Advocates can’t use RTI Act to seek details for clients’ cases: CIC Using the transparency law in this manner fails to advance its core objectives, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has observed KANNUR l monday l January 19, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Quoting a Madras High Court order, the CIC underlined that “laudable objectives of RTI Act cannot be used for personal ends” The Madras HC had cautioned against the practice, stating this “does not advance the objects of the scheme” Case relates to dispute over a supply deed The case relates to the termination of a fruit and vegetable supply contract in Haryana. The supplier’s advocate sought to use the RTI Act to obtain information on behalf of his client. 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 PM accuses Cong, TMC of endangering nat’l security Says the two parties protecting infiltrators for vote-bank politics P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R & S U B H E N D U M A I T I @ Guwahati / Kolkata Kannur champions 1,028 points secured by Kannur to lift the Gold Cup in the 64th Kerala School Kalolsavam Hosts Thrissur were a close second with 1,023 points Kozhikode finished third with 1,017 points Over the five days, 13,149 participants from 1,041 schools across the state took part in 249 competitions Participants and teachers from Kannur with the coveted Gold Cup at the conclusion of the 64th Kerala School Kalolsavam in Thrissur on Sunday. Actor Mohanlal, General Education Minister V Sivankutty and Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan are also seen | T P Sooraj | P2 NSS, SNDP supremos lash out at Satheesan, stress need for unity A B H I L A S H C H A N D R A N @Kottayam E X P RESS READ Pinarayi to lead next assembly polls: Baby T’Puram: Pinarayi Vijayan will lead the LDF in the assembly election, CPM general secretary M A Baby has said. He did not clarify whether the CM would contest the poll. Baby also said the next CM will be decided after talks should LDF win | P4 New shipyard coming up at Ponnani port Malappuram: In a significant boost to the development of the Malabar region, a major shipyard project is set to come up at Ponnani Port. This will be the state’s second shipyard after Kochi, to be developed under PPP mode | P5 In a setback for the UDF, especially Congress, ahead of the assembly elections, heads of two influential Hindu community organisations – the Nair Service Society (NSS) and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam – lashed out at Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on the same day . The statements by NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair and SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan on Sunday are being seen as a Vellappally Natesan G Sukumaran Nair blow to the UDF, which, buoyed by the success in December’s local body polls, is gearing up for the assembly election under Satheesan’s leadership. The leaders also alluded to the necessity of Nair-Ezhava unity in Kerala, a move interpreted as an indirect response to a possible minority consolidation in the elections. Nair alleged that the Congress had let Satheesan ‘loose’. “Does Congress have a president? Why does Satheesan respond to every issue? He is commenting on everything by making the president look like a pawn,” he said. Vellappally said Satheesan had been calling him a communalist while himself aligning with Jamaat-e-Islami and Mus● More on P4 lim League.  PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday mounted a sharp political attack on the Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC), accusing the two parties of endangering national security by protecting infiltrators for vote-bank politics. After laying the foundation stone for the `6,957 crore Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, and virtually flagging off two Amrit Bharat trains from Kaliabor in election-bound Assam’s Nagaon district, Modi accused the Congress of allowing infiltrators in exchange for votes during its years in power in the north-eastern state. Taking potshots at the Congress for its poor show in the recent Bihar Assembly election and Maharashtra local body polls, Modi said the grand old party has lost the trust of the nation and the BJP has become the first choice of people. “In the recent Bihar elections, even after 20 years, people gave a record number of votes to the BJP helping it win , a record number of seats. Mumbai, for the first time, gave a record mandate to the BJP. In most cities of Maharashtra, people gave the BJP an opportunity to serve them,” he said. Modi also pointed to the BJP’s electoral breakthrough Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a gathering during the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, in Nagaon, Assam on Sunday | pti Projects worth L7,787cr launched PM launched development projects worth J7,787 crore in pollbound Assam and Bengal. In Assam, he laid the foundation stone for the J6,957 cr Kaziranga Elevated Corridor and virtually flagged off two Amrit Bharat trains. In Bengal, he launched projects worth over J830 crore and flagged off three Amrit Bharat trains connecting Kolkata with other parts of the country in Kerala, where the party secured the mayor’s post in Thiruvananthapuram for the first time. According to Modi, the results across states reflected a consistent national trend. “The voters today want good governance and development. That is why they like the BJP , ,” he said, adding that the results show the Congress is being repeatedly rejected by voters. Later in the day at a rally in , West Bengal’s Singur, Modi accused the TMC government of sitting idle on the Centre’s request to acquire land for fencing the Bangladesh border. “The Centre has been writing to the TMC government in Bengal for the past 11 years requesting land for border fencing. But it sits idle,” Modi alleged. Sharpening his attack on the TMC, he said the party is “playing with the country’s security” by giving support to infiltrators from Bangladesh. Trump invites PM Modi to Intel agencies warn of LeT recruitment drive join Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi J ayanth J ac o b @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump has invited PM Narendra Modi to join a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza, in a significant outreach as Washington seeks to shape post-war governance and reconstruction of the besieged enclave. The invite was sent on January 16. Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif had also been invited as were several global leaders. Details about the board surfaced after letters sent by Trump to Argentine President Javier Milei and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña were posted by them on social media. Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has launched an intensified recruitment campaign to establish new training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Indian intelligence agencies have learned. The recruitment campaign is being spearheaded by senior LeT commander Nasr Javed. Sources said Javed has visited several strategic locations in PoK over the past few months to mobilise local youth. Over the past two weeks, he was in Mirpur, Kotli and Poonch dis- tricts of PoK, where he addressed more than four open rallies organised by the PoK unit of Lashkar-e-Taiba and held over 10 closed-door meetings with local operatives. The primary objective of Three soldiers injured in J&K encounter Three soldiers were injured in a gunfight with terrorists in a remote forested area in the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Sunday, officials said these engagements, intelligence sources said, is to recruit young men for the new LeT training camps expected to come up soon in PoK. Javed is considered a key figure within LeT. As per sources, he has been tasked with raising a new unit in PoK, with a specific mandate to prepare recruits for counter-insurgency and cross-border operations.