Vol. 65 No. 354 | FRIDAY | JUNE 24, 2022 | 19 Pages | BETWEEN THE LINES PIL seeks sacking jailed Maha mins T he Supreme Court on Thursday told Delhi BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay that his PIL to sack Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik and Delhi minister Satyendra Jain will be listed only after it is cleared by the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Upadhyay has also sought a direction to declare that a minister shall be temporarily barred from holding office after two days of judicial custody. A Bench of Justices CT Ravikumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia told him that the PIL is to be first placed before the CJI. India logs highest Covid cases in June I ndia on Thursday recorded 13,313 coronavirus cases, the highest this month. Out of these, 2,479 cases were reported from Mumbai alone (see city). In 24 hours, the country also recorded 36 deaths. With the current spate of infections in states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Gujarat, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a review meeting on Thursday afternoon. He has urged states and Union Territories to continue and strengthen the surveillance and focus on genome sequencing for identifying new variants in the country. Rupee’s record low of 78.32 against dollar T he rupee on Thursday closed at its all-time low of 78.32 against the US dollar as strong American currency and persistent foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened higher at 78.26 and rose to the day’s high of 78.22 due to weakness in the US dollar and crude oil in early trade. However, a rebound in the greenback and Brent crude later hit the rupee sentiment. See Money Regular NIA chief after a year F ormer Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta was on Thursday appointed as the new Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), an anti-terror probe agency formed after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai.Director General of CRPF Kuldiep Singh was given additional charge of the NIA in May last year after the retirement of Y C Modi. As per the order, Gupta will hold the post of NIA chief till March 31, 2024, the date of his retirement or till further orders, whichever comes earlier. WHN declares monkeypox a pandemic T he World Health Network (WHN) on Thursday declared monkeypox a pandemic. The WHN, a global collaboration of scientific and citizen teams cited Monkeypoxmeter, a website which tracks the infection cases in real time, to highlight 3,417 confirmed cases across 58 countries. The network said the outbreak is rapidly expanding across multiple continents and urged WHO for immediate action to prevent it from becoming a disaster. THE GAME IS ON ‘INDIAN ECONOMY TO GROW BY 7-7.8% IN FY23 DESPITE GLOBAL HEADWINDS’ EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, Konkan, E-paper I AM OPEN TO DOING OTT CONTENT AS WELL: NEETU KAPOOR EDIT NO SOFT OPTIONS, JUST HARD CHOICES Sena seeks disqualification of 12 MLAs as Shinde retorts and cites 2/3rd mark; BJP plays cards close to chest; NCP, Cong stand by Uddhav; Pawar indicates floor test for govt fate Shinde flaunts majority, BJP praise SANJAY JOG Sanjay.jog@fpj.co.in In a major twist to Maharashtra’s political crisis, the newly appointed Shiv Sena legislative party leader Ajay Chaudhari on Thursday submitted a petition to deputy speaker of the state assembly Narahari Zirwal, demanding disqualification of 12 MLAs from Eknath Shinde’s team for the breach of whip issued by party’s chief whip Sunil Prabhu for not attending the meeting convened by Uddhav Thackeray on June 22. Soon after, Shinde, in strongly-worded tweets, questioned the petition, “Who are you trying to scare. We know the law. According to the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, the whip is for assembly work and not for the meetings. There are numerous Supreme Court decisions in this regard.” He said, “We are not afraid of threats. We demand action against you for creating an illegal group without numbers. You cannot scare us by initiating action against 12 MLAs.” Even as the BJP is playing cards close to its chest, while the NCP and the Congress party have pledged support to Thackeray the Shiv Sena has , sent a strong signal to the BJP’s approach: No room for error SANJAY JOG Sanjay.jog@fpj.co.in rebel leaders that it is prepared for legislative and legal battle to keep the party organisation’s status as the real Shiv Sena. Incidentally Zirw, al belongs to the NCP . Meanwhile, Pawar on Thursday said the fate of the state government will be decided on the floor of the Legislative Assembly and the , Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition will prove its majority in a trust vote. Asked about deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s statement that he did not see the BJP’s role in the rebellion, Pawar “ Ajit Pawar may have said so because he does not know BJP leaders from outside Maharashtra. I know them. SEE CITY THE SENA'S CLIMBDOWN SANJAY JOG Sanjay.jog@fpj.co.in Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday said the party is ready to move out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, but insisted that the rebel leaders come back to Mumbai in 24 hours and discuss the issue with Uddhav Thackeray instead of emails and TV bytes. However, coup organiser Eknath Shinde and his battalion of rebel MLAs insisted that the Shiv Sena should first withdraw support from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), with Thackeray re- Ill-advised leaders brought MVA downfall? Sena bastion turns nemesis No rains despite forecast, BMC planning 10% water cut KALPESH MHAMUNKAR Mumbai The month is nearing its end but Mumbai and the surrounding areas, including the catchment areas, have experienced only light showers, forcing the BMC to plan 10 per cent water cuts in the next two days. The levels of the lakes supplying water to the city and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) are dropping by the day. Currently, only 9.76 per cent stock remains in the lakes to supply to the entire city, and is sufficient only for 45 days. Deputy commissioner of hydraulic department, Ajay Rathor said, “We can supply water until Julyend. In case of unsatisfactory rainfall in the next 15-20 days, a huge water crisis may occur. Therefore, considering Lake Water Level (ML) Modak Sagar 46,753 6289 Tansa Madhya Vaitarna 17,961 Year Bhatsa 64,258 2022 Vihar 3878 2021 Tulsi 2103 2020 Total stock (ML) on June 23 1,41,242 2,21,890 1,48,059 Observing that it was not a case of political vendetta, the Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed the petition filed by Union Minister Narayan Rane challenging the demolition order passed by the BMC against his alleged unauthorised structures at his Adish Bungalow in suburban Juhu. Corporators to jump ship? NO OBJECTION TO VAZE BEING APPROVER: ED STAFF REPORTER Mumbai The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday responded with a ‘no objection’ on dismissed policeman Sachin Vaze’s application seeking to become a prosecution witness Ganesh Acharya gets bail in sexual assault case the future requirement, we will have to make decisions on water cuts.” Last year on June 23, the lakes had 2,21,000 million litre (ML) in its lakes. On Thursday, the stock was 1,41,242 ML, which is 80,648 ML less than last year, this time. In May, the meteorological (MET) department had predicted the early arrival of monsoon and 99 per cent rainfall was expected. However, with no signs of proper rainfall, the lake levels are touching the bottom. The BMC supplies 3,850 ML per day to Mumbai. For the whole year, lakes need a cumulative stock of 14,47,363 ML. The lakes supplying water to the city and MMR are Upper Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Madhya Vaitarna, Bhatsa, Vihar and Tulsi. A division bench of Justices RD Dhanuka and MG Sewlikar dismissed the plea filed by Kaalkaa Real Estates Ltd, a company owned by Rane, saying that the same was “devoid of merits and deserved to be dismissed”. The court has, however, extended the protection from “coercive action” against the minister’s bungalow by six weeks to en- able him to approach the Supreme Court. The HC was hearing a petition filed by Rane challenging the June 3 order passed by the BMC, rejecting his application for retention of the alleged unauthorised structure stating that it was in breach of municipal and coast zone norms. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Choreographer Ganesh Acharya on Thursday secured bail from a magistrate court in the city in a sexual harassment case, in which he was booked by the Oshiwara police station in 2020. While he was not arrested, he had been summoned by the Andheri magistrate court along with other accused on Tuesday the first date of hearing , as per routine procedure. He appeared on Thursday responding to the summons and filed for bail through his advocate. Metropolitan Magistrate NV Bansal granted him a cash bail. The complainant had approached the state women’s commission before Acharya was booked. She had complained that Acharya compelled her to watch obscene videos and also passed lewd comments on her at his office for work purposes in 2009-10. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE SHERINE RAJ Mumbai tion and health concerns. On Thursday Mumbai , recorded an AQI of 22, while Delhi recorded 52. According to SAFAR, the AQI of Mumbai will continue to remain in the ‘good’ category for the next two days. As per data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) last week, on June 14, the city had recorded the AQI of 14. On September 4, 2019, it had touched a record low of 12, making these among the lowest AQI recorded since the monitoring began in 2015. The project director of SAFAR, Gufran Beig said, “ a As rare phenomenon, Mumbai records very low AQI, mostly below 15 (very clean air), during initial monsoon days as compared to other regions in the country like Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, where there are land to land winds.” He said the winds on the coast are stronger and faster. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE HC DISMISSES RANE’S PLEA, SAYS NO POLITICAL VENDETTA URVI MAHAJANI signing from the post of chief minister. They said they don’t believe in the promises being given by Thackeray-led Shiv Sena. Raut also said that the party is in touch with as many as 22 MLAs who have gone with Shinde, adding that the ruling MVA will win the confidence motion in the state assembly “They have . committed a big mistake. Their membership is in danger. Wanting Shiv Sena to leave the MVA is just an excuse. The BJP has captured them and is threatening them with the ED and the CBI,” he said. BHAVNA UCHIL Mumbai Cleanest air 2nd time this year for Mumbai LAST WORD Mumbai recorded the cleanest air day of this year on Wednesday with the air qual, ity index (AQI) value of 13, which falls in the ‘good’ category The city owes this rare . phenomenon to its geographical location of being surrounded by ocean on three sides, leading to stronger winds, experts said. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollu- The Shiv Sena rebellion group led by senior minister Eknath Shinde has claimed the support of 37 of the total 55 legislators elected on the party poll symbol and seven independents. With this, he has claimed that it has made a major gain as they have reached the two-third mark and therefore will be in a position to seek recognition for the group and avoid action under the antidefection law. He also remarked on Thursday that a national party lauded him. One of the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, Sanjay Shirsat, from the Aurangabad west assembly seat, in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said Shinde took the step of going against the party leadership as Sena MLAs, who faced “humiliation” for the last two-and-ahalf years, persuaded him to do so. “While the Shiv Sena legislators had no access to the chief minister, the Congress and the NCP which are the , ‘real opponents’ of the Sena, were getting all the attention,” he claimed in the letter, dated June 22. SEE CITY in the money laundering case against NCP leader Anil Deshmukh, among others. As per the ED, Vaze had revealed various incriminating facts relevant to the case and disclosed the involvement of the accused. SEE CITY 300c. 270c. Sunrise: 06:03 am Sunset : 07:19 pm Mutual co-op can help global post Covid recovery: PM BRICS SUMMIT Says BRICS members have a similar approach to governance of global economy FPJ BUREAU New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday in his , opening remarks at the virtual 14th BRICS annual summit, said the BRICS member nations have a similar approach to the governance of the global economy and mutual cooperation can make a useful contribution to the post-Covid economic recovery . Attending the PM’s address were Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and top leaders of Brazil and South Africa. The summit is being hosted by China as the Chair for this year. The BRICS (Brazil-RussiaIndia-China-South Africa) brings together five of the largest developing countries of the world, representing 41 per cent of the global population, 24 per cent of the global GDP and 16 per cent of the global trade. PM Modi said the structural changes undertaken in the BRICS in the last few years increased the influence of the grouping. It is a matter of happiness that membership of the New Development Bank (NDB) has increased, Modi said, adding that cooperation among the member countries has benefitted their citizens. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Viral video: Warning for train travellers KAMAL MISHRA Mumbai A horrific video of a young train commuter hitting a pole and being flung off on the tracks between Kalwa and Thane emerged on Thursday morning. Thankfully the 19, year-old victim had a miraculous escape and didn’t sustain any head injuries, though he landed in hospital with multiple fractures. Several accidents of passengers while travelling by Mumbai local trains are reported every month. While some are unavoidable, others can be avoided, and this was one of them. Danish Khan was travelling on the footboard and hanging out of the train, watching some others on the PIC: PRASHANT NARVEKAR train on the parallel track shoot a video. While doing so, he hit a pole and was thrown off, with commuters from both trains watching in horror. Some of them even thought that he succumbed owing to the hit. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE