The Evening Wrap: Narendra Modi sworn in as Prime Minister for third consecutive term

Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister for a third consecutive term on June 9, making him the first non-Congress leader and the second Indian after Jawaharlal Nehru to achieve the milestone. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office and secrecy to Modi. Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Amit Shah took oath as Cabinet Ministers. BJP President J. P. Nadda returned to the Union Cabinet after five years. Senior BJP leader and four-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Srikakulam MP Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were sworn in as Ministers in the Union Cabinet. While Chouhan became a Cabinet Minister for the first time in his more than three-decade-long political career, the TDP leader has become the youngest-ever member of the Cabinet. Top leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region — Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay and Vice-President of Seychelles Ahmed Afif — were in attendance. Opposition leader and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was among those who attended the ceremony. In addition to political leaders and eminent persons from different walks of life, members from the transgender community as well as sanitation workers and labourers, who were involved in the construction of the new parliament building, also attended the swearing-in ceremony. In view of the swearing-in ceremony, the Delhi Traffic Police made special arrangements and issued an advisory on diversions and restrictions in the vicinity of the Rashtrapati Bhawan. According to the advisory, no traffic movement will be allowed on the Sansad Marg (between Transport Bhawan and T-point Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Marg), North Avenue Road, South Avenue Road, Kushak Road, Rajaji Marg, Krishna Menon Marg, Talkatora Road and Pt. Pant Marg between 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. Nine pilgrims killed as their bus comes under fire in Jammu At least nine pilgrims were killed and several others were injured after their bus came under fire from gunmen in Jammu on June 9. The bus was fired upon in the Kanda area of Jammu’s Reasi district. Officials said that the bodies of the victims, including the bus driver, bore bullet wounds, adding that there were also empty cartridges at the spot. “Initial reports suggest that terrorists fired upon the passenger bus going from Shiv Khori to Katra. The driver lost control of the bus and fell into a gorge. Thirty-three people were injured,” said Mohita Sharma, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Reasi. The rescue operation has been completed and the injured have been shifted to hospital. Most of the victims were not local residents, but were pilgrims returning to Katra from the Shiv Khori temple. V.K. Pandian, Naveen Patnaik’s close aide, quits after BJD’s election debacle in Odisha In a setback to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), bureaucrat-turned-politician V.K. Pandian and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide, has decided to quit active politics following the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly Elections. “...Now consciously I decide to withdraw myself from active politics. I am sorry if I have hurt anyone on this journey. I am sorry if this campaign narrative against me has had a part to play in BJD’s loss. My apologies to the entire Biju Parivaar including all the ‘karmis’ for this,” the BJD leader said in a video message on June 9. Pandian said his only intention to join politics was to assist Patnaik and that is why he did not contest the elections. He said, “I will always keep Odisha in core of my heart and my Guru Naveen Babu in my breath.” The BJP, which secured 78 seats in the Odisha Assembly, stunned the BJD which could only secure 51 seats. The BJP also swept 20 out of 21 seats in the State in the Lok Sabha elections. Pandian has been under fire for the party’s defeat in the elections. Patnaik came to the defence of his close aide, calling the criticism unfortunate. “It has also come to my notice about some criticism of Mr. Pandian. This is unfortunate. As an officer he did excellent job in many fields, helping in two major cyclones and COVID-19 epidemic in our State in past 10 years,” said the BJD chief. Centre sends out alert to States, Union Territories on websites, social media trading human organs The Union government has sent out an alert to all States/Union Territories on websites and social media groups engaged in illegal trading of human organ and called for stringent action. According to official sources, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has made specific references to certain websites/social media groups offering huge money for kidneys and other organs. In a communication, the Directorate General of Health Services said it had come to know that certain websites and social media posts were promoting and offering organ trading in violation of the provisions of Transplantation of Human Organ & Tissue Act (THOTA) 1994. In one post published in the name of a popular hospital in Karnataka, an offer of ₹5 crore was made for a kidney matching certain parameters. Sharing the web link and other such social media posts that were being shared regularly, the Centre said such activities were punishable offences under section 18 of the Act with fine ranging from ₹20 lakh to ₹1 crore and imprisonment ranging from five years to 10 years. This kind of illegal activities were a major hindrance to the national organ transplantation programme, the sources said. Since Health and Law and Order were State subjects and therefore the States had the power to appoint an appropriate authority under THOTA to deal with commercial activities/organ trafficking, the communication addressed to Principal Health Secretaries said, “keeping in view of the gravity of the matter, you are requested to take necessary steps for prevention and control of organ trafficking and putting in place a system to monitor same.” Several steps were being taken to create awareness among the people about the illegalities of obtaining organs through agents. In a bid to sensitise school students, a separate chapter on organ transplants was being included in the CBSE curriculum, the sources said. The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization, a national level organisation under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, had been set up in pursuance to mandate given to central government for establishing a network for organ procurement, distribution and to maintain a national registry for the purpose of surveillance of organ donation and transplantation in the country. Kangana slap row: Farmer outfits take out march in support of CISF woman constable Several farmer outfits, including the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, on June 9 took out a march in Mohali in support of the CISF constable, who allegedly slapped actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut. Farmer leaders demanded that a fair investigation should be conducted into the matter while asserting that there should not be any injustice to constable Kulwinder Kaur. Adequate security personnel were deployed in the wake of the march, which began from Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali. Speaking to reporters, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that there should be an impartial probe into the matter. Asserting it should be found out what led to the incident, Pandher said that there should be no injustice to the woman constable. Farmer leaders also lashed out at Ranaut for allegedly making provocative statements against the people of Punjab. Kaur was apparently upset with Ranaut over her stance on the farmers’ protests. The CISF, tasked with providing security at airports, has also ordered a court of inquiry into the incident. The Mohali Police has booked Kaur under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint). Bangladesh MP murder: Bengal CID quizzes key suspect, recovers parts of human bones near canal The West Bengal CID on June 9 recovered parts of human bones near a canal in South 24 Parganas district, during a search operation in connection with its probe into the murder of Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar, a senior official said. The specimen was found on the south-eastern bank of Bagjola canal in Bhangar’s Krishnamati village, following the interrogation of Mohammad Siyam Hussain, a key suspect in the case who was arrested by the Nepal Police and extradited to India, the official said. “The bone parts appear to be of a human being as suggested by medical officers and forensic experts who were present when these were recovered,” the CID officer said. The specimen was found on the south-eastern bank of Bagjola canal in Bhangar’s Krishnamati village, following the interrogation of Mohammad Siyam Hussain, a key suspect in the case who was arrested by the Nepal Police and extradited to India, the officer said. “The bone parts appear to be of a human being as suggested by medical officers and forensic experts who were present when these were recovered,” the officer said. The CID had recovered pieces of flesh, weighing around 3.5 kg, from the septic tank of a flat in New Town area where the MP was last seen on May 12. The daughter of the Bangladesh MP is likely to arrive in Kolkata next week to take part in a DNA test in connection with the recovery of the bones and flesh pieces, the officer said. A key suspect in the case, Hussain was arrested by the Nepal Police and extradited to India on June 7. He was also taken to the New Town flat on June 9 to assist the CID in tracing the body parts of the Bangladesh MP, and the tools used to commit the crime. Monsoon reaches Mumbai two days early; heavy rains lash city The Southwest monsoon reached Mumbai on June 9, two days earlier than usual after making an early onset over Kerala and northeastern region on May 30, the India Meteorological Department said. Last year, the primary rain-bearing system reached Delhi and Mumbai together on June 25, first time since June 21, 1961, with Cyclone Biparjoy impacting its progress over southern India and the adjoining western and central parts of the country. Normally, the monsoon reaches Kerala by June 1, Mumbai by June 11, and the national capital by June 27. Weather scientists said cyclone Remal, which ripped through West Bengal and Bangladesh in May-end, pulled the monsoonal flow to the Bay of Bengal, resulting in an early onset over the northeast. Mumbai and its neighbouring areas received heavy rains in the last 24 hours, bringing down the mercury and providing relief to residents from the hot and humid weather, officials said. Due to the heavy showers, a part of the road in the neighbouring Palghar caved in, affecting traffic movement on the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway for more than four hours in the morning. Some people held up in the traffic jam since 5.30 a.m. on June 9 claimed no agency was attending to the problem. Various other districts of Maharashtra, including Thane, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ahmednagar, Satara and Jalgaon, also received good showers. In the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 a.m. on June 9, Mumbai received more than 60 mm of rainfall. Thane and Palghar districts also witnessed heavy rains overnight, leading to water-logging in some areas, officials said. In Brief: Iran’s Guardian Council on June 9 approved the country’s hard-line Parliament Speaker and five others to run in the country’s June 28 presidential election following a helicopter crash that killed President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others. The council again barred former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a firebrand populist known for the crackdown that followed his disputed 2009 re-election, from running. The Guardian Council also continued its streak of not accepting a woman or anyone calling for radical change to the country’s governance. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 09 June 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Narendra Modi sworn in as Prime Minister for third consecutive term Narendra Modi [took oath as the Prime Minister]( for a third consecutive term on June 9, making him the first non-Congress leader and the second Indian after Jawaharlal Nehru to achieve the milestone. President Droupadi Murmu [administered the oath of office]( and secrecy to Modi. Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Amit Shah took oath as Cabinet Ministers. BJP President J. P. Nadda returned to the Union Cabinet after five years. Senior BJP leader and four-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Srikakulam MP Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were sworn in as Ministers in the Union Cabinet. While Chouhan became a Cabinet Minister for the first time in his more than three-decade-long political career, the TDP leader has become the youngest-ever member of the Cabinet. Top leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region — Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay and Vice-President of Seychelles Ahmed Afif — were in attendance. Opposition leader and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was among those who attended the ceremony. In addition to political leaders and eminent persons from different walks of life, members from the transgender community as well as sanitation workers and labourers, who were involved in the construction of the new parliament building, also attended the swearing-in ceremony. In view of the swearing-in ceremony, the Delhi Traffic Police made [special arrangements and issued an advisory]( on diversions and restrictions in the vicinity of the Rashtrapati Bhawan. According to the advisory, no traffic movement will be allowed on the Sansad Marg (between Transport Bhawan and T-point Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Marg), North Avenue Road, South Avenue Road, Kushak Road, Rajaji Marg, Krishna Menon Marg, Talkatora Road and Pt. Pant Marg between 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. Nine pilgrims killed as their bus comes under fire in Jammu At least [nine pilgrims were killed]( and several others were injured after their bus came under fire from gunmen in Jammu on June 9. The bus was fired upon in the Kanda area of Jammu’s Reasi district. Officials said that the bodies of the victims, including the bus driver, bore bullet wounds, adding that there were also empty cartridges at the spot. “Initial reports suggest that terrorists fired upon the passenger bus going from Shiv Khori to Katra. The driver lost control of the bus and fell into a gorge. Thirty-three people were injured,” said Mohita Sharma, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Reasi. The rescue operation has been completed and the injured have been shifted to hospital. Most of the victims were not local residents, but were pilgrims returning to Katra from the Shiv Khori temple. V.K. Pandian, Naveen Patnaik’s close aide, quits after BJD’s election debacle in Odisha In a setback to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), bureaucrat-turned-politician V.K. Pandian and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide, has [decided to quit active politics]( following the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly Elections. “...Now consciously I decide to withdraw myself from active politics. I am sorry if I have hurt anyone on this journey. I am sorry if this campaign narrative against me has had a part to play in BJD’s loss. My apologies to the entire Biju Parivaar including all the ‘karmis’ for this,” the BJD leader said in a video message on June 9. Pandian said his only intention to join politics was to assist Patnaik and that is why he did not contest the elections. He said, “I will always keep Odisha in core of my heart and my Guru Naveen Babu in my breath.” The BJP, which secured 78 seats in the Odisha Assembly, stunned the BJD which could only secure 51 seats. The BJP also swept 20 out of 21 seats in the State in the Lok Sabha elections. Pandian has been under fire for the party’s defeat in the elections. Patnaik came to the defence of his close aide, calling the criticism unfortunate. “It has also come to my notice about some criticism of Mr. Pandian. This is unfortunate. As an officer he did excellent job in many fields, helping in two major cyclones and COVID-19 epidemic in our State in past 10 years,” said the BJD chief. Centre sends out alert to States, Union Territories on websites, social media trading human organs The Union government has [sent out an alert]( to all States/Union Territories on websites and social media groups engaged in illegal trading of human organ and called for stringent action. According to official sources, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has made specific references to certain websites/social media groups offering huge money for kidneys and other organs. In a communication, the Directorate General of Health Services said it had come to know that certain websites and social media posts were promoting and offering organ trading in violation of the provisions of Transplantation of Human Organ & Tissue Act (THOTA) 1994. In one post published in the name of a popular hospital in Karnataka, an offer of ₹5 crore was made for a kidney matching certain parameters. Sharing the web link and other such social media posts that were being shared regularly, the Centre said such activities were punishable offences under section 18 of the Act with fine ranging from ₹20 lakh to ₹1 crore and imprisonment ranging from five years to 10 years. This kind of illegal activities were a major hindrance to the national organ transplantation programme, the sources said. Since Health and Law and Order were State subjects and therefore the States had the power to appoint an appropriate authority under THOTA to deal with commercial activities/organ trafficking, the communication addressed to Principal Health Secretaries said, “keeping in view of the gravity of the matter, you are requested to take necessary steps for prevention and control of organ trafficking and putting in place a system to monitor same.” Several steps were being taken to create awareness among the people about the illegalities of obtaining organs through agents. In a bid to sensitise school students, a separate chapter on organ transplants was being included in the CBSE curriculum, the sources said. The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization, a national level organisation under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, had been set up in pursuance to mandate given to central government for establishing a network for organ procurement, distribution and to maintain a national registry for the purpose of surveillance of organ donation and transplantation in the country. Kangana slap row: Farmer outfits take out march in support of CISF woman constable Several farmer outfits, including the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, on June 9 [took out a march]( in Mohali in support of the CISF constable, who allegedly slapped actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut. Farmer leaders demanded that a fair investigation should be conducted into the matter while asserting that there should not be any injustice to constable Kulwinder Kaur. Adequate security personnel were deployed in the wake of the march, which began from Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali. Speaking to reporters, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that there should be an impartial probe into the matter. Asserting it should be found out what led to the incident, Pandher said that there should be no injustice to the woman constable. Farmer leaders also lashed out at Ranaut for allegedly making provocative statements against the people of Punjab. Kaur was apparently upset with Ranaut over her stance on the farmers’ protests. The CISF, tasked with providing security at airports, has also ordered a court of inquiry into the incident. The Mohali Police has booked Kaur under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint). Bangladesh MP murder: Bengal CID quizzes key suspect, recovers parts of human bones near canal The West Bengal CID on June 9 [recovered parts of human bones]( near a canal in South 24 Parganas district, during a search operation in connection with its probe into the murder of Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar, a senior official said. The specimen was found on the south-eastern bank of Bagjola canal in Bhangar’s Krishnamati village, following the interrogation of Mohammad Siyam Hussain, a key suspect in the case who was arrested by the Nepal Police and extradited to India, the official said. “The bone parts appear to be of a human being as suggested by medical officers and forensic experts who were present when these were recovered,” the CID officer said. The specimen was found on the south-eastern bank of Bagjola canal in Bhangar’s Krishnamati village, following the interrogation of Mohammad Siyam Hussain, a key suspect in the case who was arrested by the Nepal Police and extradited to India, the officer said. “The bone parts appear to be of a human being as suggested by medical officers and forensic experts who were present when these were recovered,” the officer said. The CID had recovered pieces of flesh, weighing around 3.5 kg, from the septic tank of a flat in New Town area where the MP was last seen on May 12. The daughter of the Bangladesh MP is likely to arrive in Kolkata next week to take part in a DNA test in connection with the recovery of the bones and flesh pieces, the officer said. A key suspect in the case, Hussain was arrested by the Nepal Police and extradited to India on June 7. He was also taken to the New Town flat on June 9 to assist the CID in tracing the body parts of the Bangladesh MP, and the tools used to commit the crime. Monsoon reaches Mumbai two days early; heavy rains lash city The [Southwest monsoon reached Mumbai]( on June 9, two days earlier than usual after making an early onset over Kerala and northeastern region on May 30, the India Meteorological Department said. Last year, the primary rain-bearing system reached Delhi and Mumbai together on June 25, first time since June 21, 1961, with Cyclone Biparjoy impacting its progress over southern India and the adjoining western and central parts of the country. Normally, the monsoon reaches Kerala by June 1, Mumbai by June 11, and the national capital by June 27. Weather scientists said cyclone Remal, which ripped through West Bengal and Bangladesh in May-end, pulled the monsoonal flow to the Bay of Bengal, resulting in an early onset over the northeast. Mumbai and its neighbouring areas [received heavy rains]( in the last 24 hours, bringing down the mercury and providing relief to residents from the hot and humid weather, officials said. Due to the heavy showers, a part of the road in the neighbouring Palghar caved in, affecting traffic movement on the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway for more than four hours in the morning. Some people held up in the traffic jam since 5.30 a.m. on June 9 claimed no agency was attending to the problem. Various other districts of Maharashtra, including Thane, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ahmednagar, Satara and Jalgaon, also received good showers. In the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 a.m. on June 9, Mumbai received more than 60 mm of rainfall. Thane and Palghar districts also witnessed heavy rains overnight, leading to water-logging in some areas, officials said. In Brief: [Iran’s Guardian Council]( on June 9 approved the country’s hard-line Parliament Speaker and five others to run in the country’s June 28 presidential election following a helicopter crash that killed President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others. The council again barred former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a firebrand populist known for the crackdown that followed his disputed 2009 re-election, from running. The Guardian Council also continued its streak of not accepting a woman or anyone calling for radical change to the country’s governance. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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