All dressed up for aero India Indian Air Force’s Sarang helicopters and Surya Kiran aircraft taking part in aerobatics performance during a full dress rehearsal at the Yelahanka Air Force station in Bengaluru on Tuesday, a day ahead of the the 13th edition of the three-day Aero India | Ashishkrishna H P THRISSUR l wednesday l February 03, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 14 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 Farmers want all arrested protesters released before any dialogue; ruckus in Parliament, both Houses adjourned Govt ready for talks, kisans harden stance E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi ON a day the government said it is ready to talk to the protesting farmers, agitators upped the ante and said there would be no discussion until ‘harassment’ by the police and administration stops and detained farmers are released. Proceedings at Parliament were disrupted, too, with sessions in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha repeatedly adjourned following Opposition protests. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) hit out at the government for digging trenches, fixing nails on roads, setting up barbed-wire fences, and stopping internet services at protest sites. “It appears the government is extremely fearful of the rising tide of support for the ongoing protest from different states,” an SKM statement read. Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, who has been camping at the Ghazipur border, reiterated that protests will continue until their demands are met. “This is now a fight for the freedom of farmers,” he said. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut visited Ghazipur to express solidarity . Amid ruckus in both houses, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the “government is ready to discuss issues related to farmers inside and outside Parliament”. He said the government is committed to discussing the issues. Tomar’s reply came after Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed 170 farmers died during the agitation. However, SKM said it has not received any proposal for talks. “Though no formal proposal for talks came from the government, we clearly state that talks will A farmer at the protest site at Singhu on the Delhi-Haryana border on Tuesday | Shekhar Yadav 115 in jails, claims morcha l Samyukta Kisan Morcha said 115 farmers are in jail, but according to Punjab CM, 70 are in Delhi jails while five are missing l Delhi Police said the heightened security measures at city borders were to ensure they cannot be broken again by protesters l Tomar said no to an LS question on whether govt will compensate families of farmers who died in the ongoing protests be held only after the unconditional release of farmers who are in illegal police custody the statement said. ,” The Centre also told Lok Sabha that protesting farmers resorted to rioting, damage to property and used ‘criminal force’ against public servants on January 26, forcing Delhi Police to resort to tear gas, water cannons and mild force. The Lok Sabha was also informed 39 cases were registered between September and December against the farmers.  P9 UDF sings Ayyappa, Left blushes E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram BUOYED  by its new-found vigour, the UDF has decided to take the fight to the rival Left camp by rekindling the Sabarimala women’s issue in the run-up to the assembly elections. The LDF government’s decision to facilitate young women’s  entry into the Lord Ayyappa temple following a Supreme Court order was a key reason for the drubbing the ruling front suffered in the last Lok Sabha elections. After the UDF’s projection of corruption allegations against the Pinarayi Vijayan government failed to fetch desired results in the civic polls, the Congress is turning again to the sensitive Sabarimala issue. Oommen Chandy, who took charge as the head of the Congress’ 10-member poll strategy committee, twice raised the issue in a span of seven days while it was the turn of Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday to ask whether the LDF government will try to amend its affidavit before the Supreme Court or not. “Sabarimala is definitely an important issue. The SC had pronounced such a verdict because of the LDF government’s stance. We are eager to know whether they are ready to change their earlier affidavit,” Chennithala said on Tuesday . Realising it as Congress’ poll strategy, CPM has decided to keep away from the issue saying it is currently under the Supreme Court’s consideration. It also observed a public discourse on the matter ● More on P4 would give BJP mileage.  express read Bengal in mood CAA may not come into play for a change before West Bengal elections Gap in tax collection aggregates 5% of GDP Poll-bound West Bengal appears to be ready to end the 10-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, a ground survey conducted in all the state’s 294 constituencies by the Hyderabadbased Peoples Pulse has found. A pro-change mood is apparent in all the regions, including south Bengal, as the voters are fed up of rampant corruption and widespread political violence. This is likely to work in the BJP’s favour. In the first of a three-part series, the survey explains why the anti-Trinamool mood does not necessarily mean a positive vote for the BJP They will rather vote . to defeat the Trinamool. The BJP is organisationally weak in the state but this will be more than compensated by its strong leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Detailed report: P9 Shah.  Strike and salary: HC quashes govt order E x p r e s s N e w Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Tomorrow: How didi is losing the plot Help us to settle Claims in time S a n a S h a k i l @ New Delhi The contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) may not be implemented at least till July as the committees on subordinate legislation of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been granted extension up to April 9 and July 9 respectively by the Ministry of Home Affairs to frame its rules. In other words, it will not come into play before the West Bengal elections that are expected in April-May The nu. merically significant Matua community the BJP is banking on in Bengal, has been pressing the party to implement the CAA immediately But the Cen. tre is in no hurry as the CAA passed in December 2019 amid unprecedented chaos in Parliament, led to violent protests across the country . Junior home minister Nityanand Rai told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday the rules were still “under preparation”. He was responding to questions by Congress member V K Sreekandan. “The Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have granted extension of time up to April 9 and July 9, respectively to frame these rules un, der the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019,” he said. The gap in tax collections in India is over 5% of GDP against its potential, according to the 15th Finance Commission report. Taking FY20 GDP of D203.4 lakh crore, this translates to D10 lakh crore, or 28% of India’s budget expenditure. The Commission recommended urgent operational and policy changes to fix this | P12 Kochi: Kerala High Court on Tuesday quashed Kerala government’s order sanctioning eligible leave with salary for the state government employees who kept away from their duties during the nationwide general strike called by joint trade unions against the Central government’s policies on January 8 and 9, 2019.