vijayawada l thursday l february 05, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION IT stocks crash after AI tool that automates core work unveiled Sentiment turned sharply negative on Wednesday after a US start-up unveiled a new plug-in for its AI tool that could disrupt traditional IT businesses Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of AI startup Anthropic Traditional software biz faces disruption Infosys falls the most among large cos US-based AI company Anthropic unveiled its new AI tool, Cowork, last month. What sent the IT stocks into a tailspin on Wednesday was a new plugin for this tool that automates tasks across legal, sales, marketing, and data analysis. This could cut the need for custom-built software and human expertise, reducing dependence on traditional IT companies | P12 ■ ■ Shares of Infosys plunged 7.19%, that of Tata Consultancy Services 6.95%, HCL Technologies 4.22% and LTIMindtree 5.51% on the BSE In the US market, the Nasdaq Composite index tanked 1.43% on Tuesday and was down 1.25% in early trading on Wednesday. Shares of major firms like Nvidia Corp and Alphabet Inc registered declines 50% entry-level white-collar jobs could be disrupted in 1–5 yrs: aNTHROPIC 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 CM Naidu, Pawan discuss coalition strategies Express News Service @ Vijayawada Chief Minister and TDP supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister and JSP President Pawan Kalyan held a meeting to discuss recent political developments and a range of other issues, including matters related to the famous Tirumala laddu. During the meeting held at the Camp Office of the Chief Minister at Undavalli on Wednesday the two lead, ers reportedly reviewed plans for joint programmes to be conducted by the three parties in the ruling coalition, aiming to strengthen coordination and outreach. It was reported that the meeting also touched upon the upcoming vacancies in the Rajya Sabha, with discussions on possible strategies and candidates. The talks are seen as part of ongoing efforts to align coalition partners on key political and administrative matters. While discussing the latest political developments in the State, both leaders were learnt to have come to the conclusion that the YSRCP is provoking caste-based politics and decided to take steps to counter such conspiracies and to ensure that the rank and file of the NDA do not fall into the traps of that party . It is also understood that Chandrababu and Pawan held preliminary discussions on the four Rajya Sabha seats that will fall vacant soon. During the meeting, both leaders also reportedly discussed filling the pending nominated posts. INDIGO under lens of Competition Commission The Competition Commission ordered a detailed probe against IndiGo for unfair business practices, nearly two months after the airline cancelled thousands of flights, causing hardships to passengers | P12 Lok Sabha impasse Mamata argues in SC, questions SIR forces cancellation of Modi’s address S U CHITRA K A LYA N M O HA N TY @ New Delhi Cong insisted on Rahul Gandhi completing his speech, suspension of BJP MP Dubey Opposition MPs seeking to gherao the Treasury benches in the Lok Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Wednesday | PTI P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled reply to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address could not take place on Wednesday, as the Opposition stepped up its attack on the government for blocking Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s speech and suspension of eight MPs. As soon as the House convened at 5 pm after three adjournments, women MPs from the Opposition marched towards the Treasury benches holding banners which read “Do what is right.” Modi was not present in the House when the Opposition members made their way to the Treasury benches protesting against the suspension of MPs and former Army Chief M M Naravane’s unpublished memoir. BJP MP Sandhya Rai, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings for the day in a few minutes. In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “PM Modi won’t come to Parliament because he is scared and doesn’t want to face the truth.” Later, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge called a meeting of the floor leaders in both Houses. It was decided that floor leaders of all Opposition parties will meet on Thursday morning to chalk out strategy ahead. “How can the PM speak when the LOP was not allowed to speak? What was the PM going to reply to?” said Congress MP Jairam Ramesh. Though Speaker Om Birla convened a meeting of the Opposition leaders at 4 pm ahead of the PM’s scheduled speech, it failed to break the logjam. The Opposition put forward two demands — the suspension of BJP’s Nishikant Dubey and to allow Rahul to speak in the House. The meeting was attended by Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and K C Venugopal among others. The leaders conveyed to the Speaker that if the government does not yield, the Opposition will disrupt the PM’s speech. Earlier, a row erupted when Dubey began his speech by referring to books such as Edwina and Nehru and Mitrokhin Archive among others and made remarks targeting former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. THE Supreme Cour t on Wednesday witnessed dramatic scenes as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appeared in person to make submissions in a case challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. Banerjee, who holds a law degree and had briefly practised as a lawyer, alleged her state was being targeted and people were being bulldozed. “We are not getting justice,” she told a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi. Banerjee, who was represented by senior advocates Shyam Divan and Kapil Sibal, sought five minutes to personally advance submissions. The CJI granted her 15 minutes. “They (EC) are targeting Bengal. We have given everything to ECI... all kinds of documents, but got no justice. I am a very less important person. But please protect people’s rights,” Banerjee told the bench with folded hands. She alleged that the names of women who take their husbands’ surnames after marriage or shift to their in-laws’ houses are deleted, citing mismatches. The bench took note of Banerjee’s submission and said genuine persons must remain on electoral rolls. Referring to the EC as a ‘WhatsApp Commission’ that passes instructions through the instant messaging app, Banerjee alleged that “the SIR process is only for deletion, not inclusion”. Questioning the rationale Rahul’s ‘traitor’ jibe at Bittu sparks political firestorm P REETHA N AIR & HAR P REET B A J WA @ New Delhi / Chandigarh Modi gave the message (to the then Army Chief MM Naravane), do what you think is right (on LAC). Meaning he shed responsibility Rahul Gandhi, LS Leader of Opposition Fire-fighting by Speaker Speaker Om Birla convened a meeting of the Opposition at 4 pm ahead of the PM’s scheduled speech, but it failed to break the logjam Rule 349 As Dubey kept listing books about the Gandhi family, the chair disallowed it citing Rule 349, which bars reading from any book except in connection with the business of the House A sharp war of words between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu snowballed into a political storm on Wednesday with the BJP urging Lok Sabha Speaker to take action against Rahul. The face-off took place outside Parliament’s Makar Dwar, where Rahul was standing with the suspended opposition MPs, who were protesting on the stairs. While walking past the protesting MPs, Bittu said, “They are sitting here as if they have won a war.” Responding to the comment, Rahul said, “The thing is, here is a traitor walking right by. Take a look at the face. How he looks.” Rahul then extended his hand towards Bittu and said, “Hello brother, my traitor friend. Don’t worry, you will come back to the Congress.” Bittu refused to shake hands, saying: “Desh ke dushman (enemies of the country),” pointing at Rahul. Rahul Gandhi exchanges words with MoS Ravneet Singh Bittu (R) | PTI Bittu is not just an MP or a member of a Sikh family. his grandfather — Sardar Beant Singh — fell to an assassin’s bullet. And you call him a traitor. This is completely unacceptable Hardeep Singh Puri A former close aide of Gandhi, Bittu had switched to the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Later in a video statement, Bittu asked why Rahul didn’t say such a thing to other MPs, but only to a Sikh? “I am the grandson of a martyr (ex-Punjab CM Beant Singh, who was assassinated by militants in 1995) and as Tobacco farmers get relief as duty cut to zero US to create trading bloc of critical minerals Vijayawada: DGP Harish Kumar Gupta launched the pilot implementation of the project ‘AI4AP Police’ in three districts, leveraging artificial intelligence to revolutionise crime investigation, enhance efficiency and improve citizen satisfaction, with plans to roll it out statewide soon | P3 Vijayawada: AP government welcomes Centre’s decision to reduce excise duty on unbranded raw tobacco to zero, benefiting farmers and small traders. Move brings uniformity, transparency, and clarity to taxation, curbing evasion and ensuring fair prices for produce, effective Feb 1 | P4 Washington: The Trump administration wants to create a critical minerals trading bloc with its allies that will use tariffs to maintain price floors and defend against China’s tactic of flooding the market to undermine any potential competitors, Vice President J D Vance said | P11 New beginning Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla felicitates new Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh after his swearing-in ceremony, in Imphal, on Wednesday; and (inset) deputy chief ministers L Dikho (tip) and Nemcha Kipgen | PTI | P10 U . P. s h o c k e r Lens on Korean online games as 3 minor sisters die by suicide @ Ghaziabad/Lucknow In a shocking incident, three sisters, aged 12, 14 and 16, allegedly addicted to a Korean taskbased online game, died by suicide in Ghaziabad in the wee hours of Wednesday . All three jumped from a bal- Express News Service @ Rajamahendravaram The elusive tiger that has triggered panic across parts of East Godavari district has been successfully traced and is currently hiding at Akkamma Talli konda temple area on the outskirts of Rajamahendravaram city . Chief Conservator of Forests Chalapati Rao on Wednesday said that all necessary arrangements had been put in place to safely capture the tiger and expressed confidence that the operation would be completed by tonight. He said specialised wildlife capture teams from Pune and Delhi have reached the spot to assist local forest officials. According to Chalapati Rao, the tiger crossed the National Highway at Diwancheruvu around midnight on Tuesday and later killed a calf in the early hours at Srirampuram and R Raghunathapuram areas before moving towards the P4 satellite city region.  U s h a P e r i @ Visakhapatnam AI powered Police pilot project launched cony of their ninth-floor apartment around 2 am. The trio lived with their father Chetan Kumar, a forex trader. While the eldest was born to Kumar’s first wife, the younger two were born to his second wife, who also lived with the family At the time of . the incident, Kumar and his long as I was in the Congress, it was fine. But, now that I am with the BJP, he is giving me such names,” he said. Stepping up the attack, the BJP fielded its Sikh leaders, including Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, to accuse the Congress of harbouring the same “antiSikh mentality” that was on display at the height of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Defending Rahul, Congress MP Sukhpla Singh Khaira said the word “my traitor friend” used by Rahul was to address Bittu as an individual who ditched the party in testing times. “It is by no means an insult to the Sikh community .” The ‘traitor jibe’ evoked sharp reactions in Punjab, which will go to polls next year. Ashwani Sharma, working president of the BJP in Punjab, said Rahul is trying to cover up his failures by using abusive language. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said Bittu was a traitor as he betrayed the Congress. Massive op underway to capture Tiger Visakhapatnam aims to become Tuna hub with local processing units express read N i t i n R a w at & N a m i ta B a jpa i for conducting SIR in her state, she asked how can a process that usually takes two years be done in three months. Opposing the submissions of Banerjee, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the EC, said the West Bengal government was not cooperative. “We wrote to the state government so many times to give grade-two officers to be appointed as EROs (electoral registration officers). Only 80 officers were given.” During the hearing, Banerjee’s counsel Divan sought a direction from the court to the ECI to upload the reasons for each voter discrepancy so that , people know why they are not on the list. The SC bench issued notices and sought replies to the petition by February 9 from the EC and chief electoral officer of West Bengal. wife were sleeping with their son. The girls were resting in another room. According to the family, they heard a noise and rushed to the girls’ room. “We saw the room was locked. We broke open the door and found the girls were not there. We ran downstairs and saw them lying on the ground,” a family member said. “Papa, sorry We cannot leave . Korea. Korea is our life, Korea is our soul, and you cannot separate us from it,” their suicide note read. Police said the three were addicted to an online Korean game called ‘Love Game’ and had not been attending school for the past 2-3 years. “Because of this, when their family members restricted their mobile usage, they took the extreme step,” a senior police officer said. (Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on Hyderabad-based Roshni’s NGO suicide prevention helpline 040-66202000) Visakhapatnam has the resources and catches volume to emerge as a leading centre for the tuna industry on India’s east coast. However, experts and fishermen agree that this potential can be realised only if value addition is carried out locally instead of the catch being , processed and branded elsewhere. Over the past four years, the city has recorded strong but uneven tuna landings. According to official fisheries data, total tuna landings increased from 9,696 tonnes in 2022-23 to 12,029 tonnes in 2024-25, before declining to 10,278 tonnes in 2025-26. Despite these volumes, most of the tuna is sold in raw form, fetching modest prices for fishermen. Among the different species, Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) showed wide fluctuations. Landings rose from 3,562 tonnes in 2022-23 to 5,698 tonnes in 2024-25, but dropped to 3,526 tonnes in 2025-26. Skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus G Satyanarayana pelamis) provided some stability, with landings steadily increasing from 1,456 tonnes in 2022-23 to 2,436 tonnes in 202526. Little tuna (Euthynnus affinis), which formed the largest share in 2022-23 at 4,489 tonnes, declined to 3,684 tonnes in 202425, and later stabilised at 3,782 tonnes in 2025-26, raising conP4 cerns about overfishing.