FRIDAY SUPREME COURT ORDERS 33% QUOTA FOR WOMEN IN SC BAR ASSOCIATION 03 The court said the order must be implemented from the 2024 election to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) set to be held on May 16 MAY, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard May 19 when results of the Supreme Court bar association election will be out X.com/TheMornStandard DUBAI HEAVY RAINS HIT FLIGHT OPERATION Heavy rains and thunderstorms lashed UAE on Thursday, leading to cancellation of several int’l flights, two wks after Dubai was hit by unprecedented storms PAGE 11 FIVE SEATS IN THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI J8.00 PAGES 14 Apart from six office bearers, the SCBA has six senior executive members and nine executive members. As per the court order, at least two senior executive members and three executive members should be women. The order was passed by a bench comprising justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan while hearing a case involving SCBA against its former Secretary B D Kaushik | P9 52 contractual DCW employees sacked NO WORD, BUT PARTY A S H I S H S R I V A S TA V A @ New Delhi THE Women and Child Development (WCD) Department of the Delhi government has terminated the services of 52 contractual employees of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) for allegedly occupying the posts “illegally”. According to the Raj Niwas, the action was based on a report of a committee formed in 2017 by the then L-G Anil Baijal. The move has created a controversy as the former DCW chief and AAP MP Swati Maliwal has been alleged of holding back this action till she occupied the office. “The Women & Child Development (WCD) Department…has UCLA PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS REMOVED The police removed barricades and began dismantling a proPalestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles, after hundreds of protesters defied orders to leave | P11 After bomb hoax, schools record thin attendance EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi A day after hoax bomb threat emails created panic in 131 Delhi-NCR schools, most institutions on Thursday witnessed a low attendance, while a couple of them opted for online classes even for the pre-schoolers. Meanwhile, Delhi Police has sought CBI help to crack the case. On Wednesday morning, the schools received hoax bomb threats via email, which led to widespread panic among parents and students, prompting authorities to suspend classes. Several schools on Thursday reopened to normalcy but attendance took a hit. Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu School, said she revisited the school’s evacuation plan on each floor and wrote to disaster management authorities to conduct mock drills and awareness activities for them. Sudha Acharya, principal of ITL Public School in Dwarka, said that parents were still scared about their children’s safety in schools. “Our attendance on Thursday dropped to 85% from an average of about 95%-97% daily. Certainly, parents are still scared and anxious,” she added. P3 COMMITTEE REPORT The action was based on a report of a committee formed in 2017 by the then L-G Anil Baijal. The move has triggered a row as former DCW chief and AAP MP Swati Maliwal has been alleged of holding back this action till she occupied the office terminated the services of 52 illegally appointed contractual employees of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), on the basis of a report submitted by a Committee way back in June, 2017. The Committee…had found the appointments and the processes that were followed, to be illegal and had held the appointments to be invalid ab initio. It had recommended that the appointment of existing contractual staff engaged without having sanctioned posts, without following the due procedure are void abinitio and same cannot be allowed to continue,” an official note from the department read. “However, the DCW and its chairperson, Ms. Swati Maliwal, who in the first instance had appointed these individuals, illegally kept the recommendations of the Committee in abeyance and the same could be moved by the WCD Department only upon her demit- ting office recently,” it added. Reacting to the development, Maliwal posted a message on X where she called the move a ‘Tughlaqi Farman’ (diktat) by the L-G. “If all the contract staff is removed, the Women’s Commission will be locked. Why are these people doing this? This institution has been built with blood and sweat. Instead of giving it staff and protection, you are destroying it from its roots? I will not let the Women’s Commission be closed as long as I am alive. Put me in jail, don’t torture women,” she added. On April 29, the WCD deputy director Navlendra Kumar Singh said Maliwal had appointed the staff without the government’s permission. SEX-GATE Prajwal flew to Germany on diplomatic passport: MEA Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi SUSPENDED Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is in the eye of a storm over his alleged sexual harassment of women, travelled to Germany on a diplomatic passport without political clearance, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday . “No political clearance was either sought from or issued by MEA in respect to his travel to Germany… Obviously, no visa note was iss u e d e i t h e r, ” M E A spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday . Diplomatic passport holders can travel to over 100 countries, including Germany, without visa. “The ministry has not issued visa note for Revanna for travel to any other country,” the MEA spokesperson said, adding that MPs are entitled to have diplomatic passports. Prajwal is the MP from Has- san, from where he is seeking re-election. Prajwal, 33, is the grandson of former PM and JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda. Diplomatic passports are issued to diplomats, government officials and individuals who are authorised to undertake official travel on behalf of the government. Diplomatic passport holders enjoy certain privileges, including immunity from arrest in the host country . On Kar nataka CM Siddaramaiah’s demand for revocation of Prajwal’s diplomatic passport, Jaiswal said it can be taken only on the directions of a court. “As regards the possible revocation of the passport of any individual, I would refer you to the relevant provisions of the Passport Act 1967. A direction should come from a court for revocation of passport. We are not in receipt of any directions from any court in this regard.” Lookout notice issued against ‘absconder’ MP EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru/Kalaburagi MORE trouble seems to be brewing for Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna and his MLA father HD Revanna in the alleged sex videos case as the SIT issued a lookout notice against Prajwal. A Hassan court allowed the SIT to invoke rape charges against Revanna, who has moved a special court seeking anticipatory bail. Also, another woman has filed a complaint of sexual harassment against Prajwal. As Prajwal failed to appear before the investigation officer despite being served a notice, the SIT issued a lookout notice against him on Thursday term, ing him an “absconder”. As per the lookout notice, law enforcement agencies have been told to arrest him wherever he is sighted. The notice has been issued to all immigration points at airports, sea ports and border checkposts. READIES IN RAE BARELI Nomination deadline for Amethi, Rae Bareli seats in UP ends today BJP drops tainted Brij Bhushan, fields his son Karan in Kaiserganj P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow WITH barely hours left for filing of nomination papers for the Amethi and Rae Bareli seats, the Congress is continuing to keep the suspense on whether Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka will contest from the prestigious seats. Though there was no official word, sources said that Rahul is likely to enter the fray from Rae Bareli. That decision was taken after much deliberations within the party leadership. However, sources said Priyanka may not contest the general elections. On Wednesday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the decision would be announced by Thursday evening. Yet, there was no official announcement till going to the press. However, posters of Rahul have come up in both Amethi and Rae Bareli as the local leadership is hopeful that one of the Gandhis will contest from Amethi. “We received a message Family from the high command in the bastion evening to make preparations Rae Bareli is for Friday’s nomination. The party will also hold a rally to- prestigious for the Congress day said a leader. ,” According to sources, Con- as it was held by Indira gress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has conveyed to the Gandhis Gandhi thrice, that not contesting from Uttar her husband Pradesh would not augur well Feroze Gandhi twice and for the party’s prospects in the Sonia from Hindi heartland. Rahul represented Amethi for three straight 2004 to 2024 terms from 2004 to 2019 before he was defeated by Union minister Smriti Irani by over 50,000 votes in 2019. Irani, who is seeking a second term from Amethi, has challenged Rahul to contest from the seat. A section of the leaders believe that if Rahul does not take up the challenge, it will only vindicate the BJP’s charges of him running away from the seat. According to sources, Rahul was not keen on Priyanka’s electoral debut as he did not want all the three members of the family in Parliament. The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been constantly attacking the Congress over its dynasty politics. THE BJP on Thursday dropped Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who faces criminal charges of sexually harassing women wrestlers during his stint as the president of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), and instead fielded his younger son Karan Bhushan Singh from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency . The saffron party also named Dinesh Pratap Singh as its candidate from Rae Bareli, a Gandhi family bastion that elected Congress leader Sonia Gandhi five consecutive times. Dinesh Pratap Singh, currently serving as a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet, was the BJP’s candidate from the Rae Bareli parliamentary seat in 2019 as well. Even though he lost to Sonia Gandhi last time, he managed to bring down her victory margin to 1.67 lakh votes from 3.52 lakh in 2014. He was earlier with the Congress and he joined the BJP in 2018. Rajput Brij Bhushan, the sitting MP card in Kaiserganj, was forced to reBy fielding sign as WFI president over the Dinesh Singh sexual harassment scandal after and Karan the wrestlers launched a proBhushan(pic), test. By denying ticket to Brij BJP hopes to Bhushan, the BJP has sought to placate send out a message of distancRajput ing itself from tainted leaders. community With Brij Bhushan, the total voters, who number of MPs benched by the were upset BJP in UP in the ensuing elecwith the party tion has touched 15. A six-time MP, Brij Bhushan has won not only from Kaiserganj but also neighbouring constituencies like Gonda and Balrampur. An influential regional leader, he has sway over half-a-dozen Lok Sabha seats in and around Gonda in central UP . Brij Bhushan has formidable clout in Kaiserganj and adjoining districts as he owns over 50 educational institutions in the region. He had been pitching hard for a seat for himself while the BJP reportedly gave him two options — to field his wife Ketaki Singh or elder son Prateek, an MLA from Gonda Sadar. Ketaki Singh was BJP’s Gonda MP in 1996. Packaged tour: Book a private train from Kerala to Ayodhya, Goa, Mumbai E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kochi GRUMPY DON Former US President Donald Trump appears at the Manhattan criminal court before his trial in the hush money case in New York on Thursday | PTI IN a first, private trains will be available for tourists from Kerala to destinations such as Goa, Mumbai and Ayodhya. To begin with, the private train journey from the state to Goa will begin next month. The facility is being launched by SRMPR Global Railways, a Chennai-based tour operator, in partnership with the Kochi-based Princy World Travel Limited. An individual or a group of 600 passengers can book a private train journey to the three prominent destinations from Kerala, said officials. The inaugural journey is set to depart from Thiruvananthapuram on June 4 to Madgaon in Goa. The four-day tour package is available in three categories: 2-tier AC at `16,400 per person, 3-tier AC at `15,150 per person and non-AC sleeper at `13,999. The package includes stay, food and sightseeing. Services like off-board travel and excursions by buses, stay at hotels, tour guides, meals and travel insurance are provided along with these train journeys and allied onboard services. Though the Indian Railways introduced the concept of private players operating tourist trains on theme-based circuits under the Bharat Gaurav Tourist Trains a couple of years back, this is the first time that a private firm is getting into this segment from Kerala. Earlier, such private train tours were launched from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. For instance, the Karnataka government in association with IRCTC operates private trains to Kashi Prayag, Gaya and Ayodhya. Similarly, private trains are operated between Coimbatore and Shirdi. BJP scramble to save Sikri fort from popular Kargil war veteran’s Hand N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow KNOWN for being the seat of the famous Sufi saint Salim Chishti and the fort of Mughal Emperor Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri is the youngest parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh. It was carved out of Agra in 2008. BJP’s Rajkumar Chahar had won it in 2019 with 5 lakh-plus vote margin. But this time, the contest seems to be evenly poised between the BJP and the Congress. Sikri goes to polls on May 7. Congress candidate Ram Nath Sikarwar — popularly known as Fauji Baba — is giving a tough fight to Chahar, who is reeling under anti-incumbency besides intraparty rebellion. In 2019, Chahar was a giant killer, having defeated Raj Babbar, the then s tate pre sident of the Congress. But now Chahar, the national chairman of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha, is caught in a double whammy . Apart from Sikarwar, Chahar is also facing a tough chal- lenge from Rameshwar Chaudhury son of BJP MLA Babulal , Chaudhury. Rameshwar has Rajkumar Chahar Ram Nath Sikarwar raised the flag of revolt and is contesting as an independent. He is believed to have better clout than Chahar among the Jat voters. The BJP recently expelled Rameshwar after all efforts to pacify him failed. Chahar also has to deal with grumpy Kashtriyas due to a perceived slight against the community by the BJP’s candidate in Gujarat’s Rajkot, Parshottam Rupala. Since Sikarwar is a Kshatriya, he is getting resonance from the community . To save the seat, senior BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh, ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR a prominent Thakur face, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are holding multiple rallies in Sikri and Agra to placate the Kshatriyas. The BJP has also roped in retired Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadoria, another Thakur from Bah who recently joined the party to pacify the Thakurs. , Bhadoria held a roadshow for the BJP candidate. Chahar is mainly relying on the ModiYogi factor to stay afloat. As for the Congress, its leadership is trying to put in more effort to wrest the seat. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi is scheduled to hold a roadshow in Fatehpur Sikri on Friday . Besides, Sikarwar has his own following. He resides in the Kheragarh village, often stays in a village temple and travels in a four-wheeler. A Kargil war hero, he retired from the Army in 2004. His popularity especial, ly among the deprived sections, is giving Chahar more worries. The BSP has fielded Ram Niwas Sharma, a Brahmin, making it a quadrangular contest. Sikri has 1.75 lakh Jats, 3.5 lakh Thakurs, 3 lakh Brahmins, 1.4 lakh Kushwahas, 1.25 lakh Nishads, and Muslims and Vaishyas at 1 lakh each. MORE REPORTS ON PG 6, 7, 9, 10 EXPRESS READ Two labourers killed in U’khand forest fire Two Nepalese labourers were killed and two others seriously injured in the fire that has been raging in the jungles of the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand for last six days. The labourers were trying to extinguish the fire when they got surrounded by high flames all directions. Two of them died of their injuries before reaching the hospital. Two others are in an unconscious state. Their identities are still awaiting confirmation, police said. Shah video: 5 Cong leaders detained The Hyderabad police on Thursday detained five Congress members in connection with the circulation of a doctored video by the Congress on their X handle featuring Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The Delhi police also reportedly arrived in Hyderabad on Thursday for further investigation into the case. However, the five accused were already detained at the Central Crime Station, sources said. P5 Noida bizman held in C’garh liquor scam The Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday arrested a Noida-based businessman, Vidhu Gupta, in connection with a probe into the alleged Chhattisgarh liquor scam, officials said. According to the FIR lodged at Kasna police station, Gupta’s firm Prizm Holography Security Films was illegally granted tender to supply holograms to the Excise Department of Chhattisgarh.
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