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 ■ ■ BHUBANESWAR l monday l july 22, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION biden quits u.s. presidential race Endorses Kamala Harris as the new nominee; first prez to abandon campaign for re-election over concerns of mental acuity a G E N CI E S @ Washington AFTER ignoring calls to quit the presidential race for weeks, US President Joe Biden on Sunday dropped out of the presidential election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s new nominee. The dramatic announcement came less than a month before the Democratic National Convention, set to start on August 19. The 81-year-old was under tremendous pressure from Democrats following a disastrous debate perfor mance. Biden’s decision to leave the race, though not unexpected, would force Republican candidate Donald Trump to change his strategy . “While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden said in a letter on X while recovering from Covid at his beach house in Delaware. Biden said he would “speak to the nation later this week in more detail about my decision.” He later added that he was backing Harris — who is the first female, Black and South Asian vice president in US history and , will now be aiming to become its first female commander-in-chief. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” Biden said on X. “Democrats - it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.” Biden is the first president in US history to pull out so late in an election race, and the first to bow out because of concerns over his mental acuity and health. Trump quickly reacted, saying Biden had not been “fit to run” or “fit to serve” as president. House Speaker Mike Johnson also called for Biden’s resignation. “If Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president. He must resign immediately he said. ,” Biden spent more than three weeks resisting calls to step down following the shock of the June 27 debate, at one point insisting that only the “Lord Almighty” could convince him to back out. To show he was up to the job, he gave a number of interviews, but P9 made further gaffes. What next With Biden stepping aside, Democrats will technically begin an open convention next month Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. She must work to win support of 4,000 delegates and 700 super delegates Given Harris’ strong support among Black women, analysts say it would be risky for Democrats to pass her over for a white nominee Others that could be considered are: Governors Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer and Josh Shapiro Budget session to be stormy as Oppn, allies raise heat No renaming of Biju Patnaik Sports RA J E S H K U M AR T H A K U R @ 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 BJPled government in a tricky situation is the demand by the Opposition as well as some BJP allies JD(U) and LJP for NEET, Kanwar yatra pleas in SC today 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 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- 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 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. 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. Award, says Majhi 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 information about the name change. No such decision has been taken by the government. The Biju Patnaik Sports Award will continue like before,” he said. The CM 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 decades-long service in political and social life. There will be no dishonour to him,” he said. The 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 an- nually. The cash rewards and categories introduced by the previous BJD gover nment, though, remained unchanged. The U-turn of the CM 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 CM said no such decision has been taken by the government, it is incumbent upon him to find the pers o n s re s p o n s i bl e fo r t h e arbitrary action and take them to task,” said a senior BJP Continued on P5 leader.
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