vijayawada l wednesday l june 26, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Assange out of London prison after plea bargain with the U.S. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was on Monday freed from a London prison where he spent five years fighting extradition to the US U.S. court to take up the plea deal today Sentence to match term already served Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents, according to filings in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, where the hearing will be held on Wednesday. Under the plea, he won’t face further prison time and can return home to Australia | P9 ■ The court in Northern Mariana Islands — a US commonwealth in the Pacific midway between Australia and Japan — was chosen because of Assange’s unwillingness to go to mainland US and also because of the territory’s proximity to his native country Australia, a court filing said on Tuesday ■ Assange is due to be sentenced to 62 months of time already served in prison April 2019 When Assange was lodged in the high security Belmarsh prison in London 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 First election of Speaker in over 5 decades today Rahul named Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Trinamool yet to take call on supporting INDIA candidate K Suresh P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi On the eve of the election to the post of Lok Sabha Speaker, the Congress on Tuesday named Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha. The announcement came after a late evening meeting of floor leaders of the Opposition parties. Congress general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal told the media, “CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, informing the decision of appointment of Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha”. Other office bearers will be decided later, he added. Rahul was sworn in as a member of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. He has been an MP for five terms and now represents Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli in the Lower House. E a rl y t h i s month, the Congress Working Committee had unanimously passed a resolution requesting Rahul to take up the post of the LoP in the 18th Lok Sabha. The party did not have the requisite seats to claim the post in 2014 and 2019. To claim the post, a party needs at least 10% of the membership of the Lok Sabha. While the Congress had 52 seats in 2019, in 2014, it had 44. However, the party registered a spectacular show by increasing its tally to 100 in the 2024 elections. The LoP post requires the MP to regularly interact with the prime minister. He/she will be a member of crucial committees, including Joint Parliamentary Committees. The LoP will also be a member of the committees that choose the CVC, the Central Information Commission, the CBI and the NHRC heads, etc. P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Seeking neat solution Samajwadi Party workers stage a protest over the alleged irregularities in NEET results, near party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s residence in Lucknow on Tuesday | PTI cbi’s turn to go after kejri to keep him in jail E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Compounding troubles for jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is all set to produce him before a trial court on Wednesday which could , result in his arrest by the agency, sources said on Tuesday . The fresh development comes hours before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Kejriwal’s plea challenging the Delhi High Court decision to stay the bail granted to him by a lower court. Sources said the CBI had questioned Kejriwal on Monday in Tihar Jail and recorded his statement on the alleged irregularities in the Delhi liquor policy. On Tuesday the central agency , moved an application before a special court seeking a production warrant for Ke- semi final Afghanistan beat B’desh to make it to the T20 WC semis for the first time, knocking Oz out. They will face South Africa in semi final 1 on Thursday. India will play England in semi final 2 the same day | P11 Candidates for Speaker’s post Om Birla (BJP) and Kodikunnil Suresh (INDIA) Oppn demanded Dy Speaker post The last election for Speaker was in 1976. The INDIA bloc’s made a last minute decision to go for the contest after senior BJP leaders refused to accept its precondition that the Opposition must be offered the post of Deputy Speaker in lieu of supporting Birla Radhakrishnan. A senior Opposition leader who attended the meeting told this paper, “Though other parties, including the Congress, have issued a whip to their MPs for the election, the TMC said that they will convey their decision tomorrow after more consultations. But they have assured that they will cooperate with the Opposition in express read Kuppam to get airport soon, says CM Naidu Civic body issues notice to YSRC party office Sensex hits 78,000 as private bank stocks rally Vijayawada: Asserting that Kuppam Assembly constituency will be developed thoroughly, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu vowed to transform Kuppam into a model segment in the entire country. Naidu, who won from the segment for the eighth time, said Kuppam will soon get an airport to facilitate export of agriculture produce and provide air connectivity to major cities | P4 Vizianagaram: The town planning wing of Vizianagaram Municipal Corporation issued a show-cause notice to the YSRC seeking explanation pertaining to the unauthorised construction of the party office in Maharajupeta North Ward. The notice, issued under the AP Municipal Corporation Act, said the construction was taken up even as YSRC’s application to take up construction was pending | P4 New Delhi: Led by banking stocks, equity market scaled a fresh peak on Tuesday with Sensex hitting the 78,000 mark for the first time and Nifty50 crossing the 23,700 level. The rally is also attributed to India recording a current account surplus of $5.7 billion or 0.6% of GDP in March quarter, the first surplus in 10 quarters. Sensex had breached the 77,000 mark for the first time on June 10 YSRC agrees to support NDA Speaker pick? E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The BJP has reportedly reached out to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRC and sought support for the election of senior MP Om Birla as the Lok Sabha Speaker. It has been lear nt that the YSRC has agreed to the request. YSRC MPs PV Midhun Reddy and V Vijayasai Reddy were unavailable to comment, but a senior BJP leader maintained that it is a common practice to seek support of all political parties which are neither part of the NDA nor the INDIA bloc. “We had sought the support of the TDP as well as the YSRC in the last Presidential elections,” the leader pointed out. Previously, the YSRC had clarified that it will extend issue-based support to the NDA at the Centre. It had also sought the NDA to view the YSRC on par with the TDP. The explanation given by the party was that while the TDP has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha and none in the Rajya Sabha, the support of YSRC, which has four members in the Lower House and 11 in the Upper House of the Parliament, is equally important for the NDA to pass crucial Bills. TDP issues whip, directs MPs to support Birla Meanwhile, TDP, the second largest party in the NDA after the BJP, extended its support to Om Birla. Earlier, there was speculation that the TDP would demand the NDA for the Speaker post. However, the TDPP Whip Ganti Harish Madhur Balayogi on Tuesday issued a whip to all TDP MPs, mandating their presence and instructing them to vote for P4 the NDA candidate. Jagan writes to Speaker, demands recognition as LoP E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e T20 WC Afghans reach jriwal, which was granted. The CBI will produce Kejriwal before the trial court at 10 am on Wednesday, ahead of the Supreme Court hearing. Sources said that since Kejriwal is already in judicial custody in connection with a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate, his arrest by CBI can take place before a court. If the CBI arrests Kejriwal and gets his custody it is un, likely that the Delhi CM will be able to walk out of Tihar Jail on Wednesday even if the SC overturns the Delhi HC’s stay on his bail. Reacting to the development, the Aam Aadmi Party accused the CBI of “conspiring to register a fake case” against their leader. AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the Centre is conspiring to foist false cases against Kejriwal in a bid to keep him in jail. With Parliament set to see an unprecedented election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker on Wednesday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), an ally of the INDIA bloc, is keeping the Opposition on the edge as the party is yet to reach a final decision on the matter. While the BJP-led NDA nominated third time MP Om Birla for the Speaker’s post for the second consecutive term, the Opposition forced an election by nominating the eight-time MP from Kerala, Kodikunnil Suresh, as its candidate after the talks between both sides failed to reach a consensus. At a late evening INDIA bloc meeting, TMC leaders said they will co-operate with the Opposition on the Speaker’s election. However, the final call will be taken on Wednesday . The meeting was attended by several top leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, TMC’s Derek O’Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, RSP’s N K Premachandran and CPM’s K the Speaker election,” he said. Earlier, TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee complained that the Congress unilaterally decided to put up K Suresh as the INDIA bloc’s candidate for the post without consultation. A brief interaction involving Congress leader K C Venugopal and DMK’s T R Baalu and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and J P Nadda, at Singh’s office in Parliament to evolve a consensus ended in acrimony as both sides stuck to their positions. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “Union minister Rajnath last evening said that he will call back our president Mallikarjun Kharge on our demand on the Deputy Speaker post. However, Rajnath ji has not returned the call. PM Modi says that there should be constructive cooperation and then our leader is being insulted. So their intention is clear,” he said. Later, Venugopal accused the government of not following the “convention” of an opposition candidate for the Deputy Speaker’s position. consensus @ Vijayawada In a letter to Assembly Speaker Ch Ayyanna Patrudu, YSRC president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy sought to be recognised as the Leader of Opposition so that he can voice the problems of the people in the House more effectively He also wanted the . YSRC Legislative Party (YSRCLP) to be recognised as the principal Opposition party . Stating that as per custom the Leader of the House takes oath first followed by the Leader of the Opposition, Cabinet Ministers and then the other MLAs, the former chief minister pointed out that on June 21, he was called after the Chief Minister as well as the Cabinet Ministers were sworn in. “The above sequence gives an impression that a decision has already been taken not to grant the status of Leader of Opposition (LoP) to me,” he wrote. Further, he pointed out that the YSRC is the only party in opposition to the TDP-JSPBJP combine. “The sequence followed for oath-taking clearly reveals the intent of the floor leaders of the NDA to deny YSRCLP the status of principal Opposition party and the concomitant status of LoP to its floor leader,” Jagan said. The YSRC chief added he has enclosed a copy of the video in which Ayyanna, before being elected as Speaker, had termed Jagan as a “person defeated, but not yet dead”, and had said that he should be beaten to death. “The gloves are off with regard to the hostilities displayed by the ruling combine towards me and imbibed by the Honourable Speaker,” he said. Pointing out that his party secured a vote share of 40 per cent in the recent elections, Jagan said he has a duty towards the people to represent their concerns on the floor of the House. “In view of the open and undisguised hostility exhibited by the leaders of the ruling combine and by the Honourable Speaker, the YSRCLP is constrained to evaluate the No law mandates winning 10% seats as a prerequisite for a party to be conferred principal Opposition status. I have been forced to address the letter in public interest to exercise my right to speak substantially to air people’s grievances — YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, YSRC chief utility of its participation in the proceedings of the august House, if it is treated as a party , having 11 legislators, with no status of Leader of Opposition.” “The absence of such status and considering the hostilities that are already on display the , opportunities and time allocated to speak on public issues would be at the mercy of the ruling combine, which has secured an overwhelming majority, and the discretion of the Honourable Speaker, who wishes to see me dead,” Jagan said. Woman ventures into Nallamala for Wardens scratch their head as jail beards trend firewood, mauled to death by leopard Hairy tale P R A M D A S @ Kochi jAILORS in Kerala have a hairy situation on their hands —literally. The number of inmates choosing to grow beards is rising and their robust facial hairs are reaching epic lengths. Bemused wardens are at their wits’ end but there is hardly anything they can do about it. According to Rule 292(1) of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Rules, prisoners have the right to grow beard. Officials say the problem is that if one grows a beard, it is very likely that other inmates will follow suit. “If disallowed, they protest saying their fundamental rights have been violated. They then approach the court and obtain favourable orders,” says a DIGranked official. Pointing out the trend of lengthening beards, another senior jailor notes that the length of facial hair can often transform a man’s appearance. “There are no laws that apply to the length of the beard, and that puts us in a fix. Some inmates are now growing beards that are long and often scruffy he adds. ,” Senior officials say they allow exceptions for religious reasons such as Sabarimala pilgrimage or Ramadan. However, a growing number of prisoners, especially those involved in NIA cases, are deliberately growing beards on the pretext of religious beliefs. “This is problematic in main- Illustration: Sourav Roy taining jail discipline and hygiene,” says a senior official. Other officials complain that instead of keeping normal beards, inmates are intentionally maintaining long ones, causing problems for others. “The hair may fall into other inmates’ food, triggering clashes and security issues inside the prison,” says an officer. Recently, the superintendent of Viyyur prison opposed the plea of UAPAaccused Sahad M to grow a beard. The superintendent argued in court that to maintain hygiene and discipline, cutting hair and shaving beard is necessary, as per the rules. Sahad argued that he is a practising Muslim with the right to follow the customs and rites of his religion. He obtained an order to grow a beard from the NIA special court in Ernakulam, which said the ‘right’ can’t be denied. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kurnool A 48-year-old woman was mauled to death by a leopard at Pacharla village in Sirivella mandal of Nandyal district. The tragic incident took place when Shaik Mehroon Bee ventured into the forest to collect firewood on Tuesday She was a . former Upa Sarpanch of Pacharla, a village situated in thick the Nallamala forest area under the Nagarjuna Sagar Tiger Reserve limits between Giddalur to Nandyal ghat road. According to locals, Mehroon Bee went into the forest in the afternoon. When she did not return even by evening, her family members began looking for her in the forest. They found her body and noticed that it was severely mutilated. Afraid that the predator might be in the vicinity, they fled from the spot and returned with sticks and other weapons. Though areas around Pacharla are restricted for humans, locals go into the forest. Trap cameras & a cage have been arranged in the forest area to capture the leopard Anurag Meena, Nandyal forest dy director Forest officials rushed to the spot on receiving the information and inspected the scene. They said that the leopard had inflicted wounds on the wom- an’s head, resulting in her death. On June 23, another woman, identified as Shaik Bibi, a daily wage labourer, sustained injuries following an attack by a leopard. Nandyal forests deputy director Anurag Meena told TNIE that the two incidents took place inside the forest. In both the cases, the women travelled more than one-and-a-half kilometers from Pacharla and into the part of the forest which is a habitat for wild animals. Though the surrounding areas of Pacharla village are restricted for humans, the locals go into the forest. Forest staff have also educated them about the presence of wild animals, he added.
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