CMYK MONDAY www.thestatesman.com 01 AUGUST 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 NANCY PELOSI CONFIRMS TRIP TO ASIA MONOLITHIC TUNISIA P6 WEATHER One or two spells of rain/thundershower very likely. Temperature likely to be in the range of 33-27 degrees Celsius. TEMPERATURE Max: 33.6°C (+1) Min: 28.6°C (+2) SUN RISES SUN SETS 05:08 hrs 18:18 hrs MOON RISES MOON SETS 07:08 hrs 20:14 hrs Full moon on 12 August THUMBNAILS Boats seen anchored as the water levels of the Ganges river rises following monsoon rains, in Varanasi.  ANI Maha Cabinet formation: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the allocation of ministries for state Cabinet formation will be decided as soon as possible. Shinde and Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday for discussions on the issue, even as the Cabinet expansion has been postponed several times over P5 the past few weeks. One youth dies with Monkeypox-like sympl toms, Kerala health dept initiates inquiry: State Health Minister Veena George initiated a high-level inquiry into the death of a youth, presenting with monkeypox-like symptoms. The youth hailed from Thrissur district and tested positive in a foreign country."The result of the test conducted in the foreign country was positive. He sought treatment in Thrissur due to severe fatigue and encephalitis and Monkeypox is not a fatal disease," said George. Sanjay Raut detained by ED in land scam case he Enforcement Directorate (ED) detained Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in connection with an alleged money-laundering case in the Patra Chawl land scam, here on Sunday evening. He was earlier grilled for several hours prior to shifting him to the ED office for further action ~with arrest not ruled out ~on alleged grounds of “non-cooperation” with the probe. ED sources later said they seized Rs 11.50 lakh unaccounted cash from the residence of Raut. As he was escorted out of his “Maitri” bungalow, Raut waved at the hundreds of supporters waiting outside, while his wife Varsha, mother and other family members looked on grimly.En route, Raut told a private news channel on phone that he was “fully cooperating with the ED” and would not be cowed down by the political tactics employed to destroy the Shiv Sena. “I am not scared... There’s no question of non-cooperation with the law, I am ready to sacrifice myself for the Shiv Sena. The ED team came without giving any notice early morning, no papers have been found from me on this so-called case,” Raut said. He reiterated that he was being pressurised in the past to help topple the erstwhile MahaVikas Agha- T Sanjay Arora, a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was appointed as the new Delhi Police Commissioner on Sunday. Arora, a 1988-batch Tamil Nadu cadre IPS officer was till now serving as the Director General of the IndoTibetan Border Police. The post of Delhi Police Commissioner would have fallen vacant after July 31, as the current Commissioner Rakesh Asthana's tenure was set to end this day.An official notification released by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday said, "Police Division MHA has conveyed the approval of the Competent Authority for inter-cadre deputation of Sanjay Arora, JPS (TN: 1988) from Tamil Nadu Cadre to AGMUT Cadre". The notice further read, “In pursuance of the said approval, Sanjay Arora, IPS( TN: 1988) is hereby appointed as Commissioner of Police, Delhi with effect from 1st August 2022 or from the date of taking over charge whichever is later and till further orders”. After joining the IPS, he served in various capacities in Tamil Nadu Police. He was Superintendent of Police, Special Task Force, where he achieved significant success against the Veerappan gang, for which he was awarded CM's Gallantry Medal for Bravery and Heroic Action. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut detained by ED in connection with the alleged Patra Chawl land scam, outside his residence, in Mumbai on Sunday.  ANI di government (which fell on June 29), and termed the ED allegations against him as “false”, declaring he would not bend before anybody, but continue to fight against the BJP .Raut said that he had sought time from the ED since he was tied up in the upcoming Vice-Presidential elections for which he was coordinating with various Opposition parties. “The party is behind me, Uddhav Thackeray is supporting me... We shall not surrender before such pressures, intended to silence us and finish off Shiv Sena,” Raut declared. Earlier, his brother MLA Sunil Raut told a private news channel that the ED could not locate certain documents pertaining to the Patra Chawl case, leading to Sanjay Raut's detention and he would be taken to the ED offices. The ED action came after its sleuths swooped on Raut's Bhandup resi- Discussion on price rise: Sparks expected to fly SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 31 JULY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 JULY 31 P10 INDO ASIAN NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, 31 JULY Min. 65% Sanjay Arora named new Delhi Police Commissioner P9 P12 GOLD NO. 2 Enforcement Directorate claims to have seized `11.5 lakh cash from Raut’s residence RAINFALL: 0.4 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max.91% WEIGHTLIFTER ‘OSAMA BIN LADEN’S KIN DONATED £1 MN TO PRINCE BINDYARANI DEVI WINS SILVER CHARLES’ FOUNDATION’ After two mostly unproductive weeks in Parliament’s Monsoon Session during which the Opposition parties have been raising a ruckus in both Houses of Parliament demanding a discussion on the issues of GST on food items and inflation, a discussion on the issue of price rise has been listed in the Lok Sabha for Monday and in the Rajya Sabha the next day. Now, government sources say they are ready to discuss the price rise issue, but the Opposition is in no mood to relent and it is unlikely that the Houses will see a smooth functioning. The Congress has called a nationwide protest on 5 August against the price rise.Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, Piyush Goyal, had said, “We are ready for discussion, but despite that the opposition members are repeatedly disrupting the House proceedings. We have been saying that we are hopeful that as soon as the Finance Minister gets well, the discussion on the price rise will take place.”The Opposition is also likely to demand a discussion on the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme in Parliament next week after the debate on price rise is taken up in both the Houses, though Opposition leaders acknowledge that while there is a consensus among them about the need for a discussion on Agnipath, they have varied stands on the subject. dence, “Maitri” at dawn on Sunday and carried out searches for over 9 hours. The developments followed Raut skipping two ED summons and then seeking time till 7 August as he was tied up in parliament-related commitments.On 28 June this year, Sanjay Raut was summoned by the ED in connection with the prevention of the money laundering case pertaining to the Rs 1,034 crore Patra Chawl land scam. Hundreds of Shiv Sainiks converged outside and staged protests, raised slogans and condemned the detention and arrest of Raut. The ED move comes a day ahead of the crucial hearing before the Supreme Court pertaining to the disqualification of 16 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs which could chart the further course of Maharashtra politics, in an upheaval since June 20. The gov- TOTAL CASES 4,39,79,730 1,43,988 NEW CASES 20,409 NEW RECOVERIES 22,697 TOTAL DEATHS 5,26,258 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. SUNDAY 31 JULY 2022 Bengal recorded 1,011 cases and seven deaths Weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga shows his Gold medal at the podium which he won in Men's 67kg finals weight category at the Commonwealth Games 2022 on Sunday.  ANI Cong suspends 3 MLAs, FIR filed for conspiracy to topple Jharkhand govt INDO ASIAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI/RANCHI, 31 JULY Congress on Sunday suspended its three Jharkhand MLAs ~ Dr. Irfan Ansari, Naman Vixal Kongadi and Rajesh Kachhap ~ who were caught with a large amount of cash in Howrah district of West Bengal, for anti-party activities. Addressing a press conference, Jharkhand Congress in-charge and party's general secretary Avinash Pandey said that the top leadership of the party has taken this decision in view of the allegations against the three MLAs. Meanwhile, Congress' Bermo region MLA Anoop Singh lodged an FIR against these three MLAs at Argora police station in Ranchi on Sunday morning, accusing them of conspiracy to topple the state government. On Saturday evening, three Congress MLAs from Jharkhand- Dr. Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachhap and Naman Vixal Kongadi- were caught The game plan of “Hum Do” in Delhi is to do in Jharkhand what they did in Maharashtra by installing E-D duo JAIRAM RAMESH CONGRESS LEADER with bags of notes at Rani Haat of Panchla police station under Howrah district of Bengal. When the notes were counted, the total amount was found to be Rs 48 lakh. These three MLAs were travelling in an SUV along with two other associates. On the basis of intelligence inputs, the West Bengal police caught them during checking. This SUV had the board of Jamtara MLA of Jharkhand. It is reported that the three MLAs who were taken into police custody could not give clear information about the cash found from the vehicle. Jharkhand Congress Legislature Party leader Alamgir Alam said "It is the tradition of the Congress Con- stitution that if any MLA of the party is found involved in anti-party activities, he/she is immediately suspended. All the three MLAs have been suspended under the rule of the Constitution. Now the whole matter is being investigated. They will also be interrogated.Whatever comes out in the investigation, the party will take further action at the same level." Another Congress MLA Anoop Singh alleged “These three MLAs were indulging in a conspiracy to topple the government of Jharkhand. After being caught with huge amount of cash in Bengal, it has become clear that there is a conspiracy to topple the government with the help of money." Congress MLA Anoop Singh has given a written complaint in this regard at Argora police station in Ranchi, on the basis of which FIR has been registered. The Congress has sought a report from its state unit. Money recovered is not mine,time will tell who is conspiring: Partha FACT FILE ACTIVE CASES ernment had deployed tight security by the Mumbai Police and Central Reserve Police Force, to avoid any untoward incident. ED had earlier questioned Pune businessman Avinash Bhosale into custody in DHFL Yes Bank case, and sources claimed that they wanted to grill Raut in this matter too.Sources claimed that Patra Chawl case of ED is also linked to DHFL case. Raut earlier took to Twitter to allege that he was being victimised on the instructions of the Centre.In April, the ED had attached Raut’s property in connection with the land scam. A property worth Rs 9 crore of Raut’s associate Pravin Raut and assets worth Rs 2 crore belonging to Varsha Raut, the wife of Sanjay Raut, were attached by the ED.Pravin had eight land parcels in Alibaug and a flat registered in the name of Varsha Raut which were attached. The ED had arrested Pravin in connection with the matter. “We had filed a chargesheet in the matter against Pravin, Sarang Wadhawan and Rakesh Wadhawan of HDIL and Guru Ashish Construction and others were named as an accused in the chargesheet," said an ED official. The ED came to know during the probe that Pravin allegedly paid Rs 55 lakh to Varsha. This was paid from the bank account of Pravin's wife. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 31 JULY Mr Partha Chatterjee, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment scam, on Sunday claimed that the money recovered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during raids at the flats of one of his close associates does not belong to him, and that time would tell who is conspiring against him. While reacting to reporters’ questions at the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Medical College Hospital at Joka in the southern fringe of the city, Mr Chatterjee said: “The money recovered is not mine. I do not have any money.” Apart from the seizures of huge amounts in unaccounted cash, coming to some 50 crore rupees, from the flats of actor Arpita Mukherjee, one of Mr Chatterjee’s close associates, the Enforcement Directorate uncovered that Mr Chatterjee and Mr Mukherjee had a total of around eight crore rupees in their bank accounts. The agency has also frozen the accounts.The former industry and parliamentary affairs minister in the Mamata Baner- jee cabinet repeated the same statement three times saying, “The money recovered is not mine.” said.Asked further if anybody was conspiring against him, he said, “You will get to know when the time comes.”The 69 year-old leader who is now under the ED custody was taken to the Central government-run hospital for routine medical check-up as per the court order. On 29 July, he had told reporters before and after his medical check-up at the same hospital that he was a victim of a conspiracy hatched against him.He had also expressed his unhappiness after the Trinamul Congress leadership suspended him from his posts in the party say- ing the move would impair an impartial inquiry into the teachers recruitment scam running into hundreds of crores of rupees.His comments today triggered speculation about the role of other influential heavyweights in the ruling Trinamul Congress in the recruitment racket. The Opposition BJP and CPI-M alleged that he was pointing fingers at some of his senior colleagues in the ruling party by making such controversial statements.’ The chief minister and Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has also relieved Mr Chatterjee of his ministerial posts under pressure from a section of leaders in her party and the Opposition. (SEE PG3) Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav turning into mass movement: PM Grievance redressal STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 JULY Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” is taking the form of a mass movement and people from all walks of life and from every section of the society are participating in different programs connected with it. In the 91st edition of his monthly “Mann Ki Baat” broadcast over All India Radio, the Prime Minister also suggested people to put the Tricolour as profile pictures on their social media accounts from 2-15 August. Mr Modi said, “I have a suggestion that from 2 -15 August, all of us can place the Tricolor in our social media profile pictures.” The Prime Minister said under the “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” initiative, a pro- BJP National President JP Nadda, and other leaders listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat', at Kangan Ghat, in Patna on Sunday. ANI gramme called “Har Ghar Tiranga” will be organised from 13-15 August . “By becoming a part of this movement, from August 13 to 15, you must hoist the Tricolor at your residence, or adorn your home with it. The Tricolor connects us, inspires us to do something for the country,” Mr Modi said. The Prime Minister mentioned that 2 August also has a special connection with our Tricolour. “This day is the birth anniversary of Pingali Venkaiah ji who designed our national flag. I pay my respectful homage to him. Talking about our national flag, I will also remember the great revolutionary Madam Cama. Her role in shaping the Tricolor has been very important,” he said. The Prime Minister also spoke of “Azadi Ki Railgadi, Aur Railway Station”, an effort to make people understand the role of Indian Railways in the freedom struggle.“There are many such railway stations in the country which are associated with the history of the freedom movement,” he said, and added that Vanchi Maniyachchi Junction in Thoothukudi district is named after Tamil freedom fighter Vanchinathan. “This is the same place where Vanchi, 25 years of age then, had punished one British Collector for his actions,” he said. The Prime Minister said 75 such railway stations have been identified, spread over 24 States across the country. “Seventy-five CMYK such railway stations have been identified spread over 24 states across the country. These stations are being decorated very ornately. Many types of programs are also being organized in these. I urge the students of the nearby school, and the teachers to take the small children of their school to the station and narrate the whole chain of events to those children, explaining them,” he said. “The biggest message that emerges from all these events being organized in the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” is that all of us countrymen should follow our duty with full devotion. Only then will we be able to fulfill the dream of those countless freedom fighters..and to build the India of their dreams. That is why this Amrit Kaal of our next 25 years is Kartavyakaal, a period of duty for every countryman,” he said. timeline cut to 30 days STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 JULY The timeline limit for redressal of public grievances has been reduced from 45 days to 30 days. Stating this here today, Union minister Jitendra Singh said this decision was in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on effective implementation of public grievance redressal mechanism with disposal of grievance within minimum possible time, but with maximum possible satisfaction of the complainant. He said the note issued by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievance (DARPG) also stated that a complaint received from a citizen would not be closed until an appeal filed against it was disposed of.Jitendra Singh reiterated that every attempt was being made to implement an effective Public Grievance Redressal System in India and bring about administrative reforms at par with global standards to promote satisfaction amongst the people. The minister also pointed out that in various monthly “Pragati” (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) review meetings the Prime Minister himself reviewed the status of public grievances. Jitendra Singh said the twin factors of people’s satisfaction and time redressal of grievances has led to about a 10-fold increase in public grievance cases since this government came to power in 2014.The public grievances have increased from 2 lakh in 2014 to more than 22 lakhs at present with more than 95 per cent disposal of cases.