Advocates can’t use RTI Act to seek details for clients’ cases: CIC chennai l Monday l January 19, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION Using the transparency law in this manner fails to advance its core objectives, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has observed Case relates to dispute over a supply contract The observation came in a case related to the termination of a fruit and vegetable supply deed. The supplier’s advocate sought to use the RTI Act to obtain information. “It appears the appellant has sought information on behalf of his client per se, which is not permissible,” CIC said ‘RTI Act can’t be used for personal ends’ Quoting a Madras HC order, the CIC stated “laudable objectives of RTI Act cannot be used for personal ends” 17.5 lakh the overall number of RTI applications filed during 2023-24 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 Modi targets Congress, Trinamool in poll-pitch against ‘infiltrators’ EU pushback against tariff threat over Greenland Accuses the two parties of endangering national security for the sake of 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 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 Projects worth `7,787 cr launched Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a gathering during the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, in Nagaon, Assam on Sunday | pti 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, peo- PM launched development projects worth `7,787 crore in poll-bound Assam and West Bengal. In Assam, he laid the foundation stone for the `6,957 cr Kaziranga Elevated Corridor and virtually flagged off two Amrit Bharat trains. In West Bengal, Modi launched projects worth over `830 crore and flagged off three Amrit Bharat trains connecting Kolkata with other parts of the country ple 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 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. Later in the day addressing a , rally at 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 to prevent infiltration in the state. But it sits idle on the issue,” Modi said. He alleged the TMC is “playing with the country’s security” by giving support to infiltrators from Bangladesh. Intel agencies warn of LeT recruitment drive in PoK M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi 10 months on, no takers for Salem’s silver anklet units S neha S i v ashanmugam @ Salem The Silver Anklet Factory Complex at Ariyagoundampatti in Salem, mooted as the long-awaited solution to the problems of the silver anklet manufacturing sector, remains completely vacant nearly 10 months after its virtual inauguration by Chief Minister MK Stalin. According to manufacturers, high unit costs, soaring silver prices and design-related shortcomings are the key reasons for the unoccupancy . The three-storeyed complex, spread over 1.2 acres and developed by the Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO) at a cost of `25.29 crore, comprises 102 units, with 34 units on each floor. SIDCO has fixed the unit cost at `4,200 per sq ft, with unit sizes ranging from 613 sq ft to 1,034 sq ft, translating to prices of approximately `25.7 lakh to `43.4 lakh per unit. The project was announced by the state government in 2022 and inaugurated in March 2025. P7 Analysis of the voters who were deleted during the draft phase of SIR shows ECI not only failed to identify duplicates, but may also have fully erased persons with repetitive entries deleted for wrong reasons | P2 Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has launched a renewed and intensified recruitment campaign with an aim 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 districts of PoK. During these visits, 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 and sympathisers. The primary objective of these engagements, intelli- 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 gence 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 operational figure within LeT and is known for his expertise in terrorist training. As per the sourc- es, Javed has been tasked with raising a new unit in PoK, with a specific mandate to prepare recruits for counter-insurgency and cross-border operations. Noting that the recruitment push is not confined to PoK, the intelligence sources said in November last year, Javed, along with LeT operative Abdul Rauf, held more than 50 rallies and secret meetings across Pakistan’s Sindh province. “Security agencies assess that these coordinated visits across provinces point to an effort to build a broader pool of recruits and revive LeT’s operational strength nationwide,” a source said. Meanwhile, intelligence inputs suggest that efforts to reactivate Markaz-e-Taiba, the LeT’s headquarters, are gaining pace. Buildings damaged during Operation Sindoor are being repaired with photographs and videos of construction activity circulating on social media, sources said. express read Iran protests net death toll over 5,000 Kohli ton in vain as India suffer historic defeat Dubai: At least 5,000 people have been killed in protests in Iran, including about 500 security personnel, Reuters reported citing an unnamed Iranian official on Sunday. The consolidated death toll was based on verified figures, with the official accusing “terrorists and armed rioters” of killing “innocent Iranians” | P9 INDORE: Virat Kohli smashes his 85th international ton, but New Zealand had the last laugh as they beat India by 41 runs to win their first ODI series in the country. Less than 18 months ago, Black Caps handed India a 3-0 hammering in red-ball cricket and now have followed it up with a sensational ODI series win weeks before the T20 World Cup | P13 Daryl Mitchell celebrates his century against India in Indore on Sunday. This is his second ton in the series | pti AGENCIES Red Cross personnel walk amid the ruins in Jabalia, Gaza Strip on Saturday | AP Trump invites Modi to join ‘Board of Peace’ Leyen, and the leaders of France, Germany Australia , US President Donald Trump and Canada. has invited Prime Minister More details about the Narendra Modi to join a pro- proposed body surfaced afposed “Board of Peace” for ter letters sent by Trump to Gaza, in a significant out- Argentine President Javier reach as Washington seeks Milei and Paraguayan Presito shape the post-war gov- dent Santiago Peña were ernance and reconstruction posted by the two leaders on of the besieged enclave. social media. In his letter to The invitation letter was Milei, Trump said the board sent on January 16. would work to “solidify “It is my Great Honor to peace in the Middle East” invite you, as Prime and pursue a “bold Minister of the Renew approach to republic of India, to solving global join me in a criticonflict.” cally Historic and A draft charter Our effort will Magnificent effort circulated by the bring together a to solidify Peace in Trump administradistinguished the Middle East group of nations tion to around 60 and, at the same ready to building countries reported...lasting peace time, to embark on ly requires member a bold new approach states to contribute Donald Trump, to resolving Global in letter to PM Modi $1 billion in cash for Conflict!” the letter memberships exfrom the US presit e n d i n g b e yo n d dent said. three years. Pakistan’s Foreign Office Trump has named former had earlier said Prime Min- British PM Tony Blair as a ister Shehbaz Sharif had founding executive member also been invited to be part of the board, alongside Jared of the initiative. Kushner, US Secretary of Several global leaders State Marco Rubio, Middle have been invited to be part East envoy Steve Witkoff of the board, including and World Bank Group PresTurkish President Recep ident Ajay Banga. Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian Trump unveiled the initiaPresident Abdel Fattah el- tive as part of the second Sisi, European Commission phase of a ceasefire between President Ursula von der Israel and Hamas. J ayanth J a c o b @ New Delhi EUROPEAN leaders on Sunday slammed US President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs over their opposition to his designs on Greenland, warning transatlantic ties were at risk. Several European countries — including Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous territory — emphasised they “stand united” against Trump’s vow on Saturday to hit them with tariffs of up to 25 percent unless Greenland is ceded to the United States. “Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden warned in a joint statement Sunday . The European Union, which clinched a deal with Washington in July for most EU exports to face a 15-percent US levy has , called an extraordinary meeting of its ambassadors in Brussels on Sunday . France’s President Emmanuel Macron will ask the EU to activate a never-before-used “anti-coercion instrument” against the United States if Trump makes good on his tariff threat, Macron’s aides said. The bloc’s weapon, dubbed its trade “bazooka”, allows curbing imports of goods and services into the EU, a market of 27 countries with a comb i n e d p o p u l at i o n o f 4 5 0 million. Italy’s far-right Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, called the threatened tariffs a “mistake”. Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel meanwhile called Trump’s threat an “inexplicable” “blackmail”. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was planning to discuss the situation with Trump “at the earliest.” CM announces TN literary awards for 7 languages amid Sahitya Akademi row E x press N e w s S er v i c e @ Chennai Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday announced that the Tamil Nadu government will institute national-level literary awards for outstanding works in select Indian languages. The CM made the announcement at the valedictory ceremony of the Chennai International Book Fair (CIBF), in the presence of writers, publishers and literary delegates from across India and several foreign countries. This was in response to the cancellation of the Sahitya Akademi Awards Chief Minister MK Stalin witnesses an exchange of MoU between the state government and a publisher from Malaysia at the Chennai International Book Fair on Sunday | P Jawahar 2025 following the intervention of the Union Ministry of Culture in December. Announcing the initiative, the CM said the state government would confer annual national-level honours titled the ‘Semmozhi Literary Award’ for outstanding literary works published in select Indian languages. In the first phase, works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali and Marathi will be recognised, with each award carrying a cash prize of `5 lakh. To ensure transparency and uphold literary standards, separate selection committees comprising eminent writers and awardwinning authors will be constituted for each language, he added. P7 Chennai to tag 50 century-old giants as ‘heritage trees’ under green mission S V K R I S H N A C H A I TA N YA @ Chennai Chennai’s oldest living landmarks — sprawling banyans, towering neem, massive tamarind and even the rare baobab — may soon receive official recognition as ‘heritage trees’, as a Green Tamil Nadu Mission initiative moves to scientifically document and conserve 50 potential heritage trees across the city . As per the available records, Adansonia digitata (baobab) tree, located in Andhra Mahila Sabha on Greenways Road, is the oldest at close to 300 years. As part of the ongoing citywide mapping and scientific verification exercise, researchers will study 20 more potential heritage trees next week. “This effort is about formally recognising Chennai’s most ecologically and culturally valuable trees and ensuring that they are protected as living heritage,” said I Anwardeen, principal chief conservator of forests (research and education) and chief managing director of Green Tamil Nadu Mission. “Many of these trees have stood through generations of the city’s growth and continue to The 300-year-old baobab tree located on Greenways Road, Chennai | Express provide critical ecosystem services,” he added. An interim scientific report submitted by the ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Coimbatore, details how researchers assessed the age and internal health of these trees using a mix of field surveys, historical growth data and advanced noninvasive testing. The report notes that many of the identified trees are estimated to be more than 100 years old, and several are projected to have crossed 200 years, highlighting their role in Chennai’s urban ecology, microclimate regulation and cultural identity . The interim findings suggest several landmark trees could be far older than commonly assumed.  P7