CMYK THURSDAY www.thestatesman.com 04 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 MORE OF THE SAME ‘KARNATAKA NEVER FACED VIOLENCE LIKE IT IS FACING NOW’ P4 WEATHER One or two spells of rain/thundershower very likely. Temperature likely to be in the range of 32-27 degrees Celsius. RAINFALL: 0.4mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max.94% TEMPERATURE DHANKAR’S KNOWLEDGE OF LAW SHOULD SERVE HIM WELL IN RS P6 P7 CM rejigs Cabinet, 9 ministers inducted IT portfolio, earlier held by Partha Chatterjee, given to Babul Supriyo Min. 67% Max: 32.2°C (0) Min:27.8°C (+1) SUN RISES SUN SETS 05:09 hrs 18:16 hrs MOON RISES MOON SETS 09:46 hrs 21:54 hrs Full moon on 12 August THUMBNAILS President Droupadi Murmu, V-P Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the newly sworn-in Central Vigilance Commissioner Suresh N Patel at Rashtrapati Bhavan.  ANI High level probe ordered as 121 women workers hospitalised in Andhra gas leak: The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday ordered a high-level probe into the gas leak in a garment factory that left over a hundred hospitalised in the Anakapalle district.Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath announced the decision to conduct the probe and said the company will remain closed until the investigation in the leakage conclud- es. He pointed out that it was the second inst- ance of gas leakage in the past two months. Delhi HC suspends sentence of ex-Haryana CM H Chautala in DA Case: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday suspended the sentence of former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala till the pendency of the appeal in a disproportionate assets (DA) case. Chautala recently had moved an appeal challenging the trial court order which had sentenced him to four years of imprisonment."Thus as the appeal may take some time to come on board for hearing, hen- ce keeping the question of benefit under Sec 428 Cr.P.C. to be decided along with the appeal, the sentence of the appellant\applicant is suspended till the pendency of the present appeal", said the Court. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 3 AUGUST hief minister Mamata Banerjee today inducted nine ministers into the Bengal cabinet while effecting a major Cabinet reshuffle.Among the nine new faces, five MLAs~ Babul Supriyo, Snehasis Chakraborty, Pradip Majumdar,Partha Bhowmick and Udayan Guha~ were sworn in as minister in charge. Birbaha Hansda and Biplab Roy Chowdhury were sworn in as ministers with independent charges.There are two ministers of state ~ Tajmul Hussain and Satyajit Barman. The reshuffle, the first since the Trinamul Congress returned to power for the third consecutive term last year, has come at a time when the party is facing heat over the arrest of senior minister Partha Chatterjee by the Enforcement Directorate over the school jobs scam.In the list of 52 ministers that was issued by the home department this evening, Miss Banerjee is in charge of seven departments - home & hill, health, information & cultural affairs, personnel & administrative reforms, land, planning and programme monitoring. Dr Shashi Panja has been given the charge of industry ministry, which was held by Mr Chatterjee while parliamentary affairs and school education department has been given to Sovandeb Chattopadhyay and Satyajit Barman respectively. Mr Chattopadhyay had earlier functioned as the chief whip of the Legislative Assembly so possesses knowledge of the House proceedings.The panchayat department, which was held by Subrata C The newly inducted ministers at Raj Bhavan. SNS FIVE CABINET MINISTERS BABUL SUPRIYO PRADIP MAJUMDAR MLA FROM BALLYGUNGE ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCY IN KOLKATA MLA FROM DURGAPUR-EAST IN WEST BURDWAN DISTRICT UDAYAN GUHA PARTHA BHOWMIK SNEHASIS CHAKRABORTY MLA FROM DINHATA IN COOCH BEHAR MLA FROM NAIHATI IN NORTH 24 PARGANAS MLA FROM JANGIPARA IN HOOGHLY DISTRICT MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) BIPLAB ROY CHOWDHURY BIRBAHA HANSDA MLA FROM JHARGRAM ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCY MLA FROM PANSKURA-EAST IN EAST MIDNAPORE DISTRICT MINISTERS OF STATE SATYAJIT BURMAN FROM HEMTABAD ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCY IN NORTH DINAJPUR DISTRICT Mukherjee has been given to Pradip Majumdar with Becharam Manna as junior minister, and PHE has been given to Pulok Roy along with the charge of PWD, which was held by Moloy Ghatak. The IT portfolio, which was held by Partha Chatterjee has been given to Babul Supriyo along with tourism portfolio.Biplab Mitra has been given the charge of consumer affairs, which was held by Sadhan Pandey along with Srikanto Mahato as the MoS. Firad Hakim's responsibility has been reduced with transport and housing portfolios being given to Snehasis Chakraborty and Arup Biswas respectively.On the other hand, Dr Manas Bhuniya has been given additional responsibility of environment department. Among the remaining MLAs TAJMUL HOSSAIN FROM HARISHCHANDRAPUR ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCY IN MALDA DISTRICT who were sworn in as new ministers in charge, Partha Bhowmik and Udayan Guho have been given the responsibilities of irrigation & waterways and north Bengal development departments respectively. For the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan, governor La Ganesan who is holding dual charge of Bengal and Manipur flew down from Imphal.On Monday, the TMC underwent a major organisational overhaul as the leadership of 16 out of the 35 organisational districts was changed and Miss Banerjee had announced that a Cabinet reshuffle will take place on Wednesday. She had said that five-six new faces would be inducted into the new cabinet, while a similar number of members of the present cabinet would be utilised for ‘Dangerous’: Opp on SC nod to anti-money laundering law STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 3 AUGUST In a joint statement, the 17 Opposition parties today termed as “dangerous” the recent Supreme Court judgement upholding amendments made in 2019 to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), giving more powers to agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED). “We are very disappointed that the highest judicial authority, invited The Opposition parties, however, made it clear that they held and would always hold the SC in the highest respect to give an independent verdict on the lack of checks and balances in the Act, has virtually reproduced arguments given by the executive in support of draconian amendments,” said the statement signed by representatives of the Congress, TMC, DMK, CPM, RJD, Shiv Sena, AAP and , the Samajwadi Party, among others. The apex court on July 27 upheld the validity of a wide range of powers granted to the Enforcement Directorate under the amended law that had been challenged by nearly 250 petitions. The court rejected key arguments that a wide definition of “proceeds of crime” and the powers of arrest could be misused. The letter said; “We place on record our deep apprehensions of the long-term implications of the Supreme Court judgment upholding in its entirety the amendments to the PMLA, 2002 without examining whether some of these amendments could have been enacted by way of the Finance Act.” It went on to say; “If tomorrow, the Supreme Court holds that the challenged amendments through the Finance Act are bad in law, then the entire exercise would become futile and loss of judicial time.” The Opposition parties, however, made it clear that they held and would always hold the Supreme Court in the highest respect. Yet, they were compelled to point out that the judgment should have awaited the verdict of a larger Bench for examining the constitutionality of the Finance Act route to carry out amendments. “These far-reaching amendments strengthened the hands of a government, indulging in the political vendetta of the worst kind," they said. party work. Supriyo, a former Union minister and BJP MP who quit the BJP and joined the Trinamul after being dropped from the Union cabinet last year, is presently a TMC MLA from Ballygunge assembly constituency. Mr Ray, who has been with the Trinamul since its formation in 1998 was made the MoS, parliamentary affairs after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections but was not inducted into the cabinet after the party came to power for a third term last year. Mr Ray has been relieved of his organisational responsibilities in Kolkata North organisational district. Mr Bhowmick and Mr Chakraborty, considered close to party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, were also relieved of their organisational responsibilities in North 24Parganas and Hooghly districts respectively. Mr Guha, a former Forward Bloc leader had joined Trinamul after the 2016 assembly polls. He is the son of former Left Front minister Kamal Guha and is presently one of the tallest TMC leaders in Cooch Behar district.Birbaha Hansda, former actress and MLA Jhargram, is the Minister of State for Forest and Minister of state for Consumer Affairs.Tajmul Hossain was elected as MLA from Harishchandrapur constituency. Biplab Roy Chowdhury and Satyajit Barman are TMC members of the Legislative Assembly from the Pankura Purba and Uttar Dinajpur respectively. Pradip Mazumder is agriculture advisor to the chief minister and an MLA from the Durgapur Purba constituency. (See also Page 2) FACT FILE TOTAL CASES 4,40,67,144 ACTIVE CASES 1,37,057 NEW CASES 17,135 19,823 NEW RECOVERIES TOTAL DEATHS 5,26,477 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. WEDNESDAY 03 AUGUST 2022 Bengal recorded 911 cases and four deaths BADMINTON MIXED TEAM CLINCHES SILVER MEDAL P12 SC suggests expert body to address freebies issue INDO ASIAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 3 AUGUST The Supreme Court on Wednesday said irrational freebies offered to induce voters during elections would not be effectively debated in the Parliament, since no political party would like to take away freebies. It recommended constituting an expert body having persons who could effectively scrutinise the problem and find a solution, while acknowledging that irrational freebies promises is a serious issue. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, in principle, supported doing away with the practice of promising freebies to voters, and emphasised that freebies were paving the way to an “economic disaster”, and also distorting the informed decision-making of the voters. He suggested that the Election Commission should apply its mind on the matter, and they can have a relook. However, the EC's counsel said that its hands were tied by a judgment of the apex court on freebies. Chief Justice N.V. Ramana asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was in the courtroom for another matter, to share his view on the matter. Sibal said the EC should not be involved in the matter, since the issue is political and economical in nature. "ECI is MFI (Most Favoured Institution),” he said, adding: “The Parliament will have to debate.” To this, the Chief Justice asked Sibal that “which political party will agree? Do you think there will be a debate in the Parliament? These days everyone wants freebies... no political party will take out freebies, as all want freebies”. The bench, also comprising justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, said: “We take the side of the ordinary people, the downtrodden. Their welfare has to be taken care of....” Senior advocate Vikas Singh, representing petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay, said those in power in states burdened with debt should bring out in public the source of money to fund freebies. He added that it should be revealed whose pockets would pay for these freebies. Govt withdraws Data Protection Bill ASIAN NEWS INTERNATIONAL NEW DELHI, 3 AUGUST The government on Wednesday withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 and has decided to come up with a new legislation in view of a large number of amendments suggested by the Joint Committee of Parliament towards a comprehensive legal framework on the digital ecosystem. Union Electronics and Information Technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw moved the motion for withdrawal of the Bill in Lok Sabha.“The Data Protection Bill 2021 as reported by the Joint Committee may be withdrawn,” he said. The House adopted the motion. The minister later said that Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was deliberated in great detail by the Joint Committee of Parliament and 81 amendments were proposed 348 apps blocked for collecting, transmitting users’ info: Amid rising complaints against mobile apps, the Centre has identified and blocked 348 apps developed by various countries, including China, for allegedly collecting user information for profiling citizens and transmitting it overseas in an unauthorised manner, the Parliament was told on Wednesday. and 12 recommendations were made towards a comprehensive legal framework on the digital ecosystem. “Considering the report of the JCP a com, prehensive legal framework is being worked upon Hence, in the circumstances, it is proposed to withdraw 'The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019' and present a new bill that fits into the comprehensive legal framework,” he said. Mehta said a poor person feels that what is put in his left pocket would be taken out of his right pocket. The Chief Justice said the poor are entitled for the benefits and benefits should not just reach the rich. Singh then suggested that the EC could prepare a "model manifesto" to control freebies. The bench said if the EC had taken up the issue, the court would not have intervened now, and its judgments against violence during elections continue to be ignored. The Chief Justice emphasised this is a serious issue and the EC and the Central government cannot say that they cannot do anything in the matter. He said the government and the EC have to consider the issue and give suggestions. The bench suggested that the Central government along with the NITI Aayog, the Finance Commission, the Reserve Bank of India, the Law Commission, opposition, etc, would have to be engaged to thoroughly debate the matter to address the issues with irrational freebies, and they can come up with constructive conclusions.The bench scheduled the matter for further hearing next week. Cong moves adjournment notice in LS over Herald house raid NEW DELHI, 3 AUGUST Congress MP K. Suresh on Wednesday submitted an adjournment notice in the Lok Sabha over the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid at the Herald house. Moving an adjournment notice Suresh Kodikunnil said: "I hereby give notice of my intention to ask for leave to move a motion for the adjournment of the business of the house for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent importance, namely: The raids conducted in National Herald office in Delhi by ED is yet another instance of the vengeful politicization of Central agencies by the BJP-led NDA government in its attempt to throttle dissent and opposition voices by acting upon fake and trumped up ANI charges.” Tropical Indian Ocean warming NSA slapped on 3 arrested in Cabinet approves girl’s Oocyte harvesting case updated NDC under rapidly over the decades: MoES INDO ASIAN NEWS SERVICE CHENNAI, 3 AUGUST Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian on Wednesday said the state police have slapped the National Security Act (NSA) on the three people who were arrested for harvesting the eggs of a minor girl. The three arrested include the mother of the minor girl, her (mother’s) paramour, and a broker who was involved in scouting clients for the perpetrators of the crime. Ma Subramanian while speaking to IANS said, “The three who were arrested from Erode for harvesting the Oocytes of a minor girl are slapped with the National Security Act, which would provide one-year detention and we have also gone for an appeal against the stay granted to the hospitals involved in the egg The three arrested include the mother of the minor girl, her (mother’s) paramour, and a broker who was involved in scouting clients for the perpetrators of the crime harvesting.”The health minister also said that the state will not back out from the plan to shut down the hospitals involved in such a crime. It may be noted that the incident of Oocytes being illegally harvested from a minor girl had come to light in June and the state government promptly appointed a committee led by the joint director of medical and rural health services, Dr. Viswanathan, to conduct an inquiry into the allegation. The inquiry committee in its report submitted on July 7 stated that the girl was taken to several hospitals by the mother of the girl, her partner, and a broker, and eggs were harvested regularly from the minor. After studying the report, the state health minister, Ma Subramanian ordered the closing down of two branches of Sudha hospital in Erode and Salem, Ram Prasad hospital in Perundurai, and Vijaya hospital in Hosur. A hospital in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and a hospital at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala were also involved in the egg extraction from the minor girl and the Tamil Nadu health department has already sent letters to the health ministers of both the states to take necessary action against these hospitals.Dr. Manonmani, Professor in Gynecology department of a private medical college in Madurai said, "Stringent punishment must be meted out to those involved in the crime. Paris climate pact STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 3 AUGUST The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today approved India’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Climate Agreement. The updated NDC seeks to enhance India’s contributions towards the achievement of the strengthening of the global response to the threat of climate change, as agreed under the Paris Agreement. Such action will also help India usher in low emissions growth pathways. According to the updated NDC, India now stands committed to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent by 2030, from 2005 level, to achieve about 50 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from nonfossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030 and to put forward and further propagate a healthy and sustainable way of living based on traditions and values of conservation and moderation. At the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Glasgow in last November, PM Narendra Modi had proposed a five-fold strategy for India to play its part in helping the world get closer to 1.5 degrees Celsius. On October 2, 2015, India had submitted its NDC to the UNFCCC. The 2015 NDC had eight goals, three out of eight have quantitative targets up to 2030. CMYK STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 3 AUGUST The tropical Indian Ocean is warming rapidly over the recent decades, revealed the Ministry of Earth Sciences in a recently published assessment report on the climate change impact on the Indian region. The report also published the impact of climate change on oceans. This information was given by the Minister of State for Ministry of Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in Lok Sabha today. He said that the average basin-wide sea surface temperature (SST) is warming at a rate of 0.15 oC/decade during 1951-2015, stated the report. During the same period, globally averaged SST warmed at a rate of ~0.11 °C. Owing to this rapid warming, the sea The report also published the impact of climate change on oceans level in the Indian Ocean was observed to be rising at a rate of 1.06-1.75 mm/year during the last century (1874–2004) and ~3.3 mm/year in the recent decades (19932015), which is in a similar range of the global mean sea level rise. Further, National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), is collecting the real-time information on coastal water quality by deploying water quality buoys at 10m water depth in coastal waters. NCCR is also undertaking research activities in quantifying litter (mainly meso, macro and microplastics) in the beach, in the water col- umn and sediment on the sea floor.“An increase in the abundance of microplastics is observed along the east coast during the monsoon. The stations nearer to the river mouth had higher numbers of microplastics concentrations,” stated Ministry of Earth Sciences.The beach litter survey revealed that the maximum accumulation occurs in the backshore than in the intertidal zone. Moreover, Urban beaches have higher accumulation rates than rural beaches. Under beach clean-up program/activity, it was found that the majority of the waste composition was contributed by single use plastics,” said the Ministry. Meanwhile, no such report has been released by the recent UN Conference that the world's seas are in crisis.