Modi becomes second-longest serving PM surpassing Indira Narendra Modi has reached what the NDA described on Friday as a “historic milestone” After 4,078 consecutive days in office, PM Modi has now surpassed former PM Indira Gandhi, who served for 4,077 days TIRUCHY l saturday l july 26, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION Phase 1 over, 65.2L out of Bihar roll M U K ES H RAN J AN a n d R a m a s h a n k a r @ New Delhi/Patna As many as 65.2 lakh names are out of the Bihar election rolls months ahead of the assembly polls, whose controversial voter enumeration phase ended on Friday Voters and po. litical parties have till September 1 to challenge the deletion or addition of names after the Election Commission of India (ECI) publishes the draft rolls on August 1. Of the total 7.9 crore registered voters in Bihar, 22 lakh were weeded out as they were express read CM slams ECI, says SIR misused to favour BJP CHennai: CM Stalin on Friday slammed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being carried out by the ECI in Bihar and said the revision is being misused to erase voters from dissenting communities to tilt the balance in favour of BJP. “Any threat to democracy will be met with firm resistance,” Stalin warned | P4 Suspect held in TN minor girl rape case Chennai: A suspect, who was on the run for nearly two weeks in the rape of a minor girl in Tiruvallur district, was arrested on Friday. The man, believed to be from West Bengal, was caught by TN police at the Sullurupeta Railway Station in Andhra Pradesh, sources said | P2 dead, 35 lakh permanently migrated, 7 lakh had registered at more than one place, and 1.2 lakh are untraceable, the ECI said. The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) made a mockery of the summery revision of poll rolls in Bihar in January this year, which had arrived at the figure of 7.9 crore voters in the state. The RJD, Bihar’s main opposition party said it will contin, ue its protest against the SIR exercise. Former chief minister Rabri Devi, mother of former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, wondered how four crore Biharis living outside the state would be able to complete the SIR formalities within the short span of two months. She went on to allege a political plot to eliminate Tejashwi. The RJD and the Congress have already hinted at the possibility of boycotting the state polls due in October-November if the discrepancies pointed out by them in the SIR are not properly addressed. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and sen- ior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently warned of action against ‘partisan’ poll officials involved in conducting the SIR exercise in Bihar. A couple of days ago, Tejashwi said, “We are keeping the option open for boycott of the assembly polls. When the time comes, we will take a decision following a discussion with our alliance partners.” Krishna Allavaru, AICC in-charge of Bihar, said: “Talks are on for every option…. SIR was not acceptable to the INDIA bloc from the beginning, and we won’t accept it in the future.” 7 students killed, 25 hurt as Rajasthan government school building collapses RA J ES H ASNANI @ Jaipur Seven students were killed and over 25 others were injured when a government school collapsed on Friday morning at Piplodi village in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district. The students, mostly from Class 7, were inside the school when the structure gave way, burying the students under piles of concrete slabs, bricks and stones. Five children died on the spot, while two succumbed to injuries later. The tragedy occurred at 8 am on Monday. Moments before the collapse, students noticed debris falling from the ceiling and alerted teachers, who allegedly ignored the warning. Locals said a portion of the school building collapsed with Locals removing bricks and cement slabs by hand to rescue trapped students | pti such force that it sounded like an explosion. Villagers who rushed to the site and the school staff conducted the initial rescue operation. The villagers said the children were taken out with great difficulty . The injured were initially taken to Manohar Thana Hospital. “Thirty-five injured children were brought in. Eleven were critical and they were referred to the district hospital in Jhalawar,” said Dr Kaushal Lodha, medical officer, Manohar Thana Hospital. “There were about 50 children in the school when it collapsed. I had alerted the teachers several times about the poor condition of the building, but no repairs were done,” said Badrilal, father of a student. Jhalawar district collector Ajay Singh Rathore said the school was not listed among structurally unsafe buildings. He is the only leader credited with winning six consecutive elections —2002, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2019 and 2024 Modi is also the only PM, other than Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, to have won 3 consecutive national elections, said BJP leaders India-Maldives ties reset with L4,850 cr credit Modi terms relations ‘as deep as sea’ J AYANT H J ACOB @ New Delhi india and the Maldives on Friday unveiled a significant reset in bilateral relations, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing a `4,850 crore line of credit (LoC) and a new framework for expanding cooperation in trade, defence, infrastructure, and digital connectivity among others. , Modi’s visit marks a sharp turnaround in bilateral ties, which had faced strain early in President Mohamed Muizzu’s tenure when the latter tried to strengthen relations with China by moving away from India. Reflecting the renewed warmth, Muizzu and his ministers welcomed Modi at Velana airport. After dele gation-level talks, Modi said: “India is proud to be the most trusted friend of the Maldives. For us, it is always friendship first.” He added that the Maldives holds a central place in India’s Neighbourhood First policy and the MAHASAGAR vision for regional maritime cooperation. “India will always stand by the Maldives,” Modi said.“Our defence and security cooperation is a testament to mutual trust. The roots of our relationship are Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu in Male on Friday | pti older than history and as deep as the sea… our friendship will remain bright and clear,” he added. The two nations agreed to move swiftly on finalising a bilateral investment treaty and launched negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA). “We hope to conclude the India-Maldives FTA quickly said Foreign Secre,” tary Vikram Misri. India also agreed to ease Maldives’ debt repayment obligations on existing Indian lines of credit. Muizzu, who once distanced from New Delhi, appreciated India’s help. He condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, expressing solidarity with India on its counterterrorism efforts. CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ SC guidelines to curb suicide by students SUC H ITRA K ALYAN M O H ANT Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday issued 15 pan-India guidelines to curb the rising trend of suicides among students in educational institutions. The guidelines were part of its verdict on an appeal against an Andhra Pradesh High Court order that rejected a plea to transfer the probe into the death of a 17-year-old National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) aspirant in Vishakhapatnam, to the CBI. Quashing the order, the bench directed the CBI to probe the case. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, while issuing the guidelines, said they will be binding till an appropriate law or regulatory framework is enacted. The court mandated that all educational institutions shall adopt and implement a uniform mental health policy, drawing cues from the UMMEED Draft Guidelines, the MANODARPAN initiative, and the National Suicide Prevention Strategy . PM modi to launch `4,800cr projects in TN Narendra Modi will dedicate `450 crore Thoothukudi airport building and `2,550 crore worth highway projects to the country during his two-day visit | P5