DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA 126 155 `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 GOTOPPORTUNITYTOSERVETHIRDTIME... will work three times harder, says Modi 98 REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES 25/06/2024 ● OPPOSITIONWILLCONTINUEITS PRESSURE, raise the voice of the people: Rahul Gandhi 18th Lok Sabha begins 76 SPORTS VALLABH OZARKAR MUMBAI, JUNE 24 T20 WORLD CUP: INDIA DEFEAT AUSTRALIA, ENTER SEMI-FINALS PAGE 19 CM BAIL MATTER ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, JUNE 24 DESCRIBING AS “a bit unusual” the Delhi High Court’s decision to reserve its verdict on the Enforcement Directorate’s plea for a stay on grant of bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court said Monday it will wait for the High Court verdict and hear his plea against the HC move on June 26. On June 21, Justice Sudhir KumarJainof theHighCourthad put on hold for “two-three days” the order of the trial court granting bail to Kejriwal. Arrested by the ED on March 21 in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy case being probed separately by the CBI, Kejriwal approached the Supreme Court against the High Court decision. Thevacationbenchof Justices Manoj Misra and S V N Bhatti notedthattheHighCourtwasyet topronouncethefinaljudgment in the matter. JusticeMisrasaid,“Normally, inastayorder,judgmentsarenot reserved. They are passed at the hearing itself, on the spot. So, a bit unusual, but we will have it the day after tomorrow.” In its order, the bench said, “Perusal of the impugned order would reveal that parties were given opportunities to file short submissions by June 24, 2024. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, who appears for the Enforcement Directorate, submits that the order on the stay application would be passed shortly and, therefore, it would beappropriatethatthiscourtadjourns the proceedings to a date so that it may have the opportunity of going through the order.” “We deem it appropriate to direct that this matter be put up CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD Anil Sharma PMModi withMinistersLMurugan, JitendraSingh,Kiren Rijiju,ArjunRam Meghwal;Opp leaders MallikarjunKharge,SoniaGandhi,AkhileshYadavon Monday Consensus crucial to govern, aim to take everyone along: PM HARIKISHAN SHARMA & MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, JUNE 24 ASTHEfirstsessionof thenewlyconstituted 18th Lok Sabha began on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined that a “majority” may be needed to run the government but “consensus” is crucial to govern the country, while asserting that his governmentwouldstrivetoseek “everyone’s consent” and “take everyonealong”inhisthirdterm. Hisremarksaresignificantas the BJP, whose tally in the 18th Lok Sabha is below the majority mark, is dependent on its allies in the NDA for support. This is the first time that Modi is heading a coalition government in which the BJPdoesnot havemajority on its own. In his customary pre-session address, Modi also took a swipe at the Opposition, particularly the Congress, by recalling the “dark chapter” of Emergency. Saying that “people don't expect tantrums, drama and disturbance” but seek “substance and not slogans”, he added: “The country needs a good and responsible Opposition, and I am confident that the MPs elected to the 18th Lok Sabha will strive tomeettheseexpectationsof the common man.” Of the 543 Lok Sabha members, as many as 280 are firsttime MPs. “Over the past 10 years, we have continuously strived to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Opp: BJP’s undeclared Emergency over, will protect Constitution MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, JUNE 24 PAGE 12 ARESURGENTandunitedOpposition, upbeat since it has managed to shrink the BJP’s tally in Lok Sabha, forcing it to depend on allies to run the government, sought to make a political point both inside and outside the House on Monday. A combative Congress also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Emergency jibe at it, saying he had resorted to diversion as usual, forgetting that people had ended thelast10 yearsof “undeclared Emergency”. Picking up from where it had left off during the campaign, the Opposition parties used the Constitution to target the BJP. E Stormy days ● ahead IF THE Opposition mood is any indication, it will likely corner the Government in the coming days. The row over the exams mess will dominate proceedings when the House meets for the Union Budget next month. State elections are also due in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand in October-November. SeniorOppositionleadersstaged CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 After decade, Opp in House in numbers — and a voice LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, JUNE 24 Opposition MPs show copies of the Constitution at the Parliament House complex on Monday. PTI “THE WINNER comes second.” This was Lal Krishna Advani after the 1989 Lok Sabha elections when the BJP, under his watch, jumped from 2 to 85 seats in the House — the start of its rise to power. And on Monday, the first day of the18thLokSabha,Opposition MPsappearedtohaveborrowed Advani’s line to their advantage –jubilantandvibrantoutsidethe House, more confident and emboldened inside. After a decade, fromjusttworowsof seats,theywere now occupying more than a third of the House benches. The BJP, which left the new Parliament building in February in an upbeat mood chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Ab ki baar 400 paar’, was somewhat subdued barring one round of ‘Modi Modi’ when Narendra Modi, electedPrimeMinisterforathird successive term, rose to take oath as MP. On the other side of the Well, Akhilesh Yadav, leader of the SP whose tally climbed from five to 37, made Awadhesh Prasad, the 79-year-old who won the Faizabad seat (Ayodhya), sit in the first row with himself and Rahul Gandhi. WiththeBJPnolongerinma- NEET QUESTION PAPER ‘LEAK’ At school under probe, digital lock on box with question papers didn’t open, cutter was used ABHISHEK ANGAD RANCHI, JUNE 24 GUNMEN ATTACK SOUTH RUSSIA CITIES, KILL 20 INCLUDING COPS NETANYAHU SAYS WON’T END WAR IN GAZA, CONTRASTS US PROPOSAL PAGE 16 PTI E X P L A I NE D HC reserving order unusual, will wait for its ruling: SC to Kejriwal PAGE 1 ANCHOR Mumbai PWD ‘diverted’ Rs 26 cr to pay pvt contractors at ministers’ houses; probe under way THE PRINCIPAL of the Hazaribaghschool,whereinvestigators suspect the NEET-UG leakoriginatedfrom,hastoldThe Indian Express that a digital lock on two boxes containing question papers did not open at 1.15 pm on May 5 as it was supposed to, because of which they had to use a cutter. According to officials, the boxes come with two locks — oneismanual,andtheotherdig- ital. While there is a key and cutter to open the former, the latter is supposed to unlock automatically 45 minutes before the examination. At Oasis School in Hazaribagh, this did not happen. When Ehsanul Haque, the school principal and the Hazaribagh district coordinator designated by the National Testing Agency, called the NTA about what to do, he was told, “Cutter se digital lock ko kaat do (cut thedigital lock withthe cutter).” Haque told The Indian Express that he conveyed this to the superintendents and ob- servers at five examination centres, including Oasis School, where the digital lock had not opened. Imtiyaz Alam, the centre superintendent at Oasis School, and NTA’s observer Vishwa Ranjan corroborated this. “Digital locks were also used in the previous NEET-UG exams, and there was a beep that indicated they were open. This year we were surprised when they didn’t unlock. We alerted our city coordinator Ehsanul Haque, he contacted the NTA, and we were told that we should cut it using a cutter,” said Ranjan. According to NTA officials, if the digital lock doesn’t automatically unlock at the desired time, then the protocol is to break the lock open with a cutter. “These are digital devices that can malfunction. It doesn’t necessarily mean these were tampered with,” said an NTA official. Explaining the process, Haque told The Indian Express: “I received an email at 1 am on May 5 informing me about nine boxes withquestion papers kept in two designated banks. At 7.30 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 jority in the House, the Lower House reverbated to the sounds of a confident Opposition. The Congress, DMK and TMC MPs heldaprotestoutsidetheHouse, holding red-cover copies of the Constitution and standing at the spot where the statue of Mahatma Gandhi used to be. TheythenmarchedtotheHouse to take oath. A few minutes later, Akhilesh Yadav led his party men, all wearing red stoles and holding copies of the Constitution, to the floor of the House. The mood inside was probably an indication of what could beexpectedintheHouse,atleast CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PUBLIC WORKS Department (PWD) officials in Mumbai gave a total of Rs 26 crore to private contractors, for maintenance and repair work done at official bungalows allotted to Maharashtra’s ministers, from funds released solely to pay water and power bills at these residences — an alleged diversion that violated norms, and bypassed several checks and balances, records investigated by The Indian Express show. The money was paid by the Mumbai Presidency division of the state’s PWD from funds totalling Rs 52 crore, which was sanctioned solely for the payment of electricity and water charges at 36 government bungalows from March 2017 to March 2023, the records show. During this period, the bungalowswereoccupiedbyministers of three state governments: BJPShiv Sena, Shiv Sena-NCPCongress and BJP-Shinde Sena. As part of these payments, records show, Rs 6.2 crore was releasedunder“utilitybills”over these six years for “Varsha”, the Chief Minister’s bungalow, of whichRs 2.37 crorewentto contractors who carried out maintenance and repair work at the site. And, Rs 2.76 crore was sanctioned to pay the utility bills of “Sagar”, the Deputy Chief Minister’sbungalow,of whichRs 1.47 crore was paid to contractors for similar work (see chart). Sources told The Indian Express that a preliminary inquiry into these payments “established some facts” that led to a more comprehensive probe Records show Rs 6.2 crore was released under “utility bills” over these six years for “Varsha”, the CM’s bungalow. Ganesh Shirsekar into why bills were cleared for contractors under the description of utility bills, namely water and electricity charges, in violation of government regulations issued in 2018. “A detailed inquiryisnowbeingcarriedoutby scrutinising all the bills. A final report will be submitted soon,” sources said. PWD Minister Ravindra Chavan could not be reached for comment. When contacted, Manisha Mhaiskar, the state’s PWD Secretary, told The Indian Express:“Aninquiryhasbeenordered through ourVigilance and Quality Control Department. Further action would be taken according to the final report.” Utility bills are usually paid directly by the PWD to service providers such as Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for water and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply andTransport(BEST)forelectricity. For maintenance and repair by private contractors, official guidelines issued in 2018 stipulate a multi-layered payment process: submission of CONTINUEDONPAGE2 TOP 10 BUNGALOWS ON THE LIST Bungalow Varsha (CM Residence) Funds for utility bills paid to contractors (Rs/crore) 2.37 Agradoot (CM) 1.08 Nandanvan (CM) 0.94 Sagar (Dy CM) 1.47 *Muktagiri & Dhyaneshwari 2.02 A-10 (Chief Secy) 1.47 C-1 (Cab Min) 1.43 A-9 (Cab Min) 1.33 Ajantha 1.26 B-1 (Cab Min) 1.19 *(Cab Min) Source:BudgetEstimation,Allocation&MonitoringSystem(BEAMS)ofthe Finance Department of Government of Maharashtra Abolish NEET, restore state entrance exams, Mamata writes to PM Modi EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, JUNE 24 AMID THE allegations of paper leakandirregularitiesintheNEETUG--theNationalEligibility-cumEntrance Test Undergraduate – conductedbytheNationalTesting Agency (NTA), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged Prime Minister Narendra ModitoabolishtheNEETanddemanded the restoration of previoussystemwhereinthestatesand medical institutions used to conductownentrancetestforadmission to medical colleges. In a letter to PM Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a review meeting in Kolkata, Monday. Express Banerjee wrote, “...before 2017, the States were allowed to conduct their own entrance examinations and the Central govern- ment also used to conduct its ownexaminationsforadmission into the medical courses. This system was functioning smoothly and without much problems... This was better attuned to the regional curricula and educational standards. The State government usually spends more than Rs 50 lakh per doctor on education and internship. Therefore, the State should be given freedom to select medical students through Joint Entrance Examination.” “The decentralised system was later changed to a unitary and centralised system of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 2 months after marriage, couple killed in Haryana; woman’s family booked SUKHBIR SIWACH CHANDIGARH, JUNE 24 TWO MONTHS after they got married, a couple from Hisar district of Haryana — Tejbir (24) and his wife Meena (22) — was gunned down by two unidentified men in a suspected case of “honour killing” on Monday morning,policesaid.Accordingto policesources,Tejbirandhiswife Meena were distant relatives. Basedonacomplaintfiledby Tejbir'sfather,MehtabSingh,policehavelodgedanFIRagainst11 people — all from Meena's family — under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 120-B (conspiracy), 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly) and Section 25 of the ArmsAct.SpeakingtoTheIndian Express, Additional Director General of Police (Hisar Range) Matta Ravi Kiran said the couple had initially approached the court to seek police protection, but later withdrew their plea. AccordingtotheFIR,thecou- ple got married at an Arya Samaj MandirinGhaziabadonApril22. Meena's family is reported to have opposed the marriage. While Meena was from Couple gunned downinHaryana,police book woman’s family Sultanpur village in Hisar, Tejbir was a resident of Badala village in the same district. In his complaint, Mehtab Singh, a farmer, told the police that Meena's family members were upset with the marriage and had threatened to kill the couple. “Because they were afraid, the couple first hid in Delhi and later stayed in a safehouse in Hisar (set up by the police) for three-four days,” he said in his complaint. Sources said Tejbirhadgotajobwithaprivate company near Delhi. For the last 10-15 days, the couple was reportedly living in Tejbir's home in Badala village. On Monday morning, at about 8.15 am, Tejbir and Meena are learnt to have left for Delhi on a motorcycle. A little later, they were gunned down at a park in Hansi town of Hisar district. According to Mehtab Singh, he receivedaphonecallat10.15am, informing him about the shooting. “The person who informed (the police) about the incident said two youths were seen running after shooting the couple,” Hansi Superintendent of Police (SP) Maqsood Ahmed said. “Possibly, thetwo attackersused two different weapons. Police haverecoveredsevenemptycartridges from the spot. The FSL (forensic science laboratory) team found four-five bullet injuries on the bodies. A postmortem will reveal more details,” he said. The incident comes five days after a 17-year-old boy from Kaithal district allegedly killed his 20-year-old sister, who married outside her caste on February 6. In another case on June 19, the Sirsa police booked the father and brother of a 27year-old woman, who was allegedly killed in the first week of June.Accordingtosources,while her family claimed the woman haddiedduetoaheartattack,an RTI activist filed a police complaint saying it may be a case of “honour killing” as the woman wanted to marry a person with “very little land”. On April 21, a youth was killed in Yamunanagar, reportedly over his inter-caste marriage in August 2023. The couple had a three-month-old son when the incident took place. Inadditiontotheseincidents, the residents of a village in Mahendragarhdistrictarefacing aboycottfromaneighboringvillage, reportedly over a love marriage. The couple, meanwhile, has sought shelter in a safehouse. Hisar ADGP Matta Ravi Kiran said this was a social issue that requires awareness in society. “Such incidents don’t take place when couples take police protection. But only a few such couplesapproachus,”Kiransaid, adding that they often send police teams to educate villagers.