SAMBALPUR  FRIDAY  JULY 04, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION CENTRE SAYS OPPN PARTIES SUPPORT MOTION TO IMPEACH JUSTICE VARMA Union minister Kiren Rijiju said opposition parties have given their in-principle approval to support the motion in the upcoming monsoon session SIGNATURES TO BE COLLECTED SOON: RIJIJU GOVT WANTS ALL OPPN PARTIES ON BOARD It is still not clear whether the motion would be brought in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. For Lok Sabha, signatures of a minimum 100 MPs is required. For the Rajya Sabha, the support of at least 50 MPs is required. Rijiju said the process of collecting signatures could begin as soon as the government decides on the House where the motion will be brought ■ ■ Once a motion to remove a judge is admitted in a House, the Speaker or Chairman will constitute a three-member committee to investigate the grounds on which the removal has been sought Rijiju said since the matter involves corruption in the judiciary, the government wants all political parties to be on board | P7 JULY 21 COMMENCEMENT DATE FOR MONSOON SESSION. IT WILL END ON AUGUST 21 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 SNUB TO CHINA Established institution to decide Dalai heir: Rijiju RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi IN a snub to China, Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said the decision on the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama would be taken by the established institution. “All those who follow the Dalai Lama feel that the Incarnation is to be decided by the established convention and as per the wish of the Dalai Lama himself. Nobody else has the right to decide it except him and the conventions in place,” said the minister, himself a practising Buddhist. The remarks came after China rejected the 14th Dalai Lama’s succession plan, claiming it’s for Beijing to decide. Rijiju and Kiren Rijiju Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh will represent the Government of India on the 14th Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday event in Dharamshala on Sunday . On Wednesday, the Dalai Lama reaffirmed that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust—the non-profit organisation he set up to maintain the tradition and institution of the Dalai Lama—has the authority to recognise his future reincarnation. The Dalai Lama said: “Line will continue after me; no other authority can interfere.” Reacting sharply to this, the Chinese foreign ministry said any future succession plan must have the approval of the Chinese gover nment. The Dalai Lama is the most important institution for Tibetans and the followers of the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism. FUEL BAN NOT FEASIBLE, SAYS DELHI GOVT The Delhi government has requested the Commission for Air Quality Management to suspend its order banning supply of fuel to old vehicles in the national capital, citing technical challenges and public outrage Def projects worth 1.05 lakh crore get panel’s green light 269 Gill now holds the seventh highest Test score by an Indian batter 18 Indigenous sourcing for 10 proposals: Ministry years since India passed 500 in a men’s Test in England AoNs were also accorded for procurement of moored mines, mine THE Defence Acquisition Council counter measure vessels, super (DAC) on Thursday granted Accept- rapid gun mount and submersible ance of Necessity (AoN) for 10 capi- autonomous vessels. They are tal acquisition proposals worth aimed at mitigating potential risks about `1.05 lakh crore in all, to to naval and merchant vessels. strengthen the offensive and defenTo provide further impetus to insive abilities of the armed forces. digenous design and development, The council’s meeting, AoNs were accorded under chaired by Defence Ministhe Buy Indian-IDDM (Inditer Rajnath Singh, approved an-Indigenously Designed projects that will be sourced Govt must also Developed and Manufacindigenously. The DAC is focus on R&D tured) category . the highest decision-making The MoD defines Buy (Inon emerging body on defence policy and threats such as dian-IDDM) category as the capital procurement. Its the black swan “procurement of products event of AoN is the first step in the from an Indian vendor that Hamas attack have been indigenously deacquisition process. on 7 Oct 2023 AoNs were accorded for signed, developed and manprocurement of armoured Maj Gen Sudhakar ufactured with a minimum recovery vehicles, Electronic of 50% Indigenous Content Jee ( retd) Warfare System, Integrated (IC) on cost basis of the total Common Inventory Management contract value.” System for the Tri-Services and surThe Armoured Recovery Vehiface-to-Air missiles. These procure- cles help in recovery of armoured ments will provide higher mobility vehicles, including the main battle , effective air defence, improve supply tanks, in difficult terrain and chalchain management and augment lenging weather conditions. They the operational preparedness, the assist with recovery and repair defence ministry said. during combat conditions. M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi RECORD PLAY Shubman Gill registered the highest score by an Indian captain, surpassing Virat Kohli’s 254 n.o. He also became the 1st Indian since Rahul Dravid to score a double ton in England. Dravid’s 217 came in 2002 SKIPPER STANDS TALL India captain Shubman Gill celebrates his first double century on day two of the second Test against England at Edgbaston. Gill’s 269, along with Ravindra Jadeja’s 89, helped India post 587 in the first innings | AP | MORE ON P11 Public seethe as OAS strike cripples essential services S U D A R S A N M A H A R A N A @ Bhubaneswar AS the state grapples with floods and the government faces mounting pressure over ensuring smooth and incident-free completion of Rath Yatra rituals along with paddy procurement across districts, the mass leave and pendown strike by to protest the assault on additional commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Ratnakar Sahoo. Despite the assurances of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and senior ministers of taking strictest of action against those involved in the incident, the OAS Association has been unrelenting, and continued its strike in different districts. The Association on Thursday issued a three-day ultimatum to the state government to arrest BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan, whom it accused of being the kingpin behind the assault. It also demanded provision of adequate security for all field-level executive officers including tehsildars, sub-collectors, BDOs and executive officers, and public condemnation of the incident by the government. Notwithstanding the serious problems faced by common citizens in availing public services, around 1,500 OAS and ORS officers working in more than 20 districts, including Cuttack, Khurda, Ganjam, Balangir, Mayurbhanj, Angul, Kendrapara, Sambalpur and Koraput STRIKE CALLED OFF AFTER JAGANNATH’S ARREST With police arresting BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan in connection with the assault on BMC additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo, the OAS and ORS officers called off their strike late on Thursday night. Pradhan was arrested after he surrendered at the office of Bhubaneswar DCP. Kharavela Nagar police had registered a case under various sections of BNS in connection with the assault on Sahoo and arrested five persons earlier. Pradhan was produced in court and sent to 14-day judicial custody, police said. continued their indefinite mass leave, disrupting day-to-day government work. The protest also hampered administrative services in Lok Seva Bhawan here and other government establishments in the capital city Apart from the OAS and . ORS bodies at the state and district-level, a dozen of other employees associations including Odisha Engineers’ Service Association have also extended their support to the agitation. The protest has left thousands of citizens grapple with delays in availing a wide range of critical services - from caste and income certificates to filing grievance for land CONTINUED ON P5 mutation. Rahul cites TNIE, says farmers ignored P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi CITING a report published in these columns on the number of farmer suicides in Maharashtra, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at the Centre for remaining indifferent to the plight of farmers. On Wednesday, this newspaper reported that as many as 767 farmers died by suicide in Maharashtra between January and March 2025. The disclosure was made by Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Makrand Patil in the assembly in a written reply to a question by the opposition Congress on the rising number of farm suicides, particularly in Vidarbha, and the rehabilitation measures. Rahul accused the government of ignoring farmers’ demands for a loan waiver and a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Sharing a screenshot of the TNIE report, he wrote, “Think about it... in just 3 months, 767 far mers committed suicide in Maharashtra. Is this just a statistic? No. These are 767 destroyed homes. 767 families that will never be able to recover. And the government? It is silent. It is watching indifferently Congress lead...” er Priyanka Gandhi joined Rahul in attacking the government over the report. Rahul Gandhi @RahulGandhi 9:51 AM: Jul 3, 2025 262.1K Written response by minister Makrand Patil to a question on Tuesday reveals 767 suicides in Maharashtra in the first three months of 2025. State agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate on Thursday claimed he had no idea where the data was sourced from EXPRESS READ Flash floods kill 2 in Sundargarh Rourkela: At least two persons were swept away in flash floods as intermittent heavy rains for the past one week wreaked havoc in Sundargarh district. Following torrential rain on Tuesday, one Ishak Kandulna (45) of Bargaon was swept away in flash flood while crossing a swelling nullah in Jhantalbud area. His body was found on Thursday | P4 Kedarnath Yatra halted after landslide Dehradun: The vital Kedarnath Dham Yatra has been temporarily suspended following a massive landslide near Sonprayag in Rudraprayag district. The decision was made on Thursday after heavy rainfall triggered a significant landslide at Munkatia, completely blocking the road to the Himalayan temple. Meanwhile, the Yamunotri Highway remains closed beyond Silai Band for the fourth day | P8