Amaravati, July 31 (IANS) YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President and former Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy interacted with party leaders, workers and people at the camp office in Tadepalli on Wednesday.

The former Chief Minister personally greeted each individual by name and took the time to enquire about their well-being and understand their concerns.

Jagan Mohan Reddy told party leaders and workers not to lose heart and assured them that the party stands firmly by their side. He emphasised the need for moving forward together.

YSRCP workers and people were seen standing in a queue to meet the leader. Some of them took selfies with him.

This was the first such interaction with party workers and people by Jagan Mohan Reddy since losing power to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led National Democratic Alliance.

In the May 13 elections, the YSRCP won only 11 seats in the 175-member Assembly.

The party also won four out of 25 Lok Sabha seats.

The TDP-JSP-BJP alliance won 164 Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the State Legislative Assembly Speaker and the Legislature Secretary on Jagan Mohan Reddy’s petition seeking orders to give him Leader of Opposition (LoP) status.

Justice Cheemalapati Ravi directed the respondents to file counters with full details related to the LoP status and adjourned the hearing for three weeks.

The petitioner argued that he should be given the LoP status as per the rules.

Jagan made Minister for Legislative Affairs Payyavula Keshav and Speaker Ayyanna Patrudu as respondents in individual capacity.

As the Speaker is the authority to decide on LoP status, the court issued a notice to him.

In a letter to the Speaker on June 25, Jagan Mohan Reddy requested him to recognise YSRCP as the principal Opposition party and him as the LoP.

“There is already a discussion in the public domain to the effect that I would not be entitled to the position of LoP on the ground that YSRCP does not have 10 per cent of the strength of the august House.

“It is to be noted that the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly notified under Article 208 of the Constitution of India do not prescribe any such mandatory percentage of seats to be secured by a political party for recognising its leader as LoP.

“Nor has there been any convention of insistence of 10 per cent strength on the floor of the august House for the Opposition party, in the unified state of Andhra Pradesh to grant such recognition as LoP,” wrote Jagan Mohan Reddy.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) The Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi will visit Wayanad on Thursday, to take first-hand account of the devastation caused by landslides in many regions of the district.

During their visit, the duo will meet some displaced families, taking refuge in relief camps in Meppadi after the catastrophic landslides turned the region into ruins.

The death toll due to the deadly landslides in Wayanad has touched the 200 mark and is likely to increase further as many are still feared trapped in the debris of the catastrophic landslides and 200 people are reported missing.

As per the itinerary, MP Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi will visit three relief camps operating at Government Higher Secondary School, St Joseph’s UP School, Dr Moopen’s Medical College in Wayanad’s Meppadi on Thursday.

During the meet, they are expected to express solidarity with affected families and also give assurances to them on all possible assistance.

As the devastating landslides hit Wayanad on July 30, MP Rahul Gandhi exhorted the United Democratic Front (UDF) workers to extend all possible assistance to the people, affected or trapped by it.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi also took to X and said, “Our hearts are with you at this tragic hour and we are praying for you all.”

MP Rahul Gandhi, having represented Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in the 17th Lok Sabha, said that he has spoken to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Wayanad District Collector, who in turn assured him of all possible assistance to the victims.

Notably, the two senior Congress leaders were scheduled to visit Wayanad on Wednesday morning but their schedule was changed because of adverse weather conditions and incessant rains.

LoP Rahul Gandhi also raised the issue of Wayanad landslides in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and demanded enhanced compensation from the Centre for the victims.

He called for treating the restoration of communication lines and transport connectivity as of utmost importance and called for fast relief and rehabilitation of the displaced population.

Rahul Gandhi also raised the pressing issue of mapping the landslide-prone areas to prepare a bulwark against such calamities.

“The country has witnessed an alarming rise in landslides in the last few years. There is an urgent need for the mapping of landslide-prone areas and to take up mitigation measures and an action plan to address the growing frequency of natural calamities in the ecologically fragile regions,” LoP Rahul Gandhi said.

The worst affected areas in the Wayanad landslides include Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil and Pothukalu.

Rahul Gandhi served the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency as its MP in the previous term. This time, he was re-elected from the constituency but he chose Rae Bareli over Wayanad.

Priyanka Gandhi is slated to contest polls from the constituency, whenever elections happen.

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 31 (IANS) Taking serious cognisance of the complaints against 2023 Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, the UPSC carried out an unprecedented scrutiny of the number of attempts availed by over 15,000 IAS candidates for 15 years, as per an official statement.

After a thorough examination of the Civil Service Examinations (CSE) from 2009 to 2023 for over 15,000 finally recommended candidates, it has emerged that only Puja Khedkar flouted the rules.

Accordingly, the UPSC on Wednesday cancelled her provisional candidature for CSE-2022, and permanently debarred her from all future exams/selections.

“After this detailed exercise, barring the case of Puja Khedkar, no other candidate was found to have availed more number of attempts than permitted under the CSE Rules,” said the UPSC.

In the lone case of Puja Khedkar, the UPSC admitted that its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) “could not detect her number of attempts primarily because she changed not only her name but also her parents’ names”.

The UPSC said it is now in the process of further strengthening its SOPs to plug any possible loopholes to ensure that such a case does not recur in the future.

Regarding the complaints pertaining to the submission of false certificates (specifically OBC and PwBD categories), the UPSC said that “it only does a preliminary scrutiny of the certificates, viz. whether the certificate has been issued by the competent authority, the issuing year, date, whether there is any overwriting on the certificate, its format, etc.”

“Generally, the certificate is taken as genuine if it has been issued by the competent authority. The UPSC neither has the mandate nor the wherewithal to check the veracity of thousands of certificates submitted by the candidates every year.

“However, it is understood that scrutiny and verification of genuineness of certificates is carried out by the authorities mandated with the task,” the UPSC said.

The UPSC, Central government, Maharashtra government, and the police are conducting separate probes against Puja Khedkar, while the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie recently removed her from field training as a trainee IAS officer in Pune and Washim districts.

–IANS

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Hyderabad, July 31 (IANS) Jishnu Dev Varma, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Tripura, took oath as the new Governor of Telangana on Wednesday.

Chief Justice of Telangana High Court, Justice Alok Aradhe administered the oath of office to the Governor at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers and top officials attended the programme.

Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari read out the warrant of appointment issued by the President of India appointing Varma as the Governor of Telangana.

Union Minister for Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, leaders of BJP, Congress and BRS were present.

Earlier, the Chief Minister received Varma at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

He also received a Guard of Honour by the armed police personnel.

Varma, who was appointed as the Governor on July 27, succeeds CP Radhakrishnan, who was appointed the new Governor of Maharashtra.

Radhakrishnan had been holding additional charge of Telangana along with Jharkhand since March.

Radhakrishnan was also discharging functions of Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

Radhakrishnan was given additional charge of Telangana and Puducherry after the resignation of Tamilisai Soundararajan to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu.

Jishnu Dev Varma, 67, is the fourth Governor of Telangana.

Interestingly all three Governors of Telangana since the state’s formation in 2014, were from Tamil Nadu.

ESL Narasimhan, Tamilisai Soundararajan and Radhakrishnan all were from Tamil Nadu.

Varma, who joined the BJP from the Congress in 1993, served as the Deputy CM of Tripura from 2018 to 2023.

He also held the responsibilities of Power, Rural Development, Panchayat Raj, Finance, Planning, Science and Technology and Environment ministries.

He lost the Assembly election in 2023 from Charilam in Sepahijala District.

–IANS

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Srinagar, July 31 (IANS) J&K Lt Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha on Wednesday addressed the Certificate Award Ceremony marking the recognition of Srinagar as a ‘World Craft City’ by the World Crafts Council (WCC).

Srinagar is the 4th city in India to receive the prestigious title of ‘World Craft City’. The Certificate Award Ceremony was attended by World Crafts Council President Sa’ad Hani Al-Qaddumi and other prominent personalities of the Council.

L-G congratulated the people, artisans, craftspeople and all stakeholder departments on the momentous occasion.

“Truly delighted to see Srinagar being awarded the certificate of ‘World Craft City’ by World Crafts Council (WCC). It’s a great honour for the ancient city known for its priceless cultural and artistic heritage. It will go a long way to preserve and promote J&K’s crafts and craftsmanship,” he said.

He appreciated the World Crafts Council for its endeavours to inspire and promote the artistic traditions of the cities across the world.

“J&K is proud to have an inclusive cultural ecosystem, which always inspired the weavers and craftspeople. I believe in honouring the Srinagar city, the World Crafts Council has also honoured the 5000-year rich Indian civilisation which kept alive creative traditions and always promoted gifted artisans for their ingenuity and craftsmanship,” he observed.

He said that he wanted to see Jammu and Srinagar becoming the best art cities of India and also highlighted the efforts of the UT Administration to preserve and promote the unique cultural and artistic heritage of Jammu Kashmir and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to the artisans and craftspeople of J&K.

“Jammu Kashmir is known as a Crown Jewel of India not only because of its geographical position but also because of its quest for spiritual wisdom and its ageless Indian cultural assets, which can be witnessed in the infinite variety of creative products,” he said.

He said that the administration is giving greater attention to the training of a young generation of craftspeople so they can be part of this traditional occupation.

“I am sure the recognition of Srinagar now as ‘World Craft City’ will not only provide a new identity to Srinagar in the global market but craftsmanship will re-establish its position as a prestigious occupation,” the L-G said.

Sa’ad Hani Al-Qaddumi, President of World Crafts Council International, congratulated the J&K administration on the recognition of Srinagar as a ‘World Craft City’.

“Srinagar has joined the well-deserved ranks amongst the craft cities across the world,” he said.

On the occasion, the L-G also released a publication depicting the 60-year journey of the World Crafts Council.

–IANS

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