SAMBALPUR l saturday l april 06, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION Israel admits errors in Gaza aid worker killings, sacks 2 officers Rare Confession after investigation Israel’s rare confession came after a probe by a retired general found the officers violated army rules, which say targets must be visually identified as threats before they can be hit. The drone operators mistook a World Central Kitchen aid worker for a gunman and fired a missile to their vehicle. When people escaped and got into another car, it was hit by a second missile The Israeli army also reprimanded three other officers for their role in drone strikes that killed seven aid workers on a food-delivery mission nOT ENOUGH, SAYS wORLD cENTRAL kITCHEN ■ The findings are likely to renew scepticism over IDF’s decision-making. “It’s a serious event we are responsible for; it shouldn’t have happened... We will make sure it won’t happen again,” said IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari ■ World Central Kitchen said IDF should do more. “Without systemic changes, there will be more military failures, more apologies & more grieving families” 220 Humanitarian workers have been killed in the Gaza conflict, says the u.n. CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Samal promises paddy MSP of `3,100, 7L jobs, if BJP comes to power B i j ay C h a k i @ Bhubaneswar Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, releasing the party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, in Delhi on Friday | Parveen Negi Cong promises 5-fold justice Outreach to youth, farmers, women, workers; manifesto assures the right to apprenticeship P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi From promising a national caste census to providing legal guarantee to MSP and the right to apprenticeship, the Congress on Friday sought to tick all the important checkboxes in its manifesto released just weeks ahead of the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the manifesto will be remembered as a “document of justice” in the political history of the country. The manifesto stands on the five pillars of ‘Paanch Nyay’, which include justice for youth, farmers, women, workers and participation and representation in ‘decision making’ process in the country said Kharge. , As the Congress poll strategy in the recent assembly elections revolved around the plank of caste census and social justice, the party in its manifesto vowed to hold a nationwide census to identify and Empowering all sections N ation-wide socio-economic and caste census W ill raise 50% cap on reservations for SC, ST and OBC 1 0% EWS quota to be open to all castes W ill ensure that minorities have the freedom of choice of dress, food, language and personal laws M ahalakshmi scheme to provide L1 lakh per year to every poor Indian family enumerate castes, subcastes and their socioeconomic condition, and amend the Constitution to raise the 50% ceiling on quota for SCs, STs and OBCs. Other promises include 10% quota in jobs and education for the Economically Weaker Section for all castes and communities and a law for quota in private educational institutions for the SCs, STs and W ill encourage reform of personal laws with the participation and consent of all the communities concerned O ne-year apprenticeship to every diploma holder or college graduate below the age of 25. Apprentices will get L1 lakh a year A ll student education loans to be written off as one-time relief NEET, CUET exams to be made optional for state govts OBCs. It will also set up a Diversity Commission that will measure, monitor and promote diversity in public and private employment and education. It said it would abolish application fees for government examinations and government posts. It will also enact a law after Rohith Vemula to address discrimination faced by students belonging to the marginal- Monetary policy Rates on hold, RBI waits for inflation ‘elephant’ to vanish B E N N K OCHU V EE D A N @ Mumbai The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday chose not to surprise or disappoint markets as it left the key policy rates unchanged at 6.5% for the seventh time on the trot. RBI’s monetary policy committee led by governor Shaktikanta Das cited inflationary pressure from high food prices but sounded confident of keeping retail inflation at 4.5% in FY25. The no-surprises monetary policy had a soothing effect on the rupee, which has been under strain for some time, and also on the equities market. The rupee rallied 9 paise to close at 83.30 against the dollar, while the stock markets closed flat after a choppy ride with the benchmark Sensex managing to close in the green with 20.6 points gains at 74,248 and the broader Nifty ending the session flat at 22,513 on Friday . The central bank also maintained the ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ stance, saying growth numbers have been robust and the priority is to anchor inflation to the target. “When CPI peaked at 7.8% in April 2022, the elephant in the room was inflation. The elephant has now gone out for a walk and appears to be returning to the forest. We’d like the elephant to return to the forest and remain there,” Das said. RBI expects the growth momentum to continue in FY25 with GDP growth projected at 7%. Das said the second advance estimates placed real GDP growth at 7.6% for FY24, the third straight year of 7% plus growth. He says the momentum will sustain as the latest purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing touched a 16-year high of 59.1 in March and services PMI hit a 13-year-high at over 60, suggesting healthy growth. I N S I D E : Policy rate impact on bank deposits uneven I P12 ised communities. In tune with its promise on generating employment, the party said that it will enact the Right to Apprenticeship Act to provide a one-year apprenticeship with a private or a public sector company to every diploma holder or college graduate under the age of 25 with a stipend of `1lakh a year. It also promised to abolish the Agnipath programme and direct the armed forces to resume normal recruitment to achieve the full sanctioned strength. Other key promises include providing legal guarantee to the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism for crops, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission. To help the rural poor, the party will increase the wage under MGNREGA to `400 per day . Stung by the exodus of its leaders to other parties, the Congress also promised to amend the 10th Schedule of the Constitution and make defection an automatic disqualification of the membership in the Assembly or Parliament. Shoma Sen gets bail in Bhima Koregaon case S UCHITRA K ALYA N M OHA N TY @ New Delhi IN a major relief to academic-activist Shoma Sen, arrested in June 2018 in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, the Supreme Court on Friday granted her bail by setting aside the January 2023 order of the Bombay High Court directing her to approach the special court for bail. Sen has been lodged at the Byculla Jail in Mumbai since her arrest in 2018. The National Investigation Agency which is , probing the case, did not oppose her bail plea. A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Augustine George Masih took cognizance of the delay in framing charges and the 66-year-old former Nagpur University professor’s medical conditions. The bench set several conditions for her bail including live-sharing of her mobile GPS with the NIA’s investigating officer. Also, she cannot leave Maharashtra without the special court’s permission. The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. The event reportedly triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts. According to police, the conclave was backed by Maoists. April heatwave singes capital, second hottest in country E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar With the mercury touching an intolerable 43.5 degree Celsius, Bhubaneswar sizzled and emerged as the second hottest place in India on Friday. At least 25 stations in the state also recorded 40 degree C or more on the day . As the staggering run of the heat continued, the city shared the horrid figure with Kurnool in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Nandyal was the hotA worker splashes water on her face to beat test in the country with merthe heat in Bhubaneswar | Shamim Qureshy cury touching 43.7 degree C. It was also the sixth hottest place in Asia. The state capital’s all time maximum temperature during the month was 45.8 degree C, recorded on April 11, 2016. The hot conditions prompted the state government to issue advisories for change in timings of anganwadis and schools in Khurda district as well as work hours for labourers as the sweltering climate showed no signs of a let-up. It was also the first heatwave of the summer for Bhubaneswar where maximum temperature was 7 degree C above normal on the day The . city recorded 39.8 degree C at 11.30 am, 43.2 degree C at 2.30 pm and it reached its peak at around 3 pm. The ordeal for Bhubaneswarites may continue for another 24 hours as the maximum temperature is expected to remain around 42 degree C. The regional met office also issued warning for heatwave in Khurda, Cuttack, Keonjhar, Boudh, Malkangiri, Nayagarh, Angul, Balangir, Kandhamal, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj and Jharsuguda districts on CONTINUED ON P5 Saturday. other promises Ayushman Bharat scheme will be implemented Money taken by chit fund companies will be returned to investors The BJP government will usher in allround development in Odisha. It will also rid the system of corruption. Where there is BJP, there is development and growth Manmohan Samal With elections only around a month away and candidates for both the Lok Sabha and Assembly seats becoming battle-ready, state BJP president Manmohan Samal on Friday stepped on the accelerator of poll promises for the electorate, covering the crucial section of farmers, youth, poor and working class. While promising that the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy will be enhanced to `3,100 from`2,183 per quintal, if the BJD is elected to power in the state, Samal said, the BJP will create at least seven lakh jobs every year. Addressing party leaders and workers at the BJP state headquarters here, Samal said the BJD government in the state failed to protect the interests of farmers and has neglected the agriculture sector during its long tenure. The BJP government on assuming office after the elections will immediately enhance the MSP on paddy including the bonus amount. Referring to the poor track record of the state government in addressing unemployment among youth, Samal said seven lakh government jobs will created by BJP after it comes to power. “A BJP government will usher in all-round development in Odisha. Steps will be taken to ensure no person leaves the state to work as ‘dadan’ (bonded) labourer in other parts of the country,” he said. Besides, he alleged, the government has failed to protect the interests of common people by not implementing the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. The BJP will implement the scheme in the state as soon as it is is elected, he said. Coming down heavily on the state government, Samal said the BJD does have any sympathy for the poor and middle class. Lakhs of people have lost their money to the chit fund scam and the state government has done little to compensate the investors who were cheated by the dubious operators. “The BJP will ensure that all small depositors who had parted with their hard-earned money in hope of good returns will get back their invested amount. The BJP will also rid the system of corruption and run a corruption-free government. Where there is BJP, there is development and growth,” he said. Samal lashed out at BJD leaders for trying to creating a narrative on alliance with BJP for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. “This false perception created by BJD has been exposed and the BJP will certainly come to power in Odisha this time,” he said while urging his party’s leaders and workers to go to people with the message of all-round development of the state. Relief for 16L UP students as SC stays order scrapping madarsa education Act S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Allahabad High Court’s March 22 verdict declaring the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, unconstitutional and violative of secularism and fundamental rights. Critiquing the HC’s verdict, a three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud pointed out that the former’s finding on the establishment of a madarsa board prima facie breaching the principles of secularism may not be correct. It said it would examine the pleas in July second week. The order brought a major relief for as many as 16 lakh students studying across around 16,000 madrarsas in Uttar Pradesh. The bench passed the order after hearing a batch of appeals against the HC order. “The object and purpose of madarsa board is regulatory in nature and Allahabad High Court is not prima facie correct that establishment of board will breach secularism. It (High Court judgment) conflates madarsa education with the regulatory powers entrusted with the board. The judgment shall remain stayed,” the top court said in its order. The HC had last month held the 2004 law unconstitutional as it violated secularism. The court went on to direct the government to accommodate all madarsa students in the formal education system.
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