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Monday,05-June-2023
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Politics

Attempt to evade accountability, transparency: BJP hits out at Mamata government

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Hitting out at the West Bengal government’s decision to have the Chief Minister as the Chancellor of all state universities instead of the Governor, the BJP on Friday said that Mamata Banerjee’s decision is an attempt to evade accountability and transparency.

The BJP also alleged that the move was intended to distract from the SSC scam and cover up gross irregularities in the Universities.

Co-incharge West Bengal BJP Amit Malviya tweeted, “Mamata Banerjee’s decision to replace the Governor as Chancellor of state Universities with the CM is an attempt to evade accountability and transparency. The move is intended to distract from the SSC scam and cover up gross irregularities in the Universities. CM is paranoid.”

“It is not just an assault on federalism but a brazen attempt to foist people with inadequate credentials as Vice Chancellors, who are expected to politicise education. Several appointments made by the WB Govt, in gross violation of regulations, are already facing legal challenge,” Malviya said.

The West Bengal cabinet on Thursday decided to have the Chief Minister as the Chancellor of all state universities instead of the Governor. This is for the first time that the state government has taken such an initiative to break the protocol, persisting since Independence, of having the Governor as Chancellor of the state universities.

Following the state cabinet meeting at the state Secretariat, Nabanna, Education Minister Bratya Basu said that the state government will bring a Bill in the Assembly proposing that the Chief Minister, not the Governor, will be the Chancellor of the state universities.

The development comes at a time when the state government and the ruling Trinamool Congress is already in a fix over the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe on the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment irregularities where two ministers of the state government have already been grilled by the central agency sleuths.

Crime

Horrific video! Man lifts his wife & jumps on Kolkata metro track on seeing train’s arrival, here’s what happened next

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In a horrific incident in West Bengal, a couple was seen trying to die by suicide on metro tracks. A man at the Noapara station platform of the Kolkata metro, on seeing the train’s arrival, hugged and lifted his wife and jumped in front of the transport with her.

Couple jumps before metro rail trying to die by suicide

In the video, we can see a couple casually walking on the metro platform and no sooner taking a drastic decision to end their lives. As the metro coach entered the premises, the man rushed towards his wife and jumped to the tracks with her. The duo was seen coming under the moving train, however, were rescued by the metro staff there.

Rescued by staff

The incident reportedly took place at 6.34 pm on Saturday, leading to a service disruption on the Kolkata Metro’s North-South Line. Within an hour of the suicide attempt, the services resumed in the entire stretch – from Kavi Subhas to Dakshineswar.

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International News

Oil prices rise as Saudi Arabia announces output cuts

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Oil-producing countries have agreed to continued cuts in production in a bid to shore up flagging prices, the media reported on Monday.

Saudi Arabia said it would make cuts of a million barrels per day (bpd) in July and OPEC+ said targets would drop by a further 1.4 million bpd from 2024, reports.

OPEC+ accounts for around 40 per cent of the world’s crude oil and its decisions can have a major impact on oil prices.

In Asia trade on Monday, Brent crude oil rose by as much as 2.4 per cent before settling at around $77 a barrel.

The seven hour-long meeting on Sunday of the oil-rich nations, led by Russia, came against a backdrop of falling energy prices.

Total production cuts, which OPEC+ has undertaken since October 2022, reached 3.66 million bpd, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the reported.

OPEC+, a formulation which refers to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, had already agreed to cut production by two million bpd, about 2 per cent of global demand.

“The result of the discussions was the extension of the deal until the end of 2024,” Novak said.

In April, it also agreed a surprise voluntary cut of 1.6 million bpd which took effect in May, a move that briefly saw an increase in prices but failed to bring about a lasting recovery.

On Sunday, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the cut of one million bpd could be extended beyond July if needed, the BBC reported.

“This is a Saudi lollipop,” he said, in what is seen as a bid to stabilise the market.

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Crime

Three men attack Punjab minister’s pilot vehicle after parking dispute

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Three drunk men allegedly pelted bricks at the pilot vehicle of Punjab Minister Balkar Singh in Jalandhar city after a parking dispute on Monday.

The accused allegedly chased and intercepted the minister’s official vehicle accompanying the police pilot. They then attacked the pilot vehicle with bricks near Guru Ravi Dass Dham. At that time the minister and his wife were on their way home, the police said.

The accused were arrested. Their luxury car was also impounded. The incident happened at around 1 a.m.

The assailants were reportedly in an inebriated condition. The cause of the attack was arguments over the parking of the vehicle outside an eatery, a police official said.

“They have been booked under Sections 153 and 186 of the IPC,” Police Commissioner Kuldeep Chahal told the media.

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