok Sabha was stormy with the Opposition, armed with more numbers in the Lower House, clashed with the government over a range of issues including NEET-UG examination paper leak. NDA’s key ally Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met Modi on Thursday and sought the Centre’s handholding to pull the state out of the financial black hole it was pushed into by the previous government. Other important ally Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also wants special status for his state. The finance minister has been taking inputs from industry leaders for the last few days for the budget. The buzz in political circles is that the budget may focus on the rural population. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Soft line on Kashmir On Kashmir, Starmer has said his party was committed to eliminating any extremist views that could strain UK-India relations. He also promised a stricter handling of anti-Hindu hate crimes in the UK. While visiting Swaminarayan Mandir in Kingsbury, he had said there was absolutely no place for Hinduphobia in Britain Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke with his new British counterpart Keir Starmer, invited him to visit India, and suggested the early conclusion of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that has been under negotiation for over two years. “Pleased to speak with Keir Starmer. Congratulated him on being elected as the PM of UK. We remain committed to deepening Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and robust India-UK economic ties for progress and prosperity of our peoples and global good,” Modi said in a post on X. He also suggested that Starmer schedule an early visit to India. Downing Street said Starmer returned the compliment by congratulated Modi on his third consecutive term as PM. “Discussing the importance of the living bridge between the UK and India and the 2030 roadmap, the two leaders agreed that there was a wide range of areas across defence and security, critical and emerging technology and climate change for the two nations to deepen their cooperation,” the Downing Street spokesperson said. As for the FTA, Starmer said he stood ready to conclude a deal that “worked for both sides. The leaders hoped to meet at the earliest opportunity the spokesperson said. Both sides have ,” been working towards clinching the FTA since January 2022, when Boris Johnson was PM. “Appreciating the positive contributions of the Indian community in the social, economic and political development of the UK, the two sides agreed to continue to promote close people to people ties,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. The Labour’s manifesto had said: “We will seek a new strategic partnership with India, including an FTA, as well as deepening cooperation in areas like security education, tech, nology and climate change.” New British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said he wants to ‘finish the job’ on the FTA and plans to visit India within the first month of being elected. State Information Commission orders release of Hema Committee report E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram In a setback to the government, the State Information Commission (SIC) on Saturday ordered to release the report of the Hema Committee that looked into issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. Despite demands from various corners, the state government has refused to release the report which was submitted in 2019. In his order, State Information Commissioner A Abdul Hakeem directed the government to release the report before July 25, with exclusions only for information restricted under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Justice K Hema Committee was set up in 2017 to study issues of harassment against women and gender inequality in Malayalam cinema. The report is believed to con- N am i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow While Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused of Hathras stampede, surrendered to the Delhi Police late on Friday night and was taken into custody by the UP Police, the selfstyled godman Bhole Baba alias Narayan Sakar Hari alias Suraj Pal, expressed grief over the tragedy at an event at his Satsang Sabha in Hathras. Four days after the stampede, the preacher on Saturday told a news agency he hoped strict action would be taken against the culprits. Speaking from his Mainpuri The Hema Committee was a panel constituted through an executive order of the government. While the government is bound to table the report by a Commission before the assembly within six months, there’s no such binding clause as far as a committee report is concerned. The government can take a call on whether to accept or reject the report, release the same or send for further verification. tain highly sensitive information. “It is very important to notice that any document registered in a government office is a public record, and the public authority is its custodian,” the report stated. The SIC directed the public information officer concerned to personally review the re- port to identify and sever the information that is exempt from disclosure. As per the order, the committee report should be issued exempting nearly 20 pages. The information commissioner also criticised the stance taken by government officials who resisted releas- Ashram, Bhole Baba urged the mukhya sevadar of Bhole Baba, bereaved families to have faith is the only accused named in in the judiciary. “I am deeply the FIR. Hathras SP Nipun saddened. May God give us the Agarwal said Madhukar was strength to bear this arrest from Delhi and pain. Please keep faith brought to Hathras to in the government and be presented in court. the administration. I In a recorded meshave faith that anyone sage, Madhukar’s lawwho created the chaos yer A P Singh said that would not be spared,” his client had surrenhe said. dered in Delhi, where An FIR was lodged in Devprakash he was under treatment. the matter on July 2 un- Madhukar “Today, we have made der various sections of Madhukar, who has the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. been called the main organiser However, Bhole Baba was not in the FIR in the Hathras case, named in the FIR. to surrender after calling the Dev Prakash Madhukar, the police.” Vice-President Dhankhar slams Chidambaram over ‘part-timers’ comment E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram master & minister 06-07-2024 Kozhikode:Union Minister Suresh Gopi meets M T vasudevan nair at his Union Minister Suresh Gopi visits M T Vasudevan Nair at the latter’s residence at Nadakkavu in Kozhikode on Saturday | Express KSEB snaps power to duo’s house over office attack In an unusual move, the KSEB snapped the power supply to the house of two persons who ransacked the Thiruvambadi section office and assaulted staff. KSEB chairman and managing director Biju Prabhakar ordered to disconnect the electricity connection of Ajmal U, 34, and Shahadad U, 24, both brothers, who barged into the office and attacked employees, including assistant engineer, on Saturday following a dispute over temporary disconnection of power supply to Justice K Hema Committee was set up to study issues of harassment against women and gender inequality in Malayalam cinema. Commission vs Committee Contrary to general perception, the Justice K Hema Committee doesn’t fall within the purview of the Commission of Enquiries as it’s not a commission. Minister Saji Cheriyan has made this clear in the assembly two years ago. their house. In the complaint, KSEB officials said the duo caused damage to the tune of around `3 lakh at the office. Thiruvambadi police have arrested the brothers. The issue started on Friday during a dispute over disconnection of power to Ajmal’s house for non-payment of bill. The lineman at Thiruvambadi KSEB, Prashanth P and his assistant , Ananthu M K, who came to restore the power after Ajmal paid the bill, were reportedly assaulted and threatened by Ajmal. Later, the Thiruvambadi KSEB section assistant engineer Prashanth P S lodged a complaint with the police in connection with the assault. Following this, the Protest against disconnection of power supply Ajmal said the electricity connection is in the name of his father Razakh Ullattil. On Saturday, Ajmal’s parents staged a candle light protest at KSEB office against disconnection of power supply. ing the report. According to the order, officers should not withhold information based on their personal opinions or advice. “The stance taken by the respondents in this regard is clearly to obscure the facts and findings of a study report commissioned by the government with the aim of reforming and advancing a significant art sector that can rapidly influence and create movements in human social life, focusing on the health, employment, cultural, and personal security of women in that sector,” observed Hakeem in the report. He criticised the withholding of the report for so long, citing that it undermines the purpose of forming the Hema Committee itself. Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian said the government will take a call on releasing the committee report after ● More on P5 studying it.  NEET-UG Main accused gives up, Bhole Baba expresses grief over Hathras stampede counselling by third week, power play E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kozhikode Women’s issues in film field police registered a case under Section 132, 351 and 3 (5) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita against Ajmal. Enraged over the move, Ajmal, who is also a Youth Congress worker, and Shahadad attacked the section office on Saturday morning. According to the complaint, the assailants entered the section office in the morning and poured food waste water on the assistant engineer and assaulted employees. They also reportedly threatened to kill them. The duo smashed office equipment, including computers, and caused damage, the complaint stated.  ● More on P5 Vi c e - P r e s i d e n t J a g d e e p Dhankhar on Saturday came down heavily on senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, MP over the latter’s comments , on the new criminal laws. Chidambaram, in a conversation with a national daily, had said that the new laws were drafted by part-timers. Without naming Chidambaram, Dhankhar said “an informed mind who has been the finance minister of the country , parliamentarian for long and a member of Rajya Sabha” stunned him by his comments. “This gentleman of Parliament with great background says it was ‘new laws but drafted by part timers’. Are we part timers in Parliament? Inexcusable insult to the wisdom of Parliament,” Dhankhar said. He further said that the “gentleman did not use his lung power” and that he “gave proper rest to his vocal cords” while debate was going on over the laws. Dhankhar said Chidambaram or other distinguished colleagues from the legal fraternity did not come forward to help the nation though they had an opportunity to make their point in Parliament. It was a failure on Chidambaram’s part to perform his constitutional duty and obligation. Dhankhar said he was shocked beyond words and asked the participants to be aware of the minds who deliberately create a narrative to run down the nation, de- Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan receiving Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and wife Sudesh Dhankhar, at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on Saturday | Express mean institutions and taint the country’s progress. “They engage in criticism for the sake of criticism. I do not have words strong enough to condemn such a narrative being set afloat. A member of Parliament being labelled as a part-timer. Ultimately it is Parliament that is the last source of law formulation. Every section of society is represented there. I appeal to him to withdraw the derogatory, defamatory and highly insulting observations to Members of Parliament,” he said. On the new laws, Dhankhar said Parliament did a great thing. “It has unshackled us from colonial legacy by giving three laws that are of epochal dimension,” he said. Dhankhar’s reply to Chidambaram came during his address at the 12th convocation ceremony of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram. says ministry E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi July 6 was a contentious date in all NEET-UG case hearings before vacation benches because that was when the National Testing Agency had told the Supreme Court it intended to start counselling for admission to medical courses across the country . The court had rejected all petitions demanding a stay on counselling till the case on the alleged malpractices in NEETUG is disposed of. Even requests for a two-day stay till July 8, when a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud will begin hearing a batch of petitions demanding scrapping of the exam, were turned down. July 6 came and went but the counselling didn’t start. Turns out that its schedule hasn’t even been notified yet by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC). The counselling schedule for NEET-UG and PG is announced by MCC, under the Directorate General of Health Services, after the completion of the exam process and the finalisation of the seat matrix by the National Medical Commission. E XPR E SS R E A D One dead as building collapses in Surat Surat: A person was killed and three to four others were feared trapped under the debris as a six-storey residential building collapsed in Pal area of Surat city in Gujarat on Saturday afternoon, officials said. While a woman was rescued soon after the collapse, the body of a man was pulled out at night. WITH THIS ISSUE Small is the New Big PLUS 12 PAGES