CMYK FRIDAY www.thestatesman.com 24 JUNE 2022 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘COOPERATIVES IMP FOR WELFARE OF COMMON POPULACE’ SETBACK FOR MACRON P6 WEATHER Partly cloudy sky. Temperature likely to be in the range of 33-26 degrees Celsius. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max.90% TEMPERATURE Max: 33.2 °C (0) SUN RISES 04:53 hrs MOON RISES 00:46 hrs New moon on 29 P8 MVA stands ‘united’ amid political crisis SNS/AGENCIES Min: 27.2°C (+1) SUN SETS 18:24 hrs MOON SETS 13:32 hrs June THUMBNAILS View of a house completely submerged at the flood-affected area of Chaparmukh, in Nagaon on Thursday.  ANI ED attaches properties worth ` 257 cr in Unitech case: The Enforcement Directorate has attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 257 crore based in Gurugram, Goa, Chennai and other places in connection with the money laundering case against Unitech Limited. With this, the total value of various domestic and overseas assets attached in the case so far is Rs 1059.52 crore, which includes the assets of Car- nostie Group, Shivalik Group, Trikar Group, CIG Realty Fund, Authentic Group, and the assets of shell and personal companies of Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra-- ex-promoters of the Unitech Group. AIIMS Director gets another 3-month extenm sion: The tenure of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, Director, Dr Randeep Guleria was extended by three months on Thursday, an official statement said. According to a source, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, which is headed by the PM, has asked Union Health Ministry for more names for consideration for the post AIIMS Director. MUMBAI, JUNE 23 s the Shiv Sena battled the rebellion in its ranks for the third day on Thursday, its Maha Vikas Aghadi allies - the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress - closed ranks behind embattled Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Late on Wednesday, Thackeray offered to quit as CM and as Sena President, and on Thursday, party MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut even said the party is ready to “leave the MVA”, with a rider that "all rebels must reach Mumbai in 24 hours and put their viewpoint before the leadership". “We are ready to walk out of the MVA, provided the rebels return to Mumbai within 24 hours and hold discussions with the Shiv Sena,” Raut said. He called upon the rebels to stop communicating on social media or phone messages or letters or statements sitting in Assam, and like "true Shiv Sainiks" show the guts to A Rebel Maharashtra Shiv Sena MLAs unanimously chose Eknath Shinde as their leader, at the Radisson Blu Hotel, in Guwahati. (inset) A poster is put up in support of Shinde, at Mira Bhayandar. (R) NCP chief Sharad Pawar at a press conference, in Mumbai.  ANI come to Mumbai. “Come here within 24 hours... Sit before Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Saheb and present your viewpoint to him. We shall definitely consider them," Raut declared. Both the NCP and the Congress, while expressing confidence that the political fracas would end soon, said they would remain with the MVA and Thackeray till the very end, and if the situation arose, would be prepared to sit in the opposition benches. This evening, NCP President Sharad Pawar warned that the "rebels will have to pay the price for their revolt when they face the electorate". “The MVA government Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday was issued a fresh summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to join by mid-July the probe in the National Herald money-laundering case. Yesterday, she wrote to the ED about her illness and requested them to defer the questioning, which was accepted by the probe agency. The Congress chief was to be questioned on June 23 in the case. "She was suffering from Covid complications and was not fit for questioning," a source said. Sonia, who was undergoing treatment at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, was discharged on Monday. She was admitted to the hospital on June 12 after she developed bleeding from the nose on June 12. She had tested positive for Covid on June 2. The Congress president had earlier been scheduled to appear before the Enforcement Directorate on June 8 but had sought more time from the probe agency in view of the Covid infection. The agency then issued a fresh summons and asked her to join on June 23. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was questioned for about 51 hours during fiveday long questioning. has already proved its majority. Those who call the 3-party experiment a failure are ignorant. The government has performed well and taken many major decisions in the past two and half years," he asserted, dismissing the rebel MLAs allegations of not getting adequate funds for development works as "false". He pointed out that the rebels "would have to come before the Governor or the legislature" to prove their strength, and after their return, the BJP may not "guide" them. Pawar also expressed confidence that the rebel Sena MLAs would return to the party fold and described the manner in which they were taken away as improper. On the side of the rebellious lawmakers camping in Guwahati, the torch-bearer, Shinde has been "elected" as the breakaway group's leader and authorised to take all decisions on their behalf. According to a video that emerged late this evening, Shinde was heard praising the BJP terming , it as a “national force which taught a lesson to Pakistan” and would take care of the rebels. The “Shinde Sena” has claimed the support of “over 40” Sena MLAs, while the Sena in Mumbai is left with around 18 legislators, but it has disputed the rebels' contentions, saying “everything will be clear only when all the deserters come to Mumbai”. Send rebel MLAs to Bengal, will take care: Mamata to BJP STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 23 JUNE Commenting on the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the BJP of trying to topple the Uddhav Thackeray government in an “unethical manner” utilising money power and central agencies and apprehended that it will topple other governments as well. She also slammed the saffron party for hosting rebel Shiv Sena rebels in Assam at a time when the state was reeling under floods. “Why are you disturbing the Assam government when they are facing floods? Send them (the MLAs) to Bengal and we will extend good hospitality and take care of democracy as well,” Murmu in Delhi to file nomination for presidential poll, meets Modi STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NDA'S presidential nominee Draupadi Murmu arrived in New Delhi from Bhubaneswar today, ahead of filing her nomination papers for the country's top constitutional post. She was given a warm welcome by BJP leaders and her supporters as she came out of the airport. Several Delhi BJP leaders, including state president Adesh Gupta, party MPs Manoj Tiwari and Ramesh Bidhuri and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramveer Singh Bidhrui were among those who welcomed her at the airport. Soon after her arrival, Murmu called on Prime Min- ister Narendra Modi at his residence (in pic). “Met Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji. Her Presidential nomination has been appreciated across India by all sections of society. Her understanding of grassroots problems and vision for India’s development is outstanding,'' the PM tweeted. The NDA presidential candidate also called on defence minister Rajnath Singh and home minis- ter Amit Shah. Sources said her nomination papers are being prepared at Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi's residence. Prime Minister Modi, senior ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda and leaders of NDA constituents and some other parties are likely to propose and second her name. Murmu is currently staying at the Odisha Bhavan in New Delhi. Earlier, in a brief statement, she said, “I thank all and seek cooperation from everyone for the presidential election. I will meet all voters (lawmakers) and seek their support before July 18.” If elected, she will be the first tribal president of India and the second woman in the post. She said at a press conference in Nabanna. “In the upcoming presidential elections, the BJP is falling short in terms of votes. Hence, they are picking and choosing which government to topple, so that they can get the votes needed to elect their nominee for the post of President”she said. (See Pg3) Indian foreign secy meets SL President, PM COLOMBO, 23 JUNE A four-member Indian delegation led by Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra met Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday to assess the bilateral assistance provide d by New Delhi in the wake of the island nation's ongoing economic crisis. According to Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kwatra is is accompanied by Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs Ajay Seth, Chief Economic Advisor Dr.V. Anantha Nageswaran and Joint Secretary of the Indian Ocean Region Kartik Pande. The Indian delegation examined the possibility of another tranche of financial packa ge to be disbursed to Lanka.SNS WHO considers declaring monkeypox a global health emergency AGENCIES LONDON, 23 JUNE The World Health Organization will decide on Thursday whether to declare monkeypox a global health emergency, amidst criticism that the body is acting only after the disease spilled into the West. Declaring monkeypox to be a global emergency would mean the UN health agency considers the outbreak to be an “extraordinary event” and that the disease is at risk of spreading across even more borders. It would give monkeypox the same distinction as the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio. A “public health emergency of international concern” is WHO's highest level of alert. The agency does not  Monkeypox outbreak, which has infected 3,417 people across 42 countries, has on Thursday been declared a pandemic by World Health Network  Monkeypox is a virus with the potential to cause significant harm to the public including acute painful illness that may require hospitalisation, and may result in death, skin scarring, blindness, and other long-term disability declare pandemics, but it did start using the term to describe Covid-19 in March 2020. The World Health Network (WHN), a global collaboration of scientific and citizen teams has already declared the current monkeypox outbreak, which has infected 3,417 people across 42 countries, a pandemic. The WHN has urged immediate action by the WHO and national Centers for Dis- ease Control and Prevention organisations to prevent monkeypox becoming a disaster. It said even though death rates are much lower than smallpox, unless concerted global action is taken to curb the ongoing spread, the infection will cause millions toA die and render many blind and disabled. "The WHO needs to urgently declare its own Public Health Emergency of Inter- national Concern (PHEIC) - the lessons of not declaring (Covid-19) a PHEIC immediately in early January 2020 should be remembered as a history lesson of what acting late on an epidemic can mean for the world,” said Eric FeiglDing, epidemiologist and Health Economist, and cofounder of WHN, in a statement. Last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the recent monkeypox epidemic identified in more than 40 countries, mostly in Europe, as “unusual and concerning.” Monkeypox has sickened people for decades in central and west Africa, where one version of the disease kills up to 10 per cent of people. In the epidemic beyond Africa so far, no deaths have been reported. CMYK PUJARA CREDITS FIRST-CLASS STINT FOR RETURN TO FORM P12 Brics to play key role in post-Covid global economic recovery: Modi STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 JUNE At the BRICS Summit hosted in virtual mode by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said active cooperation among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries could prove useful for the global economic recovery post the Covid pandemic. “We, the members of BRICS, have identical views on global economic governance. Therefore, our cooperation will be useful for the world,” he said. Mr Modi noted that though Covid-19 is under control, its impact on the global economy was still being felt.He said the institutional changes introduced by the BRICS countries in recent years had proved to be effective. In this regard, he referred to an increase in the membership of the new development bank. The PM said there were many other areas in which the BRICS nations have taken steps which have benefitted their people. In this regard, he referred to the vac- PM Narendra Modi addressing the 14th BRICS Summit via video conferencing, in New Delhi on Thursday.  ANI cine R & D centre, cooperation between customs departments and recognition by the BRICS countries of each others' pharma products. “We have to make the BRICS such a unique international institution that the focus is not on discussions alone,” he said. The PM was of the view that the BRICS countries must organise youth summits and ensure closer interaction between civil society organisations and think tanks to enhance people-topeople cooperation. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister underlined the role of BRICS countries amid India records 13,313 new cases NEW DELHI, 23 JUNE NEW DELHI, 23 JUNE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 JUNE P10 Shinde camp grows in strength as hope fades for Thackeray Min. 63% Herald case: ED issues fresh summons to Sonia Gandhi GERMANY FACES NATURAL GAS ‘CRISIS,’ RAISES WARNING LEVEL India reported 13,313 fresh infections and 38 deaths in the last 24 hours, stated the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday. With this, India’s active caseload now stands at 83,990 with active cases now constituting 0.19per cent of the country’s total positive cases. As per the data shared by the ministry, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.60 per cent with 10,972 patients having recovered in the last 24 hours taking the cumulative tally of recovered patients to 4,27,36,027. While the weekly positivity rate in the country currently stands at 2.81 percent, the daily positivity rate shoots to 2.03 percent, as per the data. A total of 6,56,410 tests being conducted taking the cumulative tests to over 85.94 crore SNS the last 24 hours. the global focus on post covid recovery at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum. "BRICS was established with the belief that this group of emerging economies could emerge as engines of global growth. Today, when the world is focusing on post covid recovery, the role of BRICS countries will be very important,” said PM Modi in a recorded keynote speech. “India supports innovation across every sector including drones, green energy and space. By 2025, India's digital sector value will cross $1 trillion valuations,” he said. FACT FILE TOTAL CASES 4,33,44,958 ACTIVE CASES 83,990 NEW CASES 13,313 NEW RECOVERIES 10,972 TOTAL DEATHS 5,24,941 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. THURSDAY 23 JUNE 2022 Bengal recorded 745 cases and zero deaths