THURSDAY U.S., GLOBAL BANKS UNVEIL PLAN TO TACKLE FOOD CRISIS 19 Billions of dollars to be spent on helping farmers, boosting fertiliser supply and developing land for food production MAY, 2022 BLINKEN CHAIRS MEET ON FOOD SECURITY epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard A two-day Global Food Security Call to Action meeting of foreign ministers from 30 countries, chaired by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken began past midnight on Wednesday, in New York. Russia and Ukraine produce a third of the world’s wheat, and the disruption of supply due to the war has led to prices soaring twitter.com/TheMornStandard GYANVAPI PLEA SEEKS WALL DEMOLITION Varanasi court urged to grant nod for wall demolition near site where idol was ‘recovered’ A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 8  NEW DELHI   J8.00 PAGES 12 PEOPLE EXPERIENCED ACUTE FOOD INSECURITY WORLDWIDE IN 2021 WORLD BANK TO CONTRIBUTE $30 BILLION The US Treasury Department said several global development banks will work together to address the food security crisis exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The World Bank announced it will contribute $30 billion for projects to address food crisis. The Asian Development Bank and the African Development Bank, among others, will also chip in PM’s panel bats for urban job guarantee scheme Tamils all over the world gave me love and affection and treated me like their own son. I need to pay my gratitude to a lot of people and wish to do that in person @ New Delhi 90% of India’s population survives on less than `25,000 a month 6.82% of total annual wages earned by richest 1% 35% of total annual wages earned by richest 10% 1.7% of the total annual cumulative wages earned by poorest 10% AG Perarivalan It is important to note that the judges have said that when Governor becomes inactive, court will intervene AG Perarivalan and his mother Arputhammal met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday to express their gratitude | EXPRESS EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE FIGURE IT OUT INCOME PROFILE 33.5% Regular salaried 20.17% Casual Source: Periodic Labour Force Survey 2019-20 MK Stalin, Chief Minister 45.78% Self-employed WITH income inequality in the country becoming starker, the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) on Wednesday proposed implementing an urban employment guarantee scheme on the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The panel raised concerns over growing inequality as captured in The State of Inequality in India Report released by it. The report said the labour force participation rate in the country was 51.5% in 2019-20, which was better than the 49% in 2017-18. However, the participation rate of those educated till higher secondary over three years from 2017-18 to 201920 was significantly low at 40-43%. The clamour for an urban jobs scheme has been growing louder in recent times with increasing income inequality and job losses. Experts said an urban-focused employment guarantee scheme will go a long way in supporting consumption. Talk- ing to this newspaper earlier this year, BJP MP and chairman of the parliamentary committee on finance Jayant Sinha had said that a scheme like MGNREGA for urban informal sector workers could be designed with the help of digital infrastructure that the government has already built. The EAC-PM also recommended that raising minimum income and introducing a universal basic income are some of the measures that can reduce the income gap and facilitate equal distribution of earnings in the labour market. SC uses spl powers, frees Perarivalan after 31 years Apex Court refers to Article 161, says advice of State Cabinet binding on Guv; Arivu credits mother’s struggle; CM Stalin welcomes verdict E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Chennai “LET me breathe; I’m free after 31 years,” said A G Perarivalan, a life convict in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, after the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered his release by invoking its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution. A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai, and A S Bopanna, who held that the advice of State Cabinet is binding on Governor in exercise of powers under Article 161 of the Constitution, said the Governor’s referral to the President the recommendation of the Tamil Nadu Cabinet (to grant pardon to all seven convicts in the case) two-and-a-half years after such a recommendation was made doesn’t have constitutional backing. Non-exercise of power under Article 161 or inexplicable delay in exercise of such power, which is not attributable to the prisoner, is subject to judicial review of the court, said the judges rejecting the Centre’s argument that in some cases President and not the Governor is the competent authority to grant pardon. Chief Minister MK Stalin hailed the verdict as a victory for State rights and federalism. “The verdict has established that Governors cannot interfere in political and policy deci- A BRIEF TIMELINE June 11, 1991: CBI arrests 19-year-old AG Perarivalan in the Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case 1999: SC upholds TADA court’s death sentence to the seven convicts September 9, 2018: The AIADMK government recommends to Governor Banwarilal Purohit the release of all seven convicts May 18, 2022: SC orders release of Perarivalan invoking Article 142 sions of State governments. It is important to note that the judges have said that when Governor becomes inactive, court will intervene,” the CM told reporters at the secretariat. Speaking to reporters, Perarivalan credited his mother, 74-year-old Arputhammal, for her sacrifices and non-stop efforts that eventually led to his release. “She has faced insults, she was ignored, and she suffered agony Despite all that she . was persistent and fought for me without a break for 30 long years,” he said. “For both of us, me and my mother, it is the truth and justice on our side which gave us the strength to fight,” he said. Arputhammal LETHAL profusely thanked everyone from the State government to a whole lot of sympathisers for their support in getting her son released. Thanking all those who stood by him in his long struggle, Perarivalan paid tributes to Senkodi, who took her life demanding the release of the convicts, former SC judges, Justices Krishna Iyer and K T Thomas, and retired IPS officer Thiyagarajan, who admitted in the court that he had omitted to record a part of Perarivalan’s confession that proved his innocence in the case. “Tamils all over the world gave me love and affection and treated me like their own son. I need to pay my gratitude to a lot of people and wish to do that in person through the course of my life,” Perarivalan said. While the AIADMK, the BJP , Left parties, the PMK and various Tamil outfits welcomed the verdict, the State unit of the Congress was circumspect in its reaction. “We do not wish to criticise the judgment of the Supreme Court,” Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief KS Alagiri said in a tweet. “At the same time, we want to emphasise that the perpetrators are murderers and that they are not innocent.” The CM said the State government will study the full verdict and take steps for release of the other six convicts in the RELATED STORY ON: P7 case. AIR POLLUTION BIGGEST KILLER @ 66 LAKH WORLDWIDE PRE-MONSOON MESS An aerial view of relief workers on a tractor helping out residents of an inundated street in Vaddarapalya near Horamavu in Bengaluru on Wednesday. At least two persons were reported dead following heavy overnight pre-monsoon showers. Many areas received 50 mm to 150 mm rains. The Met department forecast more rains for the next 24 hours | SHRIRAM B N NATIONWIDE MAY 17 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths DELHI 1,569 2,467 19 MAY 17 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths MAY 18 1,829 2,549 33 MAY 18 939 709 02 532 767 00 JAB-O-METER TAKE YOUR SHOT May 17 13,09,721 doses May 18 11,91,074 doses TOTAL DOSES 1,91,78,14,826 CBI arrests Karti’s aide in money-for-visa case EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai THE Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday arrested chartered accountant S Bhaskararaman, a close associate of Lok Sabha MP Kar ti Chidambaram, a day after raiding the latter’s premises in connection with a `50 lakh bribery case for clearing visas of 263 Chinese nationals working at a power plant in Punjab. Bhaskararaman was arrested since he was not cooperating in the investigation, CBI sources said. He was later produced before a local CBI court, which issued a transit remand to fly him to New Delhi. Bhaskararaman was among the five named in the first FIR in the case. Other booked include Karti, Vikas Makharia, representing Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, Mansa (Punjab); Bell Tools Limited, Mumbai (Maharashtra) and unknown public servants and private persons. The FIR alleged that representative of the plant ap p ro a ch e d K a r t i through Bhaskararaman to get visas to bring in more Chinese professionals so as to expedite work on their 1980 MW thermal power plant between 2010 to 2014, since it was running behind schedule. The visas issued were beyond the ceiling imposed by the MHA. Karti allegedly demanded `50 lakh as speed money through Bhaskararaman to facilitate the visas and the company complied. The deal happened in 2011 when Karti’s father P Chidambaram was Union home minister. On Tuesday, searches were conducted by the CBI in various places in linked to the accused in Chennai, Mumbai, Koppal (Karnataka), Jharsuguda (Orissa), Mansa (Punjab) and Delhi in connection with the case. India saw over 23.5 lakh premature deaths due to all kinds of pollution – the highest – in the backdrop of 9 million deaths worldwide, finds Lancet study on Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors PAGE 7 Baijal resigns as Delhi L-G, 5 bureaucrats in race for job E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi DELHI’S Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday sent his resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind citing “personal reasons” after serving in that capacity since December 2016, when he took over the reins from Najeeb Jung. Even though the Centre had not announced Baijal’s successor till late evening, the names of several serving and retired bureaucrats are being considered to succeed the outgoing L-G, who had completed five years in office in December 2021. There are no clear front-runners but former Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra, Daman and Diu Administrator Praful Patel and Advisor to the Prime Minister Bhaskar Khulbe (formerly an IAS officer of the 1983 batch and from West Bengal cadre) are tipped to get the job. Sources said Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla could also be considered for the post. Bhalla, who assumed the home secretary’s office in August 2019, was given one-year extension last August and is due to retire in about three months. Gauba, a 1982-batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre, was also due to retire on August 30, 2021 but was given one year’s extension. The office of Delhi L-G has been at the centre of a fierce power tussle between the AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal and the Modi government at the Centre. In 2018, the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment delineated the powers clearly but the two governments are still fighting a legal battle over control of services. Baijal has had run-ins with the AAP government over a host of issues, with the first one starting over the ‘doorstep delivery of services’ scheme in 2017, which the government has still not been able to implement. The friction between Baijal and the Kejriwal administration culminated in a major tussle in 2018 when the then Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash was allegedly “manhandled” by AAP MLAs during a meeting at the CM’s residence. IAS officers had stalled work after the incident demanding their “safety”, against which Health Minister Satyendar Jain first sat on dharna at the L-G office and was soon joined by Kejriwal and other ministers. The sit-in alleging that IAS officers posted with the state government were not cooperating with the elected representatives lasted for nine days. Oversaw big-ticket projects in previous stints A 1969 batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer, Baijal had previously served as vice-chairman of the Delhi Development Authority. Subsequently, he was appointed home secretary in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. After the UPA came to power in 2004, Baijal was moved as secretary, Urban Development Ministry, where he oversaw the implementation of the `60,000-crore Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. In his 37-year career, Baijal has had stints as Indian Airlines CMD, Prasar Bharati Corporation’s CEO and Goa Development Commissioner EXPRESS READ PRE-POLL BLOW FOOD SECURITY SHEENA BORA CASE SPORTS CODE VIOLATION RESERVATION NATURAL DISASTER Ahmedabad: In a blow to the Congress in poll-bound Gujarat, Patidar leader Hardik Patel resigned from its primary membership on Wednesday, saying its leadership is not serious about issues facing the people. He accused the party of being more concerned about chicken sandwitch than Gujarat. The party hit back saying his words were scripted by BJP | P7 New Delhi: Representatives from India took part in a meeting of G7 development ministers in Berlin on Wednesday during which ways to mitigate the food security crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, were discussed. At the start of the two-day meeting, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze proposed that a global food security alliance be set up and accused Russian President Putin of using hunger as a weapon New Delhi: Indrani Mukerjea, arrested for the alleged murder of her own daughter, is set to leave Mumbai’s Byculla women’s prison after the Supreme Court granted her bail on Wednesday. The court said sixand-a-half years in prison is too long a term and that the trial will not be completed soon as only 68 of 237 witnesses have been examined | P8 The Supreme Court appointed a threemember Committee of Administrators (CoA) headed by former judge Anil R Dave to manage the affairs of the All India Football Federation and ousted the Praful Patel-led executive committee that was at the helm even after completing its term. S Y Qureshi and Bhaskar Ganguly are also part of the CoA | P11 New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to permit reservation for the OBCs in the local body elections in MP. The court that had on May 10 said no quota for OBCs can be provisioned, permitted the state to notify the reservation pattern local body wise as delineated in the reports of the dedicated commission. A bench headed by Justice Khanwilkar passed the order after the state sought modification of the bar | P8 Guwahati: The toll in Assam rains climbed to eight on Wednesday as the state continued to reel under the impact of flood and landslides. Rescue and relief works led by the Army, Air Force and Assam Rifles continued on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tripura government is contemplating transporting essential items into the state through Chittagong port in Bangladesh as rail services have been affected by the flood Hardik Patel finally pulls the Cong plug India takes part in G7 ministers’ meet Indrani granted bail after 6.5 years in jail SC-appointed CoA takes over from Praful & Co SC permits OBC quota in MP local body polls Assam flood toll climbs to eight, relief works on