ESTD-1928 Vol. 67 No. 228 | TUESDAY | JUNE 25, 2024 | 27 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 ✩✩✩ QUALITY @ VALUE THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL www.freepressjournal.in NATION Hooch tragedy: Nadda questions Cong silence, asks Kharge to make TN agree to CBI probe EDITIONS: MUMBAI INDORE PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK KONKAN E-paper GAMES Cinema Newly weds are soaked in love at their reception Indian archers secure men’s and women’s team quotas for Paris Olympics Edit 18th Lok Sabha: Tough times ahead for govt FIRST DAY | Constitution debate reignites as Modi and Shah take oath; NEET shouts mar Pradhan oath; UP ke ladke add to the din in the House Oppn finds lost voice Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha began on Monday with the newly elected members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his council of ministers and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, taking oath as MPs. While the first day is usually ceremonious, the enlarged and resurgent Opposition showed through its mild protests and taunts that it would be unsparing in this eight-day session and beyond. Those leading the charge were 'UP ke ladke' -- Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav -- who were sitting in the front row of the Lower House. Keeping Akhilesh Yadav company was Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad who won the plum Faizabad/Ayodhya seat and Trinamool Congress's Sudip Bandyopadhyay, which indicates the closing of ranks in the House. The Opposition members, including Gandhi, taunted the ruling dispensation by displaying copies of the Constitution as Modi took oath. Many Congress MPs also took oath with the copy of Constitution in their hands, a grim reminder to the BJP of the electoral rhetoric. During the election campaign, it will be recalled, the Opposition had attacked the BJP for seeking a larger mandate so that it could “change the Constitution” and end reservation. The argument had impressed a large section of voters and resulted in a significant loss of seats to the BJP. In reply to questions by reporters, Gandhi said PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s attack on the Constitution is not acceptable to them and that is why they were holding a copy of the Constitution while taking oath. Asked if it sends the right signal, Rahul said the message is loud and clear that no power in the world can touch or destroy India's Constitution. 4Contd on | Nation Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (Jan to Dec 2023) Samajwadi Party MPs Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav and others hold copies of the Constitution of India. PIC: PTI TEETHING WOES DIDI FRETS Aritra Singha KOLKATA Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the sharing of Ganga and Teesta waters with Bangladesh without consulting the West Bengal government. “I am writing this letter in context of the recent visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh. It seems that water sharing issues relating to the Ganga and Teesta rivers may have been discussed during the meeting. Such unilateral deliberations and discussions without consultation and the opinion of the state government is neither acceptable nor desirable,” read part of the letter. She also mentioned 4Contd on | Nation ‘NO’ TO BJP fp Briefs Emergency rankles, both Modi & Cong latch onto it FPJ News Service NEW DELHI Meenakshi Rao GST has made things cheaper PM remembers the dark days even as Mallikarjun PM Modi has said after the Kharge refers to 10 years of ‘undeclared emergency’ introduction of GST, goods for household use have become much cheaper. This has resulted in significant savings for the poor and common man. ‘‘We are committed to continuing this journey of reforms to transform people's lives," PM Modi posted on X citing official data. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also highlighted the data, saying that the majority of household items, including flour, cosmetics, television, refrigerator, etc., have become cheaper after the implementation of GST. HC’s interim stay in Kejri case unusual The Supreme Court has adjourned to June 26, Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against Delhi High Court’s interim order staying the Special PMLA Court’s order granting him bail. Posting the matter for Wednesday, the vacation bench observed that the decision of the High Court granting interim stay, without passing a final order in the matter, was “unusual”. “In stay matters, judgments are not reserved but passed on the spot,’’ the bench observed. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for Kejriwal told the bench, “The High Court did not wait for the order and stays it. If the High Court can do so, why can't your lordships stay the High Court order?” Justice Misra responded, “If HC has committed a mistake, why should we repeat it?” T ailpiece KERALA OR KERALAM? K erala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday reintroduced a resolution in the Assembly urging the Centre to bring in a Constitutional amendment to change the State's name from Kerala to 'Keralam.' Last year a similar resolution was passed unanimously by the Assembly. However, the Centre had returned it, pointing at some flaws. Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Exhibiting his combative side, as he led a diminished BJP entourage into the 18th Lok Sabha on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicated that he won’t let the Opposition have its way. At his confrontationist best, he declared that ‘India needs a responsible Opposition. ‘‘People want substance, not slogans; they want debate, diligence not drama and disturbance in Parliament. I hope the Opposition will live up to the people's expectations," he said. The message to the Opposition parties, who now almost match the BJP in numbers in the Lower House, was loud and clear: “the country needs a good opposition, a responsible opposition”. Keep a database on illegal hawkers: HC Indicating that there would be no change in his approach, Modi, while addressing the media, also attacked the Congress by pointing out that June 25 will mark 50 years of Emergency, which remains a “black mark on Indian democracy”. Modi further said the new generation will never forget the day when the Congress 4Contd on | Nation Morning walker killed in a freak Bandra mishap Megha Kuchik MUMBAI PM Modi greets upon his arrival to address the media at the Parliament House. PIC: PTI Urvi Mahajani MUMBAI The Bombay High Court on Monday criticised the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for failing to keep in check illegal hawkers and vendors and suggested that the civic body prepare a database to identify such repeat offenders. A clear footpath and a safe place to walk was every person’s fundamental right and the state authorities were obligated towards providing the same, the court observed. The HC had taken suo motu (on its own) cognizance of the issue of illegal and unauthorised hawkers and vendors in the city, last year. A bench of Justices M S Sonak and Kamal Khata suggested that the corporation should develop a database identifying all such hawkers so that the latter did not breach orders and return with their stalls. “Let there be a combing operation. Start with one street…The biggest trouble is identification. They keep coming back because they are not identifiable,” the bench said. 4Contd on | Nation Biswajeet Banerjee UPSC, the nation’s top recruitment body, is to introduce facial recognition technology and an AI-based CCTV surveillance system to prevent cheating and impersonation in exams. The commission has issued a tender inviting bids for two primary solutions: Aadhaar-based fingerprint authentication or digital fingerprint capturing, facial recognition of candidates, and QR code scanning of eadmit cards. Additionally, live AI-based CCTV surveillance will be implemented during examinations. Through this measure, CCTV systems will monitor live activities during its exams across multiple centres nationwide. These systems will include AI technology that can alert officials to movements at entry/exit points, improper classroom arrangements, camera malfunctions like masking or black screens, any move- ment in classrooms around exam times. It can even detect if invigilators are inactive. The AI is expected to red flag incidents which would indicate cheating, unfair means, absence of invigilators, the tender document added. Speaking to the FPJ, Omkar Pawar, an IAS officer from Maharashtra, says, “Maintaining ethical standards among exam officials is important. If officials are corrupt or hesitant to act against malpractices, it can ST LUCIA Rohit Sharma infused his bat with dynamite and transformed the pitch into a launch pad at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, catapulting deliveries into the stands with a frequency that defied belief. The Sharma blast propelled a total of 205 for 5 on the board for Australia to surmount at an almost impossible pace, what with the Bumrahs and the Yadav’s flexing their craft. This one from Rohit Sharma – 92 in 41 balls, decked with seven fours and eight sixes, was for the ages. It was one for the dreams, for a memory that will always remain in the present. logged premises have raised serious concerns about the quality of the construction. The consecration ceremony for Ram Lalla took place on January 22 this year, and construction is still ongoing. Acharya Satyendra Das said that the Ram Temple Construction Committee, led by Chairman Nripendra Mishra, is still working on various chambers where additional deities will be installed. These installations are expected to be completed by 2025. 4Contd on | Nation undermine the entire system's integrity and allow cheating to persist. AI can check impersonation to only an extent. If there are lookalike brothers, then it may not be able to identify”. He says there is a need to incorporate AI technology in all competitive exams. “There is also a need to create professors of integrity above the invigilator for every exam centre to ensure oversight. hri Ram Temple Construction Committee Chairman, Nripendra Mishra, said: "I am in Ayodhya and I have observed rainwater dripping from the first floor. This is expected because the Guru Mandap, which forms the second floor, is open to the sky. This opening will be covered once the Shikhar is completed. I have also noticed some seepage," He explained that since construction work is ongoing on the first floor, the drainage system in the sanctum sanctorum has been temporarily closed. 4Contd on | Nation Bhalchandra Chorghade Have you been wondering why you have been paying through your nose, for any vegetable, in recent weeks? Vegetable prices have been doing a number on household budgets for a while and, reportedly, the culprit is the weather blowing hot and cold in Maharashtra. Heatwaves in certain regions and unseasonal rains in others have severely impacted crop yields, 20 dead in Dagestan terror hit S A brunt down synagogue Agencies MOSCOW leading to a scarcity of fresh produce and the resultant spike in market prices. While the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions have been particularly hard-hit by relentless heatwaves, the coastal and western parts of Maharashtra, including the Konkan region, have experienced unseasonal rains, disrupting the growing and harvesting cycles. This erratic weather has not only affected human and Attacks on police posts, churches and a synagogue in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have left at least 20 people and five gunmen dead. Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia which neighbours Chechnya. Over 46 people were taken to hospital with injuries after the Sunday evening attack. The apparently coordinated attacks targeted the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, with an Orthodox priest at a church among those killed. The attackers slit his throat before setting fire to the church. Footage posted on social media showed people wearing dark clothes shooting at police cars in Makhachkala, before a convoy of emergency service vehicles arrive at the scene. Dagestan Governor blamed members of Islamic "sleeper cells" directed from abroad. He said in a video statement that the assailants aimed at "sowing panic and fear," and attempted to link the attack to Moscow's military action in Ukraine. “The war is coming to our homes," Melikov said. The Kele-Numaz synagogue in Derbent, home to an ancient Jewish community, also was set ablaze. 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation Veggie prices hit the roof on erratic supply MUMBAI Spanked over cover, clonked over midwicket, steered into extra cover, pulled over backward square leg, heaved through midwicket – the flight tickets to the boundary got sold out for the ball, much like the flights to Guyana for the semi-final. Only, this was an Indian dream not a Caribbean travel nightmare. The 100 came in 8.4 overs and Marsh’s toss had all but tossed away the thunder from Down Under. As Sharma took charge with bangers to the boundary on four consecutive balls, three sixes and a four, Kohli’s duck was wiped out from the slate in a jiffy as was Pant’s cheap ouster at 15, Surya’s 31 in 16 balls and Dube’s 28 in 22. NO DESIGN FLAWS 4Contd on | Nation UPSC looks at AI-based checks Megha Chowdhury 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation Poser to BMC: If streets can be cleared for PM & VVIPs, then why not for everyone? Less than six months after the grand inauguration of the Ram Temple, the first monsoon rains have revealed significant construction flaws as the roof has started leaking. The temple's chief priest, Acharya Satyendra Das, confirmed that the roof of the temple started leaking during the recent rains, causing water to accumulate both inside the temple and in the surrounding complex. The leaking roof and water- To curb exam malpractices MUMBAI The teething problems of the PM Modi-led ruling National Democratic Alliance appear to be growing with former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik making it amply clear that the BJD with its nine MPs in the Rajya Sabha would not support the BJP. Patnaik also asked the lawmakers to raise issues concerning the state's interests in a befitting manner and emerge as a "vibrant and strong" opposition in the Upper House. The message was conveyed at a meeting between Patnaik and the lawmakers on Monday. "The BJD MPs this time will not be Another leak – in Temple roof at Ayodhya this time LUCKNOW A 40-year-old man who was out on a walk, was killed in a freak mishap in Bandra early on Sunday, after being struck by an iron frame dislodged from a speeding truck when it collided with a tree. The deceased has been identified as Vijay Asarani, and the Bandra police have lodged a case against the truck driver, Manjur Alam Ansari, 49, and arrested him. According to the police report, Asarani, who resided on Perry Road in Bandra west, was in the hotel business, and was out for an early morning walk. He was going from Turner Road to Carter Road between 3am and 3.30am on Sunday. At the same time, a truck laden with heavy material – a large iron square structure used in coastal road work – was also speeding in the same direction. The Hitman Show