WEDNESDAY FIIs PULL OUT $21 BILLION FROM INDIA SO FAR IN 2022 25 PAGE 7 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 34,966 17,144 * Till May 24 May* January BIG PULLOUT March CONG GOES WITH OLD FACES February LIP SERVICE Of the three panels formed by the grand old party, two have only one new face 41,123 Outflow (H crore) twitter.com/TheMornStandard 33,303 Total 1,62,128 facebook.com/TheMorningStandard April epaper.morningstandard.in 35,592 Foreign institutional investors are exiting India as they find US and European markets, with rising interest rates, more attractive MAY, 2022 Source: NSDL TWO-YEAR RELIEF Import duty on soybean, sunflower oil removed E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi AS part of its efforts to tackle mounting inflationary pressure, the Centre on Tuesday exempted import levy and cess on crude soybean oil and sunflower oil on a quantity of 20 lakh tonnes a year for two years. At the moment, there is a 5% agricultural infrastructure and development cess for importing these items. The latest move could bring relief to consumers as it will cool cooking oil prices. The government has already scrapped base customs duty on almost all edible oils, including palm oil and soybean oil, and imposed inventory limits to curtail hoarding. The decision comes in the backdrop of oil prices jumping NATIONWIDE MAY 23 MAY 24 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths DELHI Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 2,022 2,099 46 1,675 1,635 31 MAY 23 MAY 24 268 421 00 418 394 02 as much as 17% last month. The overall retail inflation in April stood at a high 7.8%. India is one of the top importers of vegetable oil in the world. Prices of edible oils skyrocketed after the Ukraine-Russia war started and Indonesia put a ban on palm oil exports. In another development, the Centre also restricted sugar exports to 100 lakh tonnes to maintain enough domestic supply a n d p reve n t rise in prices. “Sugar mills and exporters need to take approvals in form of Export Release Orders from Directorate of Sugar, Department of Food and Public Distribution,” a government statement read on Monday . JAB-O-METER TAKE YOUR SHOT May 23 11,91,382 doses May 24 11,38,116 doses TOTAL DOSES 1,92,65,52,757 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Quad Summit, in Tokyo on Tuesday | AFP I am confident that the IndiaUS friendship will continue to be a force for good for global peace and stability, for the sustainability of the planet, and for the well-being of mankind Narendra Modi, Prime Minister India-US thrust on critical and emerging technology Want ties between the two countries to be closest on earth: Biden Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi AMID US President Joe Biden assuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting in Tokyo that he is committed to make the bilateral partnership the closest on earth, the two sides announced the launch of a new initiative on critical and emerging technologies (iCET) by their respective National Security Councils. India also joined the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) based in Bahrain as an associate member. The CMF is a naval coalition of over 30 countries that upholds rules-based order by countering non-state actors on the high seas and promoting security stability , and prosperity across the world’s most important shipping lanes. A White House readout of the bilateral talks said both also not- ed the establishment of the IndoPacific partnership for maritime domain awareness, which plays a critical role in economic security and responding to humanitarian crises.“There is so much our countries can do together and I am committed to make the India-US partnership the closest on earth,” Biden said. Both leaders reviewed the progress made in the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership wherein they are committed to strengthen their defence partnership and collabo- China-Russia air drama Chinese and Russian warplanes on Tuesday conducted joint air patrols over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the West Pacific Ocean during the Quad summit in Tokyo, in a message of unity rate on health and pandemic preparedness. “Even though trade and investment between the two countries is expanding it still is much below our potential, the India-US Strategic Partnership is a partnership of trust. Our shared values and our common interests... have strengthened the bonds of this trust,” Modi said adding that with the India-US Investment Incentive Agreement he hoped to see concrete progress. “The US has overlooked India’s stand on Russia, primarily to strengthen its position in the Indo-Pacific where they want to counter China and the threat it is posing to countries like Taiwan. Indo, too, has been putting forth its point on the Chinese military built up around the Line of Actual Control,’’ said an expert on P7 India-US ties. BJP fumes as Rahul meets known India baiter Corbyn E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi PACKED WITH A PUNCH Union Minister Anurag Thakur with champion boxers Nikhat Zareen and Parveen Hooda in New Delhi | PTI Defence Expo 2022 to take place in Gujarat S H A H I D FA R I D I @ New Delhi THE Ministry of Defence is likely to hold the biennial defence exhibition — DefExpo 2022 — at Gandhinagar in October for which invites are likely to be sent out in the first week of June. Though the event was originally planned to be held in March, the RussiaUkraine war had made it difficult for a large number of foreign participants to arrive with their equipment in India. Sources said with reopening of flight routes and resumption of normal traffic, the Ministry is likely to announce new dates and send out invites for the fiveday exhibition. They added close to a thousand companies, including the world’s biggest defence manufacturers, are likely to take part in the event. The expo will be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi, who is likely to spend a couple of days in the capital city of his home state and meet the chiefs of top defence companies. If the plan falls in place this time, Gujarat sky will be buzzing with choppers and transport planes on the eve of the state elections with hundreds of foreign participants bringing in their wares including helicopters, missiles, radars, tanks, armoured vehicles, heavy artillery for display . The growing US-Russia hostility, meanwhile, may cause friction over participation of Russian defence companies. India has so far managed to walk the middle path. DefExpo 2022 would test South Block’s diplomatic skills as it would have to balance the demands of the two big global players. CONGRESS leader Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with British MP Jeremy Corbyn, who is known for his ‘anti-India’ views, in London has snowballed into a controversy back home. Rahul, who is on a visit to the UK, had met Corbyn on Monday and the Indian Overseas Congress shared a photo of the two along with Sam Pitroda. Demanding a clarification from the Congress, the BJP on Tuesday alleged the photo is Rahul’s endorsement of Corbyn’s position on Kashmir. “Rahul Gandhi meets UK MP and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who is known for his hatred and dislike for India, advocates Kashmir’s secession. Or how long and how much one can go on against one’s own country,” tweeted Union minister Kiren Rijiju. BJP’s national spokesperson Duo held for murdering singer, burying her body A N K I TA U PA D H YAY @ New Delhi DELHI Police has arrested two men for allegedly murdering a 29-year-old Haryanvi folk singer in Meham and burying her body near a highway in Rohtak. The police said the aspiring singer, a resident of Delhi’s Jaffarpur Kalan, had her own YouTube channel where she posted 75 videos. She was the sole breadwinner of her family that included four siblings and her parents. The family members of the Dalit girl have alleged that the police did not act on their complaint despite repeated requests. The brother of the deceased said his sister had been missing since May 11 while the police registered an FIR on May 14. The police did not take action against the accused despite repeated requests. “On May 20, we contacted Bhim Army activists who protested outside the police station on Monday night. Only after that the body was brought to Delhi and action began against the suspects on May 21,” said the girl’s brother. “If timely action was taken, maybe my sister would have been alive.” The girl’s body was found on Sunday The police said a case was initially registered under Section 365 (kidnapping) at the JP Kalan police station on May 14. During investigation, two persons, Ravi and Anil, were arrested in Haryana’s Meham on Saturday “They . revealed that they had conspired to kill the singer,” said a P3 senior police officer. Gaurav Bhatia said Rahul is a leader whose statement was once quoted by Pakistan in the dossier submitted to the UN against India. “The picture in which Rahul Gandhi is seen with Corbyn shows how Gandhi scion loves to be with those who nurture anti views against India,”he said. Defending the meeting, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said there is nothing unsual in political leaders having divergent meeting. Surjewala also shared a picture of Corbyn with Modi. “Does it mean PM has endorsed Jeremy Corbyn’s views on India?” he asserted. EXPRESS READ Andhra minister’s house set ablaze Amaravati: Arson broke out in Amalapuram town in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday when police lathi-charged people who staged a protest against the proposed renaming of the newly-created Konaseema district as B R Ambedkar Konaseema district. The protestors opposed to the name change allegedly setting the houses of minister P Viswarupu and YSR Congress MLA P Satish on fire. P5 No compromise in POCSO cases: HC Chandigarh: Parents of a child who is a victim of a sexual offence cannot enter into a “compromise” with the accused, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has held. They cannot be allowed to compromise a child’s dignity by an agreement, it said while hearing a petition seeking the quashing of an FIR registered under the POCSO Act. The FIR was lodged at a police station in Haryana’s Sirsa in 2019. MANN SACKS MINISTER FOR CORRUPTION H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh GIVING a dramatic push to probity in public life, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday sacked his health minister Dr Vijay Singla and got him arrested for seeking cut money for awarding government contracts and clearing payments. Singla was later produced before a local court, which remanded him in three-day police custody For his part, . Singla said, “It is conspiracy to defame the AAP and Bhagwant Mann government.” Both Singla and his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Pardeep Kumar were booked by the police under the Prevention of Corruption Act based on a complaint from Rajinder Singh, Superintending Engineer in the Punjab Health Systems Corporation. The FIR said Singla’s OSD Kumar had demanded that the officer fetch 2% commission for a construction contract worth `41 crore the minister had already cleared and for a separate payment of `17 crore made to contractors in March. Since the total amount involved was `58 crore, 2% works out to `1.16 crore. When Rajinder Singh brought the harassment to Mann’s notice, he was asked to gather proof. The officer then taped a meeting he had with Singla and Kumar, where they reiterated their demand for bribe and said the cut money should be paid to his nephew. The officer handed over the explosive tape to the Chief Minister’s Office. Mann is learnt to have then confronted the minister with the recording and asked if the voice on the tape was his. Singla reportedly replied in the affirmative and was sacked. He is a first-time MLA and minister, as are most ministers in the Punjab ministry . Mann put out a video message making the announcement. “We found substantial proof of his corruption. I do not care if the opposition wants to use this to hit out at us,” he nonchalently claimed. Mann also sought to take the high moral ground saying this is the second time in the country’s history that a minister has been sacked by his own party for graft. The first one, he added, was in 2015 when AAP founder and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal chucked his own food supplies minister Asim Ahmed Khan on charges of corruption and handed him over to the CBI for questioning. Kejriwal was suitably impressed. “Your action has brought tears to my eyes,’’ he told Mann. But the Opposition mocked Kejriwal for claiming earlier that corruption was completely eradicated in Punjab within just 10 days of the Mann government in the saddle. Whistleblower’s dramatic complaint About a month ago, Rajinder Singh, Superintending Engineer in Punjab Health Systems Corporation, was called by Pardeep Kumar, OSD to Singla (pic), to room number 203 of Punjab Bhavan Singla was in a hurry to leave, but told the officer to fully trust Kumar. “Whatever Kumar says is what I intend to say,” he assured and left Kumar mentioned allotments of construction works worth L41 crore and a separate L17 crore already paid to contractors in March 2% of the total L58 crore or `1.16 crore should be paid as bribe, they said THE OFFICER REFUSED AND REQUESTED THAT HE BE SENT BACK TO HIS PARENT DEPARTMENT. HE IS DUE TO RETIRE ON NOVEMBER 30 ‘OSD called several times demanding bribe’ C H A N D I G A R H : It was the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) of the Punjab Health Minister who called an officer in Punjab Bhawan to demand a kickback of `1.16 crore in commission. Calls were also made over WhatsApp threatening to ‘destroy’ his career The case against Health Minister Dr Vijay Inder Singla and his OSD Pardeep Kumar has been lodged under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act on the complaint of Rajinder Singh, who works as Superintending Engineer in Punjab Health Systems Corporation at Phase-8 Police Station of Mohali. The FIR, in Punjabi, mentions that Singh was continuously getting WhatsApp calls on his mobile number on May 8, 10, 12 13 and 23. He was ‘advised ‘ to pay the bribe for a peaceful retirement, it said. ENS