tirupati l monday l july 22, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION Tensions rise as Israel strikes Lebanon; hezbollah retaliates Hezbollah said on Sunday it fired rockets at Israel in response to an overnight Israeli strike that hit a Lebanese arms depot and wounded six civilians Israeli school hit by rockets from lebanon Yemen rebels fire missiles at israel’s eilat Hezbollah-fired rockets hit an empty school in northern Israel’s Dafna, the Times of Israel reported. The rocket barrage also set off a number of blazes in the area, the report said. Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters have traded fire on a near-daily basis. Rising intensity of attacks and counterattacks have raised concerns about a full-scale war breaking out ■ ■ Iran-backed Huthi rebels said they fired missiles towards Eilat in the early hours of Sunday after the Israeli strike on Yemen that killed 6 Israeli military intercepted the missiles. Analysts say the Israeli strike on Yemen will likely embolden the rebel group. Saudi Arabia, a key regional player, urged all parties to exercise utmost restraint | P9 104 civilians Killed in Lebanon since the start of Israel’s war in gaza last October 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 Maha campaign In rare attack on Pawar, Shah calls him ‘leader of corruption’ Su d h i r Su r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched an unusually blistering attack on Opposition leader Sharad Pawar, calling him the ‘sargana of corruption’ (ring leader of corruption). Shah’s attack drew an equally sharp response from the NCP (SP), which called the BJP, “a washing machine” that le gitimises corruption. Shah was speaking at the BJP’s state convention in Pune, kick-star ting the party’s elections campaign for the upcoming assembly elections. “They (Opposition) talk about corruption, but the biggest leader of corruption in Indian politics is Sharad Pawar and I have no confusion when I say this. Sharad Pawar institutionalised corruption in many governments of this country,” Shah alleged. Shah also said when- ever Sharad Pawar’s government comes to power, Maratha reservations go out. “Therefore, if we want Maratha reservations, Sharad Pawar should not be voted to power,” Shah added. Responding to Shah’s attack on Pawar, NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto said, “They accuse political leaders of corruption, and then once those who they accuse join BJP, they are all given a clean chit. This is the BJP’s washing machine process of legitimising corruption.” He said Rahul Gandhi has become arrogant after the Opposition’s surprisingly strong performance in the Lok Sabha polls. “Once we win the Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand assembly polls later this year, Rahul Gandhi’s arrogance will be crushed,” Shah said. Training his guns on the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, Shah called it the “Aurangzeb fan club”. Stormy Budget session from today as BJP allies join Oppn to raise heat NEET row, UP govt fiat on eateries, special status for states raised at Sunday’s all-party meet A g e n c i e s @ Dhaka @ Vijayawada The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning for thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds with a speed of 30-40 kmph at isolated places across the State on Monday . Strong surface winds with speeds of 30-40 kmph at isolated places across the State are likely for the subsequent three days. The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) has alerted the district administrations. People in low-lying areas The SC will on Monday hear a batch of petitions related to the NEET-UG 2024. The apex court will also hear a petition against the Uttar Pradesh government’s order that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route must display the names of their owners Economic Survey to be presented today Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju and J P Nadda during the all-party meeting in New Delhi on Sunday. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also seen | PTI Our doors open: Didi West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said she would keep the doors of her state open for people in distress from Bangladesh. “There is a UN Resolution to accommodate refugees in regions adjacent to those under turmoil,” she said The remaining 93% of positions would be decided on merit, the court ruled. This, however, has failed to mollify university student leaders, with students calling for a complete abolition of the “freedom fighter” category . have been advised to be on alert and call toll-free numbers, 1070, 112, and 18004250101 in case of rain-related emergencies. Many places in Coastal Andhra Pradesh and one or two places in Rayalaseema received rainfall in the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Sunday . The highest rainfall of 5 cm was recorded in Chintoor of Alluri Sitarama Raju district, followed by 3 cm in Anakapalle of Anakapalle district, Nuzvid of Eluru district, and Yelamanchili of the same district. Rainfall up to 2 cm was reported at various places in coastal districts. “We won’t call off our protests until the government issues an order reflecting our demands,” Students Against Discrimination, a student group leading the protests has said. Reports said soldiers were patrolling cities across Bangladesh on Sunday after riot police failed to restore order. In an update on Sunday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that over 4,500 Indian students have returned from Bangladesh. It said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and the assistant high commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Khulna have been assisting the return of Indian nationals home. Following the all-party meeting convened in New Delhi on Sunday on the eve of the Budget session of the Parliament, leaders of TDP and YSRC engaged in a war of words over the issue of Special Category Status. While the ruling TDP sought the Centre’s support in completing the Polavaram project and Amaravati capital, the YSRC asked for Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh. Leaders of both parties resorted to a blame game over the prevailing situation in the State. While the TDP blamed the previous YSRC dispensation for the financial distress the State was facing, the YSRC held the present government responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in the State. Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at the TDP stating that the JD(U) , and the YSRC demanded SCS for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, respectively, but “strangely” the TDP kept quiet on the matP4 ter. smooth conduct of Parliament. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government is willing to discuss all issues in accordance with the rules. Later, speaking to the reporters, Rijiju said: “As we prepare for the budget session, running Parliament smoothly is a collective responsibility .” Most Opposition parties criticised the Uttar Pradesh government’s fiat that eateries and shops along the Kanwar Yatra route must display owners’ three isolated LoP status for Jagan, law & order issues on YSRC agenda for Assembly session 14-year-old boy dies of Nipah virus in Kerala A day after testing positive for Nipah, a 14-year-old boy from Kerala’s Malappuram district died on Sunday . The boy who was undergoing , treatment in the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital, suffered a cardiac arrest around 10.50 am on Sunday and doctors could not revive him. “The boy was in an unconscious state. He suffered a cardiac arrest. The doctors tried their level best to save the boy . Unfortunately, he passed away around 11.30 am,” said Kerala Health Minister Veena George. The minister said three persons are under isolation at Kozhikode medical college. Although the health department received the monoclonal antibodies from the Indian Council of Medical Research on Sunday the boy died before , doctors could administer it. Meanwhile, samples taken from seven persons suspected to have contracted virus tested negative on Sunday . names, terming it ‘communal and divisive’. The Budget session will have 19 sittings till August 12 when the government is expected to present six bills, including the one to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act. P H a r e e s h @ Vijayawada @ Malappuram Soldiers and special forces stand guard at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh | AFP The Economic Survey 2023-24 will be presented in the Lok Sabha at 1 pm and in the Rajya Sabha at 2 pm on Monday. The survey gives details about the economic progress the country made in the previous year. The Union Budget will be presented on Tuesday | P10 @ Vijayawada ing only one MP. While most opposition parties participated in the meeting, the Trinamool Congress chose to skip it. At the meeting, which lasted for over three hours, the Congress batted for the post of deputy speaker in the Lok Sabha for Opposition while the AAP raised serious concerns against the alleged misuse of central agencies such as ED and CBI. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, who chaired the meet, appealed to all parties for the Express News Service Thunderstorms likely in parts of State today Express News Service NEET, Kanwar yatra pleas in SC today @ New Delhi Bangladesh apex court dials down govt job quota behind deadly unrest The Bangladesh Supreme Court on Sunday pared back the contentious quotas for government jobs after days of clashes between students and security forces that have killed at least 155 people. Protests erupted after a lower court last month ordered that a scheme, that reserved 56% of government jobs for select applicants, be brought back. It had been scrapped by the Sheikh Hasina government in 2018 amid protests by youngsters. Critics accused the government of using the scheme to stack public jobs with loyalists to Hasina’s ruling Awami League. The Supreme Court on Sunday decided that the lower court’s order to reintroduce the scheme was “illegal”. The court curtailed the number of reserved jobs from 56% to 7%, AFP reported. It reserved 5% of all government jobs for the children “freedom fighters” who took part in the 1971 liberation war, down from 30%. One percent is reserved for tribal communities, and another one percent for people with disabilities. Express News Service RA J ES H K U M AR T H A K U R DROPPING hints that the Budget session of Parliament starting Monday is going to be stormy, the all-party meeting on Sunday saw Opposition parties demanding discussion on a number of contentious issues, including the NEET fiasco, the UP government’s order to eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route, among others. Misuse of central agencies, Centre-state relations, and Lok Sabha deputy speaker post were among the other issues the Opposition parties wanted discussion on. But what will put the BJP-led government in a tricky situation is the demand by the Opposition as well as some BJP allies JD(U) and LJP for special status for states. The JD(U), the BJD and the YSR Congress Party demanded the status for Bihar, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, respectively As many as 55 leaders from 44 parties attended the meeting. In a bid to signal its political outreach, the government had invited a number of smaller parties, including some hav- TDP-YSRC duel over SCS at all-party meeting party strength IN ASSEMBLY Party Assembly TDP 135 JSP 21 YSRC 11 BJP 8 Total 175 IN council Party Assembly YSRC 30 TDP 9 Independents 4 Nominated 8 PDF 2 JSP 1 Vacant 4 Total 58 The first session of the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly, scheduled to commence on Monday, is likely to be stormy one as the YSRC is planning to raise issues pertaining to the law and order in the State. The session will commence with Governor S Abdul Nazeer addressing the joint session of the Assembly and the Council at 10 am. The Business Advisory Committee (BAC), comprising Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, YSRC president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and others, will decide the number of working days of the House. According to sources in the YSRC, the party’s 11 MLAs and 30 MLCs will attend the joint session. They are likely to disrupt the proceedings of the House by obstructing the Governor’s speech to shed light on the attacks on YSRC cadre, leaders and properties by the ruling TDP Recently Jagan had . , announced that the issue of “deteriorating law and order in the State” will be raised in the Assembly and as well as on the streets of New Delhi, where the party will stage a peaceful protest on Wednesday Though the . YSRC will be outnumbered by the treasury benches in the Assembly the party is banking on , support from its MLCs. Another contentious issue that might come up is that of recognising Jagan as the Leader of the Opposition. The YSRC, which is the only non-NDA entity in the Assembly, has already sought LoP status for its leader.The TDP, however, had said that the YSRC does not have the required number of legislators — 19— to seek the LoP status. Assembly Speaker Ch Ayyanapatrudu will take a decision on the issue. The government will release three white papers — law and order, excise, and State finances -- during the session, which is likely to be held for five days. Additionally, sources said the TDP-led NDA government is unlikely to table the Budget in the current session. It may introduce an Ordinance to extend the vote-on-account Budget for another three months. 1st warning at bhadrachalam Inflows to Godavari rise, alert sounded in 70 island villages Express News Service @ Rajamahendravaram As rains continued to batter the Godavari districts, a high alert has been sounded in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema, Eluru, Alluri Sitarama Raju, East and West Godavari districts on Sunday . In Kovvur, a 25-year-old man is feared to have drowned in the River Godavari. According to CI Jagadeeswara Rao, the man, identified as Pasupuleti Vamsi Krishna, was to leave for Australia soon for higher studies. A native of Avapadu village in Nallajerla mandal, East Godavari district, Vamsi had gone to Rajahmahendravaram for some work on Friday. When he did not return home, his parents filed a complaint with the Kovvur police on Saturday During . the search, his bike and mobile phone were found near Yerinamma bathing ghat in Kovvur. Police suspect that Vamsi might have been washed away when he went near the river to attend nature’s call. The police launched search operations to trace the body in the river, but could not as it was in spate. Ko- vvur police have registered a case and a probe is underway . Inflows to Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage in Dowleswaram, Rajahmahendravaram also continued to surge on Sunday Sur. plus water was released from the Polavaram project through its spillway at a rate of 8.5 lakh cusecs. The first warning is likely to be issued by Sunday midnight at the barrage, said Superintendent Engineer G Srinivas Rao. He added the first warning will be issued once the discharge rate of the surplus water reaches 10 lakh cusecs. An alert has been sounded in all 70 island villages in the GoP5 davari delta.
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