chennai l Monday l July 22, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l vellore 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 Maha campaign In rare attack on Pawar, Shah calls him ‘leader of corruption’ S u d h i r S ur ya w a n sh i @ Mumbai Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched an unusually blistering attack on Opposition leader Sharad Pawar, calling him the ‘sargana of corruption’ (ring leader of corruption). Shah’s attack drew an equally sharp response from the NCP (SP), which called the BJP, “a washing machine” that le gitimises corruption. Shah was speaking at the BJP’s state convention in Pune, kick-star ting the party’s elections campaign for the upcoming assembly elections. “They (Opposition) talk about corruption, but the biggest leader of corruption in Indian politics is Sharad Pawar and I have no confusion when I say this. Sharad Pawar institutionalised corruption in many governments of this country,” Shah alleged. Shah also said when- 1 year in jail Senthil Balaji hospitalised for chest pain e x press n e w s serv i c e @ Chennai Jailed former minister V Senthil Balaji was admitted to the Omandurar Multi-Speciality Hospital in Chennai on Sunday evening following complaints of chest pain. Doctors said his condition is currently stable. Balaji was lodged at the Puzhal prison 400 days ago, following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a cash-for-jobs scam. Hospital sources, who confirmed the admission, said the for mer minister had complained of breathlessness and discomfort, and that tests are underway to ascertain the cause of his condition. Doctors at the hospital said that a multi-disciplinary team has been formed to decide on the course of treatment. According to DMK sources, Balaji was suffering from indigestion since Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, after having lunch, he reportedly vomited and complained of chest pain. Prison doctors immediately attended to him. P5 ever Sharad Pawar’s government comes to power, Maratha reservations go out. “Therefore, if we want Maratha reservations, Sharad Pawar should not be voted to power,” Shah added. Responding to Shah’s attack on Pawar, NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto said, “They accuse political leaders of corruption, and then once those who they accuse join BJP, they are all given a clean chit. This is the BJP’s washing machine process of legitimising corruption.” He said Rahul Gandhi has become arrogant after the Opposition’s surprisingly strong performance in the Lok Sabha polls. “Once we win the Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand assembly polls later this year, Rahul Gandhi’s arrogance will be crushed,” Shah said. Training his guns on the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, Shah called it the “Aurangzeb fan club”. 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 Sunday’s all-party meet E x press Ne w s S erv i c e @ Malappuram 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- 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 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 B’desh SC dials down govt job quota behind deadly unrest A g e n c i es @ 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 been scrapped by the Sheikh Hasina government in 2018 amid protests by youngsters. Critics accused the government of using the scheme to stack public jobs with loyalists to Hasina’s ruling Awami League. The Supreme Court on Sunday decided that the lower court’s order to reintroduce the scheme was “illegal”. The court 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. Soldiers and special forces stand guard at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh on Sunday | AFP The remaining 93% of positions would be decided on merit, the court ruled. This, however, has failed to mollify university student leaders, with students calling for a complete abolition of the “freedom fighter” category. “We won’t call off our protests until the government issues an order reflecting our demands,” Students Against Discrimination, a student group leading the protests has said. Reports said soldiers were patrolling cities across Bangladesh on Sunday after riot police failed to restore order. In an update on Sunday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that over 4,500 Indian students have retur ned from Bangladesh. Our doors open: Didi West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said she would keep the doors of her state open for people in distress from Bangladesh. “There is a UN Resolution to accommodate refugees in regions adjacent to those under turmoil,” she said higher edu UoM delays results; govt UG students fret S u bash i n i V i jayakumar @ Chennai Uncertainty looms over the future of undergraduate students at 108 non-autonomous government colleges affiliated to the University of Madras (UoM) as the varsity is yet to release its final semester results. The delay has turned a major hurdle for students aspiring to apply to postgraduate courses as many aided and private autonomous colleges have completed admissions to PG courses and even started classes. UoM professors told TNIE it might take between two weeks and a month for the results to be released. Of the 131 colleges affiliated to the UoM, the 23 autonomous colleges declared their results on time, in the last week of June. “I had scored well and was hoping PG admissions in aided colleges would line up with government colleges. I am left with no choice but to pursue my PG degree in my current college,” a student from a non-autonomous government college said. “It is an open secret that many aided and private autonomous colleges have already admitted students to PG courses and started classes. This puts students from other colleges at a disadvantage,” said a member of the Association of University Teachers (AUT). He explained that due to this asymmetry, government college students from rural areas are unaware of the admission process of autonomous colleges. For instance, he said, if a student from a non-autonomous government college wishes to join an aided autonomous institution known for its MSc Visual Communication course, it is difficult as the college would have already closed admissions by the time the student’s results are released.  P5 14-year-old boy dies of Nipah virus in Kerala Semester in 90 days “Last year, government colleges that waited until results were announced for all — it came out only in the third week of August — struggled to complete 90 days of classes before first semester exams,” said a UoM professor 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’ 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 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. A day after testing positive for Nipah, a 14-year-old boy from Kerala’s Malappuram district died on Sunday. The boy, who was undergoing treatment in the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital, suffered a cardiac arrest around 10.50 am on Sunday and doctors could not revive him. “The boy was in an unconscious state. He suffered a cardiac arrest. The doctors tried their level best to save the boy . Unfortunately, he passed away around 11.30 am,” said Kerala Health Minister Veena George. The minister said three persons are under isolation at Kozhikode medical college. Although the health department received the monoclonal antibodies from the Indian Council of Medical Research on Sunday the boy died before , doctors could administer it. Meanwhile, samples taken from seven persons suspected to have contracted virus tested negative on Sunday . Nipah outbreaks have been reported in Kerala since 2018, when 17 people died.