KOZHIKODE l Wednesday l november 18, 2020 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION At brics meet, Modi targets Pak for sponsoring terror The PM said terrorism is the biggest global challenge today and countries supporting it must be dealt with an iron fist ‘Hold countries funding terrorism guilty’ India will emerge a force multiplier: pm Without naming Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “We must tackle the problem in an organised way and have to ensure the countries that support and assist the terrorists are also held guilty.” The summit was hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin and attended by Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and XI Jinping of China ■ ■ In his address, Modi underlined the need for reforming the United Nations Security Council as well as multilateral bodies like World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund Pitching the Atmanirbhar programme, Modi said a self-reliant India would prove to be a force multiplier in a post-Covid world Xi Modi shared stage with the Chinese prez for the 2nd time in a week 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 SC pushes govt Jailed Bineesh sent to NCB custody till Nov 20 to frame norms on TV reportage B a l a C h a u h a n @ Bengaluru Chides Centre for skirting application of cable TV Act in affidavit on Tablighi case mechanism employed by you. This affidavit has nothing on it.” The Supreme Court on TuesThe Centre’s affidavit deday gave the Centre a piece of fended media reporting of the its mind for not filing a prop- Tablighi event, saying it was er affidavit on the media re- largely balanced and neutral, portage tying the Tablighi adding “the media has made Jamaat congregation in a clear distinction beDelhi to the Covid outtween the organisers break, and asked it to and attendees of the consider creating a Ta b l i g h i J a m a a t regulatory mechaevent and the larger nism for grievances Muslim community against fake news on in general.” TV . “First you did not 743 orders file a proper affidavit A bench headed by to block Chief Justice of India and then you filed an fake news S A Bobde faulted the affidavit which did infor mation and not deal with the two The central broadcasting minisimportant questions. government’s try’s affidavit for not affidavit said it This way it cannot be d e a l i n g w i t h t h e had issued 743 done Mr Mehta,” the applicability of the bench said. orders in April Cable TV Network alone to block Emphasising that Act (CTNA) in the fake news over s e l f - r e g u l a t i o n case. through the NBSA multiple When Solicitor wasn’t good enough, platforms to General Tushar Methe bench wanted to preserve hta, appearing for the know if the Centre communal Centre, referred to would create a legal harmony the News Broadcastregulatory regime for ers Standards Authority TV channels and slated the (NBSA), a self-regulatory next hearing after three mechanism set up by the sec- weeks. “We aren’t satisfied tor, the bench said: “Why with your reply. We want to should we refer to NBSA know what’s the mechanism when you have the authority to deal with these contents on to look into it? If it does not television... Regulation canexist then you create an au- not be left to organisations thority We want to know the like NBSA,” the bench said. ... E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Interview THE Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Bengaluru zone, on Tuesday obtained the custody of Bineesh Kodiyeri from the special court for three days under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. In judicial custody since November 11, Bineesh has been lodged in the Bengaluru Central Prison at Parappana Agra- S u m i S u k a n ya D u t ta @ New Delhi A random analysis of foreign contributions to over 600 shelter homes in the South has revealed that they received funding up to `6 lakh per child per year, much of which may not have been spent on kids at all. The analysis and a report based drafted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), has been sent to the Union Women and Child Development Ministry for further action. Most of the scrutinised shelter homes were in Tamil Nadu (274), Andhra Pradesh (145) and Kerala (107). Data accessed by this newspaper shows that Andhra Pradesh’s 145 shelter homes run by NGOs house 6,202 children. They cumulatively received over `409.5 crore as contributions from abroad in 2018-19 as per their own declaration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram 2020 Raghuram Rajan Former RBI governor Stimulus yet to come, says rajan F ormer RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan believes the larger portion of the Centre’s fiscal response to the Covid-19 pandemic was just relief and not stimulus. Speaking with TNIE Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla and author and political analyst Shankkar Aiyar at a session of Express Expressions, a series of webcasts with people who matter, Rajan said such relief measures are vital to protect the country’s economic engine but real demand stimulus would be needed down the line. “The time for stimulus will come, when the economy picks up more strongly. Right now, we are some distance away from that,” he said. Rajan noted India’s fiscal position when the pandemic started was bad, which limited the headroom for what the government can do. He said India must concentrate on preparing to stimulate the economy through infrastructure development. “I would say that we should be preparing now for that massive expansion in infrastructure spending that we will need to lift the economy as we get rid of the virus,” he Q&A on: p10 said.  Karat Faisal withdraws Kozhikode: With the candidature of Karat Faisal, who was quizzed as part of the Karipur gold smuggling case kicking up a row, LDF has substituted him with INL’s O P Rasheed for the Chungapuram division of Koduvally. Anoop, who was arrested by the NCB from Bengaluru along with R Ravindran and Anikha D on August 22. The anti-drug agency had seized a huge cache of MDMA pills, LSD blots and cash of more than `2 lakh during the operation. Bineesh was subsequently arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Bengaluru on October 29 under Section 19(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The ED had arrested Anoop under PMLA on October 17 and, during his custodial interrogation, he had allegedly told the agency’s officials that he “indulged in sale and purchase of narcotic drugs and was closely associated with Bineesh. All his financial dealings happened on the instructions of Bineesh,” the ED had stated. Worry over foreign fund deluge to Ngo-run homes Panel freezes KC(M)’s ‘Two Leaves’ poll symbol ELECTION hara. After he was remanded in NCB custody till November 20, Bineesh was taken from the p r i s o n fo r c u s t o d i a l interrogation. “The NCB will question him on his alleged drug network, the source, supply chain and his customers,” said sources. Bineesh’s name had surfaced during the interrogation of drug accused Mohammed WARRING factions of the Kerala Congress (M) will not be able to contest the upcoming local body poll under the traditional ‘Two Leaves’ election symbol. State Election Commissioner V Bhaskaran issued an order in that regard on Tuesday . The decision came in the Table fan wake of both factions of & chenda KC(M), led by Jose K Mani Jose K Mani and P J Joseph, staking faction has claim to the ‘two leaves’ been allotted symbol before the state poll ‘table fan’ panel. While the Jose faction has been allotted ‘table fan’, Joseph faction the Joseph faction can con- will contest under ‘chenda’ test on ‘chenda’ symbol. The decision to freeze the symbol, however, will be subject to the final verdict of the Kerala High Court which is hearing a case relating to the ‘two leaves’ symbol. The Election Commission had earlier allotted ‘two leaves’ to the Jose faction, but the Joseph faction challenged the decision in the High Court. Foreign No of fund shelter received homes analysed in 2018-19 Andhra Pradesh 145 C409.52 cr Telangana 67 C144.98 cr Kerala 107 C85.39 cr Karnataka 45 C66.62 cr Tamil Nadu 274 C248.09 cr Fund per child “This works out to `6.6 lakh per child per year but obviously most of it is not being spent on children,” a senior NCPCR functionary said. “This is a serious issue that needs to be flagged and thoroughly investigated as social audit has revealed that inmates are struggling for even basic facilities in most shelter homes in Andhra and are even vulnerable to abuse.” In Telangana, annual foreign funding received per child was `3.88 lakh while it was in the `2 lakh-plus range in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala (see table). C6.6 lakh C3.88 lakh C2.01 lakh C2.14 lakh C2.14 lakh He was taken from the prison for custodial interrogation NCB will question him on his alleged drug network, the source, supply chain and his customers In judicial custody since November 11, Bineesh has been lodged in the Bengaluru Central Prison P R a m d a s @ Kochi The fund gulf between NGO- and state-run homes is stark as the latter spend just `60,000 per annum per child, including recurring expenses THE state will bear the ultimate liability and accountability for the bonds issued by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) as they are backed and guaranteed by the Kerala government, the accountant-general’s (AG) office has said. An affidavit filed by the AG’s office before the High Court said that from 2015-16 to 2018-19, KIIFB received `6,008 crore for implementation of various projects and of that, `1923.91 crore has been spent for various projects. KIIFB had raised `2,150 crore in March 2019 from international investors through Masala Bonds, becoming the first state government institution in India to do so. The London Stock Exchange (LSE)-listed bonds have a five-year tenure, offering 9.72% interest to investors. The affidavit was filed by the senior deputy AG (admn), AG’s office Thiruvananthapuram in “Regarding funding related matters a random analysis/ exercise was carried out with some of the NGOs audited during social audit in southern India to understand the trend about foreign funding,” the report states. The per child annual spend in governmentrun shelters, including recurring expenses, is just `60,000, the report adds. The exercise came close on the heels of the commission flagging the unusually high number of children in shelter homes in eight states and directing that they be sent back to their “permanent homes”. CEO expresses desire to step down KIIFB CEO K M Abraham is learnt to have expressed his desire to quit the post, though Finance Minister Thomas Isaac denied the reports. P4 June 2020, in response to a petition filed by M R Ranjith Karthikeyan through advocate Mathew Kuzhalanadan challenging the constitutional validity of the issue of Masala Bonds to overseas investors by the state government and listing them on the LSE. In his response to the same petition, KIIFB CEO K M Abraham informed the High Court that the rate of interest at which the Board sold Masala Bonds is relatively less compared to Domestic Bonds (10.72%), issued by the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority, a similarly ● More on P4 placed entity  . RBI suggests LVB-DBS Bank India merger Se s a Sen @ New Delhi The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday superseded the board of directors of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB), in consultation with the Centre, in view of the serious deterioration in the Chennai-based private bank’s financial position. T N Manoharan, former nonexecutive chairman of Canara Bank, has been appointed as the administrator. During the 30-day moratorium, the ailing bank cannot make any payment above `25,000 to depositors. However, one can withdraw more for the purposes of medical treatment, education, and marriages with RBI’s permission. E X P R E S S R EA D Special court dismisses Sivasankar’s bail petition Kochi: The special court in Kochi on Tuesday dismissed the bail plea of former principal secretary M Sivasankar, despite his counsel’s claim that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him because he refused to name its political targets. The court maintained that the investigation against Sivasankar was at a preliminary stage and the ED required more time to probe all aspects in the case. P4 Lone battle Up against Goliath CPM, Chithralekha set to fight casteism by embracing Islam E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kannur LIFE has been one long struggle for Chithralekha. Ostracised and shunned over the years because of her layered identity as a Dalit woman autorickshaw driver, the hardest battle she has had to fight, however, might have been against the CPM which, she says, has been continually harassing her in the name of caste. Tired of waging the lone battle against the Goliath party and its alleged casteism, the Payyannur native has now made the decision to try and escape from the shack- Bineesh was remanded in NCB custody till November 20 State govt accountable for KIIFB bonds: AG making sense of the cash flow State Detailed questioning likely les of caste by converting to Islam. “I am doing this because I am unable to continue this fight alone anymore,” she wrote in a Facebook post on Monday . “Just because I was born a Pulaya woman and I dared to question the caste discrimination practised by the CPM, I was tor- tured to the extent that I had to run away from my own village,” she said in her Facebook post. Though she had fled from Payyannur and settled down in a house in Kattampally, the harassment did not end. CPM workers allegedly went on to set ablaze her autorickshaw at Edatt in December 2005, just a year after she bought it. Alleging that the government’s attitude towards her over the past years has been inhuman, Chithralekha said she was not even given the consideration that she was a woman and belonged to a ● More on P4 Dalit community  . ` Meanwhile, RBI chose a white knight for the cashstarved lender, by suggesting that LVB merge with DBS Bank India, the local unit of Singapore-based DBS Holdings. “DBIL has a healthy balance sheet with strong capital support. Although DBIL is well capitalised, it will bring in additional capital of `2,500 crore upfront, to support credit growth of the merged entity,” RBI said. LVB was in talks with Aion Capital-backed NBFC Clix Capital for a possible merger. A preliminary nonbinding letter of intent was also signed between LVB and Clix Capital in June, months after LVB’s proposed deal with IndiaBulls Housing Finance was blocked by the regulator.