DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BY UNNY THE WORLD ADDRESS TO NATION DayafterTrump shooting,Biden says‘lowerthe temperature’ No place for this kind of violence, any violence... no exceptions: US President OLI TAKES OATH AS NEPAL PM PAKISTAN TO BAN IMRAN’S PARTY FOR BEING ‘ANTI-STATE’ ISRAEL STRIKES GAZA AGAIN AFTER WEEKEND ATTACK IN SAFE ZONE PAGE 12 New Nepal Prime Minister K P Oli (right) with outgoing Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal after taking oath of office at the Presidential residence in Kathmandu, Monday. AP PAGE12 Donald Trump arrives in Milwaukee for the Republican convention on Sunday. Reuters MOREREPORTS,PAGE12 ORDER TO POLICE Assam: If CAA covers person, don’t refer case to foreigners’ tribunals SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, JULY 15 THE ASSAM government has instructedthestate’sborderpolice not to directly refer citizenship cases of “Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian” people, who entered India before the end of 2014, to foreigners’ tribunals. Instead, the border police have been told to encourage themtoapplyforcitizenshipunder the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The CAA, which had incited protests in several parts of the country including Assam’s BrahmaputraValleybutwaswelcomed in the state’s primarily Bengali-speaking Barak Valley, wasfinallysetinmotionwiththe notificationof rulesforitsimplementation in March this year. The CAA enables the fasttracking of the citizenship process for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christans from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India before December 31, 2014. However, Assam, which shares a long border with Bangladeshandwherethequestionof“illegalimmigration”from the neighbouring country has longbeenacontentiousissue,has CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MICHAEL D SHEAR WASHINGTON, JULY 15 USPRESIDENTJoeBidensaidina prime-time Oval Office address onSundaythatthenationneeded to “lower the temperature in our politics”, saying that he deplored the attempted assassination of formerPresidentDonaldJTrump andfearedforthedirectionofthe country’s politics. “We cannot, we must not, go down this road in America,” he said,usingthebackdropoftheoffice for only the third time in his presidency. “There is no place in Americaforthiskindof violence, for any violence, ever. Period. No exceptions. We can’t allow this violence to be normalised.” “The power to change America,” he said, “should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of a would-be assassin.” The President’s six-minute speech — delivered from behind CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 3 Opp states say no to PM-SHRI, Centre stops school scheme funds Delhi, Punjab cite state schemes, Bengal objects to name ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND, DIVYA GOYAL GOPAL & ATRI MITRA NEW DELHI, LUDHIANA, KOLKATA, JULY 15 THE EDUCATION Ministry has stopped funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the flagship school education programme, to Delhi, Punjab andWestBengalbecauseof their reluctance to participate in the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme, The Indian Express has learnt. Thescheme,withabudgetof over Rs 27,000 crore for the next five years — the Centre is supposed to shoulder 60% of the financial burden and the states 40% — aims to upgrade at least 14,500 government schools into “exemplar”institutionstoshowcase the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. States have to confirm their participation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Education Ministry. Five states — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal—areyettosigntheMoU. While Tamil Nadu and Kerala have indicated their willingness, Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal haverefused,ostensiblyprompting the Centre to stop their SSA funds, it is learnt. The three states have not received the third and fourth installments of SSA funds for the last financial year's OctoberDecember and January-March quarters,northefirstinstallment for the current financial year's April-June quarter. This has prompted them to send several CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Post-poll EVM check: EC looks at mock poll with up to 1,400 votes RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, JULY 15 THE ELECTION Commission’s protocol for the Supreme Courtmandated verification of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls is likely to include a mock poll, permitting candidates to cast up to 1,400 votes on the machines selected for the process, The Indian Express has learnt. The election watchdog has received eight applications for verification of EVMs used in the 18th Lok Sabha elections and three for the Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, whichwereheldsimultaneously. These applications were received pursuant to the Supreme EXPLAINED BUSINESS AS USUAL `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 E ● What the SC said THE SUPREME Court, in April, allowed candidates who were placed second and third to seek verification of the “burnt memory/ microcontroller in 5% of EVMs... per assembly constituency/ assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency”. CourtorderinApril,when,forthe first time, the Court gave candidateswhostoodsecondandthird therighttoseekverificationofthe burntmemory/microcontrollers CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Viswanathan Anand, SC: WILL CONSIDER LISTING PLEA ON SURVEY Nothing defamatory, merely echoed Existing structure made wife Aruna, Arjun women’s fear: Mamata’s lawyer in HC from parts of temples: Erigaisi at Adda today ASI to HC on Bhojshala WEST BENGAL GOVERNOR’S DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST CM EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, JULY 15 WEST BENGAL Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, through her counsel, on Monday told the Calcutta High Court that she stood by her statement that women had expressed fears about visiting Raj Bhavan in Kolkata and there was nothing defamatory in her comment. During the hearing in the defamation suit filed by Governor C V Ananda Bose against her, the chief minister’s counsel opposed issuance of an interim order to restrain her from making further comments in connection with the alleged incidents at Raj Bhavan. Bose, represented by his lawyer, had sought to restrain Banerjee and two newly elected MLAs and TMC spokesperson West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Governor C V Ananda Bose WEST BENGAL WILL ADMINISTER OATH TO MLAS IN ASSEMBLY: SPEAKER PAGE 7 Kunal Ghosh from making further comments in this regard. Reserving the order, the single-judge bench of Justice Krishna Rao said it would pro- nounce the verdict in the defamation case on a later date. During the hearing, Mamata Banerjee's counsel, S N Mookherjee, said the chief minister’s remarks were a fair comment on issues of public interest and were thus not defamatory. Standing by her earlier comment,Banerjee’slawyersubmitted that she merely echoed the apprehensions of women over certain alleged activities in Raj Bhavan. The counsel said he was ready to file an affidavit containing the names of women who had expressed their apprehensions about visiting Raj Bhavan. On May 2, a contractual woman employee of Raj Bhavan had made an allegation of molestation against Bose, following which the Kolkata Police started an inquiry. Under Article 361 of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ANAND MOHAN J BHOPAL, JULY 15 Clockwise from top left: Viswanathan Anand, wife Aruna, Arjun Erigaisi EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JULY 15 WITH INDIA’S D Gukesh preparingtotakeonreigningchampion Ding Liren of China in the World Chess Championship title clash in Singapore in NovemberDecember, there’s no one better than a five-time world champion to decode what that moment means for India. Over four decades, as Viswanathan Anand, who was CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE ARCHEOLOGICAL Survey of India (ASI) on Monday submitted its survey report on the disputed Bhojshala temple-Kamal Maula mosque complex in Dhar district to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, stating that a scientificinvestigationrevealsthe“existing structure was made from the parts of earlier temples”. The court had in March last year ordered the ASI to conduct thesurvey,observingthatthenature and character of the structure needs to be “demystified and freed from the shackles of confusion”. On Monday, the Supreme Court said it will considerlistingforhearingapetition The structure in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. ANI challengingtheMadhyaPradesh HCorderdirectingtheASItoconductthe“scientificinvestigation”. Hindus regard the ASI-protected complex as a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati), while Muslims consider it the site of the Kamal Maula mosque. Under an CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 With Yamal, Williams and Euro win, Spain crosses a race barrier PAGE 1 ANCHOR SANDIP G NEW DELHI, JULY 15 AN ICONIC football photograph was born on Sunday, after Nico Williams opened scoring for Spain, from a low Lamine Yamal cross, in the European Championship final against EnglandinBerlin.Williamsisbeside the corner flag, flashing a broad grin. Yamal is clinging to his shoulder, his joyous face obscured by the spiked Rasta locks of Williams.Itwasadeeplysymbolic moment in Spanish foot- ball history, that the two brightest stars of their fourth Euro triumph, beating England 2-1, were immigrants of African descent, that the national team has started to reflect all of its nation. In the past, Spain had the occasional black player, such as midfielders Donato, Marcos Senna and striker Catanha, but they were Brazilians granted citizenship after moving to Spain to play professionally. Racism, though, was rampant in Spanish football. Last year, Williams was subjected to monkey chants in a game against Atletico Madrid. A furious Williams retorted: “There are fools in all places. So it’s not a big deal, we have to keep working so that this changes bit by bit, as in the end we are having an internal and external fight against this. It is what it is.” ThebitterrealityisthatSpain had not integrated immigrants into the game, unlike England, France, Portugal, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Yamal’s father Mounir Yamal was fined €600 for throwing eggs at a Vox campaign tent in May 2023. In this light, the rise and fanfare of Yamal and Williams is more relevant, a symbol of Spanish cutting its racist undertones. Theirs is a staple but poignant tale of immigration, oneof physicaltortureandmentalanguish,of humantrafficking Spain’s Nico Williams celebrates with Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo after scoring the first goal. Reuters and hope. To escape the abject poverty in Ghana, Williams’s parents fled the country. But they fell into the trap of human traffickerswhopromisedtoferry themtotheUnitedKingdomand left them stranded in the middle of the Sahara, without food, water and shelter, robbing their valuables. Shattered, they kept walking aimlessly through the burning sands, even as his mother Maria was pregnant with their eldest son, Inaki, also a footballer who turns up for Ghana. After days, they ran into police in the Spanish enclave of Melilla, in the north of Africa. A kind police officertoldthemabouttheformalitiestoseekpoliticalasylumwith the help of a lawyer. “He advised us to burn our passports and tell the court that we were from Liberia,” his mother once told Spanishnewsoutlet,AS.Shenarrated the story to their children later, when they pestered her about blister scars on their father’s feet. The lawyer introduced them to a Catholic priest Inaki Mardones. The priest found themstatehousinginBilbaoand took Sarah to a hospital. In gratitude, Felix and Maria named their first son after him. But raising the children was not easy. FelixmovedtoChelseaintheUK, where he worked as a dishwasher in a hotel and as a security guard on match days at Chelsea FC. Maria juggled up to three jobs a day. Football was a distraction for the Williams brothers from their gruellinglivelihoodrealities.They just happened to be exceptional at that. Nico would dedicate everything to his parents. “They risked their lives so that we, my brotherandI,haveabetterfuture. Iwillforeverappreciatewhatmy fatherandmymotherdidforus- they are fighters, they instilled in us respect, hard work, every day, that nobody gifts you anything,” he would say. Yamal’sstoryisnotastearful, but touching nonetheless. His mother, Sheila, illegally entered Spain from poverty-ridden CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata