kottayam l thursday l july 23, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION after major legal victory, lalit Modi plans India visit Relief from Appellate Tribunal Former IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi, who has been living away from the country for over 15 years, 'wants to move on in my life' after relief 'I have fought for 16 years' Tribunal sets aside penalties imposed by ED over long-running case with respect to SAFEMA ACT over conducting IPL in South Africa in 2009. It held that the foreign remittances in question were current account transactions and did not require prior RBI approval. It also ruled that Lalit Modi was not responsible for ensuring the BCCI's compliance with FEMA ■ ■ Post the ruling, Lalit Modi said: "Sixteen years I have fought and whatever I have been saying to the media and to everybody has finally emerged as the truth." On social media, the 52-year-old added: "I'm going to move on in my life and I'm looking forward to coming back to India.” 2010 lalit Modi moved to london after BCCI suspended him in 2010 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 As fresh groups of protesters pour into Jantar Mantar, LS Speaker asks Parl affairs minister to issue a statement following repeated House disruptions, urges Oppn to engage in debate instead of ruckus d ay ’ s d e v e l o p m e n t s 1 CJP made it clear that it will hold talks with the Centre only at or near Jantar Mantar 2 3 Delhi HC sought views of Centre and Delhi Police on using force on protesters Sonam Wangchuk to end his hunger strike if Centre assures no action against youth Cockroach Janta Party supporters during the ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday | Parveen negi 4 Delhi Police is using facial recognition system to identify suspects at the protest site 5 A total of 17 metro stations, including Rajiv Chowk were shut citing security issues 6 Centre has shifted 20 additional CRPF companies from West Bengal to Delhi amid protests A volunteer sits on the bonnet of a Delhi Police vehicle trying to make way through a crowd of protesters near Parliament Street on Wednesday | pTI Govt offers NEET talk in LS, Oppn says sack education minister first p r eetha na i r @ New Delhi AS Parliament remained paralysed for the third consecutive day over the NEET controversy, the government on Wednesday said it is prepared for a detailed discussion in the Lok Sabha, even as the Opposition refused to relent unless Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns. As proceedings in the Lower House were disrupted as soon as it reassembled at noon following an earlier adjournment, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asked Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to issue a statement. However, Cong ress leader K C Venugopal intervened to reiterate the Opposition’s demand for Pradhan’s resignation. “Our demand is simple. When the entire nation is feeling the pain of our students, all other business of the House should be set aside Rahul: 152 exam paper leaks, no convictions Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the government of destroying India’s education system saying that there was not one conviction though 152 cases of paper leak happened in past 10 years. Gandhi said the education system is not only rigged, but also unaffordable and this burning issue should be top priority for Parliament,” Venugopal said. Referring to the alleged police action against the protesting students on Monday, Venugopal said their demand is that Pradhan should resign first. After the minister’s resignation, Youth used as tools by vested interests: Singh Addressing the ongoing student protests, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said, “It is extremely unfortunate that some people are attempting to use the students and youth of our country as political tools to serve their own political interests” the issue can be discussed through an adjournment motion, he said. In his response, Rijiju said the government is willing to debate the NEET paper leak issue in detail. He said the Speaker would hold consultations with floor leaders of political parties to decide the rule under which the discussion would take place, along with its date and duration. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav expressed displeasure that while BJP and Congress members were allowed to speak, he was not given an opportunity . He maintained that when the interests of youth and students are affected, the Opposition is justified in taking the protest to the streets as well. “This is not an issue of Congress, SP, BJP... this is an issue of students, youths. The way the government has behaved... students were thrashed. We were compelled to hold a protest outside the PM’s residence. Why can’t the PM give a statement in the House when he can make statements outside?” he asked. Birla said he had heard the views of all sides and noted the government’s willingness to discuss the issue with an open mind. Pared-back edition of quadrennial international multisport event to begin with Opening on Thursday LAC peace a pre-requisite for normal relations: India to China Nation’s eyes on weightlifting & athletics J ayanth J a c o b @ New Delhi Spotlight on Commonwealth Games Weightlifting, a medal-rich discipline for the country, could be the main source for gold this time thanks to the likes of Mirabai Chanu, India’s flag-bearer for the Opening Ceremony. In athletics, Neeraj Chopra is bound to grab eyeballs Passing the baton to India India will receive Games’ flag during the Closing Ceremony as they are the next hosts in 2030 (Ahmedabad). Prime Minister Narendra Modi may attend Closing Ceremony India’s strength 13 disciplines No. of athletes 78 men 48 women Dates: July 23 to August 2 | 10 Sports, 6 para sports in 4 venues | 215 medal events E x t e r nal A f f a i r s M i n i s t e r S Jaishankar on Wednesday told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains the “pre-requisite” for normal India-China ties, even as he called for addressing long-standing concerns over market access, trade imbalance and supply chain predictability . The meeting, held on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, came as New Delhi and Beijing continue efforts to stabilise bilateral re- Poll debacle: Central leadership asks Kerala CPM to own up responsibility K S SR E E J I T H @ T’Puram The CPM national leadership has delivered a strong indictment of the party’s Kerala leadership, holding it responsible for failing to anticipate and effectively respond to controversies arising from its decisions. The party leadership said these failures contributed to the state unit’s huge setback in the assembly elections. The review report adopted by the Central Committee (CC), which was presented at the state secretariat meeting on Wednesday, asked the Kerala unit to ‘own up’ its failures. The CC observed that “the top leadership of the state committee failed to assess the adverse impact of its decisions and react promptly to address the issues. Therefore, the responsibility for the choice of candidates in certain constituencies and the lack of adequate representation for women, minorities and youth cannot be placed on the district committees alone”. “The state leadership should own up this responsibility it said. ,” The CC also criticised the state leadership for ignoring its directive to initiate disciplinary action against Pathan- amthitta district committee member and former Travancore Devaswom Board president A Padmakumar, following his arrest in the Sabarimala temple gold theft case. The state leadership had argued that Padmakumar’s imprisonment made it difficult to initiate disciplinary proceedings after seeking his explanation, admitting that the delay was a lapse on its part. Rejecting the explanation, the central committee said that immediately after the arrest of Padmakumar, the party’s national leadership asked the state unit to take disciplinary action, but no action was ● More on P4 taken.  lations following the prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Reviewing the trajectory of ties since the October 2024 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Jaishankar said relations had been “gradually normalising”. “Peace and tranquility in the border areas is obviously the pre-requisite for normal ties. Since October 2024, both sides have engaged to ensure that this important objective is met. This will continue to need our constant attention,” he said. He said important economic issues still needed attention. J&K cop on Amarnath Yatra duty shot dead F aya z Wan i @ Srinagar In the first terrorist attack in Kashmir since last year’s Pahalgam massacre, a policeman posted on Amarnath Yatra security duty was shot dead in Anantnag on Wednesday The police said a gunman fired . from close range at head constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi in the Lal Chowk area of Anantnag around 12.30 pm. Qureshi was shot from behind.He was rushed to the Government Medical College, Ashiq Hussain Anantnag, where doctors deQureshi clared him brought dead. The Resistance Front (TRF), an off-shoot of Lashkar-e-Toiba, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Soon after the attack, the security forces launched a massive anti-terror crackdown across the Valley, detaining over 2,000 suspected overground workers. US threatens HC tells govt to 200% tariff on include non-Muslims generic drugs ‘ n o b ar o n re c o n s t i t u t i o n ’ in state Waqf Board E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi The Kerala High Court on Wednesday said the state can include two non-Muslim members in the existing Waqf Board on a temporary basis so that it can continue functioning, and that a decision on reconstitution can be taken later. The court stated that there was no order restraining the state government from reconstituting the Waqf Board. The existing Board can continue to function in the meantime, provided two non-Muslim members are included as mandated under Section 14(1) of the Waqf Act, amended in 2025, it stated. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice V M Syam Kumar made the observation while hearing four public interest litigations filed by BJP leader Shone George and others challenging the constitution of the Board without the mandatory inclusion of two non-Muslim members. Appearing for the state, Advocate General K Jaju Babu submitted that the government was prepared to comply with the amended provision requiring the induction of two nonMuslim members. However, he argued that merely appointing them to the existing Board will not rectify the defect and that the Board will have to be reconstituted. He also informed the court that the exercise of identifying the various classes among the Muslim community, as contemplated under Section 14(6) of the Act, had not been completed before the ex● More on P4 isting Board was constituted.  EXPRESS READ Nithin Raj death case: HC suspects attempt to shield main accused Kochi: The Kerala High Court expressed strong suspicion that there was a conspiracy at the highest levels of the police to protect the main accused in the death of Anjarakandy Dental College student Nithin Raj. Justice A Badharudeen observed that the manner in which the accused was produced before sessions court without complying with SC’s guidelines indicated an attempt to facilitate his release on bail. P4 P U S H PI TA D E Y @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose tariffs of up to 200% on generic pharmaceutical imports unless manufacturers shift production of those drugs to the US. Under the proposed pharmaceutical tariff regime, generic drug exporters worldwide have been given two years to shift production to the US, failing which a 100% tariff will be imposed from August 2028 and 200% from August 2029. “Effective August 1, 2026, all Generic Drugs being brought into the United States will continue to have a tariff of zero percent for a two-year period, after which the tariff will be raised to 100% for a one-year period, and 200% thereafter. This is done in order to re-shore Generic Pharmaceutical Production into America, with a penalty to those Companies that decide not to build Plant and Equipment within the stated period of time given to them,” Trump said in a social media post. In September last year, the Trump administration had announced plans to impose a 100% tariff on imported branded and patented medicines. However, the proposal was later revised. In April this year, the Trump administration announced tariffs of up to 100% on specified branded medicines and key pharmaceutical ingredients under the Section 232 national security framework, while exempting generic medicines.