CHENNAI  FRIDAY  DECEMBER 18, 2020  `7.00  PAGES 12  VELLORE EDITION NOW, YOU CAN WIN MEDALS IN YOGASANA AT NATIONAL LEVEL After granting it recognition last month, sports ministry has formally categorised yogasana as a competitive sport GROUNDWORK OVER, COMPETITIONS NEXT CLASSIFICATION OF MEDAL EVENTS The initiative taken by sports and AYUSH ministries wants to encourage yoga, spread awareness about its benefits and help improve physical and mental wellbeing of the people. A National Yogasana Sport Federation of India has been established for preservation and development of yoga as a competitive sport. An automated scoring system has been developed. ■ ■ To be included in Khelo India Games. A total of 51 medals have been proposed in four events and seven categories at nationals Events proposed include traditional yogasana, artistic yogasana (single and pair), rhythmic yogasana (pair, free flow/group yogasana), individual championship and team championship 2021 FIRST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PROPOSED FOR THE SPORT 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 Four-member committee Ready for talks: Tikait The Sanyukta Kisan Morch, an umbrella body of 40 farmers unions, decided to form a fourmember internal committee to deal with all issues arising from the Supreme Court’s intervention in the protest under the leadership of Balbir Singh Rajewal, president of BKU (Rajewal) Bharatiya Kisan Union national president Naresh Tikait said, “We are ready for dialogue. If the government takes two steps back, the farmers will follow suit. We respect everything that the Supreme Court has stated. Whatever panel is formed, sensible people should be on it.” Farmers protesting at the Singhu border in Delhi on Thursday | SHEKHAR YADAV Put farm laws on ice, suggests SC Motivated campaign, says BJP, readies to fight it out K A N U S A R D A @ New Delhi ASKING the Centre whether it could put in abeyance its three farm sector reform laws till negotiations with the agitators are on, the Supreme Court on Thursday said farmers have a constitutional right to continue their protest as long as their dissent does not led to any kind of violence. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde asked Attorney General K K Venugopal whether the government could give an assurance to keep the implementation of the farm laws on hold. While Venugopal said he will have to seek instructions as he was not sure if this was a viable solution, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that it was not possible to put the implementation of the laws on hold. Refusing to order the eviction of farmers from Delhi’s borders, the court said: “A protest is constitutional as long as it does not cause violence or destroy life. It can continue while the committee we propose can hold deliberations. We are likely to propose names like P Sainath for the committee.” CJI Bobde added, “We are also Indian, we are familiar with the plight of farmers and are sympathetic to their cause. You (farmers) have to only alter the way the protest is going.” The Punjab gover nment, represented by P Chidambaram, supported the proposal to form a committee. The bench gave liberty to all parties to approach P7 the court during winter vacations. Unions to consult four top lawyers Farmer unions said they will first consult four top Supreme Court lawyers — Prashant Bhushan, Colin Gonsalves, Dushyant Dave and H S Phoolka — before before taking a call on the SC impleading them in the case and forming of an impartial committee to resolve the matter E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi WITH the government staying firm on the farm laws, Union ministers Amit Shah, Narendra Singh Tomar and Piyush Goyal went into a huddle with the BJP national general secretaries at the party headquarters, with indications emerging that it is gearing up for the political challenge thrown up by the farmers protesting at the Capital’s doorstep. Minutes after the meeting concluded, Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, released a hard-hitting letter addressed to the farmers, singling out “conspirators for fuelling anarchy”. The meeting also came in the midst of the outreach by BJP leaders across the country to explain their position on the contentious farm sector reform laws and the steps taken by the government for the benefits of the farmers. “There is clarity that certain elements who have consistently been at loggerheads with the Narendra Modi government are fanning the farmers’ protests for vested interests. The BJP will effectively respond to the motivated campaign,” said a senior BJP functionary . CM: KAMAL’S TV SHOW Didi fumes as MHA transfers RUINING FAMILIES Bengal officers EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Ariyalur/Perambalur ACTOR Kamal Haasan is ruining families with his television shows and movies, said Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami while launching a strong attack against the founder of the Makkal Needhi Maiam for criticising his government. “Kamal Haasan, who anchors Big Boss, is unfit for politics,” Palaniswami said while speaking in Ariyalur. “If you take MGR for instance, there were good messages in his movies and songs,” Palaniswami said, while recalling the film career of the AIADMK founder. “But, that is not the case with Kamal. His films and programmes are polluting families.” Later, speaking in Perambalur, Palaniswami alleged that Kamal was trying to garner votes in the name of MGR. “That is because Kamal P R O N A B M O N D A L @ Kolkata has no personal influence,” he said. “Various parties are claiming MGR’s legacy to get votes. Kamal is also trying the same thing. AIADMK is the only movement that has the right to use the late leader’s name.” Responding to Palaniswami’s remarks, Kamal, who received Padma Bhushan in 2014 for his contribution to cinema, said, “I am happy that the CM too is watching Big Boss.” Responding to Kamal’s criticism about corrupt officials being raided in the State, the CM pointed out that raids were also carried P4 out by State agencies. `700,00,00,000 UNEARTHED IN RAIDS ACROSS TN The I-T dept searches in 15 premises of a private firm in Erode and Chennai have revealed unaccounted income to the tune of `700 Cr | P3 IGNORING the West Bengal government’s objections, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday issued transfer orders of three IPS officers of Bengal cadre, who were responsible for BJP chief J P Nadda’s security during his visit to the state last week. The three officers — Rajeev Mishra (IG, South Bengal), Praveen Tripathi (DIG, Presidency Range) and Bholanath Pandey (SP Diamond Harbour) , — have been transferred to Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Seema Suraksha Bal and Police Research Bureau, respectively . The Mamata Banerjee government has been maintaining it will not relieve the officers for central deputation. Reacting to Thursday’s transfer order, a furious Mamata termed it “completely unacceptable” and “a colourable exercise of power and blatant misuse of emergency provision of IPS Cadre Rule 1954”. Hitting out at the MHA, she tweeted, “This move, particularly before the elections, is against the basic tenets of the federal structure. We wouldn’t allow this brazen attempt by the Centre to control the State machinery by proxy!”