kalaburagi l wednesday l september 23, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION GST 2.0 boosts auto demand and affordability, spurs investment auto industry bosses remain bullish Maruti Suzuki (MSIL) MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said that PV sales for them grew about 36% year-on-year during Apr-Aug 2026. Anish Shah, Group CEO & MD, Mahindra Group said since the GST rationalisation, SUVs sale grew 17%, while LCVs and tractors grew 20%. Tarun Garg, MD & CEO at Hyundai India, said 4 lakh-unit monthly sale mark is the new normal | P12 The tax cuts following rollout of GST 2.0 a year ago has driven a 20% surge in auto sales with passenger vehicle demand hitting new highs tax rationalisation proves a boon ■ ■ The executives said the reform has helped broaden the customer base, particularly by improving affordability in the entry-level market The GST Council had approved changes to the tax structure effective September 22, 2025, with petrol, LPG and CNG vehicles under 1,200 cc and and diesel vehicles up to 1,500 cc moved to the 18 per cent rate 3 crore vehicles sold between October 2025 and August 2026 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 Don defends Iran war; says he’ll use tariff tool if needed Claims he has to decide whether to make a deal with Iran or annihilate it; berates it for stalling a deal to reopen Hormuz until midterm elections A G E N C I E S @ United Nations Top Honour Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag receives the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award from President Droupadi Murmu during the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony held at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat’s Narmada district on Tuesday | Express Vande mataram SC: No criminal action on conscientious objectors state to decide the contours of the song, but religious freedom under Articles 25 and 26 must be “WE expect no criminal conse- safeguarded. The SC judgment quences for conscientious ob- in Bijoe Emmanuel versus State jectors to Vande Mataram,” the of Kerala protected the right of Supreme Court on Tuesday individuals to refuse to sing the told the Centre on Tuesday National Anthem on grounds of while hearing a plea filed by religious conscience. Carnatic musician and author, Opposing the challenge, SoTM Krishna. licitor General Tushar Mehta, Krishna’s writ petition chal- appearing for the Centre, arlenges the constitutional valid- gued that the issue should not ity of the 2026 amendment to be viewed narrowly through the Prevention of Insults to Na- the lens of secularism. Senior tional Honour Act of advocate S Muralid1971, which extends har, who appeared penal protection to for Krishna, quesVa n d e M a t a ra m , tioned the legal read with the Minisframework extendtry of Home Affairs’ ing statutory protecdirections mandattion to Vande Mataing singing of all six ram. Krishna’s plea stanzas of the song argued that the diat official functions. rections and amendT M Krishna The last four stanzas m e n t e f f e c t ive l y of the song, which compel citizens to refer to Hindu deities, violate participate in singing the last the secular character of the na- four stanzas and are violative tion, his petition contended. of fundamental rights. The Bench of CJI Surya Kant Naxalite’ remarks hit back and justices V Mohana and Joymalya Bagchi said it will ex- During the hearing, the S-G’s reamine whether the right not to mark that “law-making cannot sing the song is protected un- be as per Naxalites’ idea,” drew der the amended law. The SC objections from Muralidhar, who added it expects the 1986 prec- sought its withdrawal. Afteredent to apply ensuring no pe- wards, Muralidhar again sought , nal action against those who do a retraction but Mehta said, “I not sing the Vande Mataram on said that is the constitutional religious grounds. way not what the Naxalite wants. , The court said it is for the And I am not sorry about it.” S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi PRESIDENT Donald Trump returned to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday defending his de, cision to go to war with Iran even as the conflict weighs on his party’s midterm prospects. “The terrorist regime is behaving badly, not because they are strong and confident, but because they are weak and desperate,” Trump said. “If we stand united, we will soon see a world free of the last 51 year menace of Iranian terror.” Trump accused Iran of stalling to make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate an endgame to the war until after the US midterm elections. He insisted the tactic would have no effect on how he approaches the conflict. “I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran,” Trump said. “It doesn’t even enter my mind.” Most of Iran’s dele gation walked out of the chamber as Trump railed against the Islamic Republic. On Russia, he said he continues to seek an end to the disastrous war with Ukraine. “Last week, in honour of Senator Lindsey Graham, I signed a powerful new law passed by Congress providing me with enormous new tariff authorities - and if necessary I will use , them... “It is time to stop the killing,” Trump said. Referring to the proposal to slow down development of artificial intelligence (AI) and calls for their international supervision, Trump called them a “globalist scheme” to control the new technology. He instead announced that the US government would henceforth use the term “super intelligence” rather than AI in its communications. “It sounds much better” and “it’s much more accurate,” he added, wondering Thinking of shutting down KPSC, says CM E x p ress N e w s S er v ice @ B e n g a l u r u Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said the state government was exploring the possibility of shutting down the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC). He also questioned the High Court’s authority alluding to its act of , unilaterally choosing the officers to form the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged scam involving the Commission. “We are as serious about the matter as the High Court. The KPSC has to be shut down, and I am seeking legal counsel to see what we can do about it. A lot of people are involved, and we have received a sizeable amount of information which is with our police. Every facet has been investigated, including the circumstances of the scam and official appointments. All details will come out,” Shivakumar told reporters at an event organised to celebrate the golden jubilee of Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS) in the city P7 . Legislature passes resolution for changes to Kasturirangan report special session of Parliament A special session of Parliament to push the delimitation bill and women’s reservation could be held during Navaratri | P9 E x p ress N e w s S er v ice @ B e n g a l u r u The Karnataka Legislature on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution seeking a review and necessary modifications to the Dr K Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats. The members resolved not to accept the seventh draft notification on Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) of Western Ghats issued by the Union Government on July 27, 2026 based on the Kasturirangan report. It also questioned the practice of de- claring an entire village an ESA just because one-fifth of its area falls in the forest and described the process as unscientific. The three-day special session of the Legislature that began on Monday discussed the Kasturirangan report and concerns of people living in the Western Ghats. After legislators unanimously supported the resolution, Chief Minister DK Shivkumar said he will soon lead an all-party delegation to the Union minister concerned and also meet the Prime Minister.  P4 Japanese announcer, pamphlets & baseball link Indraneel Das Express @ asian games Nagoya N isshin mayor Hiroki Kondo was watching the women’s cricket gold medal match between India and Sri Lanka from the sidelines with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha for company “We will continue playing crick. et here after the Games”, he told this daily as India went on to secure their first gold at the ongoing Asian Games. “We will have 18 days of cricket here in year. This is Japan,” he smiled. Cricket is still an obscure sport in this country The ven. ue itself was baseball practice ground, which also doubles up as a public park with tennis courts as well as a football ground close by The only per. manent structures here are the toilet and the baseball dugouts. To help the crowd, the organisers also distributed pamphlets about the game in Japanese. Naofumi and Chisato are from the neighbourhood and have never watched cricket. This is their first experience. Mimi Hirayama, the official announcer at the venue, is Japanese who lives in England. Her biggest challenge is engaging the audience who can barely differentiate between bat and ball or pad and helmet. “I was mainly talking about rules, because the Japanese audience is not familiar with this sport,” she said. Apart from the pamphlets, they also had Hirayima for company throughout Tuesday P13 . whether the rest of the world would adopt the term. He also dismissed warnings about climate change. “The very same people who said we’ll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming... are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster.” The president renewed his attack on what he said were “globalist” bodies, including the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, which he urged other countries to boycott. He, however, hailed a deal with Greenland under which he said Washington would build a couple of bases in the Arctic. After his speech, Trump is expected to hold talks with new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a , more informal meeting with Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez. He’s also set to meet with leaders and senior officials from Gulf Cooperation Council nations to discuss the way ahead with the war in Iran. E x p r e s s Re a d 53 taluks added to drought-hit list Bengaluru: Karnataka has added another 53 taluks to its drought-hit list, taking the total number to 177, Deputy CM G Parameshwara said on Tuesday. He said the number could rise to 200 based on ground conditions and further assessment |P4 press Intake Heated exchange took place between proffessor and IIT-B student, say cops | P10