BHUBANESWAR l monday l july 22, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l JEYPORE 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 No renaming of Biju Patnaik Sports Award, says CM in govt U-turn E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Two days after renaming the Biju Patnaik Sports Award as Odisha Rajya Krida Samman, the state government made a total about-face on Sunday and clarified that no decision has been made to change the name of the prestigious award. With the move fuelling outrage among the cross-sections, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi himself stepped in to reverse the decision. Making a statement on the issue, Majhi told mediapersons at Lok Seba Bhavan here, “I came to know about the renaming of the sports award from media. I had no prior infor mation about the change of name. No such decision has been taken by the state government. The Biju Patnaik Sports Award will continue like before,” he said. The chief minister said his government has highest regard for the great sons of the soil. “For generations to come, Biju Patnaik will continue to be revered for his contribution to the state during his decadeslong service in political and social life. There will be no dishonour to him,” the chief minister said. The state Sports and Youth Services department on Friday had issued guidelines for the award by a new name Odisha Rajya Krida Samman which is to be presented in eight categories annually. The cash rewards and categories introduced by the previous BJD government, though, remained unchanged. The U-turn of the chief minister on the issue has exposed a lack of coordination within the government and the bureaucracy “It is unbelievable . that officers of the Sports department could take such an important decision without instructions from the government. If the chief minister said no such decision has been taken by the government, it is incumbent upon him to find the persons responsible for the arbitrary action and take them to task,” said a senior BJP leader and former Continued on P5 minister. 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 all-party meet RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR NEET, Kanwar yatra pleas in SC today @ New Delhi 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- 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 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 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’ 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. 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 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 Bangladesh SC dials down govt job quota behind deadly unrest A g en c i e s @ Dhaka 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 Our doors been scrapped by the open: Didi Sheikh Hasina gover nment in 2018 West Bengal CM amid protests by Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said youngsters. Critics accused the she would keep government of using the doors of her the scheme to stack state open for public jobs with loy- people in distress alists to Hasina’s rul- from Bangladesh. ing Awami League. “There is a UN The Supreme Court Resolution to on Sunday decided accommodate that the lower court’s refugees in order to reintroduce regions adjacent t h e s c h e m e w a s to those under turmoil,” she said “illegal”. The cour t 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. The remaining 93% of positions would be decided on merit, the Continued on P5 court ruled.
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