CMYK FRIDAY 26 MAY 2023 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC www.thestatesman.com KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR KEJRIWAL GETS NCP'S BACKING FOR DELHI FIGHT IN PARL TINA TURNER, ‘QUEEN OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL’ DIES AT 83 P11 WEATHER Partly cloudy sky. RA/ TS accompanied with strong gusty wind very likely towards evening/night.Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 36 °C and 25°C respectively. RAINFALL: 6.8mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 84 % TEMPERATURE Max: 36.2°C (+1) SUN RISES 04:54 hrs MOON RISES 09:28 hrs K'TAKA CONG CLAIMS THERE IS LIFE THREAT TO CM SIDDARAMAIAH P5 P4 Modi takes dig at Opp over Parl inauguration boycott Says Indian diaspora event was attended by Australian PM, former PM, MPs from Opp STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 MAY Min. 43 % Min: 26.9°C (0) SUN SETS 18:14 hrs MOON SETS 23:12 hrs Full Moon on 04 June THUMBNAILS Birds sitting on a top of a tomb, in the Capital on Thursday. SUBRATA DUTTA n an apparent dig at the Opposition parties for their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by him on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today pointed out how Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and members of the ruling party, as well as the Opposition, attended the Indian community event addressed by the Indian leader during his visit Down Under. “The (Indian diaspora) event in Sydney was not only attended by the Australian Prime Minister but also by the country's former PM, MPs from Opposition parties, and the ruling party. This is the strength of democracy. All of them together participated in this programme of the Indian community,” he said addressing people who I Prime Minister Narendra Modi is garlanded by BJP National President JP Nadda on his arrival in India after concluding his three-nation visit to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia, in New Delhi.  ANI had gathered at the airport to greet him on his return from a three-nation foreign tour this morning. This is being interpreted as an attack on the around 20 Opposition parties which have decided not to attend the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Mr Modi on Sunday, alleging the government has completely sidelined President Droupadi Murmu, which they said was an assault on democ- SC moved seeking inauguration by President:The Supreme Court was moved on Thursday seeking direction that the new Parliament building should be inaugurated by the President of India Droupadi Murmu on 28 May stating that the Lok Sabha secretariat has violated the Constitution by not inviting the President to inaugurate. There are protests from different quarters over the scheduled inauguration of the new parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28 May. racy. Mr Modi went on to say; "The people here asked me why I gave the vaccines to the world. I want to say that this is the land of Buddha, Gandhi. We care even for our enemies... When I talk about the culture of my country, I look into the eyes of the world. This confidence has come because you have formed a government with an absolute majority in the country. Those who have come here are people who love India, not PM Modi." Mr Modi further talked about the release of the Tok Pisin translation of the book 'Thirukkural' in Papua New Guinea and said: "The Tamil language is our language. It is the language of every Indian. It is the oldest language in the world. I had the opportunity to release the Tok Pisin translation of the book Thirukkuralin Papua New Guinea." The PM was received at the airport, among others, by BJP national president J P Nadda and other senior party leaders. Praising the PM, Mr Nadda said the world appreciated his governance model. ''US President Joe Biden asked for your autograph, this shows how the world is seeing India under your leadership,” he said. ‘Petty politics’: HM slams Congress, Opp parties for boycott plans STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 MAY Launching a scathing attack at Congress and 20 other opposition parties over their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday termed their decision as an example of “petty politics”. Speaking at an event in Assam, Mr Shah said people of the country had elected Narendra Modi as Prime Minister twice by two-thirds major- ity and he will become the PM for the third time by winning over 300 seats in the next year's Lok Sabha polls. “The people of the country gave a two-thirds mandate and made Modiji PM. The people give their verdict, it is not dependent on the wishes of Congress. This is democracy. The people gave a mandate for PM Modi but Congress and its royal family is not prepared to accept the verdict for nine years," Mr Shah said. Hitting out at Congress and Opposition parties, Shah SC: State govts should not indulge in wholesale quota SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 25 MAY The Supreme Court has said that state governments should not indulge in wholesale reservation, as it frustrates the very purpose of reservation and it has been held to be unconstitutional and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. A Bench comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, who demitted office earlier this month, and Sudhanshu Dhulia said: “A wholesale reservation as we have seen is not serving any purpose rather it frustrates the very purpose of the reservation. This shall be kept in mind by the authorities while taking a decision in this matter, which shall be done within two months from today. “We make it clear that though reservation in favour of residents is permissible, yet reservation to the extent of 75 per cent of the total seats makes it a wholesale reservation, which has been held in Pradeep Jain (1984) to be unconstitutional and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.” The top court's judgment came on an appeal filed by a training institute (appellant) challenging Madhya Pradesh High Court order, which dismissed its plea against the government policy dated 12 May 2022 (Admission Process and Guiding Principles 20222023) on the ground that it was violative of Articles 14, 15 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, as the government had made 75 per cent of the seats reserved for the residents of Madhya Pradesh, which is not permissible in law. Preparation going on full swing for the inauguration of the new Parliament building in the Capital on Thursday. SUBRATA DUTTA said they are making an excuse that the President should inaugurate the new Parliament Satyender Jain collapses in jail washroom, hospitalised STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 MAY Jailed former Delhi health minister Satyender Jain is currently on oxygen support at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital after being shifted from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital here. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader had collapsed in a washroom in Tihar Jail due to dizziness, the party said. The AAP said the former Delhi health minister was hurriedly taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital this morning, following an unfortunate fall in the jail bathroom. On Monday, Mr Jain was taken to the Safdarjung Hospital from Tihar Jail after deterioration of his health. building. He cited several examples from oppositionruled states where the Gover- nor was not invited to "bhoomi pujan" functions concerning state assemblies. The Union Home Minister said the then Chhattisgarh Governor was not invited when the bhoomi pujan of the new state assembly was done and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had been invited. Mr Shah also cited similar instances during the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand, the Congress government led by Tarun Gogoi in Assam and the previous Congress Two more cheetah cubs die at Kuno STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BHOPAL, 25 MAY Three of the four cubs born to Cheetah Jwala two months ago have died within two days, and the last one is also in critical condition, according to authorities of the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh. Two cubs died today while the first one had died on 23 May. All the four were born about two months ago and the officials of the KNP and the state forest department had shared the news of their birth in a celebratory mode. Madhya Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forests ( Wildlife) Jasbir Singh Chouhan had said some days ago that all four cubs were healthy and doing well. However, soon after the The deceased felines include three adult African Cheetahs and three cheetah cubs born in India death of the three cubs, the official said through a Press note that all the four cubs were found to be weak, underweight and extremely dehydrated. Mr Chouhan also said that the last surviving cub was under treatment in a critical condition. Six cheetahs have died in the KNP in the past two months. The deceased felines include three adult African Cheetahs and the three cheetah cubs. There are 18 cheetahs remaining in the park now, including the last surviving cub, which is also battling for life. Fuel pumps flooded with `2K notes, face cash crunch RANJEET JAMWAL CHANDIGARH, 25 MAY In the wake of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes from circulation, petrol pumps in Punjab are facing a cash crunch as a majority of customers are using the withdrawn currency notes to buy small quantities of petrol or diesel. This sudden surge in cash payments with Rs 2,000 notes has forced the Punjab Petroleum Dealers Association, which represents about 4000 pumps in the state, to request the RBI to give guidelines to banks for providing enough notes of small denominations to petrol pumps in exchange for Rs 2,000 notes so that they can smoothly serve their customers. "Before the RBI decision to withdraw the Rs 2,000 note, we used to receive about 95 per cent of payments at the pumps through the digital mode and cash payments accounted for only about five per cent of total payments. But now, cash payments account for about 70 to 80 per cent of the total sales," Punjab Petroleum Dealers Association president, Sandeep Sehgal told The Statesman. "The main problem we are facing is we don't have much change as we give the cash back to customers from the cash received at the pumps and all our cash gets deposited in the banks on a daily basis. Now we are getting customers who buy the fuel just for Rs 100 and tender Rs 2,000 note for the payment. The problem is we don’t have that much cash to give change for every Rs 2,000 note," he added. Mr Sehgal said during the demonetisation in 2016 when Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were declared invalid, petrol pumps were allowed to accept the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes but later most dealers received Income Tax notices or raids for no fault on their part, as they received more cash payments during that period due to increased sales and outstanding payment from credit customers. “We fear the same may happen again as customers are using Rs 2,000 notes for payments at the pumps but we just can't keep record of customers buying fuel for Rs 100 or Rs 200. We may again be questioned over the sudden surge in cash payments at the pumps," he said, adding that even shopkeepers are using petrol pumps as an easy way out to change their Rs 2,000 notes instead of going to the banks. Mr Sehgal said since it's legal tender, pumps can't say no to the Rs 2,000 notes given by any customer. “But we just can't give the change back to every customer who buys Rs 100 fuel and makes payment by giving a Rs 2,000 note. The problem is customers don't want to wait to get the change," he added. The RBI last Friday announced the decision to withdraw from circulation the Rs 2,000 banknotes which can be deposited and exchanged at the banks till 30 September. CMYK government in Manipur. He also mentioned Tamil Nadu. “When you do, all is fine. And when the BJP does it, you boycott it,” he said. Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday "requested" and "appealed" to the opposition to reconsider their decision to boycott the ceremony to unveil the new Parliament building. A total of 21 opposition parties, including the Congress have announced a boycott of the inauguration of the new Parliament building. ‘FUTURE OF ASIA CUP TO BE DECIDED AFTER IPL ‘23 FINAL’ P12 Shah to visit Manipur for 3 days, hold talks to resolve ethnic crisis Army personnel and Assam Rifles deployed to ensure the protection to vehicles carrying essential goods from and to Imphal via NH 37 in violence-hit Manipur, on Sunday. ANI STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE IMPHAL/GUWAHATI, 25 MAY Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday that he would soon visit strife-torn Manipur for three days and hold talks with all the stakeholders to resolve the prevailing ethnic crisis in the northeastern state that is continuing since 3 May. Mr Shah, who was attending an event in Guwahati, urged people of all communities in Manipur to maintain peace and ethnic harmony, and said that talks among all the stakeholders are essential to resolve the present crisis. “No perpetrators would be spared and justice would be provided to all the victims and affected persons. During my three-day proposed visit to Manipur, I will talk to all concerned to resolve the problem at the earliest. Violence has no place in today's society. “During the past six years, there was no bandh or blockade as peace was restored in Manipur. People must maintain this trend for the all-round development and welfare of the people," Mr Shah said. He also urged people of all communities to leave aside the mistrust and misunderstanding and restore peace and ethnic harmony through talks. Mr Shah is expected to reach Manipur on 29 May, according to sources in Imphal. Meanwhile, in the wake of the vandalisation of state minister Govindas Konthoujam’s residence at Ningthoukhong in Bishnupur district yesterday, the Manipur administration today imposed indefinite curfew across the State and has deployed additional security outside the houses of ministers and MLAs. In the meantime, the Kangleipak Kanba Lup (KKL) a prominent civil society irganization of the State has described Manipur as a failed State and has asked Chief Minister N Biren Singh to gracefully step down from office. The group was also critical of the silence of the remaining 50 Legislators of the Manipur Legislative Assembly on the demand of the 10 Kuki legislators who have openly demanded a separate Administrative set up for them, meaning a break up of Manipur.