kozhikode l Sunday l february 07, 2021 l `8.00 l PAGES 24 l city edition in a first, 34 women inducted into CRPF’s Elite CoBRA Unit After a 3-month training, they will be deployed in Naxal-hit districts of Chhattisgarh like Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur Breaking gender-based stereotypes 35 years of glorious service CRPF Director General A P Maheshwari underlined the induction as a step towards defeating gender-based stereotypes. An all-woman brass band of the country’s largest paramilitary was also commissioned at the force’s Kadarpur camp near Gurugram during a ceremony to mark the 35th Raising Day anniversary of its first women battalion known as the 88 | P7 ■ ■ Raised on Feb 6, 1986, 88 Mahila battalion has served the country with distinction for 35 years. It has been part of many UN missions. It comprises six units with over 1,000 women in each CoBRA was raised in 2009 for intelligence-based jungle warfare operations. It had been an all-male affair for this unit till now Martyrs 7 personnel of 88 battalion have made the ultimate sacrifice so far 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 judge heaps lavish praise on PM, creates ripples in legal circles K a n u S a r d a @ New Delhi DELHI karnataka odisha (From left) Securitymen at the barricaded Ghazipur border in New Delhi during the farmers’ chakka jam on Saturday; police arresting agitators in Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar | PTI, Ashishkrishna HP, Biswanath Swain We will sit here till October 2. After that, we will do further planning. We will not hold discussions under pressure. Nobody can touch the farmlands. Farmers will protect them. Both farmers and soldiers should come forward - Rakesh Tikait, farmers’ leader Kisans ready for long haul, to protest till Oct Set Gandhi Jayanti deadline for govt to repeal farm laws; Tikait says won’t wilt, insists talks only on equal terms E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Announcing that the agitation against the farm laws would go on till October, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait declared on Saturday that talks with the government would not happen under any pressure. Addressing farmers during the nation-wide chakka jam protest, Tikait said they were giving the government time till October 2 to repeal the contentious laws, till then they would stay put on the borders.It was not clarified if the deadline had anything to do with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.He said there was no chakka jam in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand as they had inputs that some people might take advantage of the protest and could indulge in violence. “If the government is placing nails on our way then we will grow crop there. We are ready to talk but it has to be on an equal platform, no pressure tactics will work,” he said. In sharp contrast to the farmers’ tractor rally on January 26, which turned violent, Saturday’s protest was completely peaceful and took place under heavy security cover in Delhi and adjoining states. With the Capital, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand out of the ambit of the road blockade, vehicular movement was affected mainly in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. Roads were blocked in several places in Punjab and Haryana from 12 noon to 3 pm. Farmers parked tractors, trailers and other vehicles on national, state highways and oth- er roads. Ambulances and school buses were not stopped. Women took part in large numbers in Sangrur and Ludhiana. Punjabi actors Binu Dhillon and Dev Kharoud with singer Pammi Bai participated in the blockade in Patiala. There were similar scenes in Rajasthan. Most cities saw tractor rallies on state and national highways. Meanwhile, farmers in Karnataka, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand expressed solidarity by staging protests in their P7 respective states.  No road block in UP, U’khand over fears of anti-social elements There was no road blocking in UP and Uttarakhand, as announced by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), as there were fears of anti-social elements disrupting the protest. However, the UP Police deployed 144 PAC companies, six paramilitary companies, with senior officers at the state and national highways. In parts of western UP, a number of farmer leaders were placed under house arrest Subject experts urge VC to freeze appointment of Rajesh’s wife as asst prof pared based on their analysis @Palakkad/Kochi of the candidates’ performances. “However, the list pubRAISING the pitch against lished by the university for the alleged backdoor appoint- the post, which is reserved for ment of Ninitha R -- wife of Muslim candidates, did not CPM leader and former MP M conform to the one submitted B Rajesh -- as assistby us,” they said. “An ant professor at the applicant who did Sree Sankaracharya not have the required University of Santeaching experience skrit, Kalady, the or publications had three subject experts overtaken two or who conducted the more deserving caninterview have writdidates to come ten to the vice-chanfirst,” the trio said. cellor demanding to The panellists told Stating their objecmy wife that if she freeze her induction. joined the varsity, tion to the appointThe letter, which was they would allege ment, the experts released on Saturday irregularity in her said: “As teachers , said the ranklist was with 20-30 years of appointment. torpedoed. experience in the When we ignored Rajesh alleged the their threats, they field, we have a morraked up this controversy was part al responsibility tocontroversy of the panellists’ conwards the academic spiracy to protect M B Rajesh, former MP community This ap. their personal pointment, made uninterests. der our names, has brought In the letter, T Pavithran, our ethics under a cloud, in Umer Tharamel and K M addition to blemishing the Bharathan pointed out the University’s reputation. We ranklist for the post of the as- urge you to freeze the appointsistant professor in the Ma- ment and honour our collec● More on P4 layalam department was pre- tive decision.”  E X PRESS RE A D Cheating plaint: CB quizzes Sunny Leone The K Wave PLUS 12 PAGES Kochi: Crime Branch officials have questioned actor Sunny Leone following a complaint filed by an event organiser alleging that she duped him of D29 lakh. The complainant, R Shiyas alleged the actor accepted the sum promising to participate in 2 programmes. Relationship has to be correct, not cordial SC advocate Sanjay Hegde recalled when CJI M N Venktachaliah was sworn in, PM P V Narasimha Rao hoped for a cordial relationship between the judiciary and government. Prompt came Venktachaliah’s response that the relationship had to be correct, not cordial SABARIMALA Cong law draft proposes 2-year jail for offenders E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e WITH THIS ISSUE In another instance of a Supreme Court judge praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an open forum, Justice M R Shah described the PM as a “popular, loved, vibrant and visionary leader”. Speaking at the Gujarat High Court’s diamond jubilee celebration, which was attended by Modi also, on Saturday, Justice Shah said: “I feel proud and privileged to participate in this function to release the commemorative stamp of Gujarat High Court and that too, by our most popular, loved, vibrant and visionary leader, honourable Prime Minister Narendabhai Modi. I consider it a very special privilege to be a part of this function.” The effusive praises were mutual as Modi hailed the judiciary for performing “its duty well in safeguarding people’s rights, upholding personal liberty, and also in the situations when national interests need to be prioritised”. This is not the first time Justice Shah has praised the PM. In 2019, Justice Shah, while be- ing sworn as the chief justice of the Patna HC, had termed Modi as a role model. Justice Shah was not the only one to lavish praise on Modi at the function. Gujarat HC chief justice Vikram Nath said the PM was popular because of his commitment to the country . Legal experts expressed reservation over sitting judges openly praising members of the political executive, saying the conduct of judges must be in consonance with institutional ethics. They said as the judiciary was the final arbiter of legality and the constitutionality of the executive’s actions such statements do not bring credit to the institution. Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Hegde said: “It reminds me of an effusive letter written by the late Justice P N Bhagwati to Indira Gandhi on her return to power. He was criticised for it. The wall of separation between the government and the judiciary must be maintained at all times.” Echoing Hegde’s sentiments, SC advocate Shwetank Sailakwal said: “The judiciary and executive are independent and function within a framework provided by the constitution. Beyond that any relationship, be it cozy or otherwise, shouldn’t be allowed in a P7 healthy democracy  .” AMMA AT HOME AMMA president Mohanlal with office-bearers Jagadeesh, Siddique and Honey Rose at the inauguration of its state-of-the-art five-storey headquarters in Kochi on Saturday | Albin Mathew Trump unfit to receive intel briefing: Biden In a break from tradition, former US president Donald Trump will not be given access to classified intelligence briefings due to his “erratic behaviour”, US President Joe Biden said in a TV interview. Early this week, the White House had said it was reviewing if Trump should receive the intelligence briefings. Trump’s own relationship with the intelligence community was not smooth and he went through six national intelligence directors during his stint. According media reports, Trump was not known to regularly read the President’s Daily Brief, a highly classified summary of nation’s secrets, when he was in office. ENS Illegal boards, hoardings should be removed, directs HC The court has asked PWD to identify illegal structures on public roads and take steps for their removal | P5 THE Congress on Saturday released the draft of a law it promised to enact for the protection of traditional practices at the Sabarimala temple if it comes to power. Releasing the document in Kottayam, senior leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said the law will ensure a two-year jail term for people violating the traditional rituals of the hill shrine. The draft — Sabarimala Ayyappa Devotees (Protection of Religious Rights, Customs and Usages) Act, 2021 — proposes entry restrictions with the permission of the temple thantri. Thiruvanchoor said the draft, prepared by former director general of prosecution T Asaf Ali, will be the UDF’s trump card while going to the polls in less than three months’ ● More on P4 time.  Govt to go by SC order, says Isaac Alappuzha: Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac on Saturday said the state government would go by the Supreme Court order on women’s entry at Sabarimala. The government will implement the SC order after discussions with the public, he told reporters. First of all, they are not in power. If they think they’ll come back to power, that is not going to happen either. They have no legitimate rights whatsoever. How can they bring in a legislation on a matter that is before the court? A Vijayaraghavan, CPM state secretary in-charge April 23 festival Pooram to be back, grandeur depends on Covid E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Thrissur THRISSUR Pooram, which was cancelled for the first time in 58 years last year due to Covid pandemic, will be celebrated this time with all rituals on April 23. A decision on its level of grandeur will be taken later after analysing the Covid situation. A meeting chaired by Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar on Saturday constituted a committee headed by district collector to study the situation. The committee, which also con- sists of people’s representatives, members of the Cochin Devaswom Board, Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi devaswoms, and representatives of police, health and forest departments will meet once every for tnight to evaluate the situation. “The committee’s reports will be sent to the government. If it gives permission, the festival will be conducted extensiveThe committee’s reports will be sent to the government. If it gives permission, the festival will be conducted extensively. Crowd will be managed with proper planning — V S Sunil Kumar, Agri Minister ly Crowd will be managed with . proper planning,” the minister said. He also said giant screens will be set up for people to watch the rituals. Thrissur Collector S Shanavas said: “Compared to other temples, we’ve enough space to organise Thrissur Pooram. With enough time at our disposal, we will chalk out a crowd management plan and it will be submitted to the government.” He said a decision on the number of elephants to be paraded at the festival will be also taken based on the study .