CMYK JUNE 30 Preparation for chariot festival being announced at a Press conference by ISKCON members in Kolkata, on Wednesday. THURSDAY 31 31 27 Precipition: 80% Wind: 16 KM/H Humidity: 82% PAGE 3 Rs. 3 KOLKATA THURSDAY, 30 JUNE, 2022 PG-12, YEAR—8, ISSUE—396 (RNI NO.: WBENG / 2014 / 56803) Indian rupee slips to 78.68 against US dollar MI News Service, Chennai: The increasing global crude oil prices and inflation concern turned slippery for the Indian rupee as it went down against the US dollar on Tuesday. Further, foreign investors (FII) continued to sell their equity holdings on the bourses. The Indian rupee opened at Rs 78.50 and went down to touch a fresh record low of 78.68 against the dollar. As crude prices increase, the rupee may further slip down, analysts said. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened by selling dollars to stabilise the rupee rate but the demand for the US currency was high. According to a report by Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd, a total of $34 billion (FII equities and FII debt) has flown out of India during the last eight months. As the world faces dollar funding stress, the RBI's foreign exchange management strategy (spot intervention + BuySell swaps) could backfire, if persisted for long, Emkay Global said. BJP using agencies to harass common people, says Mamata MI News Bardhaman: Service, CBI is repeatedly trying to intimidate the opposition by harassing everyone, even doctors, journalists, Toto drivers are being heckled for ulte- rior motive. Raising such allegations, Mamata Banerjee again expressed her anger against the Center without naming her from the administrative meeting in Durgapur. ❑ Continue PG 3 Govt lost majority, should Governor wait for floor test, SC asks Shiv Sena counsel MI News Service New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday queried Shiv Sena Chief Whip Sunil Prabhu that if a government has lost majority in the house, and the Speaker of the Assembly is asked to disqualify those who have withdrawn support, should the Governor wait for a floor test? Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Prabhu, contended before a vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and J.B. Pardiwala that the Governor is bound to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. He added that the Governor may act on the ad- vice of ministers or not, but definitely cannot act on the advice of the opposition. Singhvi said if the rebel MLAs are allowed to vote on Thursday, then the court would be permitting voting by MLAs who could be disqualified later, which goes to the root of democratic principles. At this, the bench queried Singhvi that suppose a government knows that they have lost the majority in the House, and the Speaker is asked to issue disqualification notices to those withdrawing support. Then at that point, should the Governor wait for calling a floor test or can he independently decide, it asked. "What should the Governor do? Can he exercise his discretion?" Singhvi added that the resolution sent to the Speaker was rejected as the authenticity could not be verified, as the communication was sent from unverified email. He asked how can the Governor, who just recovered from Covid, after a meeting with the Leader of Opposition, ask for a floor test the next day? Will it not blow the 10th Schedule (anti-defection law) to smithereens? Singhvi added that the people who have changed sides cannot represent the will of the people. He said, "Will heavens fall if there is no floor test tomorrow?" During the hearing, the bench queried suppose there are two situations, one where the Speaker has passed an order and it is lying pending before the court in judicial review, and in the other situation, the Speaker has passed this order and someone has moved the top ❑ Continue PG 3 Curfew continues for second day in seven police station areas of Udaipur MI News Service, Udaipur: Curfew contin- Preparation for Kolkata Rath Yatra Festival is on near the ISKON house in Kolkata on Wednesday. Anit Thapa's BGPM to form new GTA board in West Bengal MI News Service, Kolkata: Anit Thapa floated Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) - a close associate of West Bengal ruling party Trinamool Congress -- is all set to form a new Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) board in the hills of Darjeeling in north Bengal. While BGPM bagged 27 out of 45 seats in GTA, the semi-autonomous council for governing the hills, Trinamool Congress finished the tally with five in a virtually one-sided poll, where prominent hillbased political forces like Bimal Gurung's Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) and the national party like BJP abstained from participating in the polls. Ajay Ed- ward's newly floated Hamro Party managed to bag victory in eight seats, while five seats went in favour of the independents. Anit Thapa himself got elected from both the seats it contested. Incidentally, BJP has its elected MP from Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency since 2009. The polls were conducted on June 26, 2022 and polling percentage was extremely low at around 57 per cent. According to political analyst expert in north Bengal and northeastern India affairs and writer of the book "The Buddha and Borders", Nirmalya Banerjee now it is to be seen whether Anit Thapa forms the new board in his own strength or does that in association with Trinamool Congress. ❑ Continue PG 3 PIC PRABIR BHATTACHARYA CBI harassing Toto drivers, doctors, and everybody at their beck and call: CM MI News Service, Kolkata: The CBI is re- ligence Agency to obstruct the work of the peatedly trying to intimidate the opposi- opposition. The same melody was heard tion by showing poker. Doctors and in his throat again. However, the Chief journalists are being called for investigation from Toto driver! Being harassed. Raising such allegations, the Chief Minister again expressed her anger against the Center without naming her from the administrative meeting in Durgapur. The Trinamool (TMC) supremo said in an administrative meeting on the same day, “You know the CBI case is going on here. They also called the Toto driver of a poor Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is at an administrative meethouse in Birbhum. Dr. ing along with TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha and state minister Abhijit Chowdhury has Moloy Ghatak at Durgaupur on Wednesday. also been called. Trinamool panchayat members and MLAs Minister gave the message to continue the are being harassed by calling them. ” work ignoring these. He advised BLRO ofEarlier, she had alleged that the Modi fices to be more active. He also directed Continue PG 3 government was using the Central Intel- the district ❑ ued for the second day on Wednesday in the areas of seven police stations in view of the tension created after the murder of a youth in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed for the case has launched an investigation. Curfew is on in Dhan Mandi, Ghantghar, Hathi Pool, Ambamata, Suraj Pool, Bhopalpura and Soena police station areas of Udaipur and no untoward incident has been reported from anywhere during this period. However, in the meantime, examiners and essential services personnel have been exempted from the curfew. According to Inspector General of Police (ATS) Praful Kumar, the SIT has reached Udaipur and started investigations. She will investigate all aspects of the brutal murder. It is learned that a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also reached Adepur to probe the matter. As a precautionary measure, police vigilance has been stepped up in all the districts of the state, including Udaipur, and internet service in Adepur, Jaipur, Bhilwara, Ajmer and Nagore has been temporarily suspended in several districts. Two key accused in the case were arrested by the police from Bhim area of Rajsamand district on Tuesday and three more accused have been taken into custody from Rajsamand at their behest. All the accused are being questioned. On the other hand, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has left his program and reached Jaipur and is holding a high-level meeting on law and order. Udaipur horror: case registered under UAPA, NIA to probe MI News Service, Jaipur: The murder of Kanhaiya Lal has been registered under stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and will be investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday after chairing a high-level review meeting. He said that the Rajasthan ATS will provide full cooperation in the probe. The police officials said that the preliminary investigation has revealed that the incident was prima facie done for the purpose of spreading terror. Information about the international connection of the accused in other countries has also come to the fore. The Chief Minister said the police and administration should ensure law and order in the state and take strict action against those trying to create nuisance. Gehlot in his tweet said that it has been decided to give out-of-term promotion to five policemen -- Tejpal, Narendra, Shaukat, Vikas and Gautam, who made quick arrests of the accused involved in the Udaipur incident. The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee condemned the incident of Udaipur criticizing that it fundamentalism and animosity should be avoided at any cost. Countdown for Indian rocket's Thursday flight begins MI News Service, Chennai: The 25hour countdown for the Thursday evening launch of Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, carrying three Singapore satellites, began on Wednesday evening, the Indian space agency said. The mission is codenamed PSLV-C53/DS-EO by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). CMYK During the countdown, the rockets' engines powered by liquid fuel will be filled and all other systems will be checked. The Indian rocket will carry three satellites -- the 365 kg DS-EO and 155 kg NeuSAR, satellites belonging to Singapore and built by Starec Initiative of South Korea. The third satellite is a 2.8 kg Scoob-1 of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. If the launch is successful, the PSLV rocket would have launched 345 foreign satellites belonging to 36 countries since 1999. According to the ISRO, the PSLVC53 rocket is expected to blast off from the second launch pad at the Sriharikota rocket port at 6 p.m. on June 30. The Indian space agency, ISRO will use the rocket's fourth and final stage as an orbital platform for six payloads, including two from Indian space start-ups, Digantara and Dhruva Aerospace. The mission proposes to demonstrate the utilisation of the spent upper stage of the launch vehicle as a stabilised platform for scientific payloads, subse- quent to the separation of the satellites. The four stage expendable, 44.4 m tall PSLV-C53 has a lift-off mass of about 228 ton and total weight of the three satellites is 522.8 kg. The rocket's four stages will be powered by alternating solid and liquid fuel. Thursday's flight will be the 55th mission of PSLV and 15th mis- sion using the PSLV-Core Alone variant. In its normal configuration, the rocket will have six strap-on motors hugging its first stage. In the Core Alone variant of PSLV, the six strapon motors will not be there as the payload weight is less. The Indian space agency has PSLV variants with two and four strap-on motors and larger PSLV-XL.