EC removes kamal nath from star campaigners’ list New Delhi: The Election Commission on Friday removed Congress leader Kamal Nath from star campaigners’ list over repeat violation of the model code of conduct. It referred to his recent remarks, calling BJP leader Imarti Devi an “item”, and his use of adjectives like “mafia” against Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan tirunelveli l saturday l October 31, 2020 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Guv clears quota Bill after TN finds NEET alternative Purohit says the delay was because he had sought legal opinion of the Solicitor General; new Bill in accordance with Constitution T M U R U G A N A N D H A M @ Chennai A day after the State government issued an Order allocating 7.5 per cent reservation to government school students for admissions to undergraduate medical courses in the State, Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Friday gave his assent for a Bill pending with him for over 40 days allowing the same. A release from the Raj Bhavan attributed the delay to the time taken to obtain a legal opinion from the Solicitor General of India (SGI), Tushar Mehta. As per the release, an opinion was sought on September 26 and a reply was received only on October 28. “As soon as the opinion was received, the Governor gave his assent,” it said. The new reservation is likely to benefit gover nment school students aspiring to study medicine, who, according to reports, have been negatively impacted since the launch of NEET, the common medical entrance test. In the evening, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami met the Governor at his Raj Bhavan residence and thanked him for clearing the Bill. The release issued by the Governor’s office said that he had sough clarifications re- $1.2 bn blow to Antrix in nixed Devas deal E x p re s s N e w s Ser v i c e @ Bengaluru Embattled city-based startup Devas Multimedia got a billion dollar lifeline as a US court ordered Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) commercial arm Antrix Corporation to shell out $1.2 billion (`8,952 crore) as compensation for the messy scrapping a satellite deal six years after it was struck in 2005. However, the order may not enforceable as Antrix does not have any assets in the US, a sen- express read 14 killed as quake rocks Turkey, Greece Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami meets Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhavan on Friday to thank him for giving his assent to the reservation Bill ‘g.o. was passed due to delay in consent’ Speaking earlier in the day in Ramanathapuram, CM Palaniswami said that the G.O. was issued owing to the delay by the Governor. “The decision was made considering issues faced by government school students. I am a government school student myself.” | P2 garding the Constitutional viability of the Bill, especially in light of Article 14 and 15. Quoting several legal aspects, the SGI had conveyed to the Governor that the Bill was in accordance with the Constitution. “Article 15 (5) of the Constitution specifically provides that the State is empowered to make a special provision by law for the advancement of any socially or economically backward classes of citizens insofar, as such special provisions related to admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions whether aided or unaided by the State,” the SGI had said. The opinion of the State as to what constitutes socially and economically backward classes of citizens, while extending benefits, is a matter within the purview of judicial review by constitutional P4 courts, the SGI said. Istanbul: A strong earthquake rattled Turkey’s west coast and parts of Greece on Friday, killing at least 14 people and injuring over 400. The 6.9 magnitude quake knocked down several buildings. Many more people trapped under the debris are feared killed. Rescue efforts are on. Twelve of the 14 killed were in Turkey, which reported most of the damage | P9 ED links Kerala leader’s son to drug kingpin Kochi: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said Bineesh Kodiyeri, the son of Kerala CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, credited “huge amount of unaccounted funds” into the bank accounts of drug peddler Anoop Mohammed. The probe stems from a Narcotics Control Bureau investigation that claimed to have busted a drug trafficking racket in Karnataka ior official informed on condition of anonymity. “There is nothing which the (US) court can attach. However, any decision in India’s Supreme Court will be binding,” the official said. The Devas-Antrix case is still in the Supreme Court, which had earlier directed a tribunal to hear it. The 2005 deal pertained to Antrix launching and operating two satellites and making 70 MHz of S-band spectrum available to Devas to enable it to provide communication services across India. However, in 2011, Antrix issued a termination notice to Devas, invoking force majeure (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent fulfilling a contract) and justifying it saying that it was a policy decision of the Union government in its sovereign capacity . The order of the US district judge, Wester n District of Washington, Seattle, which came on October 27, directed Antrix to pay $562.5 million (`4,196 crore) plus interest to Devas, totaling $1.2 billion. Woman forced to prostrate before villagers for eloping with lover? E x p re s s N e w s Ser v i c e @ Dharmapuri Claiming that she was forced to prostrate before hundreds of villagers for eloping with her lover, a 24-year-old woman submitted a petition to Superintendent of Police Bandi Gangadhar on Friday . In her petition, the woman, a resident of Pochampalli, said that the elders had also warned her of excommunication if her lover failed to give them a ‘fine’ of `5 lakh. Sources said that the mother to a one-year-old child had walked out on her husband and eloped with a 35-yearold man, working in a lumber mill in Bengaluru, earlier this year. Though the family members of the woman filed a missing complaint with Nagarasampatti police initially, they withdrew it after the police brought the duo back from Bengaluru. However, the elders of the village, allegedly at the behest of the woman’s parents, organised a kangaroo court on a Man slapped with a ‘fine’ of `5 lakh A kangaroo court, organised by village eleders, at the behest of the parents of the woman, also imposed a fine of `5 lakh on the lover for spoiling the reputation of the village as well as the family temple premises in the l o c a l i t y a n d a s ke d t h e woman to prostrate before hundreds of villagers. This apart, they also slapped a ‘fine’ of `5 lakh on the man for “spoiling the reputation of the family and the village”. When contacted, Kallavi police told TNIE that requesting the of ficials to drop the complaint is not unusual as it would affect all the parties involved. Police said that a CSR has been re gistered and all those who are involved in the incident are being questioned. “It is too early to file a First Infor mation Report (FIR). Action will be taken only after a comprehensive investigation,” they added.