The Evening Wrap

12 June 2024

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Several Indians among 49 killed in Kuwait apartment blaze
A massive fire engulfed a multi-storey building in Kuwait housing foreign workers, mostly Indians, early on June 12, killing at least 49 people and injuring more than 50 others, according to officials.

Most deaths were due to smoke inhalation while residents were sleeping, and a significant number of occupants were evacuated, they added.

The fire started in a kitchen in the six-storey building in the Mangaf area in Kuwait’s southern Ahmadi Governorate, officials said, adding that the building reportedly had nearly 200 people living in it, who are workers of the same company.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said that the death toll from the tragic fire has reached 49, the Kuwait Times newspaper reported.

The ministry said that criminal evidence department personnel are currently working on identifying the victims on site and revealing the cause of the fire and added that strict measures will be taken against building owners who violate the law.

“Unfortunately, we received a report of a fire at… exactly 6:00 am (0830 IST) in the Mangaf area,” Major General Eid Al-Owaihan, head of the interior ministry’s General Department of Criminal Evidence, said.

The majority of the deceased were Indian nationals from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and north Indian states. Their ages ranged between 20 and 50 years, he was quoted as saying by English language daily Arab Times.

The building is rented by the NBTC group.

Sources said that five firefighters sustained injuries during the rescue operation.

“In connection with the tragic fire accident involving Indian workers today, the Embassy has put in place an emergency helpline number: +965-65505246. All concerned are requested to connect over this helpline for updates. Embassy remains committed to render all possible assistance,” the Indian Embassy in Kuwait said in a post on X.

Indians constitute 21 per cent (1 million) of the total population of Kuwait and 30 per cent of its workforce (approximately 9 lakhs).

“The fire mishap in Kuwait City is saddening. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. The Indian Embassy in Kuwait is closely monitoring the situation and working with the authorities there to assist the affected,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X.

At the direction of Prime Minister Modi, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh is rushing to Kuwait to oversee assistance to Indians injured in the fire and to ensure early repatriation of mortal remains of those killed.

“Deeply shocked by the news of the fire incident in Kuwait City. There are reportedly over 40 deaths and over 50 have been hospitalized. Our Ambassador has gone to the camp. We are awaiting further information,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a post on X.

“Deepest condolences to the families of those who tragically lost their lives. Wish early and full recovery to those who have been injured. Our Embassy will render the fullest assistance to all concerned in this regard,” he added.

Indian Ambassador Adarsh Swaika visited the fire incident site and later hospitals where over 50 Indian workers injured in today’s fire incident have been admitted.

“Amb @AdarshSwaika1 visited the tragic fire-incident site in Mangaf to ascertain the situation. Embassy is in constant touch with relevant Kuwaiti law enforcement, fire service and health authorities for necessary action and emergency medical health care,” the Indian mission said.

He visited the Al-Adan hospital where over 30 Indian workers injured in fire have been admitted. He met several patients and assured them of full assistance from the Embassy. Almost all are reported to be stable by hospital authorities, the mission said.

Ambassador Swaika also visited Farwaniya Hospital, where 6 injured workers, expected to be mostly Indians, were admitted. Hospital authorities confirmed that 4 of them have been released, one has been shifted to Jahra Hospital and one in the ward is reportedly stable, the Indian mission said in another post on X.

He visited Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital, where 11 injured workers have been admitted. Ten of them are expected to be released today and one in hospital is reportedly stable. He met with patients still in hospital and assured them of the Embassy’s full support.

“Amb @AdarshSwaika1 visited Jahra Hospital, where 6 workers, understood to be Indians, injured in today’s fire incident, have been admitted. They are reportedly stable. Another 6 are expected to be shifted to Jahra hospital today from the Mangaf site,” the Indian mission wrote on X.

The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah on Wednesday ordered authorities to probe the massive fire and vowed to hold accountable those responsible for the tragedy.

Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah condoled the deaths and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah, serving as the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, and Minister of Defence, has ordered police to arrest the owner of the Mangaf building where the fatal blaze occurred Wednesday, the building’s janitor, as well as the owner of the company responsible for the workers pending the end of the criminal evidence personnel’s examination of the scene, the Kuwait Times reported.

“What happened today is a result of the greed of the company and building owners,” the minister said in a statement as he visited the fire scene.

He said that he gave orders to Kuwait Municipality and the Public Authority for Manpower to launch immediate action to address similar violations where large numbers of workers are crammed into one residential building, and make sure that all safety requirements are in place in order to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Engineer Saud Al-Dabbous, the Director General of Kuwait Municipality, suspended several key officials, including the Deputy Director General for Hawalli and Al-Ahmadi Governorate Affairs, the Acting Director of the Al-Ahmadi Municipality Branch, the Director of the Audit, Follow-up, and Engineering Department, and the Head of the Violations Removal Department in Al-Ahmadi, Arab Times daily reported.

“These suspensions were enacted in the interest of public safety, pending the completion of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident,” the paper said.

Eyewitnesses said that the sight of flames engulfing the building instilled fear among onlookers.

One eyewitness recalled an incident where a resident worker leaped from the fifth floor, meeting a tragic end as he struck the balcony’s edge.

Mohan Charan Majhi sworn in as Odisha’s first BJP Chief Minister
Veteran BJP MLA Mohan Charan Majhi was sworn in as the 16th Chief Minister of Odisha on June 12.

In the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, their Cabinet colleagues and Chief Ministers of nine BJP-ruled States, Governor Raghubar Das administered the oath of office to Mr. Majhi, a four-time MLA from the Keonjhar Assembly constituency. He is the third tribal Chief Minister after late Hemanand Biswal and Giridhar Gamang since Odisha became a separate State in 1936.

K. V. Singh Deo, six-time MLA from the Patnagarh Assembly constituency, and Prabhati Parida, first-time Nimapara MLA, also took oath of office. The two leaders will serve as Deputy Chief Ministers in the State’s first BJP government.

Sixteen BJP MLAs were sworn in as new Ministers. Of the 16, 11 Ministers, including Majhi and his two deputies, hold Cabinet ranks, while five were administered oaths as Ministers of State with independent charge.

Modi arrived at Janata Maidan, the venue of the swearing-in ceremony, from Raj Bhawan with hundreds of people flanking the road. The Prime Minister flew down to Bhubaneswar after attending the swearing-in-ceremony of Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Eight MLAs who were handed over Cabinet and independent charges are first-time legislators. Prabhati Parida, Suresh Pujari, Prithiviraj Harichandan, Bibhuti Bhushan Jena and Krushna Chandra Mohapatra have been made Cabinet ministers. Pradeep Balasamanta, Gokula Chandra Mallick and Sampad Kumar Swain will discharge their duties as Ministers with independent charges.

The new government has four Ministers from the tribal community and two from the Scheduled Castes. The remaining 10 Ministers come from the General Category.

Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Mohan Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), Bhupendrabhai Patel (Gujarat), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Vishnu Deo Sai (Chhattisgarh), Pushkar Singh Dhami (Uttarakhand), Bhajan Lal Sharma (Rajasthan), Pramod Sawant (Goa) and Manik Saha (Tripura) were present in the ceremony. Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Nitin Gadkari, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Jual Oram were seen on the stage. Former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who was personally invited by Mr. Majhi in the morning, too graced the occasion.

Pema Khandu to become Arunachal Chief Minister for third straight term, to take oath on June 13
Pema Khandu will become the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the third term in a row, after he was unanimously elected as the BJP Legislature Party Leader at a meeting in Itanagar on June 12, senior leader Tarun Chugh said.

Chugh and Ravi Sankar Prasad attended the meeting as BJP’s central observers. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who is from the northeastern State, was also present there.

Later in the evening, Khandu accompanied by Chugh and several legislators called Governor Lt. Gen. (retd.) K.T. Parnaik at Raj Bhavan in Itanagar and staked claim to form the government.

The Governor invited Khandu and his Ministers for swearing-in.

“State BJP president Biyuram Wahge proposed the name of Khandu as the Chief Minister which was supported by all the 46 party MLAs,” Chugh told reporters at Raj Bhavan.

Appreciating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president J.P. Nadda, Khandu thanked the people of the State for reposing faith in the BJP and voting it to power for the third consecutive term.

Khandu also appreciated the party leadership and the workers for their hard work to ensure victory of the party candidates in the April 19 Assembly elections including the two Lok Sabha MPs.

“I assured the people of the state that the new government as ‘Team Arunachal’ will keep all the commitments enlisted in the election manifesto and will ensure that developmental activities will be initiated in all the districts,” Khandu said.

Khandu along with his new Council of Ministers will take oath and secrecy of office at Dorjee Khandu Convention Hall in Itanagar on June 13, which is likely to be attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Mr. Nadda along with several Chief Ministers from the northeast, among others.

The BJP returned to power in Arunachal Pradesh for the third time in a row, winning 46 seats in the 60-member Assembly.

Chandrababu Naidu sworn in as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu was sworn in as Chief Minister of residual Andhra Pradesh for the second time. Governor S. Abdul Nazeer administered the oath of office to Naidu on June 12 at Kesarapalle close to Gannavaram near Vijayawada. This is the fourth time that Naidu will be serving as Chief Minister in his more than four decades of political career. He served as Chief Minister of combined Andhra Pradesh twice, and this is the second time in residual Andhra Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Medical and Health Minister and the BJP National president JP Nadda, Union Ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, former Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, matinee idols Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi, and a host of VVIPs attended the ceremony.

The Jana Sena Party (JSP) Chief Pawan Kalyan, and 24 other MLAs from the TDP, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the JSP also took oath as Cabinet ministers of Andhra Pradesh. The total strength of the cabinet including Naidu is 25, as of now.

The TDP, JSP and BJP — partners of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), fought the Assembly elections 2024 against YSRCP. Except for 11 Assembly seats won by the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), the NDA bagged the remaining seats out of the total 175 Assembly constituencies in the State.

While the TDP won from 135 Assembly constituencies, the JSP and the BJP won from 21 and 8 Assembly constituencies respectively. Naidu allocated three berths to the JSP and one to the BJP going by their numbers in the State Assembly. Naidu adopted a formula to ensure that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners will get their due share in the Cabinet. He selected a minister for each 7 MLAs won by the alliance partner. As the JSP won 21 seats, it got three berths, while the BJP which won from 8 Assembly constituencies got one ministerial berth. The remaining were earmarked to the TDP. The Chief Minister will allocate the portfolios to his cabinet colleagues shortly.

It is widely discussed in political circles that Kalyan will be made Deputy Chief Minister with a key portfolio. The cine actor turned politician played a key role in stitching an alliance between the TDP and the BJP. Kalyan continued his efforts to convince the BJP leaders on alliance with the TDP though he received a cold-shouldered response. He, finally, was successful in allying with TDP, JSP and BJP. It helped in a debacle of the YSRCP.

Kolusu Parthasarathy, who switched loyalties from the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to the TDP just before the elections, was taken into the Cabinet.

Only two former ministers, K. Atchannaidu (TDP AP president) and P. Narayana, in 2014-19 cabinet got a chance in the present cabinet. N. Md Farooq, a senior minority politician who was with the TDP since the formation and had served as a minister with various portfolios earlier, is the lone minority face in the cabinet.

The lone minister from BJP is Satya Kumar Yadav, who won from Dharmavaram Assembly constituency. He is a close aide of former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and works as National Secretary of the BJP. Naidu did not induct the senior leaders and MLAs such as Gorantla Buchaiah Chowdary and Dhulipala Narendra. Even former ministers like Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy, Nimmakayala Chinna Rajappa, Kaluva Srinivasulu, Kala Venkat Rao, Ayyanna Patrudu and others were not accommodated.

In dilemma on whether to retain Wayanad or Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat, says Rahul Gandhi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who won from Wayand and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 General Elections said on June 12 that he was in a dilemma as to which constituency he should relinquish.

Gandhi, however, said that whatever decision he takes, both the constituencies will be happy with it. He thanked the people of Wayanad for electing him for a second term in Lok Sabha and said, “I look forward to seeing you soon.” “I have a dilemma before me, whether I should be the MP of Wayanad or of Rae Bareli. What I will commit to you is that both Wayand and Rae Bareli will be happy with my decision,” the Congress leader said while speaking at a public meeting in Malappuram.

It is his first appearance in the State after winning the Wayanad LS seat by a huge margin for the second consecutive time. Gandhi took a dig at Narendra Modi by saying that he does not receive any directions from God on what has to be done the way the PM does.

Mocking at Modi, the Congress leader said God directs the PM to hand over the country’s major airports and power plants to Adani. “But, I am a human being. My God are the poor people of the country. So, for me it is easy. I just talk to the people and they tell me what to do,” Gandhi said.

During his speech, he also said that the fight in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls was for protecting the Constitution of India and in that fight, hatred has been defeated by love and affection, arrogance by humility.

Gandhi also said that PM Modi will now have to change his attitude because the people of India have sent him a clear message. The Congress leader called the government formed at the Centre as a “crippled one”.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi, who won the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat by huge margin for a second consecutive time, held a roadshow in Malappuram district in north Kerala. This is Gandhi’s first visit to Kerala after the 2024 Lok Sabha election results.

President Murmu rejects mercy plea of Red Fort attack case convict
The mercy petition of Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Arif alias Ashfaq convicted in the nearly 24-year-old Red Fort attack case has been rejected by President Droupadi Murmu, officials said on June 12. This is the second mercy plea rejected by the President after assuming office on July 25, 2022.

The Supreme Court had dismissed a review petition by Arif on November 3, 2022, affirming the death penalty awarded to him in the case. However, a death row convict can still knock on the doors of the top court seeking commutation of his sentence on the ground of prolonged delay under Article 32 of the Constitution, feel experts.

The mercy petition from Arif, received on May 15, was turned down on May 27, the officials said, quoting the President’s Secretariat order of May 29.

The Supreme Court, while upholding the death sentence, noted that there were no mitigating circumstances in Arif’s favour and emphasised that the attack on the Red Fort posed a direct threat to country’s unity, integrity, and sovereignty. The attack, which took place on December 22, 2000, saw intruders opening fire at the 7 Rajputana Rifles unit stationed within the Red Fort premises, resulting in the deaths of three Army personnel.

Arif, a Pakistani national and a member of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was arrested by Delhi Police four days after the attack. “Appellant-accused Mohd. Arif alias Ashfaq was a Pakistani national and had entered the Indian territory illegally,” the top court’s order of 2022 said.

Arif was found guilty of conspiring with other militants to carry out the attack, with the trial court sentencing him to death in October 2005. The Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court upheld the decision in subsequent appeals.

The trial court had said that the conspiracy to attack the Red Fort was hatched at the house of two conspirators in Srinagar, where Arif had illegally entered in 1999 along with three other LeT militants. The three militants — Abu Shaad, Abu Bilal and Abu Haider — who had also entered the monument, were killed in separate encounters. Despite multiple legal challenges, including review and curative petitions, Arif’s plea for mercy was rejected, highlighting the severity of the crime and the threat it posed to national security.

The Delhi High Court had confirmed the trial court’s decision in September 2007. Arif then approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s verdict. The top court had in August 2011 also sided with the order of awarding the death sentence awarded to him.

Later, his review petition came up before a two-judge bench of the apex court which dismissed it in August 2012. A curative petition was also rejected in January 2014.

Thereafter, Arif had filed a petition submitting that review petitions in matters arising out of award of death sentence be heard by a bench of three judges and in open court.

A constitution bench of the apex court had in its September 2014 judgement concluded that in all cases in which death sentence was awarded by the high court, such matters be listed before a bench of three judges.

Before the September 2014 verdict, the review and curative petitions of death row convicts were not heard in open courts but were decided in chamber proceedings by circulation.

In January 2016, a constitution bench had directed that Arif shall be entitled to seek re-opening of the dismissal of the review petitions for an open court hearing within one month. The apex court had rejected the review petition in its verdict delivered on November 3, 2022.

This decision comes after President Murmu rejected another mercy petition last year in a separate case, demonstrating a firm stance on cases of heinous crimes.

In Brief:
India’s consumer price inflation eased a tad from 4.83% in April to a one-year low of 4.75% in May, but food price rise remained unchanged at 8.7%, with urban households facing a sharper 8.83% spike in food inflation. Retail inflation stood at 4.31% in May 2023, with food prices rising less than 3%. May was the fourth successive month with food inflation of over 8.5%, though it cooled fractionally for rural consumers from 8.75% in April to 8.62%. On a month-on-month basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 0.5% in May, while the food price index had risen 0.73% from April’s levels. The sequential rise in food prices was 0.7% for rural consumers and 0.9% for their urban counterparts.

Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.

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