ASSAM Vairengte Aizwal kottayam l tuesday l july 27, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION 6 Assam cops killed in Mizo border clash P r a s an ta M a z u mda r @ Guwahati Six Assam Police personnel were killed and over two dozen others, including civilians, injured when the Assam-Mizoram border row flared up on Monday that saw the police of the two states firing at each other. The injured included Assam’s Cachar Superintendent of Police Nimbalkar Vaibhav Chandrakant and the officer-incharge of Dholai police station in the district. Ironically, while Assam has a BJP government, the ruling par- ty in Mizoram is an NDA ally . “I am deeply pained to inform that six brave jawans of @assampolice have sacrificed their lives while defending constitutional boundary of our state at the Assam-Mizoram border,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted. The incident came amidst a fortnight-long eyeball to eyeball confrontation between the two police forces and two days after the CMs of the two states discussed the matter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong. After Shah spoke to the two CMs on Monday, the Assam Police withdrew from the site. The CRPF is now manning the area. Assam government sources said the trouble broke when the Assam Police personnel stopped the Mizoram authority from constructing a road within Assam’s “constitutional” territory . For his part, Mizoram CM Zoramthanga condemned Assam’s ‘unjustified act’ of intrusion and aggression. Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana said around Karimganj Hailakandi Cachar Lailapur 200 Assam Police personnel came to Mizoram’s Vairengte auto-rickshaw stand around 11.30 am by forcibly crossing a CRPF post and overran a Mizoram Police post. They damaged several vehicles along the national highway between Vairengte and Lailapur. The Assam Police wear adament despite attempts by the SP of Kolasib district and an executive magistrate to resolve it, the minister said. It snowballed into launching tear gas cannisters and grenades followed by firing around 4.50 pm, he added. P10 Kolasib mizoram W h o ’ s t h e Mamit s q u a t t er ? Border conflicts have occurred since Mizoram was carved out of Assam as a Union Territory in 1972 to eventually become a state in 1987 Officials and locals in Assam claim Mizos have been squatting on 1-3 km land from the interstate border There have been several rounds of talks between the two states since 1995 to resolve the issue The official stand of Mizoram is that the boundary should be demarcated based on a notification of 1875 that distinguished the Lushai Hills (present day Mizoram and erstwhile district of Assam) from the plains of Cachar But Mizoram groups claim the authorities in Assam have been using ‘illegal Bangladeshis’ to move 10-12 km inside their territory 1933 The point of conflict is another British-era notification of 1933 that Assam follows but is not acceptable to Mizoram, which says their ancestors were not consulted on this In 1971, the interstate boundary was redefined and Mizos say it was done without their knowledge and consent. Much of Mizo land under British rule was included into Assam territory CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Murugesh Nirani, Basavaraj Bommai, C T Ravi, Ashwath Narayan, Pralhad Joshi, B L Santhosh in race to replace him How the drama unfolded June 6: Yediyurappa says he will resign the day the BJP leadership asks him to June 16-18: After many leaders speak openly against BSY, party general secretary Arun Singh holds a series of meetings in Bengaluru. He says action will be taken against those speaking against the CM BSY resigns, suspense over successor A n u s ha Ra v i @ Bengaluru Ending weeks of speculation, B S Yediyurappa resigned as Karnataka chief minister on Monday, the day his government completed two years in office. The 78-year-old veteran BJP leader became emotional when he announced his decision to quit as tears welled up in his eyes and voice choked with emotion. On the elaborately decorated dais of Vidhana Soudha’s banquet hall where celebrations for his government’s second year anniversary were being held, Yediyurappa gave his farewell speech, recalling his years of struggles, and reminiscing on his hard work for the party before stunning his , supporters with the resignation bomb. “I have decided to go to Raj Bhavan and submit my resignation. I am not sad. I am happy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda gave me an additional two years despite crossing the 75-year-old cap. Words are not enough to thank them. I appeal that all of us work together to build the party,” he said at the end of his emotional speech. With this, the four-time chief minister finally drew curtains on speculation over leadership change in Karnataka. From Vidhana Soudha, Yediyurappa went straight to the Raj Bhavan, where Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot wasted no time in accepting his two-line resignation letter, and issued a statement saying the council of ministers has been dissolved. A complete revamping of the government is on the cards now with the party inclined to appoint four deputy chief ministers to take care of caste and regional equations. BJP brass wants smooth transition The BJP leadership’s top concern is to ensure smooth leadership transition in Karnataka and also ward off any attempt by the Congress to destabilise the party-led state government. Sources said BSY’s successor will be picked based on his ability to keep all factions of the party united “I resigned voluntarily Nobody . forced or coerced me to quit. I have decided to work for the party . I will not accept any decorative posts,” Yediyurappa asserted when asked if he would become the governor of a state. The suspense over who will succeed him, however, continues. The BJP Legislature Party meeting is FM directs PSUs to clear pending dues to MSMEs Didi takes lead to form snoopgate probe panel, Justice Lokur to head it With the Centre blocking Opposition demands to come clean on the Pegasus snoopgate, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee sprang a surprise by setting up an inquiry commission headed by retired Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur into the matter | P10 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the Centre is deeply concerned about the delay in payments to MSMEs and steps have been taken to ensure that all dues are paid within 45 days. Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha on government dues to the MSME sector, Sitharaman said she is “personally monitoring it”. “I have reviewed it from the point of view of central government and various departments which owe money to the MSMEs. Bank loan fraud: CPM ousts board ex-prez and 3 others E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Thrissur In an effort to save its face in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank loan fraud, the CPM district committee meeting on Monday expelled four members including former bank director board president K K Divakaran from the party . Fo r m e r b r a n ch manager M K Biju, aka Biju Kareem, former bank secretary T R Sunilkumar and former accountant C K Jils were the others expelled from the party. In addition, members of the dissolved director board of the bank M B Dinesh, T S Biju, Ambili Mahesh and N Narayanan were suspended from the party . The party also suspended Irinjalakuda area committee member C K Chandran for not taking any action despite knowing about the huge fraud taking place in the bank. District committee members Ullas Kalakkad and K R Vijaya were ousted from the district committee. Irinjalakuda area committee secretary K C Premarajan and Karuvannur local committee secretary P S Viswambharan were removed from their respective posts. ● More on P4 We have made sure that standard, as per rule 45 days, be not crossed and all dues be paid from the government side to the MSMEs,” Sitharaman said. The finance minister clarified that the pendency is also on the part of state governments and state PSUs. Sitharaman also said the Centre is actively encouraging MSMEs to use the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platform from which “these payments can be discounted”. In January Union minister Ni, tin Gadkari had said delayed payments to the MSME sector was becoming a huge problem. likely to be called on Wednesday or Thursday where a new chief minister will be named. Sources said Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the party in-charge for Karnataka Arun Singh will oversee the leadership succession in the state government as Central observers. Currently more than half-a-doz, en names for the top post are doing the rounds. They include Mur u g e s h N i r a n i , B a s av a r a j Bommai, Arvind Bellad, C T Ravi, Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, Sunil Kumar, Pralhad Joshi and even B L Santhosh. Party sources suggested that the new chief minister is likely to be named by the end of this week. While he may have resigned as chief minister, Yediyurappa has refused to walk quietly into the sunset, insisting that he will remain in active politics and work for the party . July 17: Yediyurappa meets PM Narendra Modi July 18: BSY meets BJP national president J P Nadda, denies reports of his resignation July 20: Seers from Lingayat and other communities back Yediyurappa, warn BJP against leadership change July 22: BSY breaks silence, says high command will send a message July 25: Yediyurappa hints that he will step down July 26: Announces resignation July 26: Governor Thaawarchand Gehlor accepts BSY’s resignation, dissolves council of ministers. INSIDE Emotional Yediyurappa terms two-year tenure as trial by fire | P7 CM in verbal duel with Oppn leader, defends Modi friendship, Bineesh narayi said the man pointed out by the Opposition was not THE state assembly witnessed involved in any drug case and a fiery verbal duel between they should cross-check the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vi- facts before levelling an allegajayan and Opposition Leader tion. He did not name anyone, V D Satheesan when the no- but it was clear the accused in tice seeking leave for an ad- question was Bineesh Kodiyjournment motion regarding eri. It was for the first time the the Kodakara hawaCM defended the la heist case came up former party secrefor discussion in the tary’s son who was zero hour. arrested in BengaluC o n g re s s M L A ru last October. Roji M John, who Recently, the Narmoved the notice, cotics Control Buand Satheesan tarreau dropped geted the ruling front Bineesh’s name from by raking up the isthe chargesheet in sue of alleged com- What is wrong in the the drugs case after chief minister promise in the investhe officials failed to meeting the prime tig ation into the produce evidence minister of the Kodakara case. Both country and drape a against him. The Enleaders tried to esforcement Directoshawl around his tablish a tacit under- neck. We can disagree rate which arrested with the politics of standing between him for his alleged BJP and CPM, which opponents, but have financial dealings to stand united for agitated Pinarayi. with an accused in Satheesan alleged the development of the Bengaluru drug the people the case was comproracket case, has also mised by listing the invoked only money Pinarayi Vijayan, CM BJP leaders includlaundering charges ing state president K Suren- against him. dran as just witnesses to help Satheesan attacked the state the CPM save its face in gold government by pointing out smuggling case and to save a the latest developments in former party secretary’s son some recent cases — including in the Bangaluru drug case as gold smuggling — in which part of a deal. the party was on the ● More on P4 Enraged by the remarks, Pi- back foot. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram Couple Mukesh and Devika set to part ways All things new and old welcome back Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu speaks to media after landing in New Delhi on Monday I Shekhar Yadav A pair of 13-year-olds finished 1-2 in a new event while a 58-year-old walked away with gold, underlining that most walks of life can be successful at the Olympics. A look at action from Tokyo on Monday... E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kollam Redemption time: The four mixed team pairs (two in 10m air pistol and two in 10m air rifle) have a chance at redemption. If they tackle the qualifying round they have a good chance to win a medal How bizarre: Japan’s Momiji Nishiya and Brazil’s Rayssa Leal, both 13, won gold and silver in women’s skateboarding. The new event has proved to be a smash hit. At 58 years, Abdullah Al-Rashidi won a bronze in skeet shooting Jab-o-meter July 25 Take 38,87,028 doses your July 26 shot 57,48,692 doses Total: 44,10,57,103 NATIONWIDE july 25 july 26 statewide Fresh cases 39,742 25,215 Fresh cases july 25 17,466 july 26 11,586 Recoveries Deaths 39,972 30,402 535 362 Recoveries Deaths 15,247 66 14,912 135 FIVE OR MORE CHILDREN Let families be big, Church offers laity sops Pala diocese promises J1,500 monthly aid, free med care and edu scholarships for fourth child and younger siblings in families A B H I L A S H C H A N D R A N @Kottayam A financial assistance of `1,500 per month for families with five or more children, scholarships for engineering studies and free medical aid for pregnancy-related needs from the fourth child. These are the offers made by the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Pala to the laity to encourage bigger families when the entire world has been struggling to control population growth. The reason: concerns about the community’s dwindling numbers. With calls for early marriages, larger families and avoiding contraceptive measures failing to yield much results, the Syro-Mal- abar Church has now launched a campaign on social media to promote families with more children by community members as part of ‘Year of the Family’ celebrations called by Pope Francis. The initiative has been taken up jointly by the Eparchy of Pala and its institutions like Family Apostolate, Mar Sleeva Medicity in Pala and St Joseph’s College of Engineering and Technology, Pala. As per messages circulating on social media, the Family Apostolate under Pala diocese will provide `1,500 to couples who have got married after 2000 and have five or more children, while St Joseph’s Engineering College DWINDLING NUMBERS As per the 1991 census, Christians formed 19.38% of Kerala’s total population It dwindled to 19% in 2001 and 18.38% in 2011 As per projection, the Christian population will further slip to 17.7% in 2021 will provide education scholarships for the fourth child and the younger siblings in a family . The medical expenses during pregnancy will be taken care of by Mar Sleeva Medicity from the birth of the fourth child. “Often, families stop having children after the second or third child is born because of the increasing expenses involved in raising them. It is in such a context that we decided to provide a minimum financial assistance and other benefits to families. Moreover, we also took into account the call for a larger family concept of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ ● More on P4 Council. The celebrated couple, actorturned politician Mukesh and dancer Methil Devika, may be parting ways over marital discord. After eight years of tying the nuptial knot, Devika has initiated legal proceedings to end their marriage by sending a notice to the Kollam MLA through her lawyer in Thiruvananthapuram. Over the past f ew m o n t h s, Devika has been residing at her ancestral home in Palakkad due to Mukesh personal differences with Mukesh. There are allegations that Mukesh did not take proper care of Devika when Methil Devika she contracted Covid. She has approached the court seeking a divorce, sources close to her confirmed. It is alleged that Mukesh’s nature of using obscene language has irked Devika to take such a step. Mukesh was earlier married to actress Saritha. She had alleged Mukesh is an alcoholic, and that he used to abuse her physically and mentally . Congress district president Bindu Krishna demanded that a case be registered against the Kollam MLA if the allegations are true.
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