CMYK CONFUSION THAT GRIPS CONG GETS EXPOSED AT 3 DAY CHINTAN SHIVIR OPINION Rs. 3 PATNA TUESDAY, 17 MAY, 2022 PG-12, YEAR—8, ISSUE—171 (RNI NO: BIHENG / 2014 / 59124) INFLATION WILL TAKE TIME TO MODERATE EVEN AFTER RATE HIKES BUSINESS Morning India After worship at Lumbini, Modi-Deuba hold parleys AGENCIES KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held bilateral talks with his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba in Lumbini -the birthplace of Gautam Buddha -- during which they discussed ways to strengthen ongoing cooperation and develop new areas in the multifaceted bilateral partnership. Modi, who is in the Himalayan nation at the invitation of Deuba on a day-long visit to Lumbini on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, met Deuba after offering prayers at the sacred Maya Devi temple. "PM @narendramodi holds bilateral talks with PM @SherBDeuba in Lumbini. SC to hear plea against Gyanvapi survey on Tuesday Opportunity to strengthen ongoing cooperation and develop new areas in our multifaceted partnership," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted. Ahead of his visit, Modi had said that his visit to Nepal is intended to further deepen the "time-honoured" linkages between the two countries, adding both sides will continue to build on the shared under- JD-U nominates Nitish’s aide Anil Hegde to RS AGENCIES AGENCIES NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Tuesday the plea of the management of Gyanvapi mosque against the survey of the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The apex court will hear the matter amidst an important development with a Varanasi court on Monday directed the district administration there to seal the spot of the survey inside the complex where allegedly 'Shivling' has been found by the surveying team. As per the updated list of business of the apex court for Tuesday, a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and P S Narasimha would be hearing the plea of the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which manages the affairs of Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. The written order, passed on Friday by a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, had ordered the listing of the plea before a bench headed by Justice Chandrachud. PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata DalUnited on Monday announced its low-profile top office-bearer Anil Hegde as its candidate for the by-election to a Rajya Sabha seat which has been necessitated by the death of multiple-term MP, 'King Mahendra'. According to a statement issued by JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, the party has ”decided to field Shri Anil Hegde as a candidate for the by-election to the council of states from Bihar, left vacant due to the untimely death of our party MP Dr Mahendra Prasad”. Hegde has for long been the JD-U's national election officer, responsible for coordination between the party and the Election Commission during assembly and parliamentary polls. Known to keep a low profile, he has been closely associated with the Bihar chief minister, the party's de facto leader, for more than two decades. The last date for nomina- Hegde has for long been the JDU's national election officer standing to expand ties in multiple areas, including hydropower and connectivity. "Our ties with Nepal are unparalleled. The civilisational and people-to-people contacts between India and Nepal form the enduring edifice of our close relationship," Modi had said in his departure statement. Modi had said that he was looking forward to meeting Deuba after their "productive" discussions during the latter's visit to India last month. Their discussion is likely to focus on further expanding cooperation in multiple areas, including hydropower and connectivity. Some MoUs on cooperation in cultural and educational sectors are expected to be exchanged between the two countries. India logs 2,202 new Covid cases AGENCIES tion for the by-election is Wednesday, and voting, if required, will take place on May 30. Besides Hegde, others who were speculated to be in the race were the party's voluble national secretary general K C Tyagi, the deceased MP's brother Bhola Sharma and another national secretary general Afaque Ahmed Khan who has often been credited with making JD-U visible in the north-east. Mahendra Prasad, better known as ”King Mahendra” in political and social circles, had died in December last year at the ripe age of 81 years. He was widely regarded as one of the richest parliamentarians in the country who had a humble beginning as a school teacher but rose in the world of pharmaceutical business and came to own three companies. NEW DELHI: With 2,202 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,31,23,801 while the active cases dipped to 17,317, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Monday. The death toll climbed to 5,24,241 with 27 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprised 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.74 per cent, the ministry said. A decrease of 375 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.74 per cent and weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.59 per cent, according to the health ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,25,82,243, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.22 per cent. meditation centres, library, exhibition hall, cafeteria, offices and other amenities, the MEA said in a statement. The Centre will be constructed by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), New Delhi, on a plot allocated to the IBC by the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT), under an agreement between the IBC and the LDT signed in March 2022, it said. After the 'shilanyaas' ceremony, which was performed by monks belonging to three major Buddhist traditions, Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana, the two prime ministers also unveiled a model of the Centre. According to official sources, the significance of Prime Minister Modi laying the foundation stone of the Centre was that India, despite being one of the main centres of Buddhism in the world, had no centre or project in Lumbini. Countries like Thailand, Canada, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Singapore, France, Germany, Japan, Vietnam, Austria, China, South Korea and the United States are all represented by Centres of projects in the Monastic Zone, they said. After 3 decades, India has a centre in Lumbini AGENCIES LUMBINI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba on Monday laid the foundation stone for a technologically-advanced India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in Lumbini, Lord Buddha's birthplace. Once completed, the Centre will be a world-class facility welcoming pilgrims and tourists from all over the world to enjoy the essence of spiritual aspects of Buddhism, projecting India's growing soft power. 'Taking forward our cultural ties. PM @narendramodi and PM @SherBDeuba perform Shilanyas ceremony of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage,' Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter. 'The centre is being built at the initiative of the International Buddhist Confederation, New Delhi,' he said. The Centre will be a modern building, NetZero compliant in terms of energy, water and waste handling, and will house prayer halls, UP, Bihar asked to provide data on bodies found floating in Ganga AGENCIES NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal has directed the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar governments to inform it about the number of human corpses found floating in the river Ganga besides bodies buried on the river bed in the two states before the onset of COVID-19 till March 31 this year. A bench of Justices Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Dr Afroz Ahmad directed the additional chief secretary (home) and additional chief secretary/principal secretary (health), governments of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar respectively to submit factual verification reports on the issue. "How many dead bodies were documented/found to have been floating in river Ganga and (b) to have been buried on the river bed in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar before COVID-19 in the years 2018 and 2019 and after COVID-19 in the years 2020, 2021 and till 31.03.2022?," the bench asked. "In how many cases financial support was extended by the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar respectively for cremation, funeral, or burial of the dead bodies? What steps were taken for creating public awareness and promoting public participation for preventing floating of dead bodies in river Ganga or their burial in or near the river bed,?" the bench asked. The tribunal sought to know whether any criminal case was registered and any prosecution was launched against any person for violation of the guidelines for the management of dead bodies covid infected or otherwise. The green panel also asked if there was any violation of environmental norms and, if so, the details of the remedial measures taken may be furnished. The NGT was hearing a plea filed by journalist Sanjay Sharma seeking directions to ensure that proper COVID-19 protocol is followed for the disposal of the coronavirus impacted human corpses. "Direct the respondents to devise permanent mechanisms to regulate the disposal of dead bodies into the rivers, and issue directions to incentivise resort to the crematorium to give effect to the fundamental right to decent burial and cremation.